Taste of Kiwi

Thirteen Negative Traits For Heroes

I’m pondering book nine in my Middlemarch Mates series and the heroes in particular. Of course, it goes without saying that the heroine will love her two heroes to bits and think they’re the best thing since the invention of sliced bread (maybe even chocolate) but they need to be well-rounded. They need to be human. They need faults along with their positive traits. So, here are thirteen possibles for my heroes.

1. Overbearing.

2. Too flirtatious with other females.

3. Smug or boastful.

4. Too arrogant.

5. Possessive or prone to jealousy.

6. Selfish.

7. Moody – prone to dark moods or temperamental.

8. No sense of humor.

9. Impractical.

10. Manipulative.

11. Impatient.

12. Restless or quickly bored.

13. Fails to plan adequately.

Of course, these traits can be applied to women as well. I could also include things like obsessed with sex, speeds in car, leaves dirty clothes all over the floor, gambles or smokes, swears too much, burps or farts in public, hogs conversation.

Which vices/negative traits do you think are good for heroes in novels and in particular in romances? Do you have more suggestions for me? Do you like heroes to have large faults or do small ones work better for you?

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So this track was playing on my iPod while Scotty and I wandered at our old-dog pace around the reserve this morning. It made me start thinking. Possibly a bad thing, but follow along…

I’m a country girl at heart, and my husband also grew up on a farm. The farming background gives us a lot in common. But I’ve also lived in towns and cities and met city boys. Their idea of dates are different for a start. A country man might take you to a rodeo, to an agricultural show or stock sales. Dinner out might be at the local pub and jeans are fine. In the city, dates are to nightclubs, nice restaurants or maybe a walk in a park. There are art galleries and museums and sexy dresses. Spiky heels that áre in no danger of sinking halfway to China when you walk beside your man. Try that in the country and see what happens!

In most of my writing, and especially in my Middlemarch series, the heroes are all country boys. Strong, capable farmers who don’t need to work out in a gym. An exception to this rule would be PLAYING TO WIN where my hero is a professional rugby player and businessman. He does a lot of promotion and charity work and is at home wearing a suit. While my Middlemarch men could do the suit thing, they’re more at home in the wide open spaces.

I like to read about both types of heroes, but I have a real soft spot for a cowboy, country male type. I like them because they’re independent, capable, usually emotionally strong and can turn their hand to anything. They’re not generally full of themselves. Maybe they’re not quite as good at romance, but we know the right woman can smooth the rough edges.

What do you think about real life – country man or a city man and why? And in fiction – which do you choose? Is your answer different and why?

This year Harlequin is celebrating sixty years of romance. They’re giving away free downloads of sixteen titles that represent most of their lines. If you haven’t checked out their free offer yet, run straight over and download the titles that grab your interest. I’ve already downloaded my share.
Here’s the link.

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I’ve read two great posts about characters/heroes over the last two days. At Romancing the Blog Heather Massey talks about a hero’s appearance versus his personality.

Over at The Novelty Girls Jennifer Leeland talks about celebrities and how she uses their pictures for character inspiration.

When it comes to characters I do the less is more thing. My character descriptions are very sparse, and often I need to go back and “color them in” a bit more. I never use pictures. My characters pop fully formed from inside my head. Heck, they’re probably pleased to leave because it’s so crowded in there! 99% of my heroes come from the tall, dark and sexy group. I think I’ve written one blond hero in ten years.

When I’m reading a book, I never like to know too much. The hero is tall, dark and sexy inside my head, no matter what the author writes. And the heroine – well, heck – funnily enough, she looks just like me.

Do you like the author to write lots of detail so the hero is easy to visualize? Or do you belong to the less is more category? Does the character’s personality count more than his appearance to you, the reader? Do you like to have a picture or photo – a visual – when you’re writing?

Final note: Tea For Two is out at Samhain Publishing today. Woohoo!!

I’m blogging at the Samhain blog today about Tasseomancy (tea leaf reading) and I’m at Jennifer’s Random Musings again.

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