I love the idea of being swept away by a tall, dark handsome hero and so it seems does Victoria Cornwall, author of both The Thief’s Daughter and The Captain’s Daughter! Victoria has written a smashing guest post for Linda’s Book Bag today all about The Perfect Hero and I think I agree with every word she says!

The Captain’s Daughter was published on 3rd October 2017 by Choc Lit and Is available for purchase here. The Thief’s Daughter is available here.

The Captain’s Daughter

Sometimes you need to discover your own strength in order to survive …

After a family tragedy, Janey Carhart was forced from her comfortable life as a captain’s daughter into domestic service. Determined to make something of herself, Janey eventually finds work as a lady’s maid at the imposing Bosvenna Manor on the edge of Bodmin Moor, but is soon caught between the two worlds of upstairs and downstairs, and accepted by neither, as she cares for her mistress.

Desperately lonely, Janey catches the attention of two men – James Brockenshaw and Daniel Kellow. James is heir to the Bosvenna estate, a man whose eloquent letters to his mother warm Janey’s heart. Daniel Kellow is a neighbouring farmer with a dark past and a brooding nature, yet with a magnetism that disturbs Janey. Two men. Who should she choose? Or will fate decide.

The Thief’s Daughter

Hide from the thief-taker, for if he finds you, he will take you away …
Eighteenth-century Cornwall is crippled by debt and poverty, while the gibbet casts a shadow of fear over the land. Yet, when night falls, free traders swarm onto the beaches and smuggling prospers.

Terrified by a thief-taker’s warning as a child, Jenna has resolved to be good. When her brother, Silas, asks for her help to pay his creditors, Jenna feels unable to refuse and finds herself entering the dangerous world of the smuggling trade.

Jack Penhale hunts down the smuggling gangs in revenge for his father’s death. Drawn to Jenna at a hiring fayre, they discover their lives are entangled. But as Jenna struggles to decide where her allegiances lie, the worlds of justice and crime collide, leading to danger and heartache for all concerned.

The Perfect Hero

A Guest Post by Victoria Cornwall

It’s tough being the perfect hero, just ask any man. The modern man walks an obstacle course made of unspoken rules and expectations which they are continually trying to figure out. These can change daily, depending on the subject, situation, or the woman they are trying to impress. One day taking control is interpreted as a strong male characteristic, on another it’s considered domineering behaviour. Taking a back seat can be viewed as allowing the woman to have control or it could be viewed as disinterest on his part. Is he the strong and silent type or emotionally distant? Has he the confidence to show his vulnerability or is he just plain weak? The only time a man can be assured of being the hero is when they remove a spider … but only if they are asked to do it. Then they can confidently sweep in, capture the hairy monster, show any witnesses present just how monstrous it is, before releasing it into the wild. The man in your life wants to be your hero, he just isn’t always sure what sort of hero you want.

Creating the ideal hero in fiction has the same pitfalls as each reader has their own idea of what he is like. The type of hero may differ depending on what is going on in the reader’s life at the time. Swing too much one way and you lose the reader’s affection, swing too much the other and you lose the reader’s respect.

When I wrote The Thief’s Daughter, I wanted the hero, Jack Penhale, to have all the good qualities of Ross Poldark, the dark brooding looks, the bravery, the tricorn hat that casts a shadow across his handsome face and his capacity to love deeply … so deeply that it dictates his behaviour in a way that may not necessarily be wise. As an antidote to the dangerous situations he finds himself in, I wanted Jack to show a softer side too, without appearing weak. He only shows this side to the woman he falls in love with. I decided to show this side of him through flashes of humour and his occasional, affectionate teasing of Jenna, the heroine. These exchanges mark their relationship as different from the very beginning, for she has already drawn out a side to him he rarely shows to anyone else. Readers may vary in their ideal hero’s looks, characteristics or ability to make sound judgements, but I’m sure that most readers would agree with me that by the end of the book the hero must love the heroine so deeply, it is to the exclusion of all others.

The hero in The Captain’s Daughter is a very special man. I defy anyone not to fall in love with him just a little bit. He is not a man for fancy words and he does not have the skill to charm, but he speaks the truth and his love for the heroine is enduring. He is a man who rarely shows his feelings, yet the love he feels for the heroine is enough to have the power to break his heart if he let it. He is one of the strongest heroes I have ever written and I adore him.

About Victoria Cornwall

Victoria Cornwall grew up on a farm in Cornwall. She can trace her Cornish roots as far back as the 18th century and it is this background and heritage which is the inspiration for her Cornish based novels.

Victoria is married and has two grown up children. She likes to read and write historical fiction with a strong background story, but at its heart is the unmistakable emotion, even pain, of loving someone.

Following a fulfilling twenty-five year career as a nurse, a change in profession finally allowed her the time to write. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

You can find out more by following Victoria on Twitter @VickieCornwall, by finding her on Facebook and visiting her website.