I read somewhere that romance heroes are characters we would like to fall in love with. I agree. What about the romance heroine? For me, it is a someone I can admire. I need her to be intelligent, capable, and fearless. However, when I showed my first idea to a friend, an avid romance novel reader, she said my heroine was too strong. My friend was convinced that the romance heroine could not be so strong that she no longer needed the hero.
It made me think about the genre in a new light: did the heroine need to be less intelligent, less well-to-do, and less experienced to serve as foils to the rich, handsome, experienced hero? Would romance not work otherwise? What would happen if the heroine was so capable, rich, experienced, and independent that she no longer needed a hero?
The hero would rise to the occasion.
My challenge was set. It was not difficult to create intrepid heroines. I see them all around me. The challenge was in creating the hero that would not be intimidated by them.
My novels are set in a place where patriarchy is settling it roots into its institutions. The men in power are starting to create the laws and traditions designed to keep women subordinate. They are allowing interpretations of religion that serve their needs. They are instituting laws that serve to keep rich, landed men in power. In this world, a proper woman, a woman who knows her place, would be submissive and accepting of her lower place in society. If she stepped out of line, she ought to accept the shame heaped upon her. If she did not conform, she should accept hardship that ensued.
My heroines did not get any of those memos. They recognize the disbalance, but do not accept the interpretations of those in power. They understand the deck is stacked against them, and demand that they deal the next hand. They are willing to surmount any obstacles and endure any hardship to stand up for what they think is right. They are intelligent enough to recognize what the powerful men of their world are trying to do, and they do not accept it. It is not as if they do not suffer the consequences, however, or have moment of weakness and self-doubt—they do—but they persevere and dauntlessly rise again.
Any character intimidated by a heroine who is intelligent, independent, and fearless is not my irresistible hero. Any character who gets unhinged by the heroine’s lack of need for him is not my irresistible hero. Our hero is supremely self-confident and yet also self-effacing. He is undaunted by her independence; in fact, he admires her for it. His maleness is not comprised of jealous possessiveness, physical power, and sexual prowess. It is comprised of his protective instinct, his need to provide for those he cares for, and his emotional vulnerability despite his masculinity that opens him up to true connectedness. His maleness is his humanity.
I invite you to read Captivated and experience how the challenge of writing a dauntless heroine was overcome. You will find that Rasha is undeniably intrepid, despite her vulnerabilities, and that Shamshir is undeniably irresistible, despite his.