I want to address the issue of weight and age. It’s easy to say I should have more “curvy” or “full figured” heroines but every time I do that, it becomes an issue in the story. How does she feel about being larger than the norm? What do the other characters say/think about it? Why is she overweight? Thyroid? Or just a love of food? Whatever the answer, it becomes a big part of the story. It must be addressed. In today’s world a woman can’t be what is now considered overweight and not deal with it in a story about her life. How boring would it be if every book I wrote went on and on about the heroine’s weight? The exact same is true about age. An older heroine has a past. Why is she single at an older age? Divorce? Is she a widow? Both of those are sad and they leave a mark on a person. If she never married, then why? Her past story has to be told. And repetition of a sad widowed/divorced/lost love story in book after book is boring. A woman of about 26, with no weight problem, gives me a clean slate to work with. And best of all, it gives me that wonderful word of VARIETY. I can give her a great childhood or a bad one. I can make her have a past serious boyfriend or just a few guys here and there. I have had lots of heroines who have had a few extra pounds. My Hallie in the book I just finished was worried about her weight — and it was a big issue in the story. As for age, quite frankly, most people don’t like older women as heroines. You can put one as a side story, but not the main heroine. As for the men, even less variety is allowed in them. In Scarlet Nights, I made the hero just under 6 feet and he had a high forehead. You can read on Amazon the really nasty reviews about that! All in all, I think it is important to vary each book. Rich people, poor, skinny, larger, short, tall, educated or not. A childhood that hurts a person or one that gives strength. I like my characters to change because of what happens in the book. That’s why some of my people start out as wimps but at the end they stand up for themselves. I’m sure this is more than you wanted to know, but I never want to hear that JD always writes about so and so. Jude
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 09:00:00 +0000