Today I’m participating in the Three Wishes Blog Blitz, hosted by author Juliet Madison! From 2nd to 6th September you’ll have the chance to win some awesome prizes at all the blogs participating in the blitz, including mine. All you have to do is follow my instructions below for winning the prize I have on offer, and then you can click over to Juliet’s blog to enter her prize draw, and see the list of all other blogs taking part and enter their giveaways as well. How cool is that? Why is it called the Three Wishes Blog Blitz? Juliet’s new  romantic comedy release, I Dream of Johnny, is about three wishes, a high-tech genie in a lamp, and one very unfortunate typo that proves magic isn’t all it cracked up to be…

geek |gēk|
noun informal
1 an unfashionable or socially inept person.
• [ usu. with modifier ] a knowledgeable and obsessive enthusiast: a computer geek.

Recently, I’m seeing more ‘geek’ heroes appearing in the romance genre and as a bit of a ‘geek’ myself I feel drawn to writing them too. Okay, so the heroes of my last two books are definitely not geeky. Keir from Soul Ties initially pretends to be a little nerdy but soon proves he isn’t (and the whole geek vs nerd debate is a different story…). Evan in Because of Lucy, well, he has a poetic side but I wouldn’t classify that as geek – and he certainly isn’t socially inept.

But Jack in Torn Souls (Soul Ties, #2) is an unashamed geek. The story begins with him gaming – and he studies computer science. Jack is socially inept apart from a close circle of friends, and his first date with Dahlia is cringeworthy and funny. I suppose his ‘geek-ness’ helps a little with accepting the urban fantasy world Dahlia pulls him into. As a character he has to move out of his comfort zone to grow, but his ‘geek’ nature never changes, even when everything else in his life does.  Who would’ve known my years of playing World of Warcraft would end up helping me write a romance novel? And to the guys I met playing the game – no, Jack isn’t based on any of you!

I worried about the reaction I might have from some romance readers with this type of hero but I think there’s a place for the Jacks of the romance world. Not all readers want the alpha male – and I think the light-heartedness which can come from having these heroes is also a reason they’re popular. When I researched this topic I was amazed at how many feature in erotica!

When I introduced Jack to my beta readers they loved him, and I enjoyed writing his awkwardness and humorous thought processes. The quote above is from Jack in Torn Souls (shortly after he discovers his girlfriend isn’t human and he’s not entirely sure what she is). Torn Souls is the second book in the Soul Ties series and will be available later this year (more details here).

So, I’m looking forward to meeting Juliet Madison’s new geek hero in I Dream of Johnny and definitely planning to write more of my own! What do you think? Do you like geek heroes? Do you have any favourites you recommend?

I’m currently running a Rafflecopter giveaway HERE to win a copy of my new release contemporary romance, Because of Lucy. Entries close 12pm Friday 6th September.

Once you’ve entered my giveaway, visit Juliet’s blog & enter her giveaway too, and visit any or all of the other participating blogs to enter more prize draws. You could potentially win a whole heap of prizes! Good luck! Visit the official Blog Blitz post here: http://julietmadison.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/3-wishes-blog-blitz-official-post/