by Jessica James, guest blogger and author of Shades of Gray.

Thank you for letting me be part of your blog today to tell readers about my award-winning historical fiction novel Shades of Gray.  As some of you may know, Shades is a Civil War love story that has climbed to #1 on Amazon’s best-seller list in the romance/historical/U.S. category, which moved it (briefly) ahead of Gone With the Wind.

So, you may ask, what does the main character in Shades of Gray have in common with Rhett Butler that could push this debut novel past a beloved classic?

The first thing that comes to mind is that Colonel Alexander Hunter, like Rhett, is a bit of a rogue. Though neither of these leading men holds regular military positions (Rhett is a blockade runner and Hunter commands an independent regiment of Confederate ruffians), both men exemplify audacity, intrigue and intrepid courage. Hunter, like Rhett, is known for both his courage and his elusiveness, two qualities that tend to disarm opponents – and members of the opposite sex.

But I think the main thing that separates Colonel Hunter and Rhett Butler from other main characters is their mystique. In both Shades of Gray and Gone with the Wind, the reader is never quite sure what the man is thinking, and is never really certain what he will do. Throughout both books we are continually left guessing: Will he turn his back and walk away? Or will he stay and fight for the woman he loves? Wait a minute, does he even love her? He hasn’t really said so.

In Shades of Gray, it is obvious that Hunter is the type of man who will unselfishly sacrifice all for his country, but what will he do when faced with the fact that the woman he has promised his dying brother he will protect is the same person he has vowed to his men to destroy?

This mystery, this vagueness and secrecy, I think, keeps us hooked. Though both Rhett and Hunter have their flaws, we keep hoping they will redeem themselves, proving through their actions, if not their words, how romantic they are at heart. It is when they do finally express themselves that our hearts melt, because we know how hard it was for them to expose their souls.

There are main characters with every kind of personality trait imaginable, but I find myself drawn to those like Rhett, which is why I created Hunter. The strong, silent type will hook me every time. What kind of hero do you enjoy most?

Buy: Shades of Gray: A Novel of the Civil War in Virginia

Visit www.jessicajamesbooks.com.

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Categories:

Colonel, Guest Blogger, Historic America, J-L, United States of America, Wartime

Tags:

amazon, audacity, best seller list, blockade runner, civil war, Colonel, courage, debut novel, fiction novel, gone with the wind, historical fiction, intrigue, Jessica James, leading men, love story, military positions, mystique, ruffians, secrecy, shades of gray, vagueness