"Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens,
or half their greatness goes unnoticed."
Schmendrick the Magician
(via Peter S. Beagle)

I have a terrible reputation among the locals for torturing my characters, and I’m here to set the record straight! Or, perhaps not. . .

Kattanan DuRhys, the hero of The Singer's Crown, is castrated on page five (he's very young, so that's not so bad, is it?) Besides, things get better after that—aside from the incident with the stairs. . . Of course, The Eunuch's Heir has that little run-in with a very big cat. Hmm. . .

Trelayne, in "Winning the Gallows Field", returns home from war feeling haunted by all that he's seen and done.  The wounds of demon swords never quite heal, and the new battles he faces seem the more horrific for being fought against his own people.

Elisha Barber, 14th century English barber-surgeon loses his infant nephew and his brother on the same day, plunging himself into emotional turmoil from which he may never return—especially after being impressed into the army, where flogging and branding are matters of course.It may take more than magic to escape in one piece!

But wait, I’ve also written a romance novel—that can't involve much torture. Nathan Pearce, the hero of "Sea Change", has lost a leg to a shark attack (well. . . that does sound bad), but his determination to face his fears leads him to become a marine biologist. Of course, the chance for love sends him straight into deep waters, and the sharks are never far from his dreams.

And there's my husband—the real hero. I haven't tortured him very much.  At least, not lately. . .