Less than perfect heros/heroines

Fallon Blake · Sep 14, 2009

I've been playing around with an idea for a new novel where the hero is an addict. I can only think of two romance novels where a main character had an issue like this. I'm sure there are more, I just haven't read them. Is there a particular reason there are so few of them? Is it unappealing, to gritty or real for romance?

Shakesbear · Sep 14, 2009

He wasn't a romantic hero, but Sherlock Holmes took dope. What would your addict be addicted to and why? I think the reason for the addiction is important.

Fallon Blake · Sep 14, 2009

He's a musician and has dabbled with drugs and alcohol, but a death in the family he blames himself for pushes him over the edge.

I figured I'd have to give him a reason for the addiction in order for his character to be more redeemable/likeable. I guess the question will be - how much realism can I inject into the story and still have it be appealling?

JoNightshade · Sep 14, 2009

I think you probably don't see it much in romance because, in reality, addiction is very ugly. Romanticizing it in any way is dangerous for women, because too many women already find too many justifications for staying with abusive men who constantly promise to get better. Addiction leads to physical and emotional abuse, and the prevailing thought these days is that it's best for a woman to GET OUT of a situation like that. Period.

sunandshadow · Sep 14, 2009

Realistically handled addiction is rather gritty. Probably one of those things that can work if handled carefully. I do seem to recall a few romance novels where the hero quit smoking for the heroine, there was no problem there because smoking is viewed as more of an unhealthy habit than a dangerous addiction.

Not the same idea at all but, I've seen at least two erotic romance where one of the hero/heroine deliberately gets the other addicted to a drug; but in the universe of erotica this can be okay, one or both characters spending the rest of their lives in a haze of sex and drugs can work as a happy ending. In a regular romance that's a bit dubious; but you could get a happy ending of a woman who is quite plump, and her husband finds this sexy, so he is pleased to indulge her 'addiction' to chocolates.

A different tangentially related idea - I just read an excellent romance novel, The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley, where the hero is truly a bit crazy. He doesn't 'get better' or anything; the heroine loves him the way he is, and says she'll also love their children if they turn out to have the same mental oddities. Sort of like a beauty and the beast romance where the beast remained a beast at the end and they live happily ever after anyway. So addiction could theoretically be handled that way - that the heroine knows the hero has this craving, and regards it as mostly harmless and a part of him, so she doesn't try to change him. That would make a lot of sense if the hero was a vampire who craved blood, or a race car driver who craved speed, or a rodeo rider who craved that kind of excitement and danger, or a bisexual man who loved the heroine but wanted to have sex with men occasionally.

Fallon Blake · Sep 14, 2009

JoNightshade said:
I think you probably don't see it much in romance because, in reality, addiction is very ugly. Romanticizing it in any way is dangerous for women, because too many women already find too many justifications for staying with abusive men who constantly promise to get better. Addiction leads to physical and emotional abuse, and the prevailing thought these days is that it's best for a woman to GET OUT of a situation like that. Period.

I would not be romanticizing addiction. And actually, I resent your post. Not all addicts are abusive and unless you have personal experience, please don't say things like that.

sunandshadow · Sep 14, 2009

Fallon Blake said:
He's a musician and has dabbled with drugs and alcohol, but a death in the family he blames himself for pushes him over the edge.

I figured I'd have to give him a reason for the addiction in order for his character to be more redeemable/likeable. I guess the question will be - how much realism can I inject into the story and still have it be appealing?

You don't necessarily have to present him as addicted - if someone goes on a binge in response to grief, they might have no problems drying out if they got over that grief. On the other hand someone who crawls into a bottle in response to every stress would seem more like an addict, because there are always going to be more stresses in the future.

Fallon Blake · Sep 14, 2009

sunandshadow said:
Realistically handled addiction is rather gritty. Probably one of those things that can work if handled carefully. I do seem to recall a few romance novels where the hero quit smoking for the heroine, there was no problem there because smoking is viewed as more of an unhealthy habit than a dangerous addiction.

Not the same idea at all but, I've seen at least two erotic romance where one of the hero/heroine deliberately gets the other addicted to a drug; but in the universe of erotica this can be okay, one or both characters spending the rest of their lives in a haze of sex and drugs can work as a happy ending. In a regular romance that's a bit dubious; but you could get a happy ending of a woman who is quite plump, and her husband finds this sexy, so he is pleased to indulge her 'addiction' to chocolates.

A different tangentially related idea - I just read an excellent romance novel, The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley, where the hero is truly a bit crazy. He doesn't 'get better' or anything; the heroine loves him the way he is, and says she'll also love their children if they turn out to have the same mental oddities. Sort of like a beauty and the beast romance where the beast remained a beast at the end and they live happily ever after anyway. So addiction could theoretically be handled that way - that the heroine knows the hero has this craving, and regards it as mostly harmless and a part of him, so she doesn't try to change him. That would make a lot of sense if the hero was a vampire who craved blood, or a race car driver who craved speed, or a rodeo rider who craved that kind of excitement and danger, or a bisexual man who loved the heroine but wanted to have sex with men occasionally.

This would be a contemporary erotic romance and due to my own personal experiences, I think I could handle it carefully. There would be certain circumstances based on real life events. I want it to be a story about personal triumph with romance.

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley sounds like somoething I will have to check out. Thank you for your input.

JoNightshade · Sep 14, 2009

Fallon Blake said:
I would not be romanticizing addiction. And actually, I resent your post. Not all addicts are abusive and unless you have personal experience, please don't say things like that.

Um, wow. You have no idea what my personal experience is.

Exiting thread.

Mr Flibble · Sep 14, 2009

I've got a thread of addiction running through the book I just sold. ( a kind of painkiller addiction) It depends on how you handle it. It wasn't a major thing, and he does try and resist, but he did spend most of the book addicted ( he kinda goes cold turkey towards the end) As it was also a symptom of his grief for the woman he previously lost, the addiction is something the bad guy actively makes worse without his knowledge, it has a fantasy element to it, and the Hero actively tries to fight it and wins in the end, I think it works.

I'm not sure how it'd work in a contemporary - the emotional and other abuse that come with it in this world would make it tricky I should think. Junkies ain't sexy. Flawed heroes who actively try and fight their flaws...well it can work.

As always, it's all in how you handle it.

Brindle Chase · Sep 14, 2009

Its a hard sale if you ask me... but, if done carefully.. sure! The important thing is to redeem him in the readers eyes. Drug addiction is a strong flaw and would need to be redeemed with something significant. Quitting the drug use isnt enough I think. The romance could be the catalyst, but that is already expected in a romance... the HEA... so to redeem the crackhead image (or whatever his drug of choice is)... would need something more. Falling in love and deciding to quit for the heroine is more a HFN ending... if they broke up, would he fall off the wagon just as quickly??? So at least in my non-expert opinion... he'd need something more profound. Anywho.. hope that helps!! You know I'm a fan! =)

raburrell · Sep 14, 2009

Hopefully I won't get my head bitten off for saying this, but you (usually) can't get away with that type of thing in Romance. Romance readers prefer their MCs flawed, but not too flawed. i.e. Recovering alcoholic, or drinker ready to stop and just needing the right woman's guiding hand... good. Active drunk... bad. Same thing with heroines who've slept around - a tough sell to a romance publisher. You can get away with much more in women's fiction or mainstream fiction.

Fallon Blake · Sep 14, 2009

raburrell said:
Hopefully I won't get my head bitten off for saying this, but you (usually) can't get away with that type of thing in Romance. Romance readers prefer their MCs flawed, but not too flawed. i.e. Recovering alcoholic, or drinker ready to stop and just needing the right woman's guiding hand... good. Active drunk... bad. Same thing with heroines who've slept around - a tough sell to a romance publisher. You can get away with much more in women's fiction or mainstream fiction.

Oh it wouldn't be a hero with a heavy addiction. I know that would be a hard sell in this market and I'm not ready to write that story yet. It'd be more along the lines of him just needing a shove to get his act together.

Mr Flibble · Sep 14, 2009

Same thing with heroines who've slept around

That book I mentioned has got one of them too

It all depends why she slept around, and whether she wants to stop. My gal - her goal at the start of the book is to find a way to make it stop ( erm, it's a cultural thing where she comes from)

Jeez I'm making my guys sound a load of horrible people! They have flaws, and flawed lives, but they know it and work hard to change it. I think that's the key point.

Jersey Chick · Sep 14, 2009

I think it would depend on what the addiction is, how it changes the hero (not all alcoholics/drug addicts are abusive, some get very happy and in love with the world), what happens as a result and whether or not he changes by the end of the book.

I'm in the process of revising a manuscript where the hero is an alcoholic up until about 2/3rds of the way through the book. He's dry by the end, but I don't think it romanticizes anything having to do with being an alcoholic.

Like just about anything else, it depends on how it's written. It might not necessarily be hard sell, when all's said and done.

quickWit · Sep 14, 2009

raburrell said:
Same thing with heroines who've slept around - a tough sell to a romance publisher.

IdiotsRUs said:
That book I mentioned has got one of them too

It all depends why she slept around, and whether she wants to stop.

And what she's wearing, and stuff.

What?

Karen Junker · Sep 14, 2009

Jo Beverley wrote a regency romance where the hero was addicted to opiates - he'd been injured in the war and become addicted to the painkiller. He was already in the process of trying to taper off when he meets the heroine. So, that worked.

Fallon, I'm interested in knowing if you're going with the simple binge thing or if you plan to go with the 'addiction is a disease' model. The story sounds very intriguing to me.

Fallon Blake · Sep 14, 2009

Karen Junker said:
Jo Beverley wrote a regency romance where the hero was addicted to opiates - he'd been injured in the war and become addicted to the painkiller. He was already in the process of trying to taper off when he meets the heroine. So, that worked.

Fallon, I'm interested in knowing if you're going with the simple binge thing or if you plan to go with the 'addiction is a disease' model. The story sounds very intriguing to me.

Well, I think I'm going with addiction as disease. I want to keep it as authentic as I can get away with. I'm going to use the death of a family member as the catalyst that sends him spinning out of control. He'll detox, go to rehab, meetings etc. The heroine is going to be his rock in all of this.

The idea comes from my relationship with my husband - he was my rock.

Stacia Kane · Sep 14, 2009

Phury in JR Ward's LOVER ENSHRINED was an addict. It's a romance, although technically the romance plot in this one takes a back seat to the other stuff.

It's UF, but the hero in Caitlin Kittredge's STREET MAGIC is a heroin addict who dries out in the course of the book. There is a romantic subplot there involving him.

The heroine of my upcoming UF series is an addict; she'd addicted to painkillers but also does speed and drinks, and smokes opium (though that's offstage).

Granted, those are UFs, which gives a little more room for flaws in the MCs. But I think if it's well-written enough* you can do just about anything.

(*Which isn't to be taken as some sort of "I am such a great writer" brag; I don't mean it that way. Just that if you work hard enough on it you can make it work.)

Karen Junker · Sep 14, 2009

My husband had a hard time getting into Caitlin's Street Magic--he couldn't understand why someone would care about an addict. But I was more concerned for the female MC and read it to find out why she cared about him.

There's a fine line, to me, between UF and paranormal romance. I've even read a couple PRs that ended with no particular HEA (though I can't think of the name of them at the moment).

JMBlackman · Sep 14, 2009

Fallon Blake said:
Well, I think I'm going with addiction as disease. I want to keep it as authentic as I can get away with. I'm going to use the death of a family member as the catalyst that sends him spinning out of control. He'll detox, go to rehab, meetings etc. The heroine is going to be his rock in all of this.

The idea comes from my relationship with my husband - he was my rock.

IMO, that's a kick-ass idea. I'd love to see the interaction between those two contemporary and realistic characters. I've read A LOT of Romance books and the biggest flaw of the male MC was that he was a douche; albeit, that's hard enough to deal with, but I think the idea you have has a lot of potential for an interesting dynamic.

I think as long as you keep the writing smart, it's totally do-able. If he's not stealing people's TVs and giving over-under's for blow, I think he can still be attractive and easy to relate to.

Drug abuse is not romantic, true, but the struggle someone would go through with someone else to be better, to be better for that person--now, that can definitely be romantic.

girlyswot · Sep 15, 2009

Marian Keyes has written one. The heroine ends up in rehab. Rachel's Holiday. Tbh, it's not my favourite of hers, but the romance does work.

D.Avet · Sep 15, 2009

Well, Erin McCarthy has a novel called Fallen and both characters are recovering addicts (for different substances). I think dealing with the addiction in a compassionate way will reach out to readers. We want our characters to have depth and even if the reader hasn't been around someone who's going through an addiction, giving them an avenue to learn about it in a nonthreatening manner could be helpful. JR Ward's Phury is a magnificant example, as DecemberQuinn said. He's this big strong alpha, but he's got a serious problem. That was one of my favorite books in that series.

I like to think of novels as learning experience without having to deal with the repercussions. Francine Rivers has a novel about a prostitute who continues to live that lifestyle even after meeting the hero. However, she writes it in such a way that you can't help but feel sympathetic towards her. You're cheering for her and feeling euphoric when the happily ever after comes around.

That's what you have to do. Make your hero someone people can connect with. I think you have a great idea here, you just need to work it the right way.

Selah March · Sep 15, 2009

I think, as with everything else, it's all in how you write it. Compelling, sympathetic characters in a well-told tale will win readers every time.

The only caveat I'd add is there are always going to be some folks who are simply incapable of being sympathetic to an addict, no matter how well-written. They have their own reasons.

At the risk of taking this thread in a more personal direction, I'll offer that my father was an alcoholic of the abusive sort throughout my childhood. While I was away at college, he sobered up. It took me years to forgive -- and I'll never forget -- the violence and instability of my childhood, but he taught me that addicts CAN change. He did it with the help of a loving wife, and credits her with saving his life and, frankly, his soul.

So I would read your book, Fallon. Addiction may not be romantic, but a realistic romance can be built around the conflict of addiction.

Will Harlequin buy it? Probably not. But they aren't the only game in town.

Fallon Blake · Sep 15, 2009

Selah March said:
I think, as with everything else, it's all in how you write it. Compelling, sympathetic characters in a well-told tale will win readers every time.

The only caveat I'd add is there are always going to be some folks who are simply incapable of being sympathetic to an addict, no matter how well-written. They have their own reasons.

At the risk of taking this thread in a more personal direction, I'll offer that my father was an alcoholic of the abusive sort throughout my childhood. While I was away at college, he sobered up. It took me years to forgive -- and I'll never forget -- the violence and instability of my childhood, but he taught me that addicts CAN change. He did it with the help of a loving wife, and credits her with saving his life and, frankly, his soul.

So I would read your book, Fallon. Addiction may not be romantic, but a realistic romance can be built around the conflict of addiction.

Will Harlequin buy it? Probably not. But they aren't the only game in town.

Thank you for your honesty. That you father was able to turn his life around is nothing short of amazing. Being five years clean myself, I understand that struggle and I know first-hand most don't make it. I'm sorry you had to grow up with it.

I fully understand there will be many who will never be able to sympathize with an addict, for whatever reason. But there will be others who will and it's those people I'll write it for.

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