Tanya Writes About Romance Book Cover Heroes

See today's picture? You must agree that's a romance book cover waiting to happen. That hat. That confident pose. Can't you just hear the drawl? That's my friend Richard and yes, he just happens to be from Texas. I don't write contemporary romance, but if I did....

Or if we remove those shades and stick Richard on a horse....

Yowza. Any self-respecting romance reader will agree with me.
We've all got hearts, souls....and libidos.

Once again, I write about heroes. Those hunks who inhabit the books I like to read and write.

After all, women read romance novels for the guys, not the gals. Of course we don't want our heroines to be bimbos or weaklings. They should be liberated in every way, beautiful of course but not overwhelmingly so. Not too slutty and never stupid. But it's the hero that makes a book. The hero has got to be somebody we fantasize about.

He must make our hearts pitter. Our skin sizzle. Whew.

And how best to draw a female's attention? A smokin' hot book cover!

Scroll below to July 13 to see my friend Charlene Sands' latest cover. How's that for a hero? Smoldering gaze. Determined jaw. Stetson situated just right. A bit mouth-watering, right? Notice what's missing?

A girl! We females don't need any competition. Heck, we might not measure up to some artist's vision. And we gotta identify with that heroine.

Another writing pal landed book cover art that's sans the hero's head. It's a close-up his chest! Shirtless. We get to do our own imagining as to what he looks like. Other than those chiseled abs.

Now, my own personal hero, my husband, is always the standard for my fictional guys. Dark eyes, dark hair, a moustache. Forceful and strong but gentle and caring. A man of few words but who makes each syllable count.

However, you will notice that Midnight Bride's cover hero does not have that moustache. Well, in the book he started out with one, but the cover artwork was so gorgeous without that I excised facial hair in the edits. Whew. I think Jed Jones is dreamy. That's one face the artist didn't need to leave off.

But back to real life and real-life heroes, including my pal Richard. We've all got 'em in our lives. Those who triumph over adversity, who stand by our sides no matter what, who lend a hand when we fall. Most times they do it before we know we've tripped.

Dang, my hero has spared me plenty of skinned knees.

Here's to real-life heroes. May they all have story-book endings.


Tomorrow: My RWA Adventures in San Francisco