Last month, you remember, I invited people to share with me the guys they classified as Unforgettable Heroes of film, books and TV. I put the word out on my Erotica with Soul blog, Facebook and Twitter too, and I received some great nominees.

Sure, taste is a very individual thing, particularly if you're talking about taste in men. Nevertheless, I expect there are common traits among the guys that get into your blood and fascinate you for years. So let's take a look at these guys and see if we can glean any common themes.

One woman shyly provided me with her favorites, saying, "Mr. Spock from 'Star Trek'...Wesley from The Princess Bride ...and Han Solo from 'Star Wars.' I can't help but feel that you're going to psychoanalyze my choices! They are probably not representative of 'normal.'" Au contraire, my friend; nothing packs a punch like a science fiction or fantasy character. Another reader wrote, "I will have to pick Data from "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Data is cool and serene in every situation, yet relentlessly quests for human emotion, and (lest we forget) is fully functional." I couldn't have put it better myself, and Data is a crush of mine too! Aliens, princes and space cowboys all rank high in my book, and judging from the fascination writers of fan fiction have with these sorts of guys, we are not alone in loving them.

Speaking of science fiction and fantasy, I heard this from a reader: "Hi Diana, I tend to like every man that you mention in your blog. I discovered Neil Gaiman (and started reading his books) because of you." Well, Mr. Gaiman hardly needs me to help him find fans, but I appreciated that! And although technically not fictional, Neil has become a larger-than-life archetype among fan girls like myself. Tor.com had a fake April Fools article with the headline "Fiction World Rocked as Woman Claims No Sexual Attraction to Neil Gaiman." Hilarious, but the story just goes to show how common a crush on the genius author has come to be.

At the other end of the scale, some of us are captivated by characters with more realistic traits of heroism. One woman suggested to me Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird, and I completely concur. His quiet wisdom and unshakable integrity are truly irresistible. And because he functions as a completely believable human character, Atticus suggests that real heroes can exist. It's a potent formula.

And speaking of real life, I'm convinced that there are some actors whose personal charisma and supreme acting skills sometimes make for performances so riveting they are not to be resisted. One reader wrote me, "I think you will admit that Yul Brynner should be among the most hot heroes, and my absolute favourite is his role in 'The Journey.'" I was so glad she nominated Mr. Brynner, best known for his Broadway and film portrayals of the King of Siam. Even as a child I adored him in that part. Whether being funny, stern, or sexy (polka-ing barefoot, sigh), he has such a majestic and exotic presence, I can't ever forget him. The same can be said of Robert Preston's classic performance as "The Music Man." He'll always play that part in my heart.

Of course several people raised the ever-popular category of the villain. One contributor suggested "Gerard Butler, but not because of '300,' but in 'Dracula 2000.' A dark and brooding villain. And also The Dark Prince...He's my favorite of the whole Soulful Sex series." Well, needless to say I was tickled to have my own Prince Lucan on her list! And I'll agree, dark and brooding will get a guy a long way into a woman's psyche.

Which brings us to the great heroes of gothic romance. The aforementioned Gerard/Lucan fan also said, "As hot as Mr. Darcy is, my heart still flutters for Edward Rochester, a most passionate man." I agree, those two are a draw as far as I'm concerned. They have the dark and brooding thing going on, and nothing captures your attention like mystery. Meanwhile, both gentlemen turn out in the end to be heroes rather than villains--bonus! That's the joy of these sorts of gothic romance heroes.

There definitely seem to be some formulas for creating memorable heroes. We obviously like the exotic, the valiant, the scary, and the mysterious, all traits that get and keep your attention. But I also discovered that sometimes we surprise even ourselves with the protagonists we just can't forget.

Wrote one of my correspondents: "That crashing sound you hear is the sound of the jaws of millions of 'Gone with the Wind' fans dropping to the floor--yes, I prefer Ashley Wilkes to Rhett Butler. I know Rhett is the designated sex god of this novel (and movie), and Ashley has a reputation for being weak, wimpy, and waffling. That's not the Ashley I saw. I saw a man of quiet honor and dignity--he feels the pull of Scarlett's sexual charms, but (successfully!) resists to be true to his wife Melanie. It doesn't hurt either that a) he's a paragon of blond beauty and b) he's just out of reach for Scarlett. The love for the one you can't have is like a drug."

Wow, fabulous. Especially because I, too, prefer Ashley to Rhett and this is the first time I've encountered a compatriot. Sometimes we ladies resist the classic formulas and find something special about the man who wasn't even supposed to win us. This happened to TV writers twice in my experience: When viewers fell madly in love with Spock rather than Kirk, and when "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." heart-throb proved to be Illya Kuryakin rather than Napoleon Solo. Just when they thought they had us pegged.....

And I think every one of us has experienced the occasion when we are drawn inexplicably to a certain guy, a guy no one would have considered a romantic hero. My literary friend has a classic example of this for us, and it's, of all people, actor Steve Buscemi:

"It's a tie between Seymour from 'Ghost World' and Mr. Shhh from "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead," both wearing the face of the imitable Steve Buscemi. Underneath his schlumpy plaid shirts and his uncool-to-those-who-care-that-much-about-cool interest in old 78-rpm records, Seymour possesses the unsung secret of sex appeal: simple decency. You want to tug him off the screen and treat him far better than what he gets in the film. Meanwhile, Mr. Shhh is a lithe creature of the night. He comes in like a whispering breeze, his deadly purpose taking his victims off-guard. I know (with woman's intuition) that Mr. Shhh would be just as good a lover as he is a hit man."

Sometimes you can figure out the pull, sometimes you're as mystified by it as the next person. But we all have heroes we can never get out of our systems, largely because we can't figure out how they got there in the first place. That's the most irresistible mystery of them all, and why no list of Unforgettable Heroes can ever be completely universal.

And why it's a topic that will always fascinate me!

Diana Laurence is the author of the Soulful Sex anthologies of erotic romance fiction, and the vampire romance Bloodchained (www.bloodchained.com). Diana's works are published by Living Beyond Reality Press (www.livingbeyondreality.com.) Visit her at www.dianalaurence.com or enjoy her blog at www.eroticawithsoul.blogspot.com.