Why he's โฃ๏ธ MORE than "a beautiful piece of frivolity"


Hi Reader!

I read a LOT of romance books. And sometimes there's a hero who just. won't. get out. of my brain. ๐Ÿ˜…

Illium from Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series is one of those heroes.

I first started reading that series over 15 years ago, and I still think of him at totally random times.

It is downright weird. Because the angel Illium is not even the hero of most Guild Hunter stories.

Yes, yes, he finally got his ascension bookโ€”check out the fab cover hereโ€”and I loved it (and cried for two days).

โšก But my addiction to this hero goes WAY deeper than power.

I explain why he's so damn magnetic in this article: ๐Ÿ‘‡

๐Ÿ‘€ Read: Why some heroes entertain you and others wreck you ๐Ÿ–ฑ๏ธ

In an early Guild Hunter book, the narrative itself called Illium "a beautiful piece of frivolity". But he is steel beneath the shine. And he intentionally developed his ๐ŸŒž sunny persona over hundreds of years.

If you've listened to my Episode 13 podcast "Your Hero's Best Trait Might Be Their Biggest Lie" (click here and scroll down here to listen), you know about the 4 different types of self-protection our heroes use.

And in that podcast โ˜๏ธ, I shared two examples of what Flair looks like in a romance hero (and in a real person, me! โ˜บ๏ธ).

In today's article, I go even deeper.

โฃ๏ธ Because there's a reason your hero might NOT be taking up space in your readers' brains for years afterward.

I'm sharing WHY + HOW to diagnose your hero's addictability quotient here.

โšก Pair the exercise in this article with this month's E2E exercise!

Read the article, then visit your monthly modules in Enemies to Experts here:

๐Ÿ‘€โšก๐Ÿ‘‡

โ€‹โ€‹Read the article here!

โ˜๏ธ๐Ÿ’กโฃ๏ธ

๐Ÿ’–

Sue Brown-Moore

Story Coach & Developmental Editor for Romance Writers

โ€‹Website | Instagram | Facebookโ€‹

โ€‹

P.S. Story Sorcery podcast episode 13 goes deeper into all four Augmentation types, plus I share my own Augmentation story (Armor โžก๏ธ Mask โžก๏ธ Flair, it's a whole dramatic journey ๐Ÿ˜…). You can listen to the podcast right inside today's article ๐ŸŽง.


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Sue Brown-Moore

The heart of your story is in the hero's growth as a person. Learn how to start plotting the RIGHT story from your very first draft by digging deep into WHAT is holding your protagonist back and WHY they choose to become their best self. Sue's techniques break down storytelling in simple, intuitive ways that traditional writing methods often muddy. Stop wasting time spinning your creative wheels and start writing stories readers will remember... WITHOUT having to rewrite the story a million times.

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