The 2019 Most Wanted Hero (Arch Type) poll wrapped up several weeks ago, so it’s time to talk about the results. I thought I didn’t really have any expectations about how it would go, but somehow I still ended up surprised!
First of all, yes you could vote for a few different choices, but overall there were a lot more votes cast that last year: in 2018 there were 2,400 votes placed and in 2019 there were almost 5,400 votes! So to anyone who participated this year for the first time, welcome!
Another way I was surprised was by how close most of the categories were. In 2018 the Villain Turned Good guy choice won by a landslide.
Take a look at how the Top 10 ranked this time:
Dangerous, but with a great heart – 396
Sherlock or Macgyver type genius – 378
Rival to the Heroine – 351
Villain Turned Good Guy – 308
Quiet / Strong / Gentle Giant / Introvert – 262
Genuinely Kind / Steady Good Guy – 257
Indiana Jones / Rick O’Connel from the Mummy – 235
Reluctant Hero – 225
Guy who hides his real self behind humor/jokes – 212
Best Friend / Guy Next Door – 207
The top 2 categories were so close to each other! And so many of the others were so close to each other too!
I host this poll every year because it’s really fun to talk about all the different kinds of heroes out there, and hear from you regarding the kind of heroes you like. But the poll also helps me decide what types of book projects to work on.
For example, in 2018 when Villain Turned Good Guy won by a wide margin it helped me decide to move forward with the idea I already had for a sequel to Red Rope of Fate featuring a new couple where the hero was a villain in the first book. (It’s called Royal Magic if you haven’t tried it yet.) I wasn’t sure how the redeemed villain, Prince Benjimir, would be received, so if that arch type hadn’t won the poll I probably would have put off the idea even longer. So a big thanks to everyone who voted for that last year and welcomed the book, Royal Magic, with open arms!
At this time I don’t have any heroes planned that would match the “dangerous, but with a great heart” arch type, but it’s something I’ll keep in mind for future series. I also take into account the results of the poll when I am planning some side characters, including the huge cast of my Second Age of Retha series. So don’t worry if your idea didn’t get a lot of votes, you still might see a character like that in one of my future books!
However, I am happy to announce that book 3 in the Elves of Lessa series, which is coming later in 2019, will feature a hero who is a book worm and a bit of a Sherlock/Macgyver type. For those of you who have read the series, the hero will be Crown Prince Arvel, who ironically is the brother of the “villain turned good guy” from book 2. 🙂 I just got the cover art back from the illustrator so I’m super pumped to work on it, but I need to stay focused on Angelique for now!
One final note, a few of my other heroes who are close matches to the Top 10 Arch Types list above insisted I point out to you that they already exist. (Though I think it would be fun to give these arch types another go, but the heroes are LOUD and insist on being heard, lol.)
Here they are:
Sherlock or Macgyver type genius – Merlin (King Arthur and Her Knights)
Villain Turned Good Guy – Farrin (Snow Queen), Benjimir (Royal Magic)
Quiet / Strong / Gentle Giant / Introvert – Fritz (Snow White), Arion (Red Rope of Fate), Isaia (Sleeping Beauty), Solus Miles (Second Age of Retha)
Genuinely Kind / Steady Good Guy – Alexsei (Swan Lake), Callan (Little Selkie)
Guy who hides his real self behind humor/jokes – Devin (The Magical Beings’ Rehabilitation Center)
As you can see, even if I use the same arch type, the characters can still look drastically different. (Farrin and Benjimir are perfect examples of this. Farrin is 90% honor, where as Benjimir is about 90% scheming.)
Thanks for reading, Champions, and a special extra thank you for voting!