Nomatter how you look at it, the average woman wants a “real” man …a man who truly loves her to the point of adoration … a man who isa good provider … who understands what a woman needs and wants …a protector … a man who is strong for her but would never use thatstrength to abuse her.

        Atthe same time, we like to read about strong, brave women who matchthose strong men … women who appreciate their lover and protector.Even though they are brave in their own right, women in romancesrealize that they need and want a man by their side, and they lovehim in all the right ways. And I find it so much fun to write about awoman who has that strong man wrapped around her little finger …AND HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW IT!

        Iam smiling as I write this. Jake and Randy in my Outlaw series, andZeke and Abbie from Savage Destiny are my favorite couples. Theyperfectly fit the kind of men and women I mentioned above. Most ofthe couples I write about also fit that description, but I guessbecause the man and woman in the two series above spend so many yearstogether and go through so much together, they have become myfavorites.

        Tome, romance isn’t always about hopping into bed and having hot sex,although that is also enjoyable reading. But there is sex that is theresult of true love, and gratuitous sex that is the result of lust,not love. I prefer writing the true love sex … the kind that bringsa couple together in a deep, abiding need to please each other …the kind of love that encompasses all emotions and is many times morefulfilling.

         Ireceived what I felt was a great compliment not long ago from areader. She praised my love scenes, telling me they were the bestshe’d ever read. That really warmed my heart because romancewriters do often wrestle with just how far to go in their sex scenes.They are not always as easy to write as readers might think. I havenever liked reading lustful love scenes that are gratuitous andwritten only to throw some hot sex into a story. Nor do I care forsexual encounters between strangers just because they want to feelgood and have dirty sex. My number one goal is to write a good lovestory about a couple whose love for each other helps them face thechallenges and conflict that is bound to come between two people whospend years together.

        Sexshould be very emotional. It should come from a desire to givepleasure to the partner because they adore each other, and to receivepleasure in return. Sex should be the result of sharing bodies rightdown to the core, both mentally and physically … to share pleasurethat lasts long after the actual sexual encounter.

        Weall know that a lot of men don’t understand what women really want,and it’s not even always the sexual act itself. Sometimes we justwant to be adored, to be held close, to be respected and protected. Ialways try to write heroes who do understand that. Sometimes theydon’t at the beginning of my story, but they end up falling sodeeply in love that the understanding just comes naturally.

        Sometimesthe hero has to be taught what true love is all about. That would beJake, who never understood the meaning of love until Miranda walkedinto his life. And sometimes the hero has to be taught that a womancan cure his loneliness. That would be Zeke. And both men, along withmany of my other heroes, have to be taught that they become strongerand braver, and they can control their anger and live with a tragicpast when they have a woman by their side who understands them andcan help them reason with their lawless urges. Nearly all men havethose urges and need to learn to control them. Having a woman andchildren to provide for and protect helps them make the rightdecisions. 

        Jake,of course, and Zeke, too, are unique in their desire to avenge wrongsagainst those they care about. Still, the very loved ones who drivethat need are the same people who help them see the wrong of it. Menlike the strong, brave, capable men who live in a lawless land arenot easy to reason with, so I try to write heroines who can standright up to such men and fearlessly demand that they control theirwild side.

        Still,my heroines can usually do a pretty good job of taking care ofthemselves and their families on their own if they have to. They arebrave and capable. No fainting flowers in my stories. But down deepinside, they love a man who makes them feel safe, a man who they knowwould stand in front of a train if it meant saving their life or thelives of their children. When I continue Jake and Randy’s story inmy next Outlaw book, I am thinking of calling the book SAFE IN HISARMS. Isn’t that a wonderful feeling? Randy mentions that severaltimes throughout the OUTLAW HEARTS series. “I feel safe in yourarms” – or – “Nothing can hurt me when I am here in yourarms.”

        Readingabout heroic men and women, and reading about true love has to be thenumber one reason romance is so popular. Don’t you think? I havealways told men that if they really want to know what women want,READ A ROMANCE!

 

 

PS -- the reissue of my 1989 book THIS TIME FOREVER is now available in trade paperback and ebook versions!  Read it for the first time or revisit an old friend:  https://amzn.to/4aWnsY9