Comments on: It’s All About The Man

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 16:14:05 +0000

This is a one super duper site

By: Larissa

Larissa — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 12:46:58 +0000

Maili, it’s actually my theory that many women who don’t like romance heroines (like me) don’t like them because they are real. The heroes are written as fantasy men, but the heroines, because they are women written by heterosexual women, are writing REAL women. Well, a lot of women (like me) don’t deal well with other women. So…naturally, as a rule, I’m not going to like romance heroines.

I’m not saying that I CAN’T like them–I have. Just as I’ve got the best female friends in the whole world. However, as a rule, I work better with men.

Basically, if I read a romance, I’m reading to journey through the hero’s world. If I’m in the mood to hang out with a heroine, I go with Bombshells or chick-lit!

By: Kay

Kay — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 10:02:16 +0000

I don’t think either one is prime for me, but perhaps I lean towards the heroine. Or at least, I like more of her POV (though definitely want both). And I need her to be sympathetic. Mostly though I need her not to be TSTL or even slightly that way inclined, and I need him not to be too alpha. I can cope with a bit alpha – though it’s not my preference – but the moment he starts telling her what to do, and she secretly likes it… I want to shoot them both.

By: Maili

Maili — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 03:56:34 +0000

Wow, this is really interesting. I wonder if it has to do with why some reject Chick Lit? There ought to be a survey or poll: which side are you on, and do you read Chick Lit? I’m willing to make a bet that those who don’t give a fig about heroines are those who are likely not to be keen on Chick Lit.
Actually, this discussion sheds some light on why many heroines of romance novels are poorly developed, especially when you compare them with heroines of women’s fiction and Chick Lit novels. Interesting.

By: Sam Hunter

Sam Hunter — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 18:35:22 +0000

I have to add one thing — upon starting Jo Leigh’s A LICK AND A PROMISE and barely being able to put it down, all I could think of was this discussion. The heroine is so appealing, so strongly drawn, that I just love her. The hero is just perfect too, but it’s one thing to create a man we want, and another talent entirely to create a woman we’d like to be! Kudos, Jo.

Sam

By: Sam Hunter

Sam Hunter — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 21:48:50 +0000

Larissa, leave it to you to hit on such a great, pulsing nerve! LOL Super column, great conversation, I can’t resist.

I have to join the ranks of people who like both — for me, the relationship is absolutely key, and the relationship is about two people, not just one. If she isn’t worth such a great guy (or visa versa) then the entire book falls apart for me. One amazing heroine I read recently was Dr. Jessie Robards in The Orchid Hunter, but the hero was perfect too (I think the who darned book was perfect). It’s the dynamic between the two that clinches the book, and if one of them is failing, none of it works. IMO.

I am also fall-on-the-ground thankful for male POV in romance novels — I stopped reading them years back because I was tired of straight female POV and not enough sex! LOL

I wonder, though, if what people mean by “relating” to a heroine is not “identifying” but “empathizing” — you can feel something that they feel, whether it is fear, passion, bravery, etc — and so we can experience something vicariously through them because we identify with their situation, how they feel, rather than who they are?

Either way, very thought-provoking topic.

Sam

By: Susan G

Susan G — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 19:25:48 +0000

What a great topic!

You know…I thought I was alone in this. It’s one of the reasons I like Nora Roberts so much – she gives a LOT of the hero’s POV. (I guess growing up with five brothers and then raising two sons gives some people a bit of insight into the male psyche).

When writing, I usually run things by my DH and he’ll tell me if I’m off base. I don’t want perfect men, I just want real ones.

I don’t read for the heroine’s POV either, really. Sometimes I like her and sometimes I don’t. If I do, it just makes the story that much better, but there’s nothing more annoying than heroines that are too damn perfect.

The heroine POV thing has been my issue with Bombshells…they are written solely from HER pov! BORING.

I agree…it’s all about the men.

By: Michelle Willingham

Michelle Willingham — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 11:53:23 +0000

One of my favorite books is Jo Beverley’s The Shattered Rose. The hero comes alive as a real person, with a human side that is incredibly sympathetic. I never really connected with the heroine, but the hero was so strongly written, I didn’t care.

By: Lydia Joyce

Lydia Joyce — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 02:01:04 +0000

Hmmm… When reading, I can’t like a book where I truly hate either h/h. I tend to like book more where the hero is delicious and the heroin meh than the other way around!

In writing, in my first book, TVON, I started with the image of a woman meeting a man in shadows. In MOTN, I started with a mental image of a woman meeting a man in a mask in Venice. In my third book, it was a woman crossing a lake to a castle with a man standing on the shore. In most cases, my women are easier to figure out, but the heroes often have more emotional resonnance. I can’t say that one’s more important than the other, though!

By: Sheri

Sheri — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 01:55:21 +0000

I love the Hero’s point of view, too. His journey moves me. As for the Heroine, she better deserve the Hero. I can’t stand a weak Heroine. And if I feel she doesn’t deserve him, I can’t finish the book. But there have been some that have blown me away that I thought were so cool. The H and H both. Those are the ones that stay on my keeper shelf.