Hero & Villians

I have two questions for anyone that might be out there:

Who is your favorite Hero?
&
Who is your favorite Villain?

Admit it.  We all have at least one.  Maybe two.  So who are yours?

Heroes come in many shapes, sizes and sometimes multicolored costumes.  So we will start simple.  When you hear the word hero, what is the first image that pops into your head?  Now, how many of you thought of Superman right off the bat?  Was I the only one?  Well that's kind of weird, and maybe a little awkward.  Well that doesn't matter.  We all have our own vision of what a hero is.  Superman may not be your favorite but I'm certain you have one.  Who is it?  Come on you can tell me.  No one really reads this blog anyways.  Is it Spiderman, the misfit teen that gains super powers and fights evil?  Is it William Wallace, the brave Scotsman that fought for the freedom of his people?  Maybe it's someone more real for you, like your uncle, brother, cousin, or friend who served two tours in Iraq.  Okay... it got a little bit serious right then, but I'm just saying, your favorite hero could be anyone; real or fictitious.  So who is it?


Villains are a different story all together.  They come in more shapes, more sizes, and yes, a few multicolored costumes.  (Most usually seem to like black)  Great fictional villains are the ones that drive the stories.  Sure the hero is great, but let's face it.  You know exactly what he is going to do from the very first word you read in the story.  He is going to save the day, and the only real question is, "How is he going to do it?"  A good villain though, can give life to the idea that the hero can lose.  Those are the ones that we remember best, and they stick somewhere in the backs of our minds.  The ones we love to hate.  So who is your favorite villain?  (Fictional of course. Real life ones are scum.)   For my fellow sci-fi nuts, I would think Darth Vader would be at the top of the list.  In the action and things that blow up category, one might suggest Hans Gruber, in the first Die Hard movie.  Same category you might think of John Travolta as Major Vic 'Deak' Deakins in the movie Broken Arrow.  He had his own theme music.  Then again, maybe your tastes are more along the lines of Voldemort from Harry Potter, or the Ring Wraiths in Lord of the Rings.  There are so many to choose from, but there is one in particular, that you are thinking of right now.  Who is it?

Who is your favorite Hero and Villain?

Also if you would like to add to your list of favorite heroes and villains, then I would also suggest that you take a look at "Kings & Dragons:  Light in the Darkness", coming out later this summer. (Kindle and Print forms will be available)

Book Blog:  http://michaellturner.blogspot.com/p/kings-and-dragons-light-in-darkness.html

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-L-Turners-Book-Page/288256831214914

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/FantasyNScience

What I Never Expected

What I never expected, is exactly what happened to me less than two months ago.  On November 19, 2011 at about 11am, I was sitting across the table from a man named Frank.  I was very nervous that morning, at a type of interview I had never even dreamed of doing, and it was then that Frank said something, which I was not expecting. “I like what you have written.”  I will tell you right now that I have been writing for years, mostly for my own amusement.  Rarely would I show anyone, that which I had written, because like pretty much everyone else, I was afraid that they would not like it. This half hour meeting, on that less than ordinary Saturday though, had changed that for me. 

I had gone to that meeting somewhat unprepared, because like I said, I had never done anything like this before.  Then the meeting did not go, as I’d expected.  In my head I had thought it through many times, and it really was supposed to go like this.  I would walk in, hoping not to trip, say here is my book, smile, say something good about it, try not to swallow my tongue, breathe, finish whatever I was going to say, and get a nice pat on the head with a ‘Nice Try’ response.  Then I would be sent on my way, to go back to my little cave, and continue writing for my own amusement.  What I did not expect, was the exact opposite.

I went into that meeting trying to think of some way to pitch my book to Frank.  Shortly after I sat down however, I found out I didn’t have to.  He had read the first chapter I had sent him before hand, and he liked it.  What he said next, really through me off.  He said I did not need to pitch the book to him.  He was sold before I had even sat down.  We talked for the next half hour about marketing, and on Tuesday I sent him the rest of the book.  Kings and Dragons: Light in the Darkness, my first book, will be released in late summer, around September of 2012.  This was my hobby for so many years, and now I do not know what exactly it is, but it is definitely not what I expected.  If someone can tell me what it is, then please let me know.

You can Follow me on Twitter or my Book-Page on Facebook.  Enjoy.

(FB)  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-L-Turners-Book-Page/288256831214914

(Twitter) https://twitter.com/#!/FantasyNScience

(Book Blog)  http://michaellturner.blogspot.com/p/kings-and-dragons-light-in-darkness.html