Why I Wrote a Criminal Hero
Lots of readers like bad-boys, right? Well, what about really bad boys whose naughtiness extends beyond a mere attitude to include criminal activity... I wrote a hero like this and have learned some surprising things since from readers.
This past summer, my book Taken Hostage was published. It's a fast-paced erotic romance featuring Tiffany, a small-town bank teller as the heroine and James, a bank-robber as the hero. So yes, James is a bad guy. He's also a pretty nice guy, deep down, but he's undisputedly a criminal. At the time I thought that people would assume this from the beginning - it hadn't occured to me that some readers might think that he actually had a noble reason for stealing - like maybe needing the money to ransom someone, or pay for life-saving medical treatments or __insert noble but expensive cause here__. I thought writing a romance with a bank robber on the run would be exciting and it never occured to me that some people might expect me to justify his behavior with a 'good' reason that somehow made it seem morally ok (or at least, ok-ish).
None of those things were the case. He robbed two banks for the money, just to live off of, plain and simple. Can a hero who's done something like that still be likeable - can people sympathize with him?
That answer may vary from person to person. It probably goes without saying that my answer is 'yes'. Here's why:
First off, I have what some might call an over-active pity mechanism. I can feel sorry for just about anyone, even if I hate them. I feel sorry for bad guys in movies and I do contradictory things like lend jumper cables to my evil ex-neighbors when their car broke down, even though they made my life miserable. I still feel a little sad for hitting the ground hog that dashed out in front of my car five years ago. So it's not really very hard for me to find a reason to sympathize with something about someone, even if I don't like or agree with many of the things they do. Which brings me to what spurred James to turn to criminal activity.
Ah, the recession. I think we all cringe a little at that word, and most of us have probably had our own crappy experiences because of it. In my story, James is an ex-construction worker who lost his job when the economy took a down-turn and then spent many months searching for work, with no luck. Many people across many fields of work lost their jobs during the recession (heck, it's still going, for that matter), but construction was the first thing that came to mind for me for James, probably in part because of my own personal experience. (And since I wanted him to be all buff and hot, construction fit in perfectly. lol)
A couple years ago, when the recession really hit, my husband was working construction when he lost his job. I was six months pregnant at the time, and a college student. Talk about hard, crappy times! He eventually found work in another field, but I'll never forget the emotionally draining and thoroughly depressing experience of constantly seeking work and being unable to find it. So it was easy for me to imagine the frustration that James had gone through.
Of course, I never considered robbing a bank when it happened to me. But that's the great thing about writing fiction - I can write characters who make much more interesting choices than I ever would in real life! There's something to be said for letting them risk it all while I live out my safe, law-abiding life. lol ;)
What do you think? Do you think you could like a bad-guy hero, or is a life of crime just too much of a road block?
This past summer, my book Taken Hostage was published. It's a fast-paced erotic romance featuring Tiffany, a small-town bank teller as the heroine and James, a bank-robber as the hero. So yes, James is a bad guy. He's also a pretty nice guy, deep down, but he's undisputedly a criminal. At the time I thought that people would assume this from the beginning - it hadn't occured to me that some readers might think that he actually had a noble reason for stealing - like maybe needing the money to ransom someone, or pay for life-saving medical treatments or __insert noble but expensive cause here__. I thought writing a romance with a bank robber on the run would be exciting and it never occured to me that some people might expect me to justify his behavior with a 'good' reason that somehow made it seem morally ok (or at least, ok-ish).
None of those things were the case. He robbed two banks for the money, just to live off of, plain and simple. Can a hero who's done something like that still be likeable - can people sympathize with him?
That answer may vary from person to person. It probably goes without saying that my answer is 'yes'. Here's why:
First off, I have what some might call an over-active pity mechanism. I can feel sorry for just about anyone, even if I hate them. I feel sorry for bad guys in movies and I do contradictory things like lend jumper cables to my evil ex-neighbors when their car broke down, even though they made my life miserable. I still feel a little sad for hitting the ground hog that dashed out in front of my car five years ago. So it's not really very hard for me to find a reason to sympathize with something about someone, even if I don't like or agree with many of the things they do. Which brings me to what spurred James to turn to criminal activity.
Ah, the recession. I think we all cringe a little at that word, and most of us have probably had our own crappy experiences because of it. In my story, James is an ex-construction worker who lost his job when the economy took a down-turn and then spent many months searching for work, with no luck. Many people across many fields of work lost their jobs during the recession (heck, it's still going, for that matter), but construction was the first thing that came to mind for me for James, probably in part because of my own personal experience. (And since I wanted him to be all buff and hot, construction fit in perfectly. lol)
A couple years ago, when the recession really hit, my husband was working construction when he lost his job. I was six months pregnant at the time, and a college student. Talk about hard, crappy times! He eventually found work in another field, but I'll never forget the emotionally draining and thoroughly depressing experience of constantly seeking work and being unable to find it. So it was easy for me to imagine the frustration that James had gone through.
Of course, I never considered robbing a bank when it happened to me. But that's the great thing about writing fiction - I can write characters who make much more interesting choices than I ever would in real life! There's something to be said for letting them risk it all while I live out my safe, law-abiding life. lol ;)
What do you think? Do you think you could like a bad-guy hero, or is a life of crime just too much of a road block?
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