Guest Blog: Blind Heat by Nara Malone

Heroine’s  Journey

When we dream up a fantasy man we’re inclined to a hero who rescues us– slays the dragons, fights the duals, shows up just in time to save us from the villain. And that’s fine, but what you get with a story like that is a hero who grows while the heroine watches. I like stories that go more like the one below:

This is what I wanted: a hero

Someone to help me put out the little fires that crop up around a life
 I got: you

teaching me arson
fueling flames that licked my skin
singed my ideals
consumed and scattered them like glowing embers across a sooty sky.
 This is what I wanted: a warrior

Someone on my side
Someone at my back through life’s battles.
 I got: you

teaching me to sow conflict
to beat the plowshare to sword
to embrace its glittering blade
as a woman sheathes her lover
turning submission to power
 This is what I wanted: a savior

someone to pull me up
when life overwhelmed
someone to keep me afloat
when I was too tired to go on
 I got: tossed overboard

dropped in the sea of cast off dreams
left to sink or to claw my way back
from the shipwreck
of all I dreamed you’d be
 This is what I wanted: you to be my hero
 I got: the hero in me

~~~
In my newest novel, Blind Heat, Marcus is a the hero his people look up to, a shape shifter with abilities so far beyond what they imagine, that he doesn’t dare reveal all he can do. He’s a millennial being, wisest of all Pantherians. When he finally falls in love it’s with a girl in trouble, a girl who doesn’t recognize him for the super hero kind of guy he is. And while he is the definition of a rescuer, was rescuing a helpless creature when he met her, his impressive powers always seem to run amuck when it comes to helping Allie. Despite his best efforts, the best he can do is help Allie discover her inner-hero.  Allie’s inner-hero gets quite a workout.
I love a strong heroine, because the end she meets the hero on level ground–not , oh-so-grateful because he saved her, but as an equal who can rescue him if need be. They can step into a future where each knows they can count on the other to have their back, no matter what kind of dragons they’ll encounter along the way.

Blind Heat By Nara MaloneBook two in the Pantherian Passions series. 

Blurb: Allie is determined to build an ordinary life. To survive, she needs to be the sort of woman no one notices. She has a generic job, lives in a generic apartment, and thinks maybe one day she’ll find an ordinary Joe who wants an average Jane sort of woman. 

Giveaway: International E-copy of Tiger’s Tale, first book in this great series!