Male On Monday: The Sexiest Man of the Year.

Love Inspired Author Margaret Daley explains why she chose Hugh Jackman as the embodiment of the Sexiest Man of the Year and her inspiration for a Texas Ranger.

I'm a visual person and when I write, I visualize my plot. So when I began planning my first book in the Men of the Texas Rangers Series, it was important that I selected the right male to be cast in the role of Wyatt Sheridan in Saving Hope. Then I remembered seeing Australia with Hugh Jackman and I knew he was perfect to be my Texas Ranger.

He embodied everything I wanted: hunky, well built, handsome, rugged looking, confident, protective--an alpha male.

  On top of those qualities he looked good on a horse.

   Cowboys are popular in romance books for a reason. Modern day cowboys remind us of our past when the Wild West was conquered by those cowboys (risk takers, fighters, protective, sometimes loners). I sometimes think of them as American's knights. But it isn't just cowboys that give that persona but so do police officers, firefighters and men in the military. Their job is to protect the public--to keep evil at bay.

There is something about a man in a uniform that is sexy, appealing--whether a firefighter, police officer or in the military. To me their uniform is like a knight's armor.

           

A uniform commands our attention. Draws our attention to the man wearing it.

            With my series about the Men of the Texas Rangers, I got to combine the lure of  the cowboy and a police officer. Texas Rangers are the state police for Texas. There are only a few of them (around 140) to cover a big state. They do have a uniform they wear that reflects their origins from the Wild West (when they were formed in the nineteenth century in Texas) and their police duties. A Texas Ranger's uniform is slacks, dress shirt (light solid color, often white), a conservative tie, boots, cowboy hat (usually, tan, ivory or white) and their silver star worn on their shirt over their heart. There can be sight variations depending on the captain of the company.

 My series is about the modern day version of the Texas Rangers. I have three books coming out in the next year. Saving Hope is out now. Shattered Silence is coming out in October and Scorned Justice will be out in March 2013.

What is your favorite uniformed hero? Why do you like that type?

Visit Margret Daley's website http://www.margaretdaley.com/ to learn more about Margaret and her fascinating heroes.