Romance Heroines We Love, by Natalie Charles

I love talking about romantic heroes. Whether you love billionaires, sheiks, dukes, single dads, or military men, romance offers a selection of heroes hot enough to make any reader swoon. But what about the smart, fesity women who bring those men to one knee? Today I want to talk about them, and I want to know: what do you look for in a romantic heroine?

 

Some readers seem to enjoy placing themselves in the role of the heroine and experiencing a story through her eyes. For those readers, it may be important for the heroine to have a relatable lifestyle, family, or outlook on life.

 

While I of course want to sympathize with the heroine on some level, I'm not in the vicarious living school of readers. I don't care if the heroine is someone whose life I want to experience. I want my heroines to be kick ass and edgy -- Eve Dallas in J.D. Robb's In Death series is a good example. I've also been enjoying Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli and Isles series. Rizzoli and Isles may not be romantic heroines in the traditional sense, but they are bad ass women with brains and flaws. Sometimes the flaws are annoying, but that's cool. I can handle imperfect. I was also crazy about Cecilia Grant's heroine in A Lady Awakened, prickly as she could be, and Sarah Mayberry's heroine in Her Best Worst Mistake.

 

I confess to struggling a bit with Mary Sue heroines, though I'm not sure if it's because I find them dull or because I lied earlier about living vicariously through heroines. I can't relate to characters who are perky and kind and inexplicably have no idea how beautiful they are. Something about that is grating. But hey, I also struggle with a lot of alpha male heroes, so maybe I'm strange.

 

So let's hear it: Do you like to live through your heroines? What do you love in a romance heroine, and who have been some of your favorites?

Dude, that's so trope: by Tina Vaughn

Trope.

I just hate that word. I'm not sure why. To me, trope sounds like some kind of teenage slang. *shakes fist* “Get off my lawn, you pesky kids.”

Webster's Dictionary basically tells me that a trope is a cliché. I know. I know. Maybe that's why I have a problem with the word. Trope, by its very definition, implies both overuse and unoriginality. (Gasp. The horror!)

You know what's pretty awesome, though? Among the many synonyms for trope and cliché, you'll find the word truism–and that, my fellow writers and readers, is why we love tropes, especially in short and category-length romance. A universal truth. An undoubted truth. Some situation we identify with and/or intrinsically know.

Some examples of romance tropes include, but aren't limited to: boss/employee, makeovers, amnesia, secret baby, accidental pregnancy, blackmail or revenge, marriage of convenience, fake engagement, etc.

If it helps, you can think of your trope as the hook of your story, the idea that attracts readers. And just because an author uses a trope, or several, doesn't mean a book will be predictable, boring or lacking in excitement and creativity. It's all in what you do with your plot, characters and conflict.

Readers love certain types of stories. I will devour a marriage of convenience or fake engagement story in one sitting. I've read hundreds of them. Maybe even thousands. But I never get tired of that trope, and other readers who are fans of certain types of stories, won't get tired either…as long as the writing is strong and original.

Think of it this way. Two nights per week my family eats chicken for dinner, and I'm in charge of the cooking. What if I all I did was grill some chicken breast and leave it at that? That chicken's pretty good the first night. Okay the second night. By week four, I can guarantee you my family, and my own taste buds, are rebelling. That's why I change it up. We have stir-fry, fajitas, pasta, burgers, gumbo and anything else I feel like cooking. We're still eating chicken, but I've changed the other ingredients.

Everyone's full, happy and looking forward to more. Isn't that exactly what we writers and readers want?

What are your favorite tropes to read and/or write?

Can you share some book recommendations?