Guest Blogger - Elle Kennedy

I am so excited to welcome Elle Kennedy to the blog today! Not only is she a wonderful writer, but she's also a great friend and a fantastic critique partner. She's spent many hours helping me make my writing better. I'm thrilled to be able to share her success with everyone here. Please give Elle a warm Playground welcome!

First off, I wanted to thank the ladies of the Playground for letting me blog with them today! I’m proud to say I had the chance to read Kira’s debut Blaze and I can’t wait to get my hands on the final version! Kira in turn read a romantic suspense of mine, and actually, she was the one who suggested I submit it to Silhouette Intimate Moments, now SRS—and what do ya know? I sold it and now have my own debut coming out in April! Needless to say, I owe you, Ms. Instigator!

So today I’m going to admit to something: I sometimes forget fictional characters are, well, fictional. Yes, it’s a problem.

For example, the other day I was thinking about something someone had said, a flirty little comment, and I’m searching my brain trying to remember who said it. And I’m thinking, who was it?! I remember he was really hot and cute and funny…and wait, I’m thinking of Ben Barrett, the hero of my latest Samhain release, Midnight Encounters.

I’d like to say that I love my characters so much that they become real to me (which I do, and they do) and that’s why I develop crushes on them, but alas, I often crush on the heroes of some of my favourite authors. I blame my current fictional crushes on two authors.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips. This author has a problem—her characters are so darn real I can’t help but fall for them! At the moment, I have a thing for Dean Robillard from Natural Born Charmer. If you’ve read this story, you know why. Dean is a sexy, charming football quarterback. Rich, sexy, funny, smart, sexy, generous, kind, cocky…did I mention sexy?

It’s sad, how badly I wish this guy was real. I’ve read this story about eight times and I’m still not sick of it, all because of SEP’s ability to make her hero come alive and make me want, well, him.

My other current crush is on Mark Trevor, who’s appeared in two of Iris Johansen’s books, Blind Alley and Countdown. Now, a lot of people I know who have read this book did not like Trevor. I think they’re insane. So what if he’s kind of a jerk? So what if he’s arrogant and macho, a bit of an ass at times and somewhat of a criminal? Bad boys are my guilty pleasure, and although I know he’s not real, I wish he was, only so I could tame his bad boy heart….

Now, I know these characters are not real. I’m not delusional or anything. But I can’t help crushing on them, either. Like I said, it’s a problem.

So my question to everyone is: have you ever found yourself falling for a fictional hero? Crushing? Fantasizing? Are there any authors you love who provide unbelievably real heroes? And for the writers out there, have you ever fallen for your own heroes?

Oh, and I’ll be giving away a free download of Midnight Encounters to one commentator. The story features Ben Barrett, a sexy, charming movie star who I need to remind myself is not real!

Elle Kennedy

Thanks for visiting with us today, Elle! And don't forget to visit Elle at her blog www.sizzlingpens.blogspot.com. That's where I am today talking about my very first book signing coming up in San Francisco next week.