Monday, April 14, 2008

Hot Hero Hunt begins!

As authors, we love finding inspiration for our characters, particularly our heroes.
There's nothing quite like researching a book before you begin, finding that perfect picture/expression/gorgeous guy to inspire your writing.

Interestingly, the same sexy guys keep popping up: Hugh Jackman, George Clooney, Wentworth Miller, among quite a few other popular actors/sportsmen/models. Now don't get me wrong, my hero file is bulging with pics and I've even cast my hero for my next book before finishing the current one.

But in my opinion you can never get too much of a good thing and seeing the same handsome faces crop up time and time again got me thinking...

I want to discover some new talent and that's where you come in!

Every day this week, I'd like you to come up with someone different.
Maybe a guy less known, less famous? Or someone famous most of us haven't heard of? Your choice!

I'll be choosing a winner daily and posting his pic here.

Whoever suggests that winner will be receiving 3 books: my 2 recent releases PURCHASED FOR PLEASURE (that Wentworth inspired!), EXECUTIVE MOTHER-TO-BE and my 07 Romance release, PRINCESS AUSTRALIA.If the winner has any of those books, they're welcome to choose a copy of another from my backlist.

So that's a chance to win 3 books, daily, for a week!

All you need to do is leave a comment suggesting your hot hero, preferably with a link so I can check him out, and that's it!

I'll post the winner from the previous day at midday Aussie time, to give everyone over-yonder-seas a chance too.

I'm sure it's going to be an arduous judging task for me but hey, somebody's gotta do it :)

46 comments:

Anna Campbell said...

Hey, I'm first, how cool! Does that mean I DEFINIITELY get a prize, Miss Nic? I have physical types that I use as the prototype for my heroes, although by the end of the book, the character has always become so much an individual to me, the prototype doesn't matter so much. My fave at the moment is Richard Armitage who was heartbreakingly intense and gorgeous and wonderful in North and South. In my next release, Tempt the Devil, the hero, a world-weary rake, was based on Bryan Ferry circa 1982. Love that louche, lounge lizard, sophisticated look. Sigh.

Natasha Oakley said...

Oh come on, Nic. Can't begin to argue with Richard Armitage as hero inspiration. I vote Anna wins!!

Kammie said...

How about Andrew Cooper. He's a model. My favorite is the ad he did for Polo.

http://nymag.com/fashion/models/acooper/andrewcooper/acooper_08_street.html

Unknown said...

I am going with Michael Johns from American Idol. I think he's hot!

http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/season7/michael_johns/

Anonymous said...

I think Michael Johns is hot too. But someone many don't think of as a hunk is a country singer that alot of people know-George Strait. He has that down home good looks with a sly-type of smile that renders me speechless. And he is my all time favorite country singer.
Joy
JWIsley@aol.com

Rachael Blair said...

This is where I reveal my 'sad' viewing habits. My fave TV show (the only one I watch actually) is The Bill! There's a few oldies on there, but every now and then a gorgeous young cop pops up...

I like Will Fletcher played by Gary Lucy:
http://www.thebill.com/page.asp?partid=113

And Callum Stone played by Sam Callis: http://www.thebill.com/page.asp?partid=403

The pics on The Bill site aren't that fabulous unfortnately... but both these guys have expressions in their repertoire to die for.

Romance, Rumours and Rogues said...

Oh boy,
just got back from kinder run and putting bub down for nap, and look at what I find!

I've checked out all these guys and this is going to be waaaaay tougher to judge than I anticipated!!!

And I'm supposed to be doing revisions this week. Talk about distractions!

Unknown said...

hmm hunky guy chat.. lets see i have to say i dont remember his real name but he plays Nicholas Cassadine on General Hospital.. hes got that dark look in his eyes..

windycindy said...

Hi, Here is my nomination: Halle
Berry's boyfriend and father of her baby girl. His name is Gabriel Aubry!
He is a model and owns a Cuban restaurant in New York, called
"Cafe Fuego!" I think he is rugged and very handsome. Thanks,Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

Ebony McKenna. said...

Goodness me, you're obviously not watching the right TV shows.

Ladies, for your heroic pleasure, may I present David Tennant... http://www.david-tennant.com/

and John Barroman has that 'everyman' appeal. And I mean that literally!
http://www.flixster.com/actor/john-barrowman

And one out of the box... Sendhil Ramamurthy, who plays Mohinder Suresh in Heroes...
http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/photos/sendhil/

OK, my work here is done :-) :-)

ruth said...

Love this sweet and cute blog this week. To me he is the ultimate dreamboat. Patrizio Buanne is unbelievable. A voice that you swoon over and he is a total and complete sweetheart. Old fashioned values and manners. Gorgeous face and build. www.patriziobuanne.com. Enjoy!

Romance, Rumours and Rogues said...

Ladies,
you're killing me!

These guys are hot, hot, hot!!!

Anonymous said...

What about the gorgeous James McAvoy? He was fabulous in Atonement and Becoming Jane. An actor who looks pretty good in a photo - but then you see him act on film and - that smile - those eyes - your knees go weak watching the definition of romance in action!

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm443061760/nm0564215

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm624662528/nm0564215

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm738695168/nm0564215

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1718130176/nm0564215

Michele (mlebas (at) alphalink.com.au)

Anonymous said...

OH! While I love Wentworth Miller, I also love Ryan Reynolds!! You know that guy from the movie Van Wilder and he was also in one of the Blade movies without his shirt..Yowza!!!
Hugs, Crystal
crystal72206@yahoo.com

diane said...

What fun! A yummy Canadian actor who is lovely. Paul Gross. www.paulgross.org
He appeared in a series, Due South and in plays as well. So easy to look at. Have fun.

Anonymous said...

OOPS I forgot to leave a link, here ya go:
http://www.popculturebuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/ryan.jpg

http://www.zannel.com/webservices/content/4O8Y4LTAKT/Image-568x440-JPG.jpg

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q76/HawaiianPixie25/Ryan%20Reynolds/ryan1.jpg

Louise Reynolds said...

Love this topic. I obviously don't get out enough either because most of those names are new to me. Here's an oldy but a goody...Sean Connery - in his younger days - check out this pic - this is what I have in mind when I'm thinking hero. Soooooo hot.

www.movietreasures.com/SigPix/connpc1.jpg

Louise

Michele L. said...

This is a great contest! This is my entry today. Here is a guy I think is really hot! He is a terrific dancer on the show Dancing with the Stars. It is Maks! He would be hot hero stuff!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Maksimchmerkovskiy.jpg

or his website,

http://www.maksimchmerkovskiy.com/

Michele L.

limecello said...

I know a lot more people know about him now... but I think Raoul Bova tops my list:
http://www.tricia-jones.com/USERIMAGES/post-1-1080975455.jpg
http://www.fantascienza.com/magazine/imgbank/CINEMA/raoul-bova.jpg
http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/6563/02bova002cp005bzba4dc7.jpg
I'm going to have to save my other ones for the other days :D

acdaisy95 said...

Hope I'm not to late to enter. I like to add Nate Berkus. He is the home designer guy on Oprah.

sunflower95_daisy AT yahoo DOT com

acdaisy95 said...

Here is link to his photos

http://billstevens3.tripod.com/natefanclub/id6.html

Eva S said...

Here is my favorite: Vin Diesel

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004874/mediaindex

Anonymous said...

Hi, I would have said that Wentworth Miller is the hottest guy on earth, but you've already mentioned him :))
That's why I suggest Colin Firth (http://www.firth.com). He played a very sexy Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112130)

Romance, Rumours and Rogues said...

This is waaaay too hard!
Supposed to be starting revisions but seem to keep checking out these hot pics as they come in...

Some very impressive men out there :)

Anonymous said...

Ooooh - what a hunkfest :) gotta love the nominees.

I'll nominate the sexy Adam Rodriguez from CSI Miami (on the RHS in the photo)

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3187972096/nm0735226

Hey Nic - enjoy!

Cheers, Joanne

tetewa said...

My pick would have to be Josh Halloway he plays Sawyer on the tv show Lost!

Dena said...

Hi Nic, My pick is Hugh Jackman. I know he is more known but I have this gorgeous pick of him that is different than any I've seen before,I'll email it to you. He is so yummy in it.

Anonymous said...

My pic is Nick Auger. He's a Model Universe Champion. And you can find him at:
http://www.mostbeautifulman.com/misc/nickauger/bio.shtml and
http://www.hunkymalecelebs.com/nick_auger/

Wolfy said...

Okay I too am a country fan. George Strait is my all time favourite, but since he has been named already.....I would have to put forth Toby Keith. He has that rugged look, which is good too.

The link would be:
http://tobykeith.musiccitynetworks.com/?id=1125&sid=601

Hope you get your revisions done Nicola - will have to give some more thought to this......LOL

windycindy said...

Greetings, My second pick is Ivana Trump's fiance'! He is an Italian actor named Rossano Rubicondi. He is 35 and she is 53. They have been together for six years and now that are getting married. Thanks,Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

Anonymous said...

Well, one can never have enough of Sean Connery, so even though he's been mentioned, I kind of have to also add him. LOLOL But for different ones, well, I'm sure you already have Gerard Butler in your files. . . how about David Duchovny (X-files), Ewan McGregor, or even CNN's Anderson Cooper? :)

Lois

Anonymous said...

My hot hero nomination is Michael Vartan. *sigh* What a hottie!!!

http://imdb.com/name/nm0890232/

Nicola, you've got it really rough this week :p

felinewyvern said...

I would have named David Tennant and John Barrowman but someone beat me to it so here are a few others that I think merit a look (or two or three lol)
Cherif Fortin: http://www.geocities.com/bookaddic/cherifmain.html
David Jordan: http://www.davidjordanmusic.co.uk/photos.html
T J Hoban:
http://www.tjhoban.net/acting.php

Hope you all agree with me :D

Joan said...

As you already mentioned Richard Armitage I would like to nominate:

http://www.rupertpenryjones.com/

Have been watching a lot of Spooks lately and he is really nice ;)

Anonymous said...

Alex O'Loughlin is my choice! I have had a crush on him since Moonlight came on.



http://www.cbs.com/primetime/moonlight/bio/alex_oloughlin.php

CrystalGB said...

How about Nikolaj Coster Waldau from the tv show New Amsterdam. I had never seen him before this show.
http://www.collider.com/uploads/imageGallery/New_Amsterdam/new_amsterdam_fox_tv_show_image.jpg

Unknown said...

I've been reading the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer which is being made into a movie due out in December 2008. The guy that will play the villain, James, in the movie is gorgeous. His name is Cam Gigandet. Here is a couple links:

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4116813312/nm1544217


http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_movie.html

(scroll down to March 13th for the last one)

Romance, Rumours and Rogues said...

Oh my,
have woken this morning to more super hot guys!

Off to do volunteer stuff at kinder kid's school then back for the winner announcement.

Too, too hard!

Anonymous said...

Ooh, Nic, I can't resist playing. What about a couple of Jeremys?

Jeremy Northam - http://www.geocities.com/shirtlepiv/jeremy1.jpg

and Jeremy Irons - http://www.georgecaroll.com/male%20stars/jeremyirons/jironsgroup.jpg

One plays such a great good guy, and the other plays such a great bad guy. Which makes them both kind of irresistible.

Unknown said...

Hi I'd pick Bollywood hunk Hrithik Roshan

http://www.hrithikrules.com/

He's absolutely gorgeous

robynl said...

David James Elliott: a humk by far.

http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/david-james-elliott/146506

nicki72182 said...

Ryan Gosling from The Notebook. I think he's so sexy.

Lisa66 said...

My pick would be Henry Cavill. He's currently starring in The Tudors along with Johnathan Rhys Meyers, Rufus Sewell and Jeremy Northam. What a hot cast!

Here's a link
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0147147/

Anita Yancey said...

How about Aiden Turner who plays Aiden Devane on All My Children. You can't beat his looks or his accent.

Anonymous said...

IS THERE A WEBSITE TO FIND OUT IF PATRIZZIO IS PLAYING A CONCERT IN USA SOON. DID HIS NEW ALBUM COME OUT YET.ANYONE WITH INFO PLEASE E MAIL ME AT PLANET281@AOL.COM
THANKS
CANT FIND ANYTHING HIS MAIN WEBSITE STILL DOWN

Liz Fielding said...

Mmmm, lots of "thinking woman's crumpet" to check out there. I'm tossing in Ewan McGregor. On a motorbike...