This is the start of Hero Tuesdays for the month of July.
As most of you know I write predominantly Scottish Highlander stories. My writing career drifted that way after I wrote The Irish Devil. And while I love my Highlanders, I also miss writing about heroes based in other locales. That’s why I enjoyed writing western romances. I could move my heroes all around the country and place them in different settings and various times in history.
My western heroes challenged me in different ways than my Highlander heroes and for a writer throwing change into the mix is good. So for the next four Tuesdays I’m going to be talking about my western heroes. How they came about and why—to me—they’re heroes.
Today I’m going to start with Sebastian Blood, otherwise known as the Dragon, in San Francisco Surrender. You never forget your first love or your first hero and that’s Sebastian Blood. He’s strong and demanding yet has a caring heart. He’s thought uncivil by acceptable society, though they seek him out, especially the ladies. And he scandalously sports a tattoo. He has his own code of ethics that he lives by and people be damned if they don’t like it.
I was looking for a hero that had a different upbringing for the time period (1870s). So I gave him a unique background. When he was a young boy, his father took him to live in Japan, a yet uncharted land. And he had to have a tattoo of a dragon since I had a title Dragon’s Lady, which I didn’t get to keep. Sebastian Blood began to emerge and I was fascinated by how his time in Japan forged him into the strong, commanding man he became. He was taught how to use his hands instead of a weapon and since little was known in America about karate at that time, he was a rarity and few could defend themselves against him.
That’s why it took a pint-sized woman to defeat the Dragon and get herself into a whole lot of trouble. But I must say the scene in Hades Saloon where Vic gets drunk, no fault of her own, or maybe not, was one of the most enjoyable and funny scenes between a hero and heroine I’ve ever written. Sebastian certainly had patience that day.
He’s a hero that surprised me at every turn in the book. Though an imposing man, his tenderness and caring knew no bounds and he gave generously of his love.
Oh, and you don’t want to miss the scene with the orange slices in the book when Victoria attempts to seduce the Dragon and both get more than they bargained for.
As I said Sebastian Blood is my first love and he’s unforgettable.
If you haven’t read San Francisco Surrender you can get at Kindle, Nook, or Smashwords.
