After a comment from a reader--I do read them all--I decided to write an extra blog this week about heroes. The wounded ones are sometimes difficult to deal with! But I find writing about a man who can grow and change is so satisfying.
In FOREVER AFTER, my hero has a background that included a contentious childhood divorce. His mother cared about appearances. His father really wanted him. Seth eventually found a way to live with his dad. But the whole situation led him to become a lawyer, fighting for men's rights to father their children. He doesn't have a high opinion of women...until he meets Darcy.
Is Seth likeable in the first half of the novel? I don't have perspective on this. As his creator, I saw the qualities of integrity and fairness I instilled in him from the first page. The heroine who is unconventional--she is a garage mechanic--leads him on a journey not only to find himself again, but to find forgiveness. By the last page I think the reader is convinced the that this is a man who will love for a lifetime...for forever after.
So my question to writers is--Is a wounded hero marketable? And I'd like to ask my readers--Would you rather read about a wounded hero or one who just needs a nudge in the right direction to figure out how to love?
I don't think this is as much a question of alpha vs. beta as it is a question of how much a reader likes to see a hero change in the course of a book.
Discussion and comments are welcome.
© 2012 Karen Rose Smith
FOREVER AFTER by Karen Rose Smith
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