Make It or Break It

As a reader it has occurred to me that the hero of the romance novel makes it and the heroine breaks it. Let me explain myself. Think of your favorite romance. It could be a historical, a suspense or even a paranormal. I bet it has a kick ass hero. Kick ass is of course subjective, but I’m sure he’s the type of guy you could fall in love with. In fact, I bet you did fall in love with him. Whether it is because of his great looks, amazing physique, his sense of humor or how he treats the heroine, he is somebody you’d love to be trapped in an elevator with. He takes the book to a whole other level, from really good, to love it love it great. I contend Christian Grey is the reason thousands of women love Fifty Shades of Grey and not that contract, or the Red Room of Pain, the toys, or even Ana. They fell in love with Christian. When a book is awesome we fall in love with the hero and want to go with him anywhere (and everywhere).

Ever read a book and all you want to do is throw it at the wall, delete it from your e-reader, hell delete it from your brain? I bet it’s because the heroine broke the book. She’s either too bitchy, too sweet or the most hated of all, too stupid to live. And she’s ruined the book for you. You can figure out why such a great guy like the hero wants to spend time with such a skank/ass/idiot. Even though you like him, you can’t bear spending one more minute with her, so you have to kick them both out of your life. Yup, she just broke that book.  I once stopped reading a paranormal because the hero and heroine were soul mates and the heroine was in search of the hero in the beginning (she finally finds him). In the course of reading the book I find out that she isn’t a virgin. This is typically not a problem, except she’s only 21 AND SHE KNOWS SHE HAS A SOULMATE. That bitch broke my book.

As a writer I have to keep these two facts in mind. I need to create heroes you want to spend hours upon hours with (even when they are girls :) and heroines who you don’t want to leave on the side of the expressway. It is a hard balance, particularly when I find myself falling in love with my heroes and my heroines are just random chicks I put in place so I can play with Mr./Ms. Perfect. It can be a problem. I have to remember to not let her break the book. Because if she does, you’ll probably break your Kindle throwing it across the room. And I don’t want to be responsible for that J.