Trimming off the Fat?

Ok, so after the office party, family gatherings, and other holiday celebrations, people unsnap their pants and put on their sweats to lounge around in and think, "I shouldn't have eaten that last cheese log all by myself."  Hey let's face it, we all face that guilt of over indulging during the holiday season.  Once the season is over, the gym membership becomes activated after several months of no use along with dusting off the old treadmill in the bedroom corner.  Yes, trimming down becomes the goal; however as a writer, coming to that conclusion can be a daunting task.

When writing a story, there are times which trimming away the extra, unimportant, or the non-necessities is essential.  Then at other moments within the story, the extra crispy bacon fat along with the side dish of buttered potatoes is just the right touch.  Yet deciding what extra ingredients make the right combination of sleek muscles and round curve appeal, instead of the nasty cottage cheese fat pockets, can be mind boggling for a writer. 

As writers, we often ask 'what motivates the character' and throughout the story we drop bread crumbs of background information with the sultry details of the hero's past.  Yet as I write, I find myself giving away too much of the goods too soon or not enough at other times, especially during the rough draft stage of the manuscript.  It can be frustrating but with patience, time, and the help from a critique partner, the finished product can have the right balance of everything needed to create a well written story.

So as we continue our writing endeavors, let's not be too hard on ourselves.  We can add and delete and then add some more when needed.  Nothing is written in stone; therefore, it can be changed...until published.  And by then, it's obvious others have found your story included the perfect combination of muscles and fats too.  So don't worry about not fitting into those skinny jeans or filling out that curving dress because it's one size fits all. 

A Little Holiday Inspiration

I am wrapping up a lot of grading and Christmas shopping, but I thought while I was working on that, you could take enjoy these hot and sexy Santas or Christmas attired gentleman to get you into the spirit of Christmas. I think there is something for everyone! I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Help Me Hurt My Hero

I do not consider myself a contest junkie. I don't even consider myself on the contest circuit, but I entered a few this year and got some constructive and encouraging feedback even if the judges' missed my genius, and I didn't final. But my delusions of genius aside, one comment stuck with me. More than once, a judge commented that my hero didn't have enough clear motivation for his actions. He really wasn't tortured enough for his current behavior. Hmmm. Another judge suggested I think of a couple of my recent reads that featured a tortured hero and analyze how and when the author revealed the character's motivation. Where to begin? Many of my favorite reads feature angsty heroes. One of my all time faves, Wuthering Heights, comes to mind first. Poor, poor Heathcliff was as tortured as they come, and when I first read it years ago, I remember feeling his pain so deeply and reacting with intensely strong emotion (I cried). And although I've never seen this version of the movie, I can imagine it was well cast. Ralph Fiennes plays a great, tortured hero.


But more recently, I have gotten into Kresley Cole's Immortal After Dark series. She does a great job of creating a tortured Alpha male. I could list many from this series alone. One of my favorites is Bowen MacRieve from Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night. Ms. Cole creates major angst for Bowen, a werewolf who believes he unintentionally caused the death of his one true mate, and just when he has the opportunity to go back and undo it, he encounters an irresistable witch who impossibly evokes his mating instinct, causing intense guilt. I don't want to spoil it for any who haven't read it, but let's just say, I fell in love with Bowen and wanted to be the one to ease his torment.











To me Hugh Jackman makes the perfect Bowen MacRieve.














Of course, T. V. shows and movies are loaded with tortured heroes. Take your pick:

So, what do these gorgeous (ahem), I mean, troubled men have that we find irresistible? Is it the fact that they are in so much pain that draws us? Maybe we have what it takes to fix them? Maybe we'd just like to try? It's possible, but I think it's their resiliency that attracts us as well. They are modern-day warriors. They take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. These men are worthy of the strong heroine, and they can work through anything that comes their way without caving under the pressure.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a hero who hasn't hurt enough. *sound of knuckles cracking* Let the torture begin.

How about you? Which tortured heroes have stuck with you long after you closed the book?

Happy writing!

Sherry Cahill www.sherrycahill.blogspot.com

Jail Bait Hottie

ZAC EFRON

The male characters in my stories are usually based on people in my life or that have caught my eye at the coffee shop, in restaurants and more recently, fellow writer's blogs. My preference has always veered towards older more experienced men, however, when my eyes caught sight of this jail bait cutie's abs on E News, I had to take a second look.

He starred in the movie 17 Again, where he flirted with his soon to be ex-wife. Mama Mia! His smile was playful, seductive, and his expressions sultry, and when he twirled his older co-star around the dimly lit patio, I thought, I could easily do him.

He sings and dances and can spin a basketball on one finger. How sexy is that? Although he's technically not jail bait, he is younger than most men who hold my attention and not just catch my eye with their hot bodies.

So, tell me ladies, are there any jail bait hotties hiding in your closet or that have inspired you or a character in your story? You can tell me. I promise not to call the police.

Memorable, emotional, tender...what causes you to go back for more?

Fellow Angels, I know for me there has to be some kind of connection between a story and I. Otherwise, it gets put off to the side, ignored or only read when I am bored and can't find nothing else. There haven't been many of those, but there are a few. I'm not going to name names because that would be rude, but if you want to email me then I will divulge those names/books. On the other hand, there are many, MANY books that I have read and re-read time and again.

I believe that the emotional impact of the story is what gets me. The twists and turns that the h/h go through to finally get together pulls me in every time. I also love sexual tension. It has to be done precise and clean and you know it has been done correctly when the impact of the h/h fulfilling their relationship (and it isn't always the fulfilling of something sexual, it can be a kiss or something a bit bigger) is enough to cause tears to fill your eyes.

Whether it is paranormal, contemporary, historical or suspense, certain elements have to be there for us to enjoy these stories. And there also has to be memorable moments, either a simple sentence or one scene that takes up three pages and makes you love the book instantly.

I have condensed a few of mine down for your enjoyment. And these aren't all of them, heck, I wouldn't have room to list all of my favorites! Enjoy them and let me know some of yours!

HUGS
Trish aka Wackycajun

________________________________________________________________

Clayton Westmoreland, 9th Duke of Claymore

Whitney, My Love

"Several months ago in Paris, a lovely young woman accused me of 'pretending' to be a duke. She said that I was such a poor 'impostor' that I really ought to choose some other title to which to aspire - some title that would suit me better. I decided there was only one other title I wanted: that of her husband...Believe me, my first title was far more easily acquired than the second, and of far, far less value."

Stephen Westmoreland
Earl of Langford
Until You, Judith McNaught

Her eyes fluttered open, and he tried to smile, to tell her he loved her, but his chest was constricted with emotion, and there was an unfamiliar lump in his throat as he looked at their clasped hands on the pillow.
He had never held a woman’s hand at a time like this in his life.
He had never thought of it.
He had never wanted to.
Until Now.
Stephen bent down to kiss her, he closed his eyes and swallowed, and tried to tell her again what he felt, to explain that he’d never known there were feelings like this, but the emotions were still too raw, and he was still out of breath. All he could manage to say was, “Until you...”
She understood. He knew she did, because her hands tightened convulsively on his and she turned her face and kissed his fingers.

______________________________________________________

Hardy Cates
Blue Eyed Devil, Lisa Kleypas

“Nick’s not worth going to jail for,” I said.
“I don’t know about that.” Hardy stared at me for a moment, registering my uneasiness. His expression deliberately softened. “The way I was brought up, ‘he needed killing’ is an airtight legal defense.”
***
“Feel good?” I whispered.
Hardy shook his head, struggling to breathe. His face was flushed as if with a high fever.
“No?” I asked.
“Felt good a half hour ago,” He managed to say, his accent slurry like he’d just done about ten tequila shots. “Fifteen minutes after that it was the greatest sex I’ve ever had, and right about now...I’m pretty sure I’m in the middle of a heart attack.”
­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­________________________________________________________
***
Smooth Talking Stranger
Lisa Kleypas

“You can’t stand between a Texan and his power tools. We like them. Big ones that drain the national grid. We also like truck stop breakfasts, large moving objects, Monday night football, and the missionary position. We don’t drink light beer, drive Smart Cars, or admit to knowing the names of more than about five or six colors. And we don’t wax our chests. Ever.”
**
While Jack and Ella are putting together a crib…
“Can you do meatloaf?”
“Yep.”
“Marry me, Ella.”
I looked into his wicked dark eyes, and even though I knew he was joking I felt a wild pulse inside, and my hands trembled. “Sure,” I said lightly. “Want some bread?”
***
And later in the story…
“You may not know this, but the other time I asked you to marry you, the night I put the crib together, I meant it. Even though I knew you weren’t ready.
God, I hope you’re ready now.”

________________________________________________

And there is one other scene that I remember well. The ‘staring’ scene in Renee Bernard’s, Revenge Wears Rubies is one that is steamy, sultry and very memorable. I can’t list it here because it is lengthy, but the page numbers are…70-73.

Dancers Can Be Theraputic

Watching 'Sexy' Males Leads to Better Chicks, Study Says

Love that headline.

Oh, all right. In the interests of fair disclosure, it's from an article in the July 29 National Geographic about "mating success of the Houbara bustard, a sandy-colored desert bird found throughout parts of northern Africa and Asia."

The French study (oh, those French !) found that female birds that watched male birds dance were stimulated and produced healthier chicks. What's this 'dance' like?

The male birds run around in circles and throw back their heads.

The actions of the males sound familiar, hummm? Running in circles with their heads in the air to show off?

No, I'm not really taking digs at our luscious other halves. Well, perhaps a tiny one. :>

Even if we females are not in the chick-producing mode, sexy dancing men can still lead to stimulation--and other things. To get our positive energy flowing, here's a glance at some sexy dancers, part of the Chippendales. I really don't know why they're standing in the water in that first picture, but who cares, right?

The one with long blond hair is Kevin Cornell. Check out his website for more pix of him and the others. http://www.kevincornell.com/

Marathoning vs Writing

When I tell my fellow writers I just ran a marathon, they look at me like I’m crazy. I’m here to tell you that running a marathon is a whole lot easier than writing a book.

I can take any of you and turn you into a successful marathon runner. All you have to do is commit six months of your life to the training, be willing to work hard, sweat profusely, and lose a few toenails along the way. What do you get out of all of this? Pride in yourself. Statistics say that only .1 percent of the world population has ever run a marathon. Why? Because it hurts to run 26.2 miles. It’s daunting. It feels unobtainable for someone who has never run a mile. But, it can be done by anyone in reasonably good health. Anyone!

The same can’t be said about becoming a successful author. No matter how hard you work, how much sweat you profuse, or how many toenails you’re willing to lose for the cause, no one can guarantee that they will get you a traditional publishing contract.

You can become a marathon runner in six months but the average writer takes ten years to find a measure of success. A marathon runner loses weight while in training. A writer gains weight while in training. A marathon runner gets to socialize with others as they train. A writer sits in their cubbyhole alone pounding on the keys. A marathon runner gets a medal when they're done. A writer gets a book review – it might be good, or it might be bad.

So, why would anyone choose to become a writer when it’s harder than running a marathon and the success rate is less? Well, I can’t speak for the rest of you, but I can speak for myself. I write books because it’s a passion I can’t ignore.

Why do you write books?

And while you’re thinking about this and contemplating running a marathon, now that you know you can, let me leave you with a few pics of some famous marathon runners. Enjoy

Lisa Wells

William Baldwin ran the New York Marathon

The bare asses are running a marathon in France

David Elliot ran the Boston Marathon

Striving for Excellence

Since my first few books deal with elite athletes, specifically of the gymnastics variety, I thought I would post my choice of inspirational athletes. These people inspire me on so many levels. Physically, I know the amount of hard work it takes to get a body looking like this. For a time, I aspired to achieve this state of bodily perfection. I was, after all, an elite athlete myself once upon a time, long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away... For a time after I got married and had kids, I maintained my pursuit of physical perfection only to finally realize that I just didn't have that drive anymore. Exercise is a part of my daily routine, but I gave up the dream of having a dream body. Why? Because I'm striving for excellence in other areas of my life, namely, my marriage, raising my kids, and my writing career.

So, why am I posting about these individuals? For me, it's not just about the outer package, it's what's on the inside, too. Although their bodies may be a work of art, it is their pursuit of excellence in their chosen arenas that amaze me. It is their dedication that I admire. It is their positive outlook on life that I want to emulate. The state of their physical bodies is a by-product of their pursuit of excellence. One of them, I'm privileged to know on a personal level. So, without further ado, may I make introductions...


Dara Torres: At age 41, she was the oldest female Olympic swimmer ever. In her career, she's won 12 Olympic medals and 4 gold. In the 2008 Beijing summer Olympics, she won silver in the 50m free style. And besides those amazing arms, her greatest accomplishment - being a mom while doing it.







Kyle Shewfelt - Canadian Olympic gymnast and all around cutie who won gold for his floor routine at the 2004 Olympic Summer games in Athens. I met him once when he attended an event in Manitoba. Okay, so spandex doesn't do much for anybody, but along with that sculpted physique, he's got cute curls that couldn't be shown in the second photo. The second is when he's waiting to receive his gold medal.










Sidney Crosby - born in Nova Scotia, Halifax, Canada.

You Americans may have him in the NHL, but we Canadians get him back for the Olympics to win Gold! He was the Pittsburgh Penguins first draft pick back in 2005 when the team won the special lottery draft. He was 18 at the time. From what I understand he's an all around nice guy, and he's Canadian, so I had to post him. And what woman doesn't like a man who can handle his stick?






Kary Odiatu - co-author of "The Miracle of Health", motivational speaker, certified fitness trainer, Pro fitness athlete, Fitness Universe winner, mother of 3 and long-time friend. Kary and I go way back - she hired me once upon a time to coach for her, then I became her boss, and eventually we moved on to other phases of our lives. Kary continually amazes me with her high energy, positive attitude and commitment to fitness and health. Her and her husband were the first people to encourage me to publish my work.














Blaine Wilson... Oops! Sorry - I was wiping drool off my chin before it hit the keyboard. I had to post this man. He is perfection personified from his sculpted physique, the bit of scruff on his face, right on down to his very lickable tattoo. But I digress - Mr. Wilson won 5 consecutive national titles in his 22 yr. gymnastics career. He just missed the bronze medal at the 1999 World Gymnastics Championships by .001. My gymnasts and I used to drool over him back in the day, and from what I gather, these days he books speaking engagements. His fee: $5000-10,000. I'm thinking of taking out a loan, but I'm not sure his wife would appreciate me booking him for a private event. ;)





If I had time and space, I'd post 10 other photos - those of my fellow Ass Cheek Angels. You ladies amaze me daily with your humor, your drive for excellence both in your writing careers and daily lives, and with the gift of your friendship. To think that back in July, I was looking for a party to go to so I could stay awake to make my early flight home. On that fateful night, the Ass Cheek Angels was born and I got so much more than a good time. My life is truly blessed. Mwah!

These Are Not My Pants. . .

These Are Not My Pants. . .

It began as any other Saturday night before Halloween.

Children screaming, late babysitter, 36-year-old mother of two facing the age-old question, “Is this costume too slutty for me?” By the time hubby and I calmed the rugrats and made it downtown, I'd already grown distracted by the myriad of household chores left undone and the page-long grocery list left ungathered. Was I too old for this? Too boring? Was it a mistake to try to hit the hard-core social scene again? After all, the last time I went out and partied like it's 1999, it was, well, 1999.

I had nearly decided to bail when an extremely hot twenty-something guy dressed as a shirtless boxer handed me a Jello shot.

“TKO, beautiful,” he said.

“Thanks. Hey, don't you host the Bible studies group at my daughter's old pre-school?” I asked, to which he responded by putting on a shirt.

I stood alone, staring at the wobbly green “beverage” in my hand. Not that there's anything wrong with green gelatin, mind you, it's just that last time Jello shots were involved, I woke up queasy in Algiers wearing gold lamé pants borrowed from a bi-curious Brazilian male underwear model. And contrary to what my grandmother always said, it is not true that a woman can never have enough gold lamé in her closet. Brazilian male underwear models on the other hand. . .

Ah, but hark, sweet sanity! There is yet the matter of dear hubby.

Dressed as Han Solo, he nursed his beer in a corner, doing the white-man's-overbite as he discreetly danced the Humpty Hump alongside my friend Dorsey's husband. As you might imagine, the party life of a married, mid-thirties Springfield dweller is far diminished from that of a single, twenty-something New Orleanian. Saturday evening, for example, I spent a great deal of time worrying about the long-term hearing damage caused by repeated exposure to Eminem, and rather less time making out with Brazilian B-list celebrities. And, unlike the Jello shot debacle of 1999, it didn't take an act of Deus Ex Machina to end the party. I drank, I had some nachos, I sang karaoke (Britney Spears, God forgive me), then I got bored and went home. . . still wearing my own pants.

Quel dommage.

On the silver lining side of things, I did happen upon a lovely Brazilian male underwear model while “researching” my next hero.

Evandro Soldati, I raise my gold lamé party-pants in your honor. May you find a nice, Southern girl to lick your washboard abs clean of Jello shot debris.

And if you can't, well. . . I hear Springfield is lovely this time of year.

Trace Adkins: Up Close and Personal

Cowboy's Back In Town - Exclusive Deluxe Ultimate Cowboy Pack
$150.00
This is the Ultimate Trace Fan Pack! A Deluxe CD with Special Exclusive Packaging of Cowboy's Back In Town SIGNED by Trace and only available at TraceAdkins.com! The TraceAdkins.com Exclusive Cowboy's Back In Town T-Shirt and A very special Exclusive SIGNED Trace Adkins Black Straw Cowboy Hat. This is a limited time offer! All made in the USA! Order while supplies last!

Hey ladies, I have a special treat for you that sort of ties in to blog for this week. I just went to Trace Adkins' home page (www.traceadkins.com) and he's selling a special package with his autographed CD, a t-shirt, and an autographed black Stetson hat for $150.00. Although I don't have that kind of money to spare, he does have a nice little up close and personal video of him showing us how to fold the hat to look like his. It's niiiice to look at. ***sigh***

I'm trying to imbed the video but I'm not sure if it will work or not. Somebody let me know. Also...if you want to give yourselves another treat at the end of your work day, look up his song "I Still Love You" from the Cowboy's Back in Town CD. It's slow and sexual and just yummy. If your in a fighting mood, you could always listen to "Kick A Man's Ass". I love anything by him. Yum!

Bigger is Better!

Hello Angels! I want to discuss size today. When it comes to men, does size really matter? Is bigger really all that better? Well ladies, speaking from experience, I've had one not so big, and one at the other end of the spectrum, and in my opinion, bigger is definitely better.

You see, as woman who's somewhat on the tall side at 5'7", I prefer tall men. What's that? Of course I'm talking about a man's height. What did you think I was talking about? Shame . . . shame . . . get your minds out of the gutter and pay attention, girls.

You see, my first hubby was a small man with an even smaller sense of fidelity. So, I dropped his unfaithful ass, and found myself a real man. A big ole man, a little under 6'3", with a big heart, that I could look up to in more ways than one. On December 3rd, Michael and I will celebrate 16 years of a marriage I haven't regretted for one minute. I think my hubby's large size and big heart are the reason I'm drawn to big men.


I love music - especially country music - and I often use the music as inspiration for my writing. I have several male country artists that I find unbelievably attractive because of their size as well as their voices. Who can resist the deep, sultry bass of Josh Turner, the resonating tones of Trace Adkins, and the sexiness of Blake Shelton and Keith Anderson.

So feast your eyes on my delectable collection of massive, male talent...every one of them well over 6' tall,and chock a block full of sexiness and talent.

Keith Anderson

Trace Adkins

Josh Turner









Blake Shelton












Chris Young


















Toby Keith








James Otto

Boxers or Briefs?

Remember that commercial with Michael Jordon? I'm sure that wasn't the first time the boxer vs brief question was asked, but it did make the question popular.
Me, I'm a rebel. I prefer boxer briefs on my hubby. You get the best of both worlds. They're tight enough to be sexy -- because I hate that baggy boxer look -- and yet, they don't make me think of panties -- as briefs do -- when I look at them.
And because my hubby has really sexy legs and I like the way they look in boxer briefs . . . but I digress.

The first men's underwear was probably the Loincloth, a simple strip of material or leather. A loincloth was also used to describe material pulled between the legs and fastened like a diaper. Not a good look for anyone :(  Greek and Roman men reportedly wore loinclothes.

During the Middle Ages, loinclothes were replaced by loose trouser like pants called Braies. Braies were a step-in design and laced at the waist and mid-calf. Wealthy men also wore chausses. 

By Renaissance, braies became shorter to accommodate longer styles of chausses -- and chausses gave way to hose. But since neither braies nor chausses were meant to be worn beneath they weren't technically underwear.

Braies were replaced by cotton, silk or linen drawers which were worn for years and years and years. And years. I couldn't find much information on how much -- if any -- the basic design changed. However, in the mid 1800's mass production of underwear began and people started to buy their drawers instead of making them at home. The Unionsuit also became popular in the mid 1800's -- 1868 actually -- and had the drop seat in the back.

In 1874, the Jock Strap came along to provide support for the bicycle jockeys riding upon cobblestone streets.

The first underwear print ad ran in the Saturday Evening Post in 1911, an oil painting, not a picture. That would have been indecent! In WWI soldiers were issued button front shorts though they were often still worn with a union suit. (Which by the way became 2 pieces in 1910 - what we call long-johns).

By 1935 Coopers Inc. sold the world's first men's briefs, the design dubbed Jockey since it provided the support once only offered by a jock strap. 30,000 pairs of new Jockeys sold within the first 3 months of introduction. In the 1950's manufacturers began to make men's underwear from colored and/or printed material. In the 1970's and 1980's advertisers began appealing to the sexual side of selling, foregoing the long time ad practice of comfort and durability. Speaking of comfort - or lack thereof - the thong became popular in the 1990's.

So, what do you prefer on your man? Boxer, brief, thong . . . or commando?

Bad boys...oh how we love to discipline them.

Nickelback - Chad Kroeger is one hot bad boy.  Check out his stance.

‘Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?  Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?’  Oh the notorious bad boy. What female hasn’t had some fixation on a bad boy at one time in her life?  I know I’ve had my share of twisted fantasies regarding the not so choir boy personas.



Hollywood's ultimate bad boy: Colin Farrell



Some of the classic bad boy images which flood my mind are the rocker, the tattooed covered biker, the rebellious preacher’s son, and the womanizing jock.  Oh yeah, those boys definitely knew how to raise the hair on the back of my mom’s neck to high heavens.  But I so loved them, probably more to the fact that they did ruffle her feathers.

The strong sexual pull these men tend to have over women can be nerve wracking on females' emotions not to mention their libidos.  Yet, I believe the most appealing aspect about these naughty guys is that females have a deep desire to be the ‘special someone’ to tame the demon and have him only unleashed on her and her alone.  Isn’t that why so many romance novels are so intriguing? 

Susan Johnson’s book ‘Golden Paradise’ is a classic example of such a bad boy.  The hero is an egotistical alpha male who believes he can continue his womanizing ways even after seducing the heroine.   He continually resists his growing admiration and love for her and it takes a series of dangerous and life threatening situations which forces him to face his fears of succumbing to truly giving himself to one woman.  And oh boy, when he finally loves her completely, the intensity of his emotions sparks their relationship into a deep meaningful one.

The original 'Rebel Without A Cause': James Dean

I admit that the change of heart does not always happen with all bad boys.  It can happen though. It doesn’t necessarily happen overnight but for the females who long to tame the wild beasts from others, there is hope.  Yet, isn’t half the fun of taming the beast includes riding the wild stud?  Yes, my sentiments exactly. 

So, who is a favorite wild man you’d like to tame …or not?

Jane Austen's Heroes

I tend to read a lot of regency novels, and some of my all time favorites are those written by Jane Austen. There is a reason she is the godmother of romance! I also love when these novels are made into movies and her heroes can come to life. I am a big fan of Masterpiece Classics and even mark my calendar so that I remember when they are playing each show. Just a few years ago, their focus was entirely on Jane Austen. Well, I was in heaven that season. Although the BBC is not the only one that can make a great British classic, Hollywood has been known to do it right occasionally too.

In fact, but the BBC and Hollywood did fabulous jobs on their versions of Pride and Prejudice. The BBC adaption has Colin Firth play Mr. Darcy and Jennifer Ehle play Elizabeth Bennet and in the newer, shorter Hollywood adaption the leads are by Matthew MacFadyen and Kiera Knightly. I must admit, I loved Mr. Darcy when I first read the book years ago and that has not changed. Both Firth and MacFadyen did wonderful jobs portraying the proud, private hero. The Mr. Darcy character is interesting though, he is the quiet man, the one that seems to be unshakable, and he is. That is until Elizabeth points out his flaws and while he feels he has been “laboring under a misapprehension,” he doesn’t stop loving her. Trivia: Did you know the book/film Bridget Jones’s Diary was an updated version of the Pride and Prejudice and Colin Firth played Mark Darcy, aka Mr. Darcy, again?

Another of my favorite Jane Austen heroes is Mr. Knightley from Emma. Again, there are many versions of this film as well but one of my favorites stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma and Jermey Northam as Mr. Knightley. This is a unique tale of falling in love with one’s best friend; a man that has known her before she walk or talk. He is older than her and does chastise her because at times she is young and foolish, after all she believes herself to be a great matchmaker when she knows nothing of relationships herself. While he does chastise her, it is obvious that he does it because he loves her and wants her to be the best she can be and well, who won’t want a man that sees the best in us.

Lastly, one of my other favorite Jane Austen heroes is Mr. Edward Ferris from Sense and Sensibility. There was a great version from the nineties with Emma Thompson as Elinor Dashwood and Hugh Grant as Mr. Ferris. In this story, it isn’t that the hero is too proud or a family friend, but instead they fall for each other immediately. However, Mr. Ferris promised to someone else, but Elinor finds out later from someone else. Alas, everything does work out in the end.

Jane Austen is a staple for me and a great example that everyone should follow. She could write great heroes whether they were brooding and proud, or trustworthy and steadfast, or charming and unsure. She was great at capturing their attributes as well as their flaws and whether you read her books or watch the movies; her stories capture the imagination and draw her readers in.