Come visit me all month at THE ROMANCE CLUB where we're chatting about my latest release, the controversial The Master and the Muses, passion, heroes, heroines and more!!
Dear Reader,
So many romance books are based on heroes and heroines. I ask, you this—are they born or are they made? I do not profess to be the quintessential hero, indeed I see myself as an artist-poet. I admit to tendencies of self-absorption, a workaholic, as I you might call it today, rarely satisfied, my own worst critic and so too, my greatest fan. Just to be clear, I have been called many things. A man of my reputation is not going to go unnoticed. I don’t deny that some of those names have a measure of validity, while others I attribute to small thoughts from small minds. Do I let such opinions prevent me from sharing my talent with the world? What a tragedy that would be! No I have often considered that those who can find something to love in my…eccentric ways, will forever be welcome in my heart.
I have a weakness for women. I find the variety of beauty in the fairer sex a veritable garden of delights. Some may find that roguish, womanizing, I think they call it today, but I ask you can such devotion, such undying appreciation be something to disdain. I admit, I have loved more than one woman in my life—and for the record, beyond simply the carnal sense. But each one has taught me something about myself. Each has set her womanly mallet and chisels to this male persona, chipping away and leaving a work in progress—an offering that love and beauty has created. You may laugh and yet I cannot convey more deeply the profound influence that women have had in my life.
For example, Helen—sweet, innocent, but beneath carrying a fierce loyalty and hope, an unrequited love she carried so bravely inside of her. She taught me the truth of unconditional love, of never giving up hope and of staying true to your heart. Then, there was Sara—her determined spirit in a time when it was not fashionable for women to express them was both a thrill and a challenge to me. When I looked in her eyes, I saw glimpses of my reckless, adventuresome side. A fiery flash like a comet burning bright for a short time in my life, she knew what she wanted and would do what she needed to obtain it. Until the day she met the man who could give her everything without reserve. And there was Grace—my best friend in many ways, with benefits that we both abused. Straightforward, blunt, she never kept anything hidden, except her heart and the secret rules of life that she lived by. An intriguing, complicated combination would eventually be the pivotal point in our friendship.
As shadows and light are used to create depth on canvas, so too the dark and lighter aspects of my life have served to create who I am. Am I a villain or hero? I offer you a toast of my port and humbly defer with utter gratitude and admiration to the accounts of my three muses to answer that question. They looked at me for who I was--a poet-painter--and found something to love and for that, they will always be in my heart as I hope to be in yours.
Yours in beauty & art~
Thomas
Learn more about Thomas Helen , Sara and Grace at THE ROMANCE CLUB Blog and prizes each week! All the month of June!
