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TMI Tuesday – Homewrecking, in the fictional sense.
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First, winners!
Congrats, Sara Lindsey! Randomizer chose you – and boy, did you ever work for that prize. So many great suggestions.
Everyone made great suggestions, and it was really hard to choose. But for the meantime (and it’s always subject to change again), I think I’m going to go with Lindsey’s suggestion of “Stubb(s)” (I’m thus far ambivalent about that S at the end) – mostly for the simple reason that it rhymes with his old name. And because Stubb is a name crying out for a peg-leg, and that would be cool. So congratulations, Lindsey! Email me with your favorite dot-com book outlet, and I’ll set you up.
On to TMI…
Okay, so a long, long time ago (so long ago I’m not even up for searching the archives – but yes, I’m basically recycling that post), I blogged about how I wanted to write books where the reader fell in love with not just the hero, but the couple.
My example went something like this. There are some books where I am so in love with the hero, I would like to go through the book, page by page, and cross out the heroine’s name and write “Tessa” instead. If I could borrow the Jasper-Ffordemobile and travel into that fictional world… that man is mine.
By contrast, when I’m in love with the couple, I couldn’t imagine ever doing such a thing. Never ever in a million years would I part Darcy from Lizzy, for example. He just wouldn’t be the hero I adore without her.
So I was thinking…even though I generally prefer the second type of book, that covetable hero has his charms, too. Who would I steal? Fictionally, hypothetically, with all due apologies to Mr. Dare, of course. This is an alternate universe we’re discussing. 🙂
I think the object of my thievery would have to be Jamie Fraser, from the Outlander series. Now, I love Claire. She’s a fabulous heroine. But Jamie doesn’t need her to be the man he is. He just is the man. And whatta man. Plus, everyone loves him! Girls, guys…who wants to be the lone person left out of the Jamie love train? And he manages to find Claire across continents and centuries, so surely he could spare a hot decade in there for me. 🙂 Yep. I would steal Jamie, plaid and all.
How about you? Is there a hero you would unabashedly steal? Any who are absolutely off-limits?
Any stray straight guys who happen to wander by…of course, feel free to steal a heroine.
December 18th, 2007 at 5:33 am · Link
Oh, good question. Let me think. I, of course, want to take John Thornton from Margaret Hale. And I do mean that in the fictional sense, because I have to say that the John Thornton in Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel is just a bit geekier than the John Thornton in the BBC Drama. In the novel, there is no beating up of another man. In fact, Thornton is pretty much awesome from the first page.
Margaret is stuck up and scared.
And Thornton says things like, “You look as if you thought it tainted you to be loved by me. You cannot avoid it. Nay, I, if I would, cannot cleanse you from it. But I would not, if I could. I have never loved any woman before: my life has been too busy, my thoughts too much absorbed with other things. Now I love, and will love.”
The only reason I would not go through the book page by page is that once you get to the proposal scene I would stop and say, “Yes! Yes! Now about that hot monkey sex….”
December 18th, 2007 at 6:14 am · Link
I’m going with Dare in Beverley’s To Rescue A Rogue. He’s suffered in unimaginable ways, yet retains his honor, his determination, his love and responsibility for his foster children. He’s the ultimate tortured hero.
December 18th, 2007 at 6:53 am · Link
Oh, Maggie, I adore Dare. I waited for his story forever. But for my ride in the Ffordemobile, I choose Rafe from EJ’s The Taming of the Duke. I fell in love with him in that first rocking-horse scene , and I never thought Imogen deserved him. 🙂
December 18th, 2007 at 7:01 am · Link
This is a hard one as I can’t think of a heroine who didn’t deserve the hero. I’m sure there is one but it will take some thinking.
Great topic though.
December 18th, 2007 at 7:10 am · Link
Back off, Janga! Rafe’s mine! He was mine from that first scene as well.
However, in the interest of playing fair I’ll take Dain from ‘Lord of Scoundrels’. I adored that ‘spawn of the devil’ from the moment he heartbreakingly cried for his mother with only the cook to offer him comfort.
And hitting for the other team for a moment, I’d say Christine from Mary Balogh’s ‘Slightly Dangerous’ would be a heroine that I would steal away. She was able to get Wulf to discover all the intricacies that made him the man that he was and still remain as ducal as ever.
That is not to say I wouldn’t mind keeping Wulf all to myself either.
December 18th, 2007 at 8:00 am · Link
Oh, CM – good call with Thornton. He really does deserve better. And oh-my-god that line…*swoon*. Any woman who does NOT immediately leap into his arms is a ninny and deserves to be usurped.
How interesting, that we have a twelve-stepper theme going on here with Dare and Rafe. I loved both of those books, and both of them ended up with rather flawed (or in Dare’s case, flighty?) heroines. But I can’t say I’d ever pick a recovering addict to steal. Too much baggage to fit in the Ffordemobile, sorry. So you guys can have them. 🙂
Santa, I lurve Dain, too. But I think he falls into that other category for me. I don’t think I could take him from Jessica. It would be tempting, though…
Terri, I’m sure someone will come to you. Be bold. Think pirate! Isn’t Anna’s Matthew one you might consider? Any guy who is that good a lover on instinct alone – just imagine what he could be, with the guidance of a woman who had a bit of real experience!
December 18th, 2007 at 10:53 am · Link
Hey, go me! Though Melville may deserve partial credit, as I’m pretty sure Stubb(s) is a character from Moby Dick. But I’m not sharing my prize.
We must be on the same wavelength lately, as this is very close to the blog topic I was planning for tomorrow. Ah well, it’s a consolation to think some of your brilliance is rubbing off on me – or to pretend that I have any to rub off on you.
Maybe Mr. Knightley? I love Emma and she definitely needs him, but he could do better. Though it’s hard to think about breaking up any favorite pairs. What about which couple I’d have a threesome with…is that TMI? 😉
December 18th, 2007 at 11:27 am · Link
I admit, Tessa, I did think of Matthew. I finished that book over the weekend and I’m still floating. But he’s 25 and I’m afraid that’s a little too young for me. *g* Though that *natural ability* could make me reconsider.
The fact Santa just changed teams and Lindsey is extending her roster has me too flustered to think again. LOL!
December 18th, 2007 at 11:33 am · Link
Oh this is quite easy for me. I would gladly steal many heros without a qualm. Starting with my own- I’m ready to rip Christian from Gwen’s arms and make him my own. I’d gladly steal your Gray. Then there’s Lisa Kleypas’s boys: Hardy (and I’m stealing him based on Sugar Daddy where he was the secondary character) and Cam. Gypsies and boys in jeans. Love them! I’m not that hot for earls and what not. I like the self-made man.
December 18th, 2007 at 11:58 am · Link
I’m taking Ruark Beauchamp from Woodiwiss’ Shanna. Shanna’s an uppity bee-yotch who doesn’t deserve his smoking hotness. The fact he lets her abuse him for so long does detract a bit, but when he goes all pirate on her? Yum-me.
I’ll also steal Michael away from Francesca in JQ’s When He Was Wicked. It’s not that I don’t love Francesca, but I love Michael more. And I wouldn’t have made him wait so long!
December 18th, 2007 at 1:51 pm · Link
Lindsey, our brainwaves cross disturbingly often. It’s enough to make me wonder if the human race isn’t really composed of Bladerunner-esque replicants, and the two of us are just the same model with different faceplates. But even so – I wouldn’t steal Mr. Knightley. I love Emma too much to do that to her. I know she’s flawed, but she’s flawed in many of the same ways I am, so I couldn’t sell her out. I think you need to do the threesomes topic for your blog tomorrow!
India – You would really steal Christian? Oh, poor Gwen. Even if I could bring myself to steal him from Gwen, I couldn’t take him away from Chrissie. And hands off Gray. Sophia fights dirty, you know. Cam… hmmm. I might have to fight you for Cam. I liked Amelia fine, but I liked him more.
Darcy – Oddly enough, I haven’t read either of those and cannot concur or disagree – but you seem to have very sound reasons for your thievery, so have at it. Or have at them.
Terri – 25 isn’t THAT young. I think you could work it out. 🙂
December 18th, 2007 at 4:05 pm · Link
Another great topic, Tessa. How ever do you do it? I think I would take Arden, Lord Winter, away from Zenia in Laura Kinsale’s The Dream Hunter.
If he was racing alongside my train on his purebred Arabian to save me from a disastrous marriage I would fling myself into his well-muscled arms instead of having to be plucked all unwilling.
December 18th, 2007 at 6:48 pm · Link
I just want an Austen hero of my own – is that so wrong? 😉 I worry Mr. K and I might be a bit dull together anyway – we’d need Emma to liven things up. But after pondering my ideal threesome, I’m not so sure it would work – all my fave couples are so perfectly matched I’m afraid I’d just be a third wheel.
December 18th, 2007 at 8:02 pm · Link
I love all of these heroes!! Michael from JQ’s When He Was Wicked is wonderful, too.
Though, my pick is Zach Benedict from Judith McNaught’s Perfect. What a tortured, but perfectly scrumptious, hero.
🙂
December 18th, 2007 at 8:52 pm · Link
I’ve got a brother thing going, because I wanted both Wulfric and Aidan of the Slightly series by M. Balogh.
Either or, or maybe both. Honestly, if I can lust after a fictional character, I ought to be able to handle both of them. And if I could manage that “instant fireworks” from your previous post, it ought to be quite an evening 🙂
December 18th, 2007 at 9:44 pm · Link
Whoa, Gillian – way to work that Ffordemobile! I hope it has a big back seat. 🙂
Marnee Jo, Zach sounds delicious. I think a fictional tortured hero would be so much more fun than a real one.
December 19th, 2007 at 8:52 am · Link
Drat you, Courtney and Tessa! Ever since I started moving to the new house, I’ve been on a book diet, but now I’m gonna have to buy a copy of North and South.
Grr! 🙂
There’s no room for it on my shelves, of course, but that’s never stopped me before!
There are a few Heyers and Veryans where I definitely would keep the hero and ditch the heroine. And I’ve read a few books where the heroine was seriously awesome but the hero was too flawed and assholic to be a good match for her.
But for me, one of the worst examples of fabulous heroes wasted on worthless heroines would be Frost and Doyle in Laurell K. Hamilton’s Merry Gentry series. Talk about itching for a red pen!