Heroes? Give Me Silent Over Super Anytime

You'd think that as a romance writer I have a handle on the whole fantasy thing. We write about love (which isn't a fantasy), but the stories that love is set in are often far from reality (well my reality anyway). Billionaires, exotic locations, the perfect man. A happy ever after for everyone.

So, if I can suspend disbelief in the stories I read and write, why don't I get the whole superhero thing?

Sure, I watched the original TV superhero - the original Superman - back in the days of black and white TV and no special effects. He was strong. He could fly. He was a good guy. But I was a child. Superheroes have proliferated on screen and while many of my adult friends are fans, I just don't get the attraction.Villains and costumes and super powers and dastardly plots. Not for me. Not even the very delicous looks and muscles of Aquaman.

 Maybe I can suspend disbelief with romance beacause at its heart, it's about love. Love is real, and real people can be superheroes.


There's been some great movies about everyday heroes, like Schindlers List and Erin Brokovitch, and the world gets to know about these selfless people. But I'm pretty sure we have all come across people in our lives who we see as superheroes on a personal level.

I don't think everyday these people necessarily have to have done anything movie-worthy. And to be honest, for me it's not even about someone who copes above and beyond under adversity because I think most of us do what has to be done if it comes to the crunch.

A superhero for me is someone who makes a choice to do something that involves a risk, and takes resolve and a conscious decision to do it anyway. I'm not talking about things like extreme sports and throwing youself of mountains in a gliding suit. I'm talking about people who make risky choices in the hope of bettering their lives.

People like my parents.

Both became WW2 refugees who then became New Australians and started a new life thousands of miles from home. My mother fled her homeland, Latvia, when Russia again invaded her country. She, alonog with thousands of others, fled to Germany completely unaware of what atrocities were being perpetrated there. My father had been forcibly conscripted into the German army during their occupation of Latvia. Both of them were in Germany at the end of the war and soon evacuated to the US sector where they lived in refugee camps for four years.

When the time came that they could return home, together they decided that rather than return to a country now under Russian communist rule, they would become immigrants to Australia. A country they knew little about, but one they knew was far away from the strict regime that now held their country. They wouldn't return to their families, but would start a life together in the unknown.

Imagine just moving to another country where you don't speak the language, don't own anything other than a suitcase full of clothes and identification papers from a country that didn't even exist in its own right anymore.

They were young and full of hope and trust in themselves that they'd made the right decision. They came here and built a life. Built a house, and a family. Got work, learned the language. They arrived with nothing but


I know they wouldn't have seen themselves as superheroes, but for me they are. No costumes required.

Andra writes steamy romance and you can find her at www.andraashe.com or @andraashesmutmaven on Instagram.