Now where did your mind go? 😉

I was going to say … What is it about those male characters in books that makes you want to fawn over them?

I’ve often wondered what makes me fall in love with a character. I don’t always ‘fall in love’ with the female main characters, but I find some male characters … I just can’t let go.

What is it about these guys? Did the writer describe them in such a way that their faces stick in my head? Did they do something in the story that I wish my guy would do? Do they have a profession I wish I could have? Do they fight dirty or not at all?

What is it already? What?

I’ll tell ya.

At least, I’ll tell ya what I figured out for me, as my answer may be different than yours. Now that I’ve seen it, I really see it.

It hit me while reading a fellow writer’s manuscript. The first run-through of the story, I totally and completely fell in love with main male character. I even said he ranked right up there with my all-time favorite male character: Roarke from J.D. Robb’s In Death series. Now my writer-friend got all giddy at this because she too is enamored with Roarke.

That led me to wonder what it is about her character I loved so much.

Well, I then read her rewrites — loved the male main character even more.

Why?

My curiosity piqued, I put thought into my own characters…

Ryan from A Gift of Sight (trunked) …. compassionate, caring, helpful, big, brawny, kind (Alpha male in Beta male body)
Wyatt from Little White Lies … take-charge, loving, willing to accept the oddities in life, uber-kind (Alpha/Beta male)
Aaron from Mystic Therapy … a little goofy, a little flaky, a lot in love with his female counterpart (Beta/Alpha male)
Tripp from Hide & Seek … hot. Hot. hot. Hot and puts his girl first (Alpha male in Alpha male body … but the Beta is there)
Rion from Do Over … oh so freakin’ sweet, his girl is #1 over his own needs and wants, ultra-kind (Beta male 100%)

My friend’s guy? He’s an Alpha male with Beta male tendencies.

Roarke in JD Robb’s series? Alpha male (totally) with fantastic Beta male tendencies.

I do not connect with a guy-knows-all philosophy — a 100% Alpha male. I connect with the guys who show both sides.

Then, I looked a little further …

Roarke: works side by side with his wife though their lives are very ‘separate’ too
My writer-friend’s male: works side by side with his life’s counterpart — they are true partners
Tripp: He’s just too hot not to love. And he’s more in love with his girl than she is him.
Rion: (he’s my all-time favorite of my male characters) … is a 99% match to my husband.

Ooh … a revelation? The guys I connect with most are like my hubby. Yup. They are the guys who can be the Alpha when they need to be, the Beta when I need them to be, and they show both sides of their personality at multiple points during the story. They can work side by side with their story’s matched pair as well as be independent. These guys hurt as much as the girls do. They love with passion and they show it … they don’t keep their feelings hidden, wondering if the girl will do something first.

I love these guys. I write these guys. My beta readers often say they connect withy my guys more than my girls … and I think that’s because these guys love their girls so deep down they can’t help but show it.

Those are the guys I connect with. Those are the guys I love to read about. Those are the guys who sit in my head and make me want to read more about them.

You? What kind of male character keeps you enthralled?