Heroes with a heartbeat.

I like men. I’m comfortable around them. Old or young, playful or serious, they’ve always fascinated me.

There’s no denying I was daddy’s girl, but dear old dad was just the start. I also have three brothers and an extended family full of boys. I myself raised three boys. It took nearly forty years for my youngest sibling—the only other girl—to finally have a daughter. She also has two boys. Can you say, “Celebration?”

I see my upbringing as a fortunate accident because it prepared me for writing male characters. I’m not as hung up on labels like alpha or beta because they don’t go far enough in describing the complexities of a man, nor do they take into account situational influences that will drive actions. By putting too much stock into a label, there’s always the danger that the character can become a caricature rather than a man with a pulse.

This is why I love writing men. My heroes are familiar. They live and breathe. These guys have hopes and fears, dreams and desires, feel passion and pain. Though physically stronger than the heroines, they can be wounded without shedding blood. Falling in love can be just as frightening or exhilarating for him as it is for her.

So I like to get into a hero’s head. I’ll listen to his thoughts, catch a ride on his circulatory system to understand the buzz and tingle he feels when she touches him for the first time. How will he interpret something as opposed to the heroine? Can she manipulate him? Will he resist or play along? What would he fight for? Is there something so important to him he’d be willing to battle it out with the woman in his life? Are there sacrifices or risks he’d take to protect her or others? Now we’re getting somewhere.
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What kind of man is he? If I have a say, the best kind--real.
 
—Tara Mills