A Hero Will Risk All In A Romance

I will admit, I wrote this blog post last Friday after I got home from the gym. I happened to hear this song on during a water aerobics class and the inspiration was just there. 

I'm taking you all the way back to the 80's for this one. Remember Ah Ha? 

Here is the video so we can refresh your memory..

I bring this up because the hero is really what we want to talk about here. When we are talking about romance novels, one of the biggest factors in the story is the hero and what he will do to get to that Happily Every After. 

When we think of the ultimate hero, it is not necessarily his looks or the business he is in. It seems to all come down to what he is willing to do to save that relationship and get that girl. We often find readers really falling for the guy willing to throw everything away and give up anything of value to him just to make the heroine happy. This is not simply to get a great night of sex. It is about giving ALL of himself to the heroine.

I think what I like about this video is we see the sacrifice he makes just to save her. For those of you who grew up with this video, I am sure you remember how this guy really became a "hottie" for so many girls and women at the time. Sure, he had the ultimate hair and a serious amount of mousse. Sure, he had the Member's Only jacket, but in the end there was really a lot more. 

He fought to save the girl he fell for. As those guys came after him to beat him up, he still fought for her. The chase scene was not so much a race to save them both (although I am sure there was a part of that in his thinking). The chase was to get her to safety.

Even when she finally makes it back to the apartment to see what happened to him, we watch him apparently doing everything he can to make it to her, including the simple fact of breaking out of a graphic novel.

Although I wanted to spend the time thinking about the hero here, I did want to highlight something else and that is about the heroine. This guy, for what ever reason, has the ability to get someone to "trust him". In the beginning of the video, she has to make the decision of this guy is worth the risk. In a romance novel, the heroine needs to see that he truly is worth the risk. Again, this is not for the great sex, but for the simple fact that this relationship, however daring it might be is worth it. 

Let me know what you think about it.