Today I’m welcoming romance author Carol Rose. Carol, a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart finalist, has written twenty contemporary romance books–her latest which is Thankfully Yours. Here are her thoughts on heroines (and heroes!) we love. Thanks for joining us, Carol!
She may be testy when she’s on her period and she may not have anything good to say to jerks who try to pick her up with lines like “I have love-fluenza,” but the romance heroine I love is a warm-hearted, real-life girl. She’s just trying to make her way through this life and she knows she’s not perfect. The deal is, however, that the man who wins her heart will say she’s perfect for him.
We all want to be more beautiful, to lose (or gain!) ten pounds, to have a better nose or a better job. Sometimes life sucks and we know we’re not always peachy, but the romances that pull us in are the ones where even less-than-perfect heroines find heroes who fit perfectly with them. Heroines may not always say the right thing and they might struggle to do the right thing, but that makes them more relatable. We can get them.
Perfection gets boring.
Look at the recent heroines and heroes in our favorite television shows. The character of Nurse Jackie struggled with addiction and cheated on her lover. The very successful show House centered around a brilliant, but arrogant, drug-addicted doctor. The main character on Dexter killed people? Yes, they deserved to die. The secret in creating a hero or heroine is to give them a good reason for being as bad as they can sometimes be. House took drugs because he had serious pain. To a large degree, he was snarly because of his physical limitations.
These shows weren’t romances, but we tuned in every week to watch how the characters dealt with their lives and we knew that each of them deserved to be loved. Even if they didn’t believe this themselves.
Romances with less-than-perfect heroines and heroes give us hope. They remind us that we can be loved ourselves and that even though little is perfect in this world, it’s still pretty good.
Carol Rose is an award-winning author of contemporary romances. She has written twenty books, including Always and Forgotten Father. Her books have won numerous awards, including a final in the prestigious Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award.
Carol is an active member of the North Texas Romance Writers, the Dallas Area Romance Writers and the Yellow Rose chapter. A frequent speaker at writers’ groups and conferences, she has taught workshops on characterization and creating and resolving conflict. She works full time as a therapist.
Her husband and she married when she was only nineteen and he was barely twenty-one, proving that early marriage can make it, but only if you’re really lucky and persistent. They went through college and grad school together. She not only loves him still, all these years later, she still likes him—which she says is sometimes harder. They have two funny, intelligent and highly accomplished daughters. Carol loves writing and hopes you enjoy reading her work.
You can follow Carol on Twitter, find her on Facebook, or visit her website to learn more.
This post reminded me of how much enjoyment there is to be had from flawed, imperfect characters. “Perfection gets boring” – yes! Also, I love Carol’s personal story of young love making it!
Yay for long-lasting love! And non-perfection. It is boring…and unrealistic. Except for me; I’m totally perfect. 😉