Love to love those heroes

Romance fiction needs a hero for the heroine to fall in love with. It also needs a hero that each reader wants for the heroine and maybe for herself.

But what makes a hero heroic?

For me it’s two things:

• How he interacts with the heroine; and
• The journey he takes in the course of the story to become the person the heroine can love.

When the hero interacts with the heroine he should respect her and respect the role of women in society. He can be arrogant and aggressive in his approach to life and other characters – never the heroine. It goes without saying that physical and emotional violence or the threat of either is never heroic.

The journey of the hero has been well described by Campbell and Vogler. I like to see the hero struggle and change and earn the heroine’s love. My favourite part of the journey is the ‘Refusal of the Call’. No matter how short the hesitation, I like to see the hero question his ability to change and then decide that the love of the heroine is worth the risk.

Love to love those heroes.