Whether we call them heroes, romantic leads, or book boyfriends, some stand out more than others. Books can be memorable for their plots, their twists, or the emotions they bring out in us, but an unforgettable hero can make the difference between a good read and one to which all others are compared. Measuring up to the likes of Jamie Fraser, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, and Zafir Ansari isn’t an easy task for any hero nowadays, yet many do because they, like those iconic heroes, have the secret ingredient.
Damaged heroes are a personal weakness of mine. I love to read them, I love to write them. Bringing out Bo Echidna’s strength in Leashed (Hellhounds Series Book 2) was only made possible by Sage Marcellus, the librarian and art history major who sees past his jagged edges and self-deprecating humor. She makes him want to be better, to become more than the lifelong screwup persona he’s embraced his whole life. Sage also introduces Bo to paranormal romance novels, which results in him exploring one of his fears.
“Every guy knows romance is roses and wine and chocolate, but there was none of that in any of the books. So how do they count as romance? It’s kind of stressful to know your average guy could do none of that and still end up married.”
And then there’s the antihero, that complex, morally ambiguous guy who is so deeply flawed he’s almost irredeemable. The wind coming off the red flags circling a good antihero could trigger a tsunami, yet the draw to get in close is so darn powerful. Rhys Kaius, a vampire from my Haunt Vault series, is a character I both apologize for and hold up as one of my favorites. He’s manipulative. Crude. Callous. Relentless. And Lis Bruckner has him wrapped around her little vamp-killing finger. She meets him head-on, pushes back, and throws his sharp tongue right back at him.
“I’ll drain her dry,” Rhys threatened, refusing to move despite the lock being popped.
“No, you won’t,” she sighed, motioning for Heisner to open the door. “Now step aside and let me in, Rhys. Please.”
After a moment’s thought, he slammed his hands on the metal door and backed up against the wall. “Heisner,” he muttered as she entered his cell, “she reeks of cheap soap and chemicals.”
The officer’s brows rose and he tightened his grip on his UV light.
Lis crossed her arms. “You reek of dried blood and bitterness. Andy, you can go.”
Finally, there’s the conflicted hero. I’m a sucker for a good internal struggle. Toss in a little yearning for a heroine whose sole purpose ISN’T to fix him, and I’m all in. River Baker is this guy. He’s a lovely, tortured mess of confusion, self-doubt, and stubbornness and while Angelina will support him and listen to him, his journey of self-discovery isn’t hers to walk. She isn’t a prop in his story and she makes it crystal clear from the start.
Deciding she was done taking the high road and playing nice, Angelina crossed her arms and stared him down. “Is there a reason you put yourself—and, by extension, me—through this every few days? Some form of self-flagellation, perhaps?”
Now his green eyes were on hers. “What?”
“This,” she repeated as she gestured between them. “It would be just as easy for me to drop the orders off at the shop and leave the invoice for your brother, but instead you seem hellbent on coming in here every few days to destroy my zen with your sullen, cranky ass.”
So what is the secret ingredient in the creation of a memorable hero, a hero readers think about long after The End? Is it brains? Brawn? A sharp tongue and quick wit? Or it is the way those traits play off a heroine who is equally formidable? Mr. Darcy, Jamie Fraser, and Zafir wouldn’t be half the swoon-worthy men they are had they not met their matches with opinionated, strong-willed, and intelligent women who share the storylines equally. Unforgettable heroes have remarkable women demanding more than mediocrity and playbook romantic gestures. Women with thoughts, dreams, scars who exist in their own spaces on the page are the key to a hero readers return to time and time again.
And sometimes, as Bo discovered, heroines provide more than an equal match for the hero.
“That’s why I got them out on your card,” Bo stated, swinging the door open. “You’re my book sugar mama.”
About the Author.
Katja Desjarlais is a music teacher by day and a paranormal romance writer by moonlight. She is an unapologetic music addict with an obsession for bad Bach puns despite her irrational aversion to Baroque. Her favorite words include ‘plethora’ and ‘dapper’, and she is physically repulsed by the word ‘moist’. Katja’s interest in the paranormal can be traced to her early childhood movie choices and to the collection of books she has stored on her phone for reading emergencies.
Desjarlais lives in northern Canada with her husband, three children, and polydactyl cat. Her summers are spent driving across North America with her family, while the long Canadian winters are made more bearable by attending heavy metal concerts.
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