~Guest Post~ Heroic Attributes

What characteristics do you consider essential for the perfect hero? Please welcome guest blogger Rachel Rossano as she discusses the heroic attributes she feels are the most important. 

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Fictional heroes come in many shapes, sizes, and personalities. Some are easy to love while others we love to hate. While writing Duty, I spent some time mulling over some of the characteristics I find attractive about my favorite heroes in fiction. Here are a few of them. 

Strength - Not the rippling muscle kind of strength, though that is nice in a hero, I am referring to strength of character. A good hero is a man of morals and steadfastness. Before you start protesting that these attributes might make him a bit boring, consider what he would be without them. A character who doesn’t value ethics and a code of right and wrong cannot be relied upon to be faithful. 

Confidence - Decisiveness and a sense of self-reliance are two great characteristics in a hero. Following the story of a man who has confidence in his own abilities usually converts into a fast paced plot. Such men are not typically prone to waiting for someone else to save them. They also tend to actively participate in the course of their own story. They take control. They act. Whether a cerebral professor or a well-trained man of action, the hero needs to be confident in his ability to make decisions. 

Conscience - To balance the decisive nature of our hero, he needs to have a strong conscience. He considers the repercussions of his actions, both to himself and others. He should be willing to admit he made a mistake when something doesn’t go as he expects. When someone gets hurt, he tries to help. 

Selflessness - In this world of self-centered people, those who live for others stand apart. Genuine caring toward someone other than himself can be a good sign that he will be a good husband for the heroine. Without at least some measure of selflessness, the hero will expect the heroine to cater to his every whim without accounting for her needs. Hardly a happily ever after we dream of for her. 

Tomas Dyrease, the hero of Duty, stands at a turning point. His whole life has been devoted to obedience and loyalty to one man, first his liege lord and now his king. This same man now demands something Tomas is not certain he can give. Torn between his marriage vows and his loyalty oath, Tomas must choose which to honor. 

What would you consider the most important attribute of a hero?

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About the book:

Brielle Solarius struggles to keep her village from starvation. The men rode off to war and never returned. The remaining women and children face a winter of starvation if they do not find a solution soon.

Tomas Dyrease, the newly made Earl of Irvaine and the village of Wisenvale, owes his good fortune to his king. When that same king demands Tomas marry the impoverished daughter of the late Lord Wisten, he obeys. However, no one warned him that she wasn’t a typical noblewoman.

Duty: a novel of Rhynan follows their journey from strangers to friends as they face complications from their pasts and the shaky politics of a changing regime. Then Brielle is implicated in her cousin’s treasonous activities. Can a marriage of duty survive treason?

Get Duty from Amazon HERE or from Smashwords HERE.


About the author:
Author of a growing stack of novels, novellas, and short stories, Rachel Rossano balances her time between the chaos of raising and homeschooling her three children and the world of drama and high adventure in her head. With her faithful husband and chief consulting editor by her side, she dreams of many more adventures to come in both of her double lives.

Rachel's online presence:
Blog ~ http://rachel-rossano.blogspot.com/
Website ~ http://anavrea.webs.com/
Twitter ~ http://twitter.com/RachelRossano
Facebook ~ http://www.facebook.com/RachelRossanoRambles
YouTube ~ http://www.youtube.com/anavrea

*Top image "The Knight" clipped from Chivalry by Léon Gautier, 1891. Google eBook HERE.