The First To Fall
I've been reading Susan Elizabeth Phillips lately, specifically her Stars/NFL series which a friend recommended to me. Fun, easy reading, and I really love SEP's characters. While there's generally no suspense (there was a minor suspense thread in the first book of the series), I find myself turning the pages faster and faster to get to the end. A sign of a great writer in my book.After reading several in the series though - and a few of her books out of the series - I realized all of her books follow the same pattern. Guy and girl meet. Guy and girl fight attraction, have sex, deny their feelings, then the heroine realizes she's in love and it takes the hero a while to wise up to reality. In every book the heroine knows first. I suppose that's because generally women are more in touch with their feelings than men are, and often times it takes them a while to catch up to what we already know, but in life that's not always the case. I find myself wanting to read a book of hers where the hero knows he's head-over-heels in love with the heroine and she's the one dragging her feet.
I suppose this has more to do with me than it does what a story calls for. When I look back at my own work, nine times out of ten my hero is the first to fall and my heroine's slow on the uptake. There's just something really sexy about a guy who knows he's found the woman of his dreams and has to convince her of that fact. In fact, I like this concept so much, I'm not even sure I've written a book where the heroine falls first. (I think the proposal I just sent my agent might turn out to be a heroine-falls-first book, but it could very well change as I get more into it.)
What about you? In the books you read or write does the hero fall first or is it the heroine? What kind of stories are you drawn to?
Labels: Elisabeth's Posts
posted by Elisabeth Naughton at 12:27 PM
11Comments:
Usually the man falls first, because personally, I'm a bit protective of my feelings, so the man has to persuade me, LOL ... (or did)
Good point, Spy. Could be a personal thing. My DH definitely fell first and kind of dragged me along. ;)
Hmmm, I have to think...
1) AS: Guy-first
2) TW: Guy-first
3) HIPS: Guy-first
4) SIEA: Guy-first
5) TAOD: Guy-first
6) PF: Guy-first
7) DMH: Guy-first
8) WIP: Guy-first
I think I see a pattern...
I never knew it existed.
Now I'm wondering...why...??
ROFL, J. I dare say I see a pattern. ;)
Mine do so simultaneously. They both don't realize what's happening to them. And they both fight it once they do. Their reasons for fighting it are usually mixed. IOW, both external and internal conflicts work to keep them from moving forward until they can't fight their feelings anymore.
You are right about SEP. I never noticed before. I love her characters. The men are just dense enough not to see the amazing woman in front of them and end up getting a hard kick in the head before falling head over heels. It works for her.
In all mine, the hero falls first. He's ususally no good for the heroine so she denies her feelings until he makes some amazing sacrifice for her.
I'm in a rut, too!
Interesting, shesawriter. You mean one character never knows before the other?
LOL. Not in a rut, Kendra. I love the hero-falls-first stories. (Obviously)
Oh, interesting topic!
Let's see:
WMM: in love at beginning of story, man clueless about his feelings
TAC: guy first
HOL: in love at beginning of story
HOTM: Um. In love at beginning of story.
ABM: In love at beginning of story, guy clueless about his feelings.
MOU: guy first (I think)
AFF: guy first
I think I have two patterns, LOL.
ROFL, Lin. Never the heroine, eh?
I think you're the queen of reunion stories. ;)
LOL, at least the princess of reunion stories, E.
What can I say? I love them.
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