Please welcome May Williams with a Guest Post for us today !!
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Finding
Heroes in Everyday Life
When I create
heroes for my romance novels, I like them to be real guys. Men you might
actually know. Sure, they need to possess alpha qualities since no one wants a
wimpy hero, but they need to have elements of the guy next door. Consequently, I’m
always on the lookout for heroes, and I live in a fortunate location for hero
watching. From my front porch, I have an excellent view of my local police and
fire stations. I spend the nicer months of the year watching how my local
emergency personnel walk, joke around with each other, swing into moving
vehicles with turnout gear on, peel out of the station on the way to a call,
and cook dinner on the beat up grill next to the fire station. Bits and pieces
of these men have formed characteristics of my heroes.( I hope they never
realize why I’m out on my porch so much with a notebook.)
Recently, I
found material for a different kind of hero from the porch. On a beautiful
Saturday when I was settling into my Adirondacks chair to write this blog (and
keep an eye on the basketball game at the fire station), I noticed an
extraordinary quantity of insects in my front yard. We live near a body of
water that spawns some irritating but harmless flying bugs so at first I didn’t
pay much attention. Then the steady drone of bees caught my ear. I followed the
flight of several bees to a quivering cluster of honeybees the size of a
basketball on my ornamental plum tree. After watching in fascination (and
telling the kids to stay far away), I pondered what to do.
Like a rational
adult, I called my parents. My parents always seem to know the right people.
Sure enough, my dad made a call and within an hour, the beekeeper (we’ll call
him Jim) appeared at my house suited up in sturdy white fabric and screening.
Gently, he moved the mass of bees into a wooden box and stood by while the stragglers
made their way into the box to join the queen. Since he was a talker (and I’m a
professional listener and observer), I got a thorough lesson on the art of
beekeeping.
Late that night,
Jim returned to collect his prize by light of flashlight. After herding in a
few bees who lingered on the outside of the box, Jim secured the box with duct
tape and stowed it in his car (in his car!) to drive home. He pulled out of my
driveway still fully suited up in beekeeping gear in case any of the bees
escaped the box and flew around in the car’s interior.
Jim was my hero
that day. He responded quickly, saved me from the peril of the bees, and gave
me tons of information about beekeeping. Everyday heroes doing what they do.
Now, Jim’s on the other side of sixty so he won’t directly make an appearance
as a hero in one of my books, but he’ll be the prototype. He’ll evolve into the beekeeper who gets
called to an old house where my heroine (maybe a young widow with a son) has
bees in the walls. Or maybe she’s not a widow, but inherited the family farm
and is trying to revitalize it, but the bees keep causing her problems. Or the
fictional Jim might be teaching a class on beekeeping which my heroine takes
and gets lots of private instruction on the uses of honey.
You get the
idea. The possibilities are nearly endless, but one way or the other, everyday
men make great heroes.
* * *
Raising Her Hopes
May Williams
A Historical
Victorian Romance
Turquoise Morning
Press Vintage
When Sidney White arrives in England, he seems like the perfect man for
Belinda Ferguson.
She wants to love him, but first she must overcome her past before she
is free to raise her hopes.
Sidney Ferguson has one objective
when he arrives in Bath, England. He plans to leave his daughter with relatives
before returning to the United States to embark on a dangerous mission for the
Union Army.
An encounter
with the beautiful Belinda Ferguson strikes like lightning at his heart, but
she doesn’t give her love or attention freely. Belinda’s past makes her
cautious about placing her trust, especially in a man who must leave her to
complete his task.
Despite the separation his work requires,
Sidney convinces her to risk loving him and she dares to raise her hopes.
Buy Links: Turquoise
Morning Press Amazon B&N ARe
Excerpt:
Belinda
barely made it twenty paces outside the Hazel’s door when Sidney came alongside
her and fell into step. He didn’t reach for her arm as she expected, but he was
close enough that they bumped shoulders.
“I believe
it was my job to see you home this evening,” he said as they crossed the center
of the square.
“You’re
undoing years worth of work on my part.” She tried for a light, breezy tone as
if his presence were entirely superfluous.
“How so?”
“I’d finally
convinced Benjamin that I didn’t need an escort. After you return to the States,
I’m sure he’ll go back to walking me home and I shall have to start all over
again.”
“My
apologies, but there’s an obvious difference between his intentions and mine.”
“Is there?”
she questioned. “The walk is the same.”
“I’m sure
Benjamin does not wish to kiss you as I do.”
“Mr. White.”
She stopped in the glow of a street light and faced him, trying to formulate a
firm rebuff and control her rapidly beating pulse.
“Please,
will you call me Sidney?”
“No, I don’t
think I shall. You may turn back now. I can see my gate.” She resumed walking.
Any man of sense would cease following her.
“Do you
dismiss Mr. Barth in the same way? Or is he allowed a kiss and entrance past
your door?”
“My
relationship with Mr. Barth is not your concern. Please leave me or I shall
have to assume Benjamin’s ill opinion of you is correct and my hasty judgment a
few nights ago was erroneous.” She tried for a haughty tone to use as a weapon
against him, but as usual it failed her. Being too nice could be a curse at
times. “Perhaps you are a rogue after all,” she finished, slightly breathless,
with one hand on her gate and the other held out in a gesture meant to stop
him.
Brushing by
her upraised hand, he closed the distance between them. “I hate the thought of
proving my brother-in-law correct,” he put a finger under her chin and tipped
her face up, “but some things are worth the risk.”
His lips
were soft, yet demanding, as they met hers. She wanted to resist, to seal her
lips tight, but the stirring of passion she felt in him under the controlled
surface matched hers. When his arms circled her, she placed her hands on his
lapels not to push him back, but to touch him, to have the impression of his
strength on her fingers.
He broke the
kiss she’d been unable and unwilling to resist and mercifully stayed silent
while her world righted itself. No man other than Heath had ever kissed her,
held her like this. She’d evaded Mr. Barth and he was too nice to press her.
This man was different. He had no fear of demanding what he wanted. She had
every fear of giving in to his demands.
“Goodnight,
Belinda,” he whispered close to her ear.
About the Author:
May loves romance. Big pink roses,
chocolate hearts, sunset walks, but, most of all, she loves romance novels.
She’s been reading romances since she first discovered the public library where
the librarians didn't notice or didn't care what she was checking out even
though she hadn't hit puberty yet.
Since then,
May has continued to read every genre of romance, but she writes mostly
historical. Places and time periods have stories to tell. And she likes to
listen. Her most recent novels are Victorian era pieces where she can imagine
beautiful gowns and elegant teas.
When May’s
not writing, she manages a houseful of children, pets, and flowers grown in her
garden.
Links:
Website: www.maywilliams.com
Twitter:
@maywilliams2
Giveaway: $15 Amazon Gift Card
Thanks for hosting me today. Hope everyone has a lovely Monday!
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