Trying to Strike a Balance

Sometimes I feel like a bit of a fraud, because in my "real world" life, I'm all about inclusiveness and wanting everyone to have a good and comfortable life and a bit of happiness, not just the rich. But in my books, the hero is almost always...well...rich, or at least reasonably well-off. There are a number of reasons for the rich heroes, which I won't bore you with right now, but I think a lot of the way I deal with the topic is to accept that the handsome, rich guy who sweeps a woman off her feet (eventually) is simply a fantasy. And given that fantasy, I always try to make sure that my heroes are giving human beings who, if they're not that way at the beginning of the book, eventually turn into generous, caring, loving men who believe in the equality of all people no matter their social or financial status. I don't specifically say that, and I rarely even imply it, but I like to think that readers will understand that a man as caring as my hero is, will be a good man all around.

So...with that in mind, and moving on to the topic of "there can be such a thing as being too consumed with money and possessions," I give you this:

It's a million dollar fragrance bottle. Here's the story (sorry, there's a lot of advertising as part of this, but you can read the description to see what the bottle is all about).

And if you'd like to see more of how the rich live, here's a website devoted to "the most expensive" things. And here's one with a handy click list for different "world's most expensive" items. Not sure if it's up to date (there are no dates referenced on the site), but maybe I need to check it out. You never know when a hero might need the world's most expensive coffee maker. On second thought, no. My guys are not fussy types. No jewel-encrusted stuff for them.

So, how about you? Any million dollar (name your items here) in your future?