 |
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Colin (when
not busy with his local cosplay group) was a
mild
mannered accountant with a small weenie, a big heart,
and a
love of orally worshipping frocked up damsels.
Totes
hero material.
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I’ve
been thinking lately about writing a hero who is a paraplegic. There are a few concerns here. One, can I write a book
that is not condescending or offensive to people in that situation? That’s
a biggie. Two, that’s a shit load of research you’re setting yourself up for right
there, hun. Let’s not lie ... you can be a bit on the lazy side sometimes. Why,
often you’ve thought, no fooking way am I ever writing an historical. Details,
baby! All those nitpicky details to get right. And authenticity matters, we all know it to be true. Three, is there enough of a
market for such a story? Would enough people want to read my bookie to make it
economically feasible? Because let’s not kid ourselves on this one, if I’m
going to dedicate months of my life to this story then I do require it to have
at least a chance of paying off. I have a family to feed and shod and stuff. Let’s
not even get into my expensive book habit. So yeah, I dunno … still deciding. But I really wanna.
Anyhoo, this got me thinking about the not quite “normal” or “regular” hero. How do we
feel about heroes with physical imperfections? Or how about heroes who do just differ
from our usual fare? Let’s check out the Our Usual Fare Hero Requirements List just to
be sure we’re on the same page, here (Yes, sweeping generalizations abounding.
Hold on tight.):
Alpha?
18
– 45 years old?
6
feet or taller?
Handsome,
ruggedly or otherwise?
Ripped?
Hung?
Knows
what he’s doing in bed?
Extra
points awarded for having a man whorish past.
Further
bonus round points if emotionally scarred and or stunted.
So,
how does the last hero you read rate?
At
the moment, I’m reading “This Is Who I Am” by Cherise Sinclair. If you’ve never
heard of Cherise, she’s the best damn BDSM erotic romance writer around, in my
honest opinion. Check out The Shadowlands series. The hero is in this book,
Master Sam, is in his fifties. He’s a silver fox, baby. I don’t know that I’ve
ever actually read a romance before where the hero was that old. (And by “that
old” I mean “not all that old at all”. Because let’s face facts, I’m closer to
fifty than eighteen myself these days. It's a while off, but it's out there...lurking.) How about a hero who is shorter than
the heroine? A couple of books do come to mind, most recently “Chasin’ Eight” by Lorelei James. Lorelei scores well in the out of the ordinary heroes
category as she’s also had a hero who was a returned soldier and amputee. “Real” by Katy Evans features a hero who is bipolar. RAWR, Remy. In “Painted Faces” by L. H. Cosway the hero was a drag queen (and he was awesome). “Untamed” by AnnaCowan has a cross dressing duke front and centre. Yes, I realize I’m lumping
all sorts of differences together here. But you know how rambly I get on the
blog. Deal with it.
So there
are books out there giving us a healthy serve of alternative love interests.
Are we showing them the love right back? As always, it’s going to come down to
whether the story hooks us or not. I’ll read just about any romance if the hero
makes my knees weak. I’m easy like that. What do you think? Read any books with
a hero who didn’t fit the mould?
Interesting post, Kylie.
ReplyDeleteJenn J McCleod has a hero in a wheel chair in her story House for All Seasons. I think he almost stole the show!!!
I have a soft spot for slightly nerdy beta heroes, but can't quite remember who's story is was that I loved - oh for a good memory again...
That's fantastic! Thanks, Helene. Nerdy betas can be seriously cute. There's room for all sorts of men, right?
DeleteGreat post Miss K! Definitely room for all sorts. I think writing 'attractive and attraction' in general is really difficult - I find it difficult anyway - when these concepts can be so primal and cued by complex psychological processes which can be different for every person... I think maybe that's why so many writers default to 'tall, dark and handsome' because it's become almost synonymous with 'attractive' (at least in western society), and even if the reader doesn't find 'tall, dark, handsome' actually attractive in real life - reading this description can create a recognition emotion that the hero is, in fact, attractive. But I really admire writers who successfully write heroes outside of this box... very thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteHey Nina, that's a really great point. Tall, dark and handsome has become a cue to a certain extent. And readers generally cast the characters in their own head, as they should. You write great layered characters, Miss Nina. Thanks for the psychology insight. Much appreciated. :)
DeleteI adored Painted Faces - like, frigging *loved* it. Also loved Me Before You by JoJo Moyes - definitely an unconventional romance of sorts, but very very moving. And I loved Bonnie Dee's Bone Deep, and I was looking at some of her other books, and it looks like she has some other really interesting romantic heroes - definitely on my tbr list. Ooh and Karina Halle's Dex from the Experiment in Terror series is fairly unconventional too. So yes, in answer to your question, *most* of the heroes in the books I've read recently map *exactly* onto your requirements list. So when one breaks out from that norm, it's not only refreshing, but also deeply resonant.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, Amy. Painted Faces was fab. A couple of people have talked about Me Before You. I'm going to have to check it out. Same with the Bonnie Dee, thank you very much for the recs. Dex is simply too cool for school. I agree, different is refreshing and resonant both. Thanks, for commenting, Amy.
DeleteI think there's definitely room for unconventional alphas and would love to read stories with these characters. I'll check out the books you've listed. I'm reading the Shadowlands series at the moment and love it, so I'll be sure to read Master Sam's story too. I hope you can find a way to write a story with an unconventional alpha and still manage to feed the family because, you know, it's nice to eat occasionally.
ReplyDeleteHa, it is nice to eat occasionally. You're very right there. Delighted to hear you're reading Shadowlands, Fiona. I love those books so hard. Be sure to let me know what you think. :)
DeleteInteresting post. I really like to read about flawed characters and the hero does not have to "fit the mold." That is just my taste, though. I really loved the book, "Bone Deep" by Bonnie Dee. The male character was emotionally scarred as well as physically scarred by having his whole body tattooed (by force). Other books where the hero was physically flawed that I enjoyed where the BDB books (Z was scarred and Phury has one leg missing). I just recently read a book (Surviving Raine) where the male character was physically scarred and was an alcoholic and not your typical hero. I loved it.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check out "Bone Deep". You're the second to recommend it, Paula. Yes, the BDB have their share of unconventional heroes too. A great thing. I'll look up surviving Raine also, thanks for the recs. :)
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading romance for *cough* 37 years I'm finding myself a bit over some of the standard types. I've started chucking category romances when the hero is in bed with another woman in the first chapter. Yup. I'm over man-whores. 37 years of man-whores and it's like overdosing on fatty cheesecake. I'm preferring beta's to alphas and get all excited over scars, amputees and a man whose had a nervous breakdown. I'm so happy soldiers are back in fashion cos they can have all of the above. BTW I loved Anna Cowan's Darlington. Granted he was a bit slutty to start with but soooooo damaged and not a big beefy alpha.
ReplyDeleteHey Fi, sounds like you're reading some cool stuff. Variety really is the spice of life, isn't it? I'm really going to have to read Untamed. Everyone has good things to say about it. Good on Anna for going somewhere different.
DeleteWell, I'm a Wonkomance fan, so naturally I like my heroes (and heroines) served with a little strange. Both Charlotte Stein and Cara McKenna have some unusual heroes (though they do some more conventional ones too). I still remember Cara blogging about her alcoholic hermit and Charlotte loves to dirty up a nerdy geek.
ReplyDeleteHey Ryll, I still have to read that other Cara McKenna you suggested. Loved her writing. Charlotte is wonderful. Really liked her NA artist hero in Sheltered who was all sorts of dangerous but really quite beta in a lot of ways.
DeleteFunny enough, I love the idea of all the heroes you mentioned - except the shorter hero! Being tall, it's my personal thing, so whilst I could find a cross-dressing duke attractive, I don't know that I could come at the shorter hero. Strange but true.
ReplyDeleteI love it when writers step out of the box with their heroes though. I would definitely be interested in what you could do with such a story.
It's good, isn't it, Bec? When a writer throws something a little different at you, it makes you stop and think. It makes you revise your definitions of beauty and heroics and all sorts of things. :)
DeleteFunny enough, I love the idea of all the heroes you mentioned - except the shorter hero! Being tall, it's my personal thing, so whilst I could find a cross-dressing duke attractive, I don't know that I could come at the shorter hero. Strange but true.
ReplyDeleteI love it when writers step out of the box with their heroes though. I would definitely be interested in what you could do with such a story.
I just read one where our hero was deaf and the heroin was severely dyslexic. I can't remember the author but the book is titled Tall Tatted and Tempting. I loved that characters were different. The some old stereotype are getting old and I find myself looming for the out side of the box story lines and characters. So in my opinion if the story is good and the emotion and passion is there then the type of flaws shouldn't matter. I think readers want main charactors that have some flaws it makes them real and more likeable. That's my 2 cents anyway.
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