Today bestselling author Carly Phillips is back to talk about Nash Barron, the very imperfect hero of her latest release, Destiny, book two in the Serendipity series. We met Nash in the first book and I have to tell you, I didn’t love him. He’d won me over by the end of the book, though.
___________________
The Imperfect Hero
Sometimes writers put words on the page in total oblivion – and sometimes that’s a good thing. Case in point: When I wrote Nash’s story, Destiny, I had no idea how readers would react to his character in the first story, Serendipity. Looking back, it’s a good thing I didn’t know! As it turns out, many readers had a tough time related to him. They fell in love with Ethan, Serendipity’s hero, and they hated Nash for how they treated his older brother who only wanted to make amends. Except as the author, I didn’t feel this way. I thought Nash’s feelings were perfectly justified in Serendipity – of course I was privy to what went on in his head and readers were not. So I wrote Destiny long before Serendipity was released to readers and I had no clue how strongly people would react to Nash Barron.
I’m glad or I might have frozen while writing his story!
Don’t worry – I knew Nash had flaws when I wrote him – it’s just that I understood why he had those imperfections and how they developed over time. In Destiny, I made sure the reader understood as well. That’s what it takes to create “The Imperfect Hero.” I think what makes all readers react strongly to a character (good or bad) are character traits we can either relate to or hate/get angry at. In Nash’s case, people got angry.
Nash sees the world in black and white. In his mind, it’s simple: Ethan abandoned his brothers when he was 18 and didn’t return for 10 years. The brothers went to separate foster homes and it was all Ethan’s fault. In truth, there was a lot of blame to go around. What Nash learns throughout Destiny rocks his world. Things he thought were true about his family and his relationships, weren’t. People he thought he could trust lied to him. And their reasons stem back to the intractability in his nature.
And that’s how I created Nash, the imperfect hero. By making Nash so hard headed and intractable in Serendipity, he had a long way to go before he could truly be loved and love himself in Destiny.
I hope you’ll take a trip to the small town of Serendipity in Destiny, visit the characters and take Nash’s journey along with him! While there, you’ll also meet Kelly Moss, another “flawed” character. But sometimes, it’s our flaws that let us develop and grow. And it’s our flaws that define us and in the end, make us even more loveable.
If you read Serendipity, did you have problems with Nash’s character? If you haven’t, are there any flawed characters in other novels that stand out for you? Characters you ended up falling in love with despite themselves?
N.Y. Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carly Phillips has written over 30 romance novels with contemporary characters that today’s readers identify with and enjoy. She’s a writer, a knitter of sorts, a wife, and a mom to two daughters (15 and almost 20!) and two crazy dogs (a 1 year old Havanese named Brady and a 4 year old wheaten terrier named Bailey). In addition, she’s a Twitter and Internet junkie and is always around to interact with her readers.
Carly lives in Purchase, New York and would love for you to like and follow her on the ‘Net!
Find Carly on the web:
Carly’s Website – www.carlyphillips.com
Carly on Twitter – www.twitter.com/carlyphillips
Carly on Facebook – www.facebook.com/carlyphillipsfanpage
_____________________________
Want to read Destiny so you can form your own opinion of Nash? Leave a comment on this post answering Carly’s question from above for a chance to win a copy of Destiny. Contest ends Sunday, January 8th. Please note: you must include a valid email address with your comment to be eligible.
The series:
This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
I did not have a problem with Nash. He was hurt from the past. He blamed his brother. I believe with the help of a loving woman, he will overcome his anger. I loved Serendipity. I love reformed bad boys. Well, not too reformed! Thanks for the giveaway.
I have not had a chance to read Serendipity but I adore a reformed hero romance. My all time favorite Lisa Kleypas’ Sebastian in a Devil in winter!!
I like Nathan but dont love him yet. But i dont blame him for not liking his brother. He does feel abandoned!!
I didn’t have a problem with Nash. He felt that he was abandoned. I also assumed we didn’t get his entire backstory in Serendipity. With Destiny, I hope he learns to forgive his brother and see things more objectively.
I haven’t read Serendipity yet. The character that came to mind was Sam Starrett in Suzanne Brockmann’s SEAL series – took him a while to grow up in his personal like.
sallans d at yahoo dot com
I didn’t love Nash in Serendipity, but I thought he was okay. He’s obviously been wounded in a prior relationship, so there’s quite a bit more for us to learn about him. I’m looking forward to Destiny. Thanks for the giveaway.
mochfly(at)swbell(dot)net
Thanks for the post and giveaway. Haven’t had a chance to read this series although I’d like to 🙂
Recently I read Anne Stuart’s house of rohan series and her heros were bad to the almost unredeemable point. They reformed by the skin of their teeth.
efender1(at)flail(dot)com
I have not read SERENDIPITY yet. I do adore an imperfect hero though. I love watching them struggle & grow & become amazing heroes.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Would love to win Destiny. Serendipity is on my tbr.
Cannot of a character that I disliked and then wound up liking him.
patoct@yahoo.com
It’s always nice to think that people won’t hold grudges, but that’s not realistic. I liked the fact that Nash was not quick to just forgive and forget. It made the whole story more real.
Jen(at)delux(dot)com
to be honest, i never read any of carly’s books before ^_^; to answer the question, i never had any problems with the characters in every books i read. i always kept an open mind, n try to know each characters background so i can’t understand why they do things that they do.
sienny (smile_1773@yahoo.com)
I quite like Nash. I think it’s more believable that he doesn’t forgive immediately. It’s not that easy in real lif either. I hope he will make a great hero. I love reformed bad boys!
claudigc at msn dot com
I haven’t read Serendipity, but I find it hard to deal with someone who only sees in black and white, there are shades of grey and others will have different perspectives.
Max Savoie from Nancy Gideon’s series was raised to be an assassin and he’s also very emotionally fragile and out of touch with what is socially acceptable. That’s a hard person to deal with.
acm05atjuno.com
I have not read Serendity. I do like flawed heroes. You always are hoping they can be redeemed.
Crystal816[at]hotmail[dot]com
I have not read Serendipity yet and I really cannot think of a flawed character that I did not like but grew to love.
Helen L.
gmapeony@yahoo.com
Oops. I forgot to leave an email address.
penfield716(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
I didn’t have a problem with Nash. He felt abandoned and doesn’t forgive easily. Most of the time flawed characters can be redeemed.
e.balinski(at)att(dot)net
Thanks for the giveaway. Look forward to reading them.
djewell@neb.rr.com