Welcome to day four of the Breathless in the Bush Blogiversary. I really hope you are all having a great time with us.
Today we are going to have a little fun playing, Do You Want to Build a Hero? Did you just start humming that Frozen song? Basically, I will suggest a feature/characteristic and you get to tell me what you think the hero should have e.g. how tall, what colour eyes, occupation, etc. Get all your friends involved because there will be a nice little prize announced tomorrow, but you have to be in it to win it.
(Check the comments section below to find out the winner of yesterday's $20US amazon voucher.)
But first today I thought I might spend a little time reflecting on the successes and achievements of my fellow bloggers. It’s been a big year for many of us, so here goes.
Marilyn Forsyth has had an amazing year. She was a finalist in the Valerie Parv Award this year but due to some very exciting news she had to bow out of the competition; the reason being that she has accepted a contract with Harlequin Mira for her Pearl Farmer story (not yet titled) which she pitched at the Romance Writers of Australia Conference last year. Hurrah! We are so excited for Marilyn and for you because you will get to read it sometime early next year!
Dee Scully has also had an amazing year. She has overcome her fear of contests and submitted to two RWAus writing competitions…one of which she won - The Ripping Start. Squee!! She was also a finalist in the 2015 Valerie Parv Award. This particular achievement is very close to her heart seeing as, way back when, this was the contest that gave her the fear of competitions in the first place. Now, with more confidence and having developed her writing skills she is showing all of us to never give up.
Enisa Haines has come a long way this year. Working on the blog and Facebook has given her confidence in connecting with social media, and she is less intimidated now. She really has created some wonderful blog posts for us this year and is currently working on a very exciting manuscript which she plans to submit to a publishing house when it is completed. Stay tuned.
Sharon Burke is the newest member of the BITB Blog. It has been over 10 years since she was an active member of "Breathless in the Bush" and RWA, and she has decided to return to romance writing because she's missed it. She has previously had a short story published. Her goals for this year are to be published in romantic short stories and to begin researching an idea for an historical romance based on her own relative.
Karen M Davis has also had a very busy year. She and two other authors went on a wild author road trip and visited readers up and down the coastline from Sydney. If you met Karen at one of these please say hi in the comments. Karen is currently working on a new book not connected with her previous series (Sinister Intent and Deadly Obsession). We can’t wait to learn more about her new book this year.
Our lovely reviewer Miranda has given us a plethora of fantastic book suggestions and reviews this year. Our TBR piles are groaning under the weight but we wouldn’t have it any other way. She hopes to bring you many more book suggestions in the future so keep coming back and checking out her blog posts.
As for Cassandra Samuels? Well, I have had a very steep learning curve going on since my debut book, A Scandalous Wager, was released last November. I am hoping to have a new book available for you all next year. I have been working on many new story ideas and am excited by the prospect of having them available for you to read in the future.
Thank you all for your support of the Breathless in the Bush blog; it really does keep us motivated.
Do You Want to Build a Hero?
Now let the fun begin. How tall should a hero be? Leave your suggestions in the comments but keep coming back because the rest of my prompts will be in the comments.
Good morning everyone. Congratulations to Robyn Alderidge on winning yesterday's prize. I hope you will join me today in building a hero. First things first. What is the best height for a hero? Let me know in the comments below.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Robyn! Lucky you!
DeleteCongrats, Robyn. Aren't you a lucky one!
DeleteHi Cassandra. Wow, when you list our achievements as you have we do have reasons to celebrate this week. And may the next year be as rewarding!
ReplyDeleteAs for your hero game, even though I'm not in the running for a prize, I'll start it off by revealing my favourite height for a hero is 6 feet plus. It may have to do with the fact that at 163 cm myself I'm on the short side! I'm very partial to 6 feet and 1 inch (don't know why, I've just always liked that number :) )
Hi Cassandra! Thanks for the reminder of all our successes this year. We certainly do have reason to celebrate!
ReplyDeleteThis game sounds like fun so even though I'm not eligible I'd love to join in. I think a fictional hero needs to be tall so I'm going for over 6 foot.
Hi Marilyn. Thank you for your input. That is one for 6ft 1 and one for 6ft.
DeleteCome on down, Robyn Aldridge! WINNER of yesterday's lucky draw! Please send your email address to breathlessinthebush@gmail.com, and that fabbo $US20 will wing its way to you. I have winner envy... lucky, lucky you. And thanks for visiting us! Have fun today, everyone!
ReplyDeleteMiranda, I've done my duty and replied!
DeleteHi Cassie, and huge congratulations to everyone in their winning endeavours over the last year. What a difference a year makes, indeed. Well done, Breathless in the Bush!
ReplyDeleteAs for my hero? Well, studies say that people always look up to tall men in more than just a neck-craning way. Somehow or other the height also carries power and charisma. So give me a tall hero any day. Having said that, if there's a tiny heroine, why not give her a slightly shorter hero? That way they can schmooze together very nicely.
Thank you Malvina. Yes I think you might be right but I was wondering how tall is too tall? I mean is 6ft 7 an appropriate height? Or do we like our hero's to stay about the 6ft 1 or 2 mark?
ReplyDeletePractically all the US presidents been tall. I think many people do look up to tall men. I prefer a tall hero. Not freakishly tall though. Around 6ft 1" or 2".
ReplyDeleteHi Maggi. I think 6ft 1 is a nice height myself.
DeleteSounds good to me. Basketballer size is too tall!
DeleteFirst of all, happy Blogiversary and congratulations on all your successes, ladies! What a wonderful 12 months you've had! Now to answer Cassandra's question - I think 6 ft 2" is the perfect height for a hero. Although 6 ft 4" is not bad either - any taller than that and I think the hero is too tall. But anything under 6 ft and I'm a bit meh. Tall men just have an extra aura of power and strength I think.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree Amy. There is something about looking up maybe that does it. ha ha.
DeleteWhat colour hair do you prefer on your hero? Let me know for a chance to win a prize.
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ReplyDeleteHi Di thanks for dropping in . I do like a dark haired man myself, Ian Somerhalder (inspiration for my current hero), Henry Cavill, Richard Armitage. Don't get me started. :-)
DeleteOops, sorry Diane. I tried to remove one of your doubled-up comments and they both disappeared! Don't worry, you're still in the running for a prize from Cassandra.
DeleteYou think of romance novels and immediately 'tall, dark and handsome' comes to most readers' minds. I'm not in that majority, though. For me, it's tall, blonde and beautiful! I do like the blonde to be what they call 'dirty blonde' - a mix of brown and blonde.
ReplyDeleteBut if I'm writing about a hero who's from, for example, Spain, then I'd have to have him dark-haired. Unless, of course, his mother is from northern Europe. Then he can still be blonde!
I'm with Enisa. I like the blondies. I think the first screen hero I fell in love with, a thousand years ago, was Michael York. He fitted the bill very nicely.
DeleteI can see why. I will not mention Fabio (okay I already did) but what about Sawyer from Lost, Or Brad Pitt. They are fabulous inspiration for a hero. Michael York was a hottie in his day and what about Paul Newman?
DeleteI rest my case.
DeleteCassandra, you already know Josh Holloway Lost's Sawyer) is my inspiration. He's on my fridge door!
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DeleteSo our hero is tall at least 6ft and he has hair (thankfully). What eye colour should he have?
ReplyDeleteBlue. No contest. Tall, blond, blue eyes. ;)
DeleteAlthough if he's tall and dark, dark eyes are better.... Hmmmm.......
I always like eye colours that are not the same as mine (brown), but in saying that the hero in A Scandalous Wager has gorgeous warm brown eyes. For me I guess it depends on the character. My current hero has dark, alluring blue eyes - yes please.
DeleteI tend to prefer dark eyes in a hero. I have no idea why as my lovely husband's eyes are bright blue. Maybe it's so I can keep my book boyfriends and my hubby separate in my mind. ;)
DeleteThat's an interesting theory Marilyn. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteAs a romance writer, I've been taught to describe characters in different ways. However, you seem to be sticking with the Imperial Measurement, so I'll go with six foot two and eyes of blue, according to the well-known lyrics.
DeleteHowever, what I'd like to do is to tell the facts you’ve asked for at this point, through the eyes of the Heroine, Cassandra. Here goes.
Cassandra stood still on the sweeping staircase, her descent blocked by the man standing two steps below her. She stared straight across at him and was trapped, trapped by the mischief making in his eyes. Those eyes would warm sunny, blue skies, but she refused to be magnetised by them, and clung to the balustrade.
Of course the man had an element of safety about him, seeing she’d never favoured redheads, but as hard as she tried, that didn’t stop her wool gathering.
Thank you Robyn. Not often a writer becomes a heroine too. Awesome stuff. Id definitely be staring.
DeleteWell, I love light coloured eyes in shades of blue, green or grey. They go so well with light hair. And even with dark hair. Think green eyed, black haired Irishman. Gorgeous.
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Deletehave we time for one more? Do we like our heroes to be homegrown or from exotic destinations?
ReplyDeleteDown to earth and home-grown heroes are my favourite.
DeleteThanks Marilyn. So no Greek Billionaires for you? It makes sense seeing as your Harlequin Mira release for next year features a gorgeous Aussie bloke.
DeleteHome-grown in manner. Location doesn't really matter for me.
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DeleteDefinitely down to earth. Even that can be in an exotic location. It all depends on the setup.
ReplyDeleteDown to earth heroes are great. I like the cheeky funny ones too and you are right they can be from any setting. Thank you for coming by Robyn.
ReplyDeleteHappy blogiversary, Breathless ladies. What a huge year you've had, both on the blog and personally. I was delighted to read about all your achievements. May there be many more! I enjoy this blog immensely and have picked up quite a few tips, plus it's entertaining. Keep it coming, please.
ReplyDeleteAs for hero height, if he's not 6 feet tall or more, I'm not interested. Yes, you may call me shallow!
We've had so much fun doing the blog Cathryn. It makes it all worthwhile when we hear that our guests have found it fun and informative. So glad you have enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI think it's pretty clear that we all like a tall man. Oh yeah.