Tips to Treasure with Jody Hedlund

Well, after gushing about the hero in Jody Hedlund's newest release, A Noble Groom, I thought it might be worthwhile to ask her some hero questions. Without a doubt, Jody's most recent historical romance goes on my keeper shelf for repeat-reading-purposes.

Let's see what Jody has to say about heroes.

Who has been one of your favorite heroes to read?

Recently, one of my favorite heroes was Bo from Becky Wade's Undeniably Yours. Not only was Bo a strong, handsome, Texan cowboy, but he's sweet, considerate, and protective of Meg (the heroine). More than that, I really liked his integrity, his desire to do the right thing even though that meant he had to sacrifice his personal desires.

Sacrifice keeps coming up at a hero trait! Hmm, there's a reason why we call rescue workers 'heroes'. They are willing to make sacrifices. The ultimate hero is willing to sacrifice (Jesus is our ultimate example)

Who has been your favorite hero to write?

I think that I fall in love with each of my heroes every time that I write a book! But I'd have to say that one of my all time favorites has been Carl from A Noble Groom.

I'd DEFINITELY agree with you here, Jody!

And WHY was he your favorite to write?

I love heroes who are slightly humorous (or at least can laugh at themselves). And even though I was continually throwing Carl into difficult situations, he was the kind of hero who didn't take things too seriously. He could bumble through learning how to work on the farm, make mistakes, and still keep smiling.

I also love heroes who are tender with children–that makes them even more heroic in my mind. And Carl stood out from the other men in his culture in that he wasn't too manly to hold a baby or give pony-rides to toddlers.

Finally, I love heroes who are self-sacrificial. Carl was willing to give up his own plans to teach in order to stay and help Annalisa. He was even willing to give up all of his money to help pay off the loan on her farm. And in the end, he was still thinking about her when he bought her a new crock and filled it with his invention money.

Oh my! YES! You just listed my top THREE hero qualities.

1. Self-sacrificial

2. Tender/Gentle

3. Funny

No wonder I liked Carl so much! :-)

So AlleyPals, lets hear from you. Have you made the hero in your WIP self- sacrificing? What is something he sacrifices? How does this influence your story? (You guys go ahead and discuss this while I continue to stare at the cover of Jody's book)