Make Welcome Cari Quinn

Today I have the pleasure of bringing to you Cari Quinn. Her hot, erotic romances are loved by many including me. She's talking about a break from the normal hero we see in romance... and she's been kind enough to offer a free copy of one of her books from her backlist. Just read her post and answer the question at the end. Take it away, Cari.The Non-Traditional Hero part 2Thanks so much to Catherine for allowing me to blog with her today!

I wrote a post a few weeks ago at Denise Agnew's blog (http://deniseagnew.com/blog/?p=1765) about non-traditional heroes and why I enjoy them. Today I'd like to discuss another aspect of that. As women, many of us have felt objectified at different times in our lives and I know I've rued the emphasis placed on physical attractiveness. Yet when you read most romance novels, the heroes are usually studly McStudlys with six pack abs and buns of steel. That's not to say there isn't ever any variation. Some of my heroes have worn glasses for example - because sexy is smart! - or they might have some other aspect to their looks they feel insecure about. But by and large, the expectation is for heroes to be sexy and virile because, well, it's fantasy right?

This past summer, I was plotting the novella I'm working on now and considered doing a hero with weight issues. I figured he could have a few extra pounds and still be sexy...heck, I've seen a lot of big guys who definitely work for me! But when I did an impromptu Twitter poll, almost everyone who responded didn't think an overweight hero would work in a traditional romance. Especially an erotic romance, which this book happens to be. While I tabled the idea for now, I haven't abandoned my idea of having a hero with weight issues...or maybe something else potentially disfiguring, like scars. And not small scars here and there that make a man look "edgy". I'm talking serious scarring from a major event. I like the idea of pushing the envelope and I'm going to keep doing it, one book at a time. I think there's a whole segment of the population that's not accurately represented in fiction and I'd like to explore that in some small way.

In my recent EC release, Hot Text, the hero's pretty average - which to me makes him kind of unusual too. He has a nice body and nice eyes, but he's not super ripped and he's not six-foot-five. He's an ordinary guy who's really good in bed (yeah, couldn't skimp there) and likes to swear a lot. And when he cares about someone, watch out. He'll do whatever it takes to protect them. Here's the buy link with blurb and excerpt if you're interested in checking it out: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9687-hot-text.aspx

How do you feel about perfect heroes, physically or otherwise? Would a hero with weight issues or scarring turn you off as a reader? I'll pick one random commenter to select their choice of an ebook from my backlist.

Visit Cari Quinn at www.cariquinn.com