Guest blogger: Mr. Guy Romance himself, my husband!
Michelle recently received a review which among positive comments complained her latest novel, Bridging Two Hearts, didn’t have enough romance.
As she was sharing her feelings with me I replied, “Well, what do you expect, you write guy romance.”
She had no idea of what I was talking about. I’m sure she thought I was teasing her.
So what’s a guy romance novel? Don’t expect satisfactory answers from the Internet. Here’s mine:
A guy romance novel is where the male is a knight in shining armor who rescues a damsel in distress.
Preferably he is a misunderstood knight and she a damsel who is also distressing.
So what are common misconceptions what it takes to create a guy romance novel?
1. Sex
2. Violence
3. Male point of view
4. No feelings, all action
5. Wimpy females
These subjects all may be interesting to guys but they don’t make it a romance.
Here’s a list of stories of probable guy romances; Ivanhoe, Harry Potter, Bourne Identity, Romancing the Stone.
What do they have in common?
1. Strong men who protect, save, and guard the spunky females.
2. The men are frequently misunderstood but their true qualities come forth when tested.
(I cannot overstate how important this is to guys! All guys fear they are geeks and dream they could be heroic.)
3. The heroine usually doesn’t even like her knight but comes to love him in the end.
4. The heroine’s feelings are hidden or muted. Often feelings are shown versus thought about or discussed. Think her loving gaze, etc.
If my two lists are valid, it might explain why Twilight gets such mixed reviews. Most guys don’t want to be “sparkly.”
My personal favorite guy romance author was Jane Austin. Note how she fits well into the above. All guys want to be a Mr. Darcy to some clever Elizabeth Bennett.
So what makes Bridging Two Hearts a “guy romance?”
Mr. Darcy eyes Miss Bennett (Wikimedia Commons)
We start with a strong alpha-male: Josh is a Navy SEAL and the guys on his team look up to him. He takes definitive action to protect our heroine Amy. He even recognizes her role at the start of the book:
“What caught his attention were her hands. They shook despite the death grip on the seat in front of her. Was this a damsel in distress or what?”
When he tries to tease her out of her fears, she misunderstands him. Amy accuses him of tormenting her. She even shoves a tasty passion fruit gelato cone into his face!
As for Josh, he keeps wondering if she really likes him and is delighted, he thinks, when he overhears an accomplice confirm his hopes.
Because of their sparking, they both find a way to deal with their fears and emotions in a heart-ful, romantic way.
Just like Elizabeth and Darcy.
So what do you think makes a guy romance story? What are your favorites?
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Love this. Love it!
This one practically had your name written on it, Jamie! 🙂
I love it too. Simpering heroines just don’t work for me, but I love your spunky gal and the alpha male. Now that works!
How’s that different from a “gal romance”? I don’t read many romance novels (I’ve edited a few and read a few more), but I’d definitely only be interested in one that had a strong male lead, just as I was only interested in such a romance in real life. I would think a strong man would be more attractive to most women.
Simpering heroines, focus on emotions, feelings more important than facts. Some of it is in images and types of vocabulary.
Wow! Who’d a thunk of Bourne as a romance novel? I thought the romance was put into it to attract a few females! But what do I know?
My brother says if you base if off the movies, no, but if you read the series you’ll see how the romance develops and they marry in the end–when she realizes he’s really a strong, vulnerable man and worthy of love. 🙂