Sunday, May 20, 2012

Nice Guys in Romance?

Saw an interesting article a few weeks back about a guy writing romance from the point of view of a male protagonist who is not, in fact, an alpha ass.  Shocking, right?  Well, publishers, they aren't really into things that don't fit into the "Something exactly like that made a bajillion dollars last year" box, so he was having some difficulty getting traction with his book. 

Here's the article.

What do you think?  Do nice guys finish last, even in romance?  Is there a distinction between what is romantic in life and what is romantic in fiction?  (Because if I had to live Wuthering Heights... ugh.  No, thank you.)  Is there less conflict when the hero is a nice guy?  Or is there a tendency to conflate "nice guy" with "doormat" and lose respect for the man who isn't able to stand up for himself and be alpha enough to bang his chest for the girl he loves?  Your thoughts?

1 comment:

Francesca said...

This is a topic I always find interesting. Everytime I read a hero that is not alpha he usually is not my favorite. There has to be a certain amount of alpha in a hero to make him appealing. All the time, no exception. At least for me.

However, does this translate into real life? For the most part, no? I would probably kill that guy. I'd want the considerate guy. I just don't seem to want to read about him.

Francesca