where heroes come from
When my neighbor’s daughter was twelve, she shared a list with me of the twenty ideal qualities her boyfriend must have. I’ll share some of my favorites:
1. Must be a little bit smart.
2. Must be hot.
3. Must know that black and navy blue shouldn’t be worn together.
4. Must only annoy me 1x per week.
5. Must have his own car. And it’s got to be cool.
To give you a little more insight, she owns a t-shirt that proclaims, It’s All About Me, and she believes it. She’s turning sixteen this week and I’ve got to tell you, she still stands by the list. And even though I howled when I read it, looking back now I realize she was in the throes of ‘create your own romance hero.’
Kind of like make your own sundae without the calories.
It reminded me of one of my favorite parts of the movie, Practical Magic. For the record, I liked the book much better, but the movie grew on me.
Young Sally: I hope I never fall in love, I hope I never fall in love.
Young Gillian: I can’t wait to fall in love.
Young Sally: He will hear my call a mile away. He will whistle my favorite song. He can ride a pony backwards.
Young Gillian: What are you doing?
Young Sally: Summoning up a true love spell. Called Amas Veritas. He can flip pancakes in the air. He’ll be marvelously kind. And his favorite shape will be a star. And he’ll have one green eye and one blue.
Young Gillian: Thought you never wanted to fall in love.
Young Sally: That’s the point. The guy I dreamed of doesn’t exist. And if he doesn’t exist, I’ll never die of a broken heart.
And then this got me thinking about the song, This Kiss, by Faith Hill, which is part of the movie’s soundtrack:
Cindrella said to Snow White
How does love get so off course?
All I wanted was a white knight
With a good heart, soft touch, fast horse
Ride me off into the sunset
Baby, I’m forever yours.
Whic, in turn, reminded me of the movie, Six Days, Seven Nights, when Ann Heche’s character says to Harrison Ford (and I’m totally paraphrashing here): Aren’t you one of those guys? You know, the ones you can send into the woods with matches and popsicle sticks and they’ll build you a shopping mall?
So, for me, this is what romance novel heroes are: A little bit of reality mixed with a lot of myth. Creating a hero that the heroine always dreamed of but never thought could truly exist. Creating a hero that the heroine never knew she wanted. Creating that little bit of magic that can’t be explained. Holding out for a hero who’s larger than life (apologies to both Bonnie Tyler and Alison.)
I’m most worried, with our current obsession of defining romance and its boundaries, with trying to explain what’s working and what’s not, that we’re analyzing ourselves right out of the magic. And then I remember that my neighbor still believes in the magic, even if it is a little unrealistic, and that plenty of readers out there do too. And obviously I do too or I wouldn’t be writing the stuff.
As Sally’s hero says in the book, “Lightening, like love, is never ruled by logic. Accidents happen and they always will.”
Steph T.
May 20th, 2005 at 10:42 am
May 20th, 2005 at 11:06 am
Love this post. Gotta believe in the magic. Gotta. Believe. At least when you’re creating the hero. It’s all about the fantasy, and believing it can happen to you.
May 20th, 2005 at 11:52 am
Great post! Something I need to remind myself of when I’m cussing out the current hero for not letting me be DONE YET.
May 20th, 2005 at 12:25 pm
Great post! I love the magic!:bravo:
May 20th, 2005 at 1:20 pm
OH my gosh, this was/is SUCH a great post! It’s all about the magic.
And your post reminded me of the song “Holding out for a Hero”
“Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There’s someone reaching back for me
Racing on the thunder end rising with the heat
It’s gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet”
(It was in the movie Footloose)
May 20th, 2005 at 1:39 pm
Fabulous post!!!
May 20th, 2005 at 3:10 pm
Thanks guys! Glad you enjoyed it - guess I was feeling the magic today.:grin:
And Kacey - I love that song! And the whole Footloose sondtrack too…but that song and the promise of that hero. *sigh*
May 20th, 2005 at 3:28 pm
What an amazing post! It made me tingle! That is so true.
May 20th, 2005 at 4:10 pm
Awesome post Steph. I believe in the magic!
Thanks for reminding me.
May 20th, 2005 at 4:11 pm
So true! Sometimes, though, the magic isn’t in over-the-top heroes. For me, when my husband looks after a sick baby, those are the moments when I truly him romantic.
May 20th, 2005 at 6:29 pm
I’ve never quit believing in magic.
I’m not a big fan of reality. Besides, reality is what you make of it!
May 20th, 2005 at 6:42 pm
Wonderful post. There seems to be such a dichotomy with romance these days: make ‘em real. But where’s the fun in that? I got me a real man already, leaves the toilet seat up and everything.
May 20th, 2005 at 6:59 pm
Suzanne - happy to share the tingles!
Sasha - you’re a gypsy-girl who always has the magic!:wink:
Charlene - there was a great article on Cata-Romance but I can’t find the link - It was titled: If I wanted reality, I’d watch CNN and it was all about priate romances and Johnny Depp - I always think about that.
Michelle - my husband will thank you for remind me of that
I agree wholeheartedly - my reality’s pretty damned good over here.
*waves to Rene* - It’s such a hard balance for me with the heroines, but the books I fell in love with had those completely over the top heroes, and I can’t shake ‘em. Love to write them. Love. Them.
May 20th, 2005 at 7:12 pm
May 20th, 2005 at 7:30 pm
Oh, I love this post. And it kinda reminds me of my husband and why I love him so much, he’s my very own hero.
I also used the music Amas Veritas in my wedding.
May 24th, 2005 at 6:56 am
Wonderful insight, Steph. I love to write over the top heroes, too…write what you love..I’ll shine through.:bravo: