Welcome to the Nickel Nasties series! In celebration of my first scathing Amazon review for A Ranger's Tale (1 in 58 ain't bad), I've decided to devote February to the stories that garner so much stereotype and ridicule, but still comprise one of the world's best-selling genres: ROMANCE! I hope you'll enjoy this series. Please leave comments for the wonderful contributors. And...don't forget to check out their books!
THE THIN RED LINE, PART 1: THE “BAD BOY”
There are many romance books where the bad boy alpha male breaks
all the rules, is viewed as a terrible person, etc... and is eventually
revealed to be a truly gentle soul with a heart of gold. That is totally—and
sadly, for us women who find them attractive—unrealistic.
Men who are dangerous
in multiple aspects of their life do not possess a heart of gold. If they take
delight in doing bad things to people, odds are at some point, you’ll find
yourself on the receiving end, not because they don’t love you, but that the
way that they love is different from what “normal” society recognizes as love.
Understand, I am not defending men who hurt women in any way (or the reversed roles,
either). I’m saying that some men are only capable of that kind of love, and
that the danger inherent to them never goes away. These men cannot be tamed by
being loved.
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There are a great deal of women who think that their love can make
such a man change. This is playing with fire—especially as many dangerous men
recognize full well the attraction they have for such women, and exploit that
to its fullest potential. How many of us have friends who date great guys, then
break up with them because they were “too nice, boring, or too straight-laced”?
I’ve heard that before. Usually those same friends are often treated badly by
the men that they do allow into their lives, sometimes horrifically.
Some of bad boy attraction results from movies and fiction…which
might have come about because of a kind of “mistaken identity.” There are two
types of dangerous men – those that became dangerous out of necessity, and
those that chose to become dangerous. The difference is that a man taken out of
a situation who became dangerous to deal with said dangerous situation will
revert back to how he was, with a good deal of effort on his part and help from
those around him. We see this in wartime, or other social situations. But there
are those that seek out the thrill of being bad and revel in it, no matter what
situation they are in. No amount of TLC is going to cure these latter men,
because they already ARE exactly who they want to be. In short, they don’t want
to change.
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There are strict rules for romance novels: HEA, etc. In
upcoming Promise Me novels, that thin red line will sometimes be crossed, when
the story dictates it is necessary…because my “bad boys” are realistic. When
you have characters that refuse to bend in their desires or listen to their
conscience, explosive conflict and tragedy is the result.
Taken in the Night is the last Promise Me Series Book to
qualify as vampire romance. Beginning with Taken for His Own, subsequent books
will be labeled paranormal fiction because of certain story arcs. Stay tuned
for romantic elements, steamy sex, and keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat action
and suspense!
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Tara Fox Hall’s writing credits include nonfiction, horror,
suspense, action-adventure, erotica, and contemporary and historical paranormal
romance. She is the author of the paranormal action-adventure Lash series and the vampire romantic
suspense Promise Me series.
Website: www.tarafoxhall.com
Email: tarafoxhallATgmailDOTcom
Tara's Facebook Page:
Taken in the Night (Promise Me Series, Book 3)by Tara Fox Hall:
When Theo disappears,
Sar is left bereft, the uncertain guardian of Theo's newly born werecougar
daughter, Elle. As months pass, clues emerge about Theo's disappearance, yet
the twisting trail ends repeatedly without answer. In her grief, Sar turns to
Danial and hesitantly begins to build a life with him and Elle.
Buy it now at:
Hi Tara, you are so right about these bad boys and the women who think they can change them. So many put up with heaps of abuse in the name of love.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post and the descriptions of the types of men/women who fall into the 'bad' range. It definitely takes all kinds to make a world. I'm glad I've only met 'bad guys' on the pages of a fiction novel.
Good to meet you, Leona :) I have had more than a few brushes with real life bad boys...and I'm happy to have found my husband, who is definately my white knight <3
DeleteI'm glad you liked the post :) I worried at first it wasn't romance oriented enough! LOL
Odd how people like to read about Mr Nasty but to actually live with one would be quite awful. It's true some people are attracted to such men. It must be so terrible to do that and then to realise it isn't going to change and there's no glamour or romance in it, at all.
ReplyDeleteHello Catherine :) I think love does blind sometimes. Its far easier to make excuses for a spouse or boyfriend than to admit that being with them is a mistake. And the longer a person us in that situation, the harder I think it is to leave. Some of the difficulty is that real bad boys are rarely ALL-bad...but they also rarely dashing heroes in disguise like Captain Jack Sparrow. Thanks for commenting :)
DeleteGreat post Tara! This is one particular area in Romance novels where fiction definitely diverges from fact. It's one of the basic fantasy themes for romance novel - that the love of a good woman (or man) can change their beloved for the better - even changing their intrinsic nature. I love stories like yours where that's not necessarily the case at all.
ReplyDeleteHello Cristina :) Good to see you!
ReplyDeleteI admit, its hard not to want to believe that by loving someone you can make them a better person. I do believe that love can bring out the better qualities in a "bad" person, so their tendencies might be kinder, their actions less brutal. But anyone who has the ability to do terrible things doesn't lose that ability; it just may go dormant for a while, only to emerge again with provocation. Lash is a case in point. He'll never truly be "safe." Have an awesome week, and thanks for commenting :)
Excellent points, Tara -- I really enjoyed reading this. You're absolutely right that for some reason, some women really go for the Leader of the Pack, so to speak…we see it over and over again, and we know that in reality, it doesn't often work out for the best. So why do we long for them? Why is there a perception that nice guys finish last? It's an interesting social decision/perspective, and definitely romance-oriented.
ReplyDeleteI have heard before in scientific papers/college courses there is some genetic link to the Alpha male....We want to mate with the most powerful male, the one who is willing to fight, because they are our best shot at getting our genes passed on to the next generation. Not a very romantic thought though, I admit! LOL
DeleteVery honest and romance-oriented post! I think a lot of the romance-bashers assume women all want the bad boys in real life. Yes, some of them do, but I think most of us prefer our good fellas. I wouldn't trade my man for nothin'!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mysti :) I think some men are threatened by the romantic leading men in novels. I remember one boyfriend years ago who was angry at Bowflex, because he thought that their commercials made women expect all men should have a six pack! LOL But I also wouldn't trade my man for the alpha prince of paperbacks, either. There are plenty of real life men that are very romantic...and they are usually not the Bad boy, but are Nice guys :) Thanks for having me here on Unwritten! :)
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