Monday, August 12, 2013

Those Lovable Bad Boys

What is it about fictional bad boys that they can do no wrong in women's eyes? What is it about the Han Solos and the Eric Northman's in fiction that women can't get enough of them?

I finally got a chance to sit down and talk with one of our readers, Karen, who'd completed The Body Hunters: Paradise Denied a couple weeks ago. Since I'd been on vacation from work I didn't get a chance to get her opinion on what she thought. Without revealing too much about the story line, secrets between the two main characters are exposed. Karen goes on to tell me how the main character, Danielle was totally in the wrong for what she kept hidden from the hero, reformed former player Aiden. It surprised me because I thought she would at least take the woman's side in the argument. The gist I got from my conversation with Karen was that if Danielle couldn't treat Aiden right, then she would. Yeah, we're talking about fictional characters, but this is the type of vibe I got and Karen isn't the only one.

The opinions we've received about our good looking, rogue have ranged from an 'I'd do him!' to him being called 'sexy' and every thing under the moon. He's the right combination of dangerous and loveable, with a little salty language mixed in. Even though the character is nothing but a compilation of ones and zeroes on a computer screen, women love him.

I think the attraction stems from the idea of the bad boy being able to be reformed, something that isn't necessarily true in real life. If you meet a bad boy in real life, most of the time your best bet would be to turn around and run because you're in for nothing but heartbreak. Most people aren't that easy to change, which is why women love their fictional heroes. They can live vicariously through the pages of the book or on the television. The sexy scoundrel is their fantasy come to life.

I'm all about giving the people what they want and the jury has spoken, but as a writer I have my responsibility to keep the story fresh and unpredictable. So I tell Karen and the rest of our superfans to keep reading, we have some plans for Aiden Stone in the next few months.

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