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I’m in the middle of writing my new Regency ‘Disgraced Lord’s’ series. It’s a six book series with an overarching villain. Each book has the hero being thrown out of England for a crime they supposedly committed. Some are guilty, other’s are not.

When planning the series I had such fun picking my heroes. They all went through school and on to Oxford together, becoming very good friends.  All six are highly intelligent, and of course devilishly handsome. Their scholarly and rakish behaviour earned them the nickname – Libertine Scholars.

These are my six heroes:

1. Christian Markham, the Marquis of Trent – wounded war hero, the gorgeous rake who is faced with confronting who he is, now that he’s been badly burned at Waterloo.  He reminds me of Mel Gibson’s character in The Man Without a Face. A man whose world has been turned upside down as he struggles for a new identity. He can no longer use his beauty to glide through life. He has to look deeper inside himself and find out what’s at the core of him as a man. What can he find within himself to make his way in the world?

2. Marcus Hawkestone, the Earl of Coldhurst – is a very popular and handsome rake who has the ability to understand and empathize with people. He notices seemingly insignificant details about them and their lives, and easily gets inside people’s heads.  He’s able to draw conclusions from them and use the information to his own advantage – especially where woman are concerned. He’s the ultimate seducer. A bit like Jake Gyllenhaal’s character in Love, Drugs, and other Things.

3. Grayson Devlin, Viscount Blackmarch – A big, gorgeous rake with a heart of gold. The man who tries to look tough on the outside but is, in fact, marshmallow inside. He’d do anything for anyone and fiercely protects those he loves with his life. He reminds me of Stefan Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. Silent and intense.

4. Maitland Spencer, the Duke of Lyttelton – he’s a masculine version of Temperance Brennan from Bones. He’s a mathematical genius, making him England’s most successful card player. But he is deemed cold and distant, emotionally withdrawn, and due to his intelligence he has trouble connecting with people.

5. Hadley Fullerton, younger brother of the Duke of Claymore – he has, what we term in the Regency period ‘the spare’ syndrome.  His only role in life is to be ready to step up if anything should happen to his elder brother. He has little if any self-worth and does everything he can to put himself in harm’s way.  Danger is his middle name. He sees no purpose to his life, so doesn’t value it. Like Christopher Chance in Human Target.

6. Arend Aubury, Baron Labourd – a French exile with a huge chip on his shoulder. His family fled France in 1789 during the revolution and they lost their estates and wealth. Upon reaching manhood, he’s not had the luxury to be the playboy rake. He had to work hard to restore his family’s wealth and standing in England. He’s serious and determined. He still doesn’t feel accepted here, and with the war with Napoleon, feels like an outsider in the country he’s spent most of his life in. He longs for acceptance. I’ve pictured Olivier Martinez for this character.

So, what do you think? Can I turn these six men into hero material? Can you see what type of heroine would be good for each of them?

Pick one of the men and tell me the name of a heroine – from a book, TV or Movie – that will help him become the hero I know he can be.

One commenter will win a signed copy of Invitation to Ruin. I’ll draw the winner on 5th August 2011.