It’s pub-sister week here with Writers on Rogues! Yesterday, Maya Rodale and today, one of my very favorite people, Katharine Ashe, who is not only a fellow Avon author, a fellow March author and a fellow The Ballroom Blog author…but we also share the same literary agency! We’re also both bespectacled. And we both like men in kilts. We were obviously destined to be friends. Katharine’s latest book, When a Scot Loves a Lady (amazing title, amazing cover, amazing book) is out this week…and you must must must go buy it!
Take it away, Katharine!
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Because my new book When a Scot Loves a Lady came out this week (yay, Sarah, book release sister!) I must first mention here my two favorite Scottish rogues, both of them Roberts: Robert the Bruce, the 13th-century king who defied the English, and Robert Burns, the 18th-century poet and libertine whose poetry appears in When a Scot Loves a Lady. Bruce was a warrior, a rebel, and a hero to his people. Burns was brilliant, passionate, and very funny. But I can’t praise either of them to the rafters because they were both unfaithful to their wives and that Just. Will. Not. Do.
So instead of relying on history to serve up a rogue for me, I will turn to fairy tale. I choose as my rogue today my favorite animated hero of all time: Flynn Rider from Disney’s Tangled.
Why is Flynn Rider my favorite rogue? Because he is:
Handsome.
Charming.
Clever.
Dead set on his goal and he won’t let some little blond chick get in his way, no matter how wide her eyes or how determined her pleas.
Fearless. (Except when flying off a cliff, which of course is understandable.)
Swashbuckling.
Kind at heart. (When he was a child he read stories to all the other children in the orphanage… about a swashbuckling hero!)
Adventurous and ambitious, but not to the point of hurting good people.
A dreamer who dreams big then makes his dreams come true.
and…
Willing and able to change for the better, even to forget his own ambition entirely when it means helping the woman he loves to live her dreams.
There you have it! My favorite rogue.
Oh, and one more thing — the clincher, really: Flynn Rider is his secret identity. His real name is Eugene Fitzherbert. And at the end of the movie he reclaims his real identity without giving up any of the charming, adventuresome, swashbuckling fearlessness that makes him such a delectably dashing rogue. He does it because that’s the man his lady fell in love with. The man he always really wanted to be.
To this author of heroes with secret identities, that just about makes him perfect.
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I honestly should not have been surprised to discover that Katharine’s favorite rogue is Flynn…she talks about him…a lot. But who wouldn’t? He’s a charmer…and I have to be honest, Tangled might be my favorite animated movie…that is…until Brave comes out in the summer…speaking of Scotland…have you seen these trailers?? OMG. I die. SO GOOD. And this trailer is like the best beginning of a romance novel EVER.
March 2nd, 2012 at 8:50 am
My favorite animated hero is Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty.
March 2nd, 2012 at 9:45 am
Okay, first- if I wasn’t almost senseless with excitement over this movie coming out, I certainly am now! FINALLY, a real heroine, one who can save herself. Love, love, love this!
Katherine, I completely agree with you. I love Flynn. He is my new favorite of the Disney heroes. I still get the sniffles when he rushes to the tower, frantic to get to Rapunzel and then! I bite my fingers to the quick watching that, lol. And he would rather die then have Rapunzel lose the one thing she *thinks* makes her special. Le sigh…
March 2nd, 2012 at 9:56 am
Hi Katharine! Great to see you here at Sarah’s blog. :) And what a fun one! You’ll have to forgive me because I have yet to see Tangled, but I promise that oversight will be corrected soon!!
My favorite animated hero would have to be Captain Li Shang from Mulan. He’s a brave soldier who trains a rag-tag band of men, turns them into soldiers, and leads then into battle. He also displayed great sensitivity to Mulan when she saved his life and got injured in the process. Admittedly he was a bit of a jerk when he found out about Mulan’s disguise (though understandable), but he was able to forgive and put their differences aside to take her lead to rescue the emperor. I like him because he’s strong and brave, fair, but not above being adorably shy and awkward when meeting Mulan at her home after the war and having to deal with her father. HEE
And I just love the line “The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.”
Oh, no need to enter me in the giveaway. :)
March 2nd, 2012 at 10:04 am
I love “Beast” from “Beauty and the Beast”
March 2nd, 2012 at 10:13 am
I haven’t seen tangled, but Flynn definately sounds like hero material (will have to keep an eye for that one on TV & be sure to watch it). Does Scooby-doo count? He’s not classic hero material (not even beta-hero material) & ok, he is a dog, but still he’s loyal (extremely), funny, cute (in a big silly dorky kinda way) & always comes through in the end. Plus he just makes me smile ;) Congrats on your release :)
March 2nd, 2012 at 10:26 am
I love Flynn too. His character is what I envision most heroes are like while reading. But, my all time favorite cartoon is the Beast. (I can’t wait for Brave either- it is my background on FB)
March 2nd, 2012 at 1:50 pm
I had to think on this one. I had to go with the Prince Derek from the Swan Princess. I recently watch Tangled with my 16 year old son who told me it was an awesome movie. This is the first time I have heard anything about Brave. Judging by the heroine in this clip, the hero of the movie is going to have to be pretty great. I love that so many of these animated movies are teaching young girls about empowerment.
I am so happy I got to start reading your book today (earlier than I thought I would). I love when things work out when can do something for yourself earlier than expected.
March 2nd, 2012 at 1:53 pm
I just watched Tangled for the first time last week, and I LOVED it and Flynn. He was sooooo charming.
My favorite hero isn’t a Disney character but I think he is a perfect mix of dark and light, a tortured, brooding hero that wish could just find love and be happy. Batman. You just want him to find the perfect woman that could ease his pain, and make it so Bruce Wayne doesn’t have to be a playboy.
March 2nd, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Congrats on your book.Probably Prince Charming or even the Beast from Beauty and the Beast.
March 2nd, 2012 at 4:14 pm
I love Beast, from Beauty and the Beast. He grows so much. He is truly MORE because of his relationship with Belle.
March 2nd, 2012 at 5:05 pm
My favorite hero is Aladdin! It’s kind of an unusual one, but there is something about him that I love. Flynn is pretty cool. I love his little fights with Maximus. They are hilarious. I see trailers for Brave all of the time and cannot wait to see it! I think that it is a great concept and it doesn’t hurt that it’s set in Scotland. ;)
March 2nd, 2012 at 6:17 pm
One of my first and only animated crushes is Dimitri from the movie Anastasia. I thought he was so cute. And he was for sure a rogue :) I really want to see Tangled after reading this post. Reading about people’s favorite rogues is so much fun!
March 2nd, 2012 at 9:21 pm
Howl from Miyazaki’s adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’s Howl’s Moving Castle … mysterious, charming, magical, wearing multiple identities, & hiding vulnerability behind a bold exterior. Of course, Flynn Rider is also pretty fantastic, for all the reasons you list!
March 2nd, 2012 at 11:53 pm
Remy from Ratatouille
March 4th, 2012 at 5:42 pm
Rogues come in all shapes and sizes, from times of old to times of recent. If I had to choose a true rogue, it would be Prince Harry. He’s roguishly handsome (if I don’t say so myself), with roguish wit (I’ve read interviews) – but he’s still so darn giving. He’s in the armed forces, so he’s got honor, but he still knows how to get the ladies – and I’m sure everyone knows that.
March 5th, 2012 at 4:46 pm
I would say the Beast from Beauty and the Beast.
March 6th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
The Beast in Beauty and the Beast! And congrats, Katharine!
March 9th, 2012 at 1:51 am
I’d have to say Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty.
Brave looks like a really good animated movie. When I saw the preview of it in the movies, I was like this is just like a Historical romance novel, only kid friendly ;)
March 11th, 2012 at 1:26 pm
Favorite animated character: Hercules!
I’ve heard a little bit about Brave but hadn’t seen the trailer till now. It looks like it’s going to be amazing!
March 12th, 2012 at 12:58 pm
I’ve got to agree with Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty. He’s got charm, wit and courage, even though he barely knows the girl.
April 3rd, 2012 at 5:46 pm
Flynn!!!! Oh my. When I watched Tangled, he jumped on up there on my list, for sure. But my favorite will always be Beast :-)
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February 27th, 2013 at 10:03 am
[...] 1. She happily, proudly wears a princess dress her aunt made for her that is emblazoned with Cinderella, Briar Rose and Belle. When asked which princess she likes best, she points to each in a row, then again, then again. She is not a girl to be pinned down to one ideal of femininity. Then she adds that she’s rather fond of Rapunzel too — Disney’s latest version. (A girl after my own heart, indeed.) [...]