Tortured Heroes ‘R’ Us
| By Toni Blake | 06.12.09 |
I don’t know about you, but I love a tortured hero. And as a writer of contemporary romance, I often hear from readers that they are surprised to find my heroes are so tortured, and they go on to say they usually find those types of guys in historicals or paranormals. I will admit I was unaware of that until I heard it a few times – but what can I say? Making my heroes suffer just comes naturally to me. ; )
In my current release, ONE RECKLESS SUMMER (the first book in my new Destiny series), Mick Brody ranks right up there as one of the most tortured guys I’ve ever written. Mick had a very rough home life growing up, with abusive parents and a dangerous older brother who drew Mick down a dark path, but the worst thing for Mick is that when the story begins, he has a big, big, life-or-death-size secret – and it becomes an even bigger problem for him when the heroine, Jenny Tolliver, finds out. Of course, I can’t tell you what the secret is, but I hope you’ll pick up the book and find out for yourself. That’s right – beneath that beautifully relaxing summery cover (I love it and can’t quit looking at it) lurks some very emotional stuff.
So who are some of your favorite tortured heroes? And why do you love them? From book, movie, or TV, what agonized hero makes you just ache for him?
And meanwhile, if you want to learn more about ONE RECKLESS SUMMER, just visit me online at www.ToniBlake.com, where you can read an excerpt and learn more about the book.
June 12th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Toni,
Tortured heroes have to walk a fine line with me–I don\’t mind them having some challenges in their life, but I don\’t want to hear them angsting over it (pretty nice of me, I know!)
I would say my favorite tortured hero of all time would have to be Beast, in Beauty and the Beast. From his reckless youth to his isolated comeuppance to finding love again, I literally could read that story a hundred times and not get tired of it. Let\’s hear it for archetypes!
Thanks for your post, it was great to see you here!
Jenn
June 12th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Thanks for visiting today, Jenn! And yeah, you make a good point, one that I hear often from avid romance readers: angst = good, whining = bad ; ) Because, after all, who wants a whiny hero? And how heroic can he be if he’s whining? ; )
Excellent choice of fave tortured hero – he’s like THE classic tortured hero of all time : )
June 12th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Great blog and discussion. I think this is why so many tortured heroes have secrets – because if they talked about their troubled pasts, they’d be whining.
I love tortured heroes because it’s just how guys are – or think they are. Any guy I’ve been friends with or dated always has some issue from his past he needs to be reassured about. Usually not to the extreme of romance heroes, but it’s the same general idea. It’s something I like about guys – in some cases they’re more willing to be vulnerable about that stuff than girls are.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Thanks so much for these comments, Lindsey. How insightful! I guess I always think of the tortured hero as this fictional invention that works because females like the idea of a “strong yet sensitive guy” and being tortured is what proves they have that sensitive soul ; ) So it’s really interesting to hear you feel that the tortured hero is actually a reflection of “real life guys.” : ) I will admit I’ve been married for a very long time, so long that my husband is really the only “real life guy” I know very well, so this probably means I’ve just *forgotten* a lot about all the other guys I ever knew ; )
And excellent observation about them having secrets, too. So true!
June 12th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
I’m going to tell you a secret: One tortured hero I never could get into was Heathcliff. I can take your alcohol troubles. You can break chairs and snarl. But when you get abusive and manipulative (without, um, paying up with some good nooky to compensate for your dastardly behavior), I close the book or click the remote.
It’s like the whining, I guess: You expect some of that misery to spill over, but it can only go so far.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Keri, excellent observation on good old Heathcliff. I read the book so long ago that I don’t remember him very well, but I recently watched the new PBS version. I thought it well done, but yeah, the dude needed to move on in his life and not torture everyone around him. I was totally turned off by him by the time it was over and didn’t think he even DESERVED any happiness anymore. A little TOO tortured, methinks ; )
Thanks for stopping by!
June 12th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Just a quick thank you to those who came by to visit today – I appreciate it!
June 19th, 2009 at 3:19 am
So sorry I missed you Tori! I shall be reading all about him since I have your book right here with me! Congrats on your release!
June 19th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Toni, great blog! I love a tortured hero too, some of my favorite heroes are terribly tortured. I think you’re right, it’s usually something seen in paranormal or historical novels, but there’s no reason contemporary heroes can’t be tortured too.
Good luck with the new series!
May 30th, 2010 at 12:36 am
I genuinely enjoyed reading this write-up.Thank you.
June 16th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
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