I’m late (yep, the editor missed a deadline)!
I didn’t forget I was supposed to blog this morning. I just forgot to finish writing my blog post and get it posted. I could have finished my original blog post, but it will hold for another time. Instead, I think it’s appropriate to talk about heroes and heroines, since today in the U.S., it’s Memorial Day, the day we take to commemorate the men and women who have fallen in service to our country.
Yesterday, as I traveled back from a short conference in Florida, I saw quite a few service men and women in the airports. I don’t know about you, but something about seeing someone in uniform always gets my imagination going (and yes, I am one of those women who’s a sucker for a man in uniform). I think there’s a certain zing that comes just from putting on that uniform. And not just a military uniform, but many different “uniforms”—firefighter, police officer, nurse, race car driver (okay, McDonald’s, not so much!). And not every uniform is an obvious one—the power suit of the CEO, the clean cut appearance of the FBI agent, the kick-ass boots of an urban fantasy heroine (because it’s hard to kick ass in flip flops, really). In our minds, we’ve assigned a kind of uniform to different heroes and heroines.
Maybe it’s because those recognizable uniforms have become a symbol for power and authority? For having a measure of control? I’m not sure what it is, but I do know that when I read a book where a hero or heroine wears a certain kind of uniform, as a reader, I expect them to have certain qualities. Going back to the military, and the men and women who wear those uniforms, I automatically expect a warrior. And warriors as heroes and heroines—whether in a Scottish historical, a contemporary military romance, or an urban fantasy—are sexy. They fire the reader’s imagination, make them believe in safety and protection, maybe make them think of a partner who’s going to take control in the bedroom.
When I looked at those soldiers in the airport this weekend, it reminded me of how much I love a warrior hero or heroine, I love the implied strength, the drive to protect and defend. Sure, they’re not always perfect, they’re not always all-good, but they’re willing to risk for lives for me, for their loved ones, for their family, for people they don’t even know and never will—and that’s pretty sexy, don’t you think?
So let’s talk warrior heroes and heroines (whether they wear a uniform or not)—who are some of your favorites, those special men and women who are sexy and strong?
And for those who are reading, who are active or former military—thanks for being my hero.
Related posts:
Jamie Fraser is my ideal sexy warrior hero…
I am a die-hard (and probably rabid) fangrrl for all of the historical heroes Julie Garwood has written. Selecting just one is an absolute impossibility!
I’m rather taken with Nicholas de Piaget in Lynn Kurland’s books. I guess I have a thing for chivalrous knights. And I like Fenris Wolfenbach in Sandra Schwab’s Castle of the Wolf.
I’m a sucker for cop heroes. Susan Andersen is really good at writing that type of character.
For heroines I’m not that picky, as long as they’re smart and don’t take any crap from anyone. Elizabeth Peters’ and Loretta Chase’s heroines are usually like that.
Lara Adrian’s vampires, Nalini Singh’s psy and changelings, Meljean Brook’s demons and vamps….they’re all sexy and heroic.
Eve Dallas and Roarke. Not really a uniform involved, but a rather stellar duo there!
Oh and Karen Marie Moning’s highlanders….yum!
I love Marliss Melton’s Navy SEAL heroes.
As far as historicals go, no “uniformed” hero has — for me — surpassed Ruck, from Kinsale’s For My Lady’s Heart, in the category of noble hero. And I also love Sheridan from Kinsale’s Seize the Fire, even though he’s hardly noble.
I am less enraptured of military heroes in contemporary Romance, largely because I think it is so difficult to capture the gravity of what those guys have to face, especially when in RL we see the devastating consequences of war. Since Romance heroes all seem to be bigger than life, I tend to see some portrayals of military heroes as trivializing some of the military stuff.
I was just watching a report on Dateline last night in which post-traumatic stress was being linked to whether or not a solider had to kill. They are just starting to understand that that act, no matter how removed the soldier might be, is formative in determining how well someone will do psychologically and emotionally upon returning home. All of which makes it that much more difficult for me to see these amped up military guys as functional romantic partners, at least not without a ton of therapy.
Warrior heroes?
Whenever I think Warrior heroes, I think Medieval. Knights in armor on huge horses. For that, well, just about any Margaret Moore book comes to mind. She is my fave of that genre, hands down.
Actually I quite like the blokes from Bob Mayers books, even though it’s quite graphic voilence involved, certainly Alpha heroes those ones.
Completely disregarding the point of your post, but kicking ass in flip flops…
I can totally use that. Thank you very much.
Slight tangent: I only recently found out what Memorial Day memorializes (I’m Canadian). It’s confused me for years, because Remembrance Day is November 11, when we have the moment of silence for the war dead, and I know that the US observes the same date as Veteran’s Day.
Why do you have 2 days to honour the military? Not that they don’t deserve it, but why Veterans’ Day AND Memorial Day? What is different between the two concepts?
In Australia we have Remembrance Day 11th Nov, but we also have Anzac Day which is probably more sacred. It’s on 25th April commemorating the landing of the first troops (ANZACs) at the shores of Gallipoli, where they were slaughtered by the Turks. We have a dawn service around the country and also at Gallipoli as well to remember the fallen from all wars and those serving now. There are breakfasts and marches for veterans to get together and remember old comrades long gone. It’s a national public holiday, whereas Nov 11th isn’t.
My grandad was a POW WW2 so we get the kids up every year at 4am to go be at the dawn service to remember.
Okay now I’m rambling.
Natalie.
I’ve always been a sucker for a Navy man. I think because my favorite uncle was a Commander in the Royal Canadian Navy, and I always thought I’d grow up to marry a sailor. So in terms of fictional heroes, Suzanne Brockmann’s SEALs make me weak in the knees. Recently though, I’ve been reading Kurt Kamm’s One Foot in the Black and I have to admit that firefighters make pretty decent heroes too.