2003 Scarlet Boa Contest: Introducing the Hero

INTRODUCING THE HERO. At a certain stage in every book we meet the hero. Some fly in like swashbucklers amidst action, others are way cooler customers. Regardless how they arrive, they all make an impact. How about a competition where we get to meet/see the sexy men for the first time? Very often the reader recognizes the hero at his first entrance simply because the author trots out all the traditional and well-known codes for a powerful and physically attractive male. One says to oneself, "okay, this is the first bloke we have encountered in this book who is 6'2", in his thirties, with black hair and piercing grey eyes, runs several lucrative companies and is a brilliant athlete in his spare time - bingo! He must be the hero!"

The thing can be done a lot more subtly and intriguingly. The hero may be introduced, misleadingly, as a threatening character, or one of dubious morals; he may not be tall, dark and handsome. He may be, so to speak, in disguise. There are some very good examples in modern romance, too many to mention, but you all know what I mean. If that initial introduction is written well, the reader (and the heroine too, needless to say) will instantly be intrigued by him and drawn to him, however unsuitable he may seem. There will be a sub-text there that says, "we need to learn more about this man"...

In this year's Scarlet Boa contest, you'll use your scene to introduce your hero...

The Scarlet Boa contest is open to published and non-published authors alike. Click here to submit your entry (approximately 500 words) - As we gather submissions, we'll post links to them below. We'll accept submissions until September 30th.

So who's going to judge this thing? You are! Scenes will be judged by readers - who knows better what makes them tingle?

The author of the winning scene will receive (apart from kudos, bragging rights and press coverage) the coveted Scarlet Boa, a gorgeous red feather boa that will simply scream "I write Romance!" (well, it will scream something). And since we can't leave out the judges, one lucky voter's name will be drawn at random and they'll receive a sumptious white boa to wear while reading their new romance novels.

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2003 Scarlet Boa Contest: Finalists