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Debra takes a look at good guy heroes.
I tend to write good guy heroes. They may not be looking for love or they might not want their heart to be broken again, so they're not always ready when the heroine shows up, but deep down they are good guys. If anything, they might be too perfect. My heroes are always good looking. They have good jobs. Good friends. They get along with their families. They're tough, masculine, and sexy. Definitely not beta heroes, but not quite alphas either.
Am I stuck in a rut? Perhaps. For me, I guess, romance all comes down to the fantasy of finding the perfect guy and realizing he's just as crazy about you as you are about him. Real life can be depressing. When I read and write I want something larger than life. Maybe even too good to be true. (Of course there's also the fantasy of taming those bad boys to reveal their tender sides.)
Maybe this means my conflicts are only superficial, and I need to dig deeper into my characters.
Maybe it's simply my niche or my style. Readers always know what type of story to expect from me.
Once, I strayed slightly from the good guy mold. My hero in An Unexpected Blessing is an ex-con. But by the time the heroine meets up with him, he's certainly seen the error of his ways and wants nothing more than to go straight and be a good guy: for himself and for her, too.
As part of my "Holidays at The Corral" spin-off series, I am envisioning one for the Fourth of July that will feature a Marine: a vet who comes home scarred both physically and emotionally. This will be quite a departure for me. I'm not sure I'll be able to pull it off. I'm used to delving into the good guy's head: exploring the psyche of a wounded warrior will be a whole new experience for me.
Do you prefer a certain type of hero?
Until next time,
Happy Reading!
Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com
I always find the scarred heroes fascinating to write and read, so I'm really looking forward to reading yours!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jen. They do make for good reading that's for sure. Definitely an emotional, deep read.
DeleteI prefer the good guys too, and I think mine tend to be too good to be true, but I think that's the whole point of romantic fiction. Maybe that's why I don't like 'bad buys' - and I really dislike the idea of the heroine 'taming' the hero - ugh! Not my scene at all! Not sure I'm very keen on the scarred hero either, as I tend to think they've been overdone since I've read several novels with the hero coming home traumatised after a war (ranging from Civil War to Afghanistan). But that's just me!
ReplyDeleteSounds like we're pretty much on the same page, Paula.
DeleteI guess with the scarred hero, the internal, emotional conflict tends to be built right in.
What a great post, Debra. Hmmm. I like heroes who have a secret wound or scar, something that only the heroine can heal with her beingness. I think this comes from believing we come into this life with "work" to do and part of that work is to develop the skills to accomplish that special task. Or maybe I want books to let me imagine the hunkiest guy wants a HEA with me.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly it, there's something amazingly tantalizing about the hunkiest guy wanting YOU, right?
DeleteI agree that the heroine needs to be a perfect fit for the hero. She will be the only one in the world who really understands him. And he her of course.
Me too. (coming in late here) I always write about good guys. Not that they appear like good guys to the heroine when she first meets them. The interesting part is her finding out what they are really like deep down. For instance, in the book I'm writing at the moment she is compelled to marry a guy she doesn't really like and since I never plot it will be interesting to see whether she changes her mind by the end of the book.
ReplyDelete