Teri Thackston

Please help me welcome guest blogger, Teri Thackston—a darn good writer, and equally a warm person. Take it away Teri!

A reviewer once asked why so many romantic suspense books include a hero who’s some kind of cop. Good question. We do use law enforcement officers in our books quite a bit. Police detectives, Texas Rangers, FBI agents, Deputy U.S. Marshals (my personal favorite) seem to draw us as writers. But why?

I believe it’s because they draw us as women, as well. My theory is that as women we want a truly heroic type of man in our stories of love and suspense. That isn’t to say that there aren’t other occupations that are heroic (firemen, soldiers, wilderness rescue teams…is it getting hot in here?). Other heroic types include teachers and public defenders and paramedics. Such people—male and female—commit heroic acts every day in real life, and they populate many romantic suspense novels as well. But there does seem to be a high percentage of heroes who work in some branch of law enforcement.

I think that what many of us—as readers—really want in a hero is a man who lays his life on the line for the sole purpose of protecting or rescuing someone else. Who better than a cop? And when the someone else he’s saving is our heroine…well, what woman doesn’t dream of being rescued or protected by a sexy Deputy Marshal or FBI agent? The dream can be even better when the heroine rescues the hunky hero! What rousing—and arousing—good fun to lose ourselves in such fictional fantasies.

We want to create heroes who will catch the notice—and hearts—not only of our heroines, but of our readers, too. So, fellow readers and writers, what do you think? What makes a man heroic to you? What do you want your hero to do to earn his pay—as well as the heroine’s love?

Check out Teri's website: www.terithackston.com.