Do you like em dark? Your heroes, that is. My name is Emma Petersen and I LOVE em dark. From Angel/Angelus, to Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde (In Mary Reilly. OMG How sexy was John Malkovich in that movie? It's still one of my absolutel favs!) my favorite heroes have always been dark. To me, these heroes were just as sexy and appealing when they were bad as they were when they were good.
So that makes me wonder. Is there a place in romance for a unrepentively bad hero? (I don't mean like puppy kickin or child abusing bad) A group of writer friends and I were talking about this very subject the other day. I had started to worry that my hero in my upcoming release (Seducing St. Nic - December 10th - Ellora's Cave. How's that for drive by promo?) was just a tad bit too dark. And the worry carried on to my hero in the next book in the series and the next.
In the 1st book, there is a cloud of suspicion around the hero. Had he killed someone?And in the 3rd, it is known from the outset that hero has killed, whether purposely or accidentally isn't known until the end.
I think there's always amount of leeway with vamp heroes because more than likely they may need to kill to survive.
But what about a human hero? What if he was a hit man? Or a crime lord? Would that change the image of a traditional hero? Can there be a truly bad hero in a romance? Or would readers feel as if it defeated the purpose of what a romance is supposed to be?
For me, it wouldn't. It would actually make for a more compelling story and satisfying HEA if love can make a once questionable man embrace a little bit of the light for the sake of love.
Maybe this is why vamps, demons and other sups are so popular among readers. Because by their very nature they have permission to be just a little more bad than your every day average mortal hero.
Do you like em dark? Can a human hero be bad and still be appealing? What do you think?
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6 comments:
Emma, hi! I like 'em dark. I like 'em bad. I like them with a whole lot of edge and a huge chip. :)
That's what makes things interesting. I mean, it's a romance so you know that they're getting together in the end, but when there's just a little evil thrown into the mix, it starts to make you wonder, doesn't it?
Granted, this type of hero needs a lot of things to make the story complete. First off, a kick ass heroine to match him, a proper plot to set him up against, and maybe even an armageddon to stop?
I love your dark heroes, that's for sure! And I don't think Cypriano is too bad at all...he's just bad in a very good way. And we all know what that way is, lol.
Seriously, _Seducing St. Nic_ is kick-ass hotness and the best Christmas present EVAH. You rock, CP. Smooches!
@ JK - Seriously. You hit it right on the head.
@ Jackie - *blushes* Hehe. Mlylt CP face!
Dark can totally work. Just look at Dexter, where they've actually produced an antihero out of a serial killing sociopath. Or look at Smallville's Lex Luthor, where Mike Rosenbaum turned the intended villain into the show's runaway sex god.
The difference, I think, is in how the character's handled. Dexter applies a carefully constructed morality which lets us know that yeah, okay, he's a knife-happy loon, but we know to our bones he'd never hurt Rita or Deb or the kids. To a certain extent, I see that in Lex, who makes dicey decisions from the start but has moments of being better than he thinks.
The big gauge, I'd think, is how they treat innocence. I have to believe on some level the hero/antihero would protect me to really enjoy a dark hero, but when I do, they're smoking hot. My very favourite kind, actually. :)
The big gauge, I'd think, is how they treat innocence. I have to believe on some level the hero/antihero would protect me to really enjoy a dark hero, but when I do, they're smoking hot.
OMG Nic! Seriously. How totally true is this! You rock. Seriously. Rock.
Hey Emma, Sorry for the late post, crazy weeks during holidays! Welcome to the blog. We're so happy you joined us. And yeah, DARK! (vbg)
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