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Thursday, March 04, 2010:
Heroes vs. Heroines with Shiloh Walker
Who matters more…the hero or the heroine?

For me? It’s both.

A good hero doesn’t matter much if the heroine isn’t a good match.
Likewise with the heroine. If she’s a great heroine and her hero sucks? The book doesn’t work.

A lot of times, I hear people discussing the hero and I rarely hear about the heroine, but for me, I need them both. If the heroine is weak, I don’t want to keep reading.

If the hero is an asshole, I often dump the book even if the heroine is awesome-unless the story is just oh, man fricking awesome.

They are a unit, you know? Part of a matched set and if one half of that set isn’t any good? The book fails for me. This is part of why I had to dump BROKEN a third of the way through when I first started writing it.

The heroine wasn’t right.

In fact, for Quinn, she was all wrong.

She wasn’t a bad heroine. In fact, I may use her later in another book, for him?

She was all wrong and it was causing problems with the book. Quinn has this tarnished knight thing going, and trust me, it works well for him, but with this book, this heroine, this hero, it just wasn’t working out.

So I ditched 2/3 of the story. More.

I think the one line I kept other than bits and pieces of Quinn’s history was this one:

Wounded warrior.

That’s Quinn. To a T.

He was a wounded warrior and I needed a heroine who can handle that…plus handle him, because sometimes, he’s a little…well, snarly.

I met that heroine when I met Sara. She’s not what I was expecting.

She’s not what Quinn was expecting.

And she’s actually rather perfect for him.

Do you find yourself drawn to one more than the other? Does the heroine matter to you much? Does the hero matter more than anything else?

For those curious about the book I’m rambling about….

Shattered

Quinn Rafferty is working as a bounty hunter and bail bondsman in St. Louis when a new neighbor catches his eye. He’s tempted by her beauty—but he knows from experience that anyone desperate enough to live in his building is damaged goods. Besides, he has his own soul to mend before he can worry about anyone else.

Desperate

Sara Davis is on the run, but not for the usual reasons a woman goes on the lam. She’s not an abused wife, and she’s not a criminal. But she does have a plan for her future. And as much as she finds herself attracted to her gruff, tough neighbor, she can’t risk telling him the secrets she’s hiding. There’s just too much at stake.

Driven to desire…

But Quinn must get closer to Sara when she turns out to be the target of his new missing persons case, and he discovers that there is something more complex and dangerous to her than he thought. Now, both Quinn and Sara will have to expose their true feelings—as well as their fragile hearts—if they hope their love will survive…

If you’d like to read more about my work, you can read an excerpt of BROKEN here at my site…and right now, if you buy BROKEN during release week, you can be entered to win a NOOK, the new ebook reader from Barnes and Noble.


Shiloh Walker
http://shilohwalker.com/
http://shilohwalker.wordpress.com/

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posted by Stacy~ at 3/04/2010 06:57:00 AM

6 Comments

  1. I agree-both the hero and heroine are important to the story. I really have to read Broken!! Wonderful question, and a great answer.

    by Blogger A Buckeye Girl Reads 7:13 AM, March 04, 2010 

  2. I a heroine girl, while I would prefer both to be strong and engaging characters, I can forgive a lot if the heroine rocks.

    Can't wait for this book to be delivered.
    Why is international mail so slow??

    by Blogger Edie 7:16 AM, March 04, 2010 

  3. Hi Shiloh
    For sure I want both characters to be equally strong but not necessarily the same strengths . They can have different strengths that compliment each other.
    Happy Release week.

    by Blogger Mary G 7:48 AM, March 04, 2010 

  4. I'm going to Borders today -- looks like I know what book I'm buying!

    by Blogger Danielle 8:26 AM, March 04, 2010 

  5. Thank you Shiloh. Hmmm. *thinks*

    Both. I need to be able to relate to the heroine. Not everything. Just something so that she feels real. And so that I can connect to her.

    by Blogger orannia 1:59 AM, March 05, 2010 

  6. Fantastic book, hon! If you ever want an author quote, you just let me know. I mean it!

    As for the heroine vs. the hero? You're so right, for me - they both have to work, or have the seeds for redemption sewn early when the hero is also the anti-hero. :)

    by Blogger Lucy Monroe 12:32 PM, March 06, 2010 

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