On Wednesday evening the Babe Magnet and I braved freezing temperatures and miserable sleety rain to watch a show. A dance show. Brendan Cole – the ‘bad boy’ dancer from Strictly Come Dancing – has a solo tour and we had tickets. It was the perfect evening for a romance novelist – perfect research – drama, passion, elegance, glamour - romance . .. oodles of romance even if it was deliberately planned, carefully staged, practiced again and again until it was so skilfully executed.
And if you wanted to consider the male physique - it was very difficult not to! – there were lean, toned bodies, powerful legs, muscular arms – all displayed to great effect in fitted trousers, sleeveless vests or the elegance of a perfectly fitted tailcoat. All the things we ask of our heroes when we write.
But we are told (It’s not a ‘rule’ – I don’t believe in rules, but it is often emphasised) that male dancers don’t work as heroes. They are a ‘hard sell’. Along with other artists - painters , writers, musicians. It’s not any feeling that a dancer might be gay - Mr Cole himself, Mikhail Baryshnikov and so many others make a nonsense of this. So why , I wondered as we drove home from the show - why is it that these talents - talents that I personally would find extremely attractive in a man - are considered difficult to ‘sell’ as part of a hero’s make up.
There’s no doubt about the appeal of the Mediterranean lover, the sheikh, the billionaire, the Prince. Or if you prefer your heroes rather less of a fantasy – the cowboy, the doctor, the architect. But the creative arts are still underrepresented in the world of romance. I once had an argument with an editor who had object ted to the fact that my hero was a music producer – not a rock star or concert pianist but a Simon Cowell type figure who managed the careers of singers, and other musicians. This was some years ago so I wonder what would happen now if I tried to give my hero the same background and occupation.
Are we in danger of limiting our heroes too much? Are we at risk of creating ‘hero’ templates that are all too much the same – the sheikh, the cowboy – the billionaire who sometimes doesn’t even reveal how he actually made his money – he just has it! Personally I’m all for more individuality, more scope, more ‘talents’ in the heroes I read about - and write about.
I’m running a workshop on writing romance for Valentine’s Day. One of the exercises I do for building characters is to project a large image of a handsome man (Hugh Jackman always works wonderfully) on a screen and ask the students to tell me who he – as their hero – is. What is his name? Age? Occupation? Family background? Interests? I’ve used this a lot and when it works well, it shows that everyone has their own ideas of what makes this man 'hero material' - putting in ideas from their own personal preferences and beliefs. But recently I’ve noticed that, sadly, the answers that come back are becoming more and more from people who are thinking of ‘what makes a Mills & Boon/Harlequin hero?’ rather that what makes a hero.
So – going back to basics, I was wondering just what makes a hero for you? Is it his nationality – does the Latin Lover always win out against the ‘home grown’ Brit or Aussie? Is it vital for him to have a huge fortune - and are the current set of financial crises going to strip the Greek billionaire of his role of leader of the pack ? Do you find artistic talents appealing or a turn off? What about sportsmen? There was a recent continuity featuring rugby players but would that have worked as well with soccer stars or athletes?
What are you prepared to accept - and where are you just not prepared to compromise? For me it’s not what a man does – how he makes a living - that makes him a hero but the man himself. I’ve always said that a hero has to be a man of honour, a man I can respect. He may make mistakes and act wrongly as a result of those mistakes but those mistakes need to come out of the sense of honour that drives him. I can’t see a cheat , someone who is deliberately cruel without justification (even if wrong) as a hero. I can cope with a man who has a problem with the particular heroine I set him up against - a man who thinks, because of evidence that seems to show that’s what she is - that she is nothing but a cheat and a gold-digger. But a man who thinks that all women are like that? Who is actually a misogynist at heart – but will make an exception for this one woman? He’s never going to appeal to me. And I love competence – someone who is really good at what they do. Which brings me back to Brendan Cole again. I could quite easily build a hero on him – that bad boy reputation would be great, the physique, the success . . . but would I get away with actually having a dancer as a hero? What do you think?
OK - I admit it – I’m trying to pick your brains here. As well as that Valentine’s Day workshop, I’m running the Romance Writing Course for the Fishguard Writing Weekend in a couple of weeks’ time too. I’ll be talking there about what makes a great romantic hero - And I do feel that some of the ideas of just what makes a hero are in a state of flux and possible change right now. But are these superficial changes rather than the real foundations of a real hero?
I’d love to know what you think. What makes a hero for you ? What are you happy to see in a romantic hero – and what would turn you right off? Are there some things you can cope with , no matter how bad, provided they are well written and the characters truly developed? Or are there some things that are absolute, total no-noes, something you could never ever accept in any man who is a hero for you?
Kate's latest hero is Carlos Diablo in the upcoming The Devil and Miss Jones which is out i
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Mills & Boon Modern in the UK in March, and in USA in Presents Extra in April
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