November 17th, 2009 | by Susan Lyons |
We all want our heroes to be heroic, and traditionally romance readers love heroes who are SEALs, covert ops guys, police officers, and firefighters.
Okay, but seriously… What’s it like to be in love with a man who risks his life on a regular basis? To have kids with him and hope he’ll be around to see them grow up? To hope that when you both swear those vows “till death you do part,” that death is going to be a long, long way off?
Do women just try not to think about it, or do they recognize the fear but find the strength to handle it?
In my November story “Too Hot to Handle” (in Men on Fire), heroine Jade Rousseau’s dad was a cop. When he was almost killed on the job, she and her mom were so traumatized that her mom persuaded him to switch to a desk job.
Jade herself became risk-averse. If you play it safe, you can’t get hurt, right? Well, her beliefs are challenged when her girlfriends “buy” her the wrong guy at a bachelor auction. She needs a faux fiancé and wants a nice, traditional white-collar guy. Instead, she gets sexy Quinn O’Malley.
Quinn lives on a sailboat, rides a motorbike, and – oh, yeah – he’s a firefighter. Not only a firefighter, but one who has a personal vendetta against fire. It claimed his family, and it’s not going to take any more lives if he has anything to say about it. So, on the job, he’s a risk-taker.
What does a woman like Jade do when she starts to fall for a man like Quinn? Well, to find out how that particular romance turns out, you’ll just have to read the story. Okay, you know how it turns out – it’s a romance, after all! – but to find out how the two of them resolve their pretty major differences, you’ll have to do some reading. If you’d like to start with an excerpt, go to the MEN ON FIRE page at my website: http://www.susanlyons.ca. I also have behind-the-scenes notes, blurbs for all 3 novellas, a discussion guide, and recipes for the “it’s raining men” cocktail and decadent chocolate Nanaimo bars!
Anyhow, what I’d like to know today is how you feel about high-risk heroes and the women who love them. Or, in reverse, women in high-risk occupations and the men who love them. In fiction, and in real life, what kind of person does it take to love someone who endangers their life on a regular basis?
And, as a reader, what’s your favourite kind of hero: the high-risk ones, the billionaires, the brilliant scientists, the doctors who save lives, the lawyers who fight for justice, or ????
Hi Susan,
Well I have to admit that I love all of those types of heroes that you mentioned. Because for me heroes are made from their actions, not necessarily their occupation. A firefighter can save lives, but so can a brilliant scientist by creating a life saving drug, or a billionaire by providing much needed aid to someone who desperately needs a helping hand.
That being said their is something incredibly sexy about a hero who puts his life on the line while doing heroic deeds. And I love them even more for it…..in fiction. In real life I don’t know how I would handle that daily fear.
Read the excerpts and Men on Fire looks almost too hot to handle….but I’m sure I’ll manage some how
by Booklover1335 · November 17th, 2009 at 7:33 amHi Booklover! Thanks for dropping by.
Yes, it really is a man’s actions that count, isn’t it? That reminds me of something I heard on the radio recently about doctors. Now, I think being a healer (doctor, nurse, massage therapist, etc.) is a truly heroic occupation. But apparently, if doctors are on airplanes and there’s a medical emergency and the call goes out “is there a doctor in the plane?”, many of them will not acknowledge that they’re a doctor and help out. Okay, they may be afraid that if something goes wrong they could be sued (a sad comment on our society), but all the same, how can a person who is supposed to be a healer sit on their hands and not help? Seems to me that’s pretty unheroic. I mean seriously, did they become doctors just to make big bucks? Sure hope not!
That reminds me, in one of my books with a firefighter hero, HOT IN HERE, the heroine and hero are out for dinner and a man in the restaurant is suddenly taken ill. Who’s the first to rush over and help? My off-duty firefighter, of course! That’s the kind of guy I write about, not the one who sits on his hands.
I hope you enjoy MEN ON FIRE, Booklover.
by Susan Lyons · November 17th, 2009 at 9:39 amCongrats on your release!
) Tamsyn
by Tamsyn · November 17th, 2009 at 9:51 amI don’t know about high risk – there are people who just stepped out to do an errand and end up dead or hospitalized from an accident or something. Life has no guarantees. So, I love all types of heroes but especially those strong alpha types!
Hi Tamsyn. Yes, I often think that myself – you can get killed just crossing the street. Hey, even if you stay home, your house could catch fire and you could die. There’s no way of being totally safe. And how boring life would be if we tried to do that!
What Jade and Quinn both struggle toward is the idea that “risky” things should be done with a certain degree of sensibleness and caution.
by Susan Lyons · November 17th, 2009 at 10:13 amWow. I don’t think I have a favorite kind of hero but I do have a soft spot for men and women who go out of his or her way to protect and serve.
It would take a strong person or character to partner with a hero.
Men on Fire looks right up my alley.
by lynne Roberts · November 17th, 2009 at 7:30 pmThanks, Lynne. Yes, that’s exactly what Jade finds out – about needing to be a strong person.
by Susan Lyons · November 17th, 2009 at 7:45 pm