Sabrina Jeffries | Rakes Are Just Hell on a Writer
I don’t write many rakehell heroes. The hero of my upcoming book, Let Sleeping Rogues Lie, is really only my third. And why is that, you may ask?It’s simple, really. I like my heroes to have compelling reasons for what they do, and I tend to think of rakehells as skirt-chasers who just want to have fun. A guy like that is hard to reform, and if he doesn’t reform, well, I worry that he’ll go on chasing skirts after the wedding. That would certainly put a damper on the whole happily ever after thing.
Still, I’ve managed to create a few by digging deeper. For Gavin Byrne in One Night with a Prince, I gave him a fear of rejection that made him skittish of anything but the most basic of physical relationships. Jordan, the Earl of Blackmore from Forbidden Lord, saw himself as unable to love. And my latest hero Anthony Dalton …
Well, I’ll leave that to you to find out. But I must admit that I have a soft spot for Anthony. His chickens have come home to roost, and they’re laying eggs all over his comfortable rakehell life. He handles it pretty poorly at first, which is where my heroine comes in. She shows him it can be fun to be responsible, respectable, and, most of all, monogamous.
Of course, that doesn’t keep them from finding enjoyment in the bedroom. My characters always do. But then, that’s what we like about those rakehells, isn’t it? That they reform while still holding on to the fun aspects of their character?
Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe you have another reason entirely for liking rakehell books. Maybe you don’t like them at all.
Here’s your chance to voice your opinion. Do you like those rakehells in romance? If you do, then why? If not, then why not? And what would a rakehell have to do for you to decide that he’s irredeemable?
-Sabrina Jeffries, author of Let Sleeping Rogues Lie
http://www.sabrinajeffries.com/
Labels: Historical, Rakeshell, Romance, Sabrina Jeffries
posted by Fresh Fiction @ 8:00 AM
18 Comments:
Love 'em. And books like yours are what got me into writing. So, thank you for that.
Oh, Sabrina, you know rakes are my absolute favs. Bring on the bad boys. I know you will redeem Anthony beautifully. What's his backstory, anyway? Does he have a reason for being "bad?" The best rakes always do . . . .
Can't wait,
Liz Carlyle
I'm probably not the biggest fan of rakes, but if they're done right they can be quite fun. I love seeing the right woman totally turn his rakish ways upside down and make him want to live another kind of life.
I'm sorry they are such hard work, Sabrina, but you do rakes divinely!
Mmm, Gavin!
I just got my copy of Let Sleeping Rogues Lie!
Yes, he has a backstory, Liz, but it would be a spoiler if I said what it was. It's a secret! Well, sort of one. You get a hint of it in the first chapter.
You, m'dear, do rakes fabulously! I have never forgotten reading My False Heart for the first time and marveling at how brilliantly you portrayed Elliott. And Bentley! Oh, be still, my heart.
Love Rakes...IF they have a backstory that is compelling. I have never read one of your books that is not simply compelling!
I love rakehell characters! I thought everyone did. Silly me.
What I love about them is that they're confident around and about women; isn't confidence always appealing?
Thanks, Michelle!
I know, Claudia, I've always loved rakes, but I've seen some readers complain about them. Go figure. I will admit I don't like the ones who are just that way because, well, they're that way. But I do love a well-motivated rakehell.
Sabrina, I think you're right--I don't believe people can change fundamentally, so it follows that a basically decent man must have compelling reasons to take a debauched path. I think by rakehell you mean a heartless womaniser rather than just a man who takes mistresses, don't you? I like heroes to have respect for women, no matter how promiscuous they are, though. A rakehell's appeal is often that he understands women and listens to them--that's why he's so good at seducing them. Must admit, I love me a rake, as long as there's that decent man underneath.
I love YOUR rakehells. Gavin is still one of my favorites ever. :) But you're right, you have to redeem them fully. Maybe that's what's so sexy about them: they are SO in love that they'll give up their former skirt-chasing ways, all for true lurve. Ahn.
Hi, Sabrina, popping over from the Romance Bandits to say hi! What an intriguing topic.
I must say that I adore a rakehell if he's properly motivated and has a compelling reason for his womanizing.
I seem to like both ends of the spectrum, either a really bad boy or a really honorable one, and a heroine that makes him realize that SHE is the one he's been looking for all his life.
Hi Sabrina, another bandita checking in here! I do adore a rakehell and especially when he finds that one woman he really wants but can't have, or who isn't going to let him have his way. Makes him sort of grow up and come up to snuff as it were!
Hello to all the Banditas!! Y'all are the best!
Jo, I too seem to like both ends of the spectrum. I love the stiff upper-lip guys because I like mussing them up. *G*
You know, I really should define rakehell. For me, it's a guy who has sex with lots of women and doesn't form emotional connections to any of them, either because he thinks he shouldn't or can't or because he's afraid to. In the case of Anthony, he deliberately chooses women who won't get attached to him. He's not as hard-shelled as Gavin (my most cynical rake). Rakes in romance seem to fall into two groups: cynical and world-weary or charming and fun-loving. Both of them have their appeal.
Hi Sabrina! Another Bandita waving from the lair!
Hmmmm.
I admit that I don't like rakes...AND...I love rakes. Sigh. It's the motivation. The spoiled brat rakes who hold women as low value toys (often sports heroes--and SOME historical heroes) will actually make me put the book down, because it's so hard to make me believe they've redeemed. I just don't buy the "one woman can change the frog into a prince" when he's that much of a brat. There are a few--
VERY FEW of these books on my shelf that are actual keepers because the writer pulled it off.
But the rakes that you describe here--the ones who have damaged hearts or otherwise tortured souls--I can believe they can reform if the writer puts them through enough grief--takes them to the lowest low so they can hit their bottom and come to the big Aha! moment.
Those, because the lows are so low, make the sweetest endings if the writer can pull it off-and they end up being my favorite books of all time.
So there you go...I hate rakehells as a rule, but I love a well-done rakehell more than any other type of story. I don't write them worth a darn, so I'm glad you, and a few others like you--do!
Oh, yeah, Sabrina, there's nothing more fun that to upset the preconceived notions of a proper gentleman whose notions of propriety and duty go out the window when he meets his female match!
OTOH, it's fun to mess with the bad boys too -- "what they gonna do?" Tee hee.
Totally agree, Cassondra, there's a fine line the rake CANNOT cross or he's irredeemable.
love the rakes,i think they add
the spice to a story.
i think the fantasy of the rake is that he can give the heroine unbelievable sexual pleasure...don't we all like that? er...am I alone on this one?
ahem.
okay, yes, he's got to be redeemed, properly motivated, etc etc. But really, a sexy guy who loves women and know how to please them? what's not to like?
VBG.
thanks for bringing us such great rakes, Sabrina!
-kirsten (another one of those rowdy banditas)
Cassondra, I think you're right that rake stories have the potential to be more emotional than others, simply because the guy has so far to go to improve. But as you say, it's that fine line ... if you do it wrong, it can really ruin a good book.
Kirsten, yes, the sex part is DEFINITELY a big factor. While I've seen authors do inexperienced heroes, I think they're hard to pull off. You want to believe in the fantasy--that you can have your cake and eat it, too! *G*
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