Q&A with Regina Puckett discussion

Can a main character have a terrible flaw and still be likable?

I think so, but I guess it would depend on the author's ability to redeem them in the eyes of the reader.

I have a hard time liking someone who has too bad of a flaw. I don't mind if the writer is only making their character appear to have a flaw and it turns out it's only a misunderstanding.

That's true, but sometimes it's a flaw (like say arrogance) that makes a character likeable if done right, for example: Sherlock Holmes.

That's a very good point.

I'm like you in that respect. The character needs to be redeemable and somewhere along the way I need to be able to like something about him or her. I hate reading a book where I never learn to like the person. It makes me want to throw the book across the room when I'm at the end.

I hate it when I love a book but don't know why, because I hated everyone in it. However, what is worse is when I keep asking myself "why do I keep reading this?" because I couldn't care less what happened to any of the characters

I have read a few books like that. I think we keep on reading because even the though characters aren't very likable, the storyline is interesting enough we want to see what happens in the end.

too true :) I feel this way about some of Eloisa James' character's and Elizabeth Hoyt too at times

I usually love everything both of these authors write, but every now and then I just don't like their characters.

I really hate it when the main male character visits brothels. I can't get over the ickiness of that. All I can think of is that he's going to pass on some sexual transmitted disease to his new lady love.

OMG!! I just got an e-book short story from Elizabeth Hoyt that was either free or .99 cents something like that. It was about a woman who ran a brothel and of course she used to be one of the main stars of the place, but ICK!!!! Also, not too long ago I read one about a guy who made a prostitute his mistress then of course married her. It was disgusting because he was like the 4th person she had seen THAT DAY!! YUCK!

There are flaws and then there are FLAWS!!! Don't overstep the boundaries of good taste if you want your characters to be likeable.

And let's talk about words you should never use in a romance novel. Don't sprew out anything; especially if you're trying to create a romantic moment. I don't mind the word damp, if you're discussing the weather, but no bodily fluids please if you're trying to describe two people being attractive to each other. Yes, in the real world there is sprewing and dampness, but do we really want harsh reality when we read about two people falling in love? I don't, but of course I can only speak for myself.

In the latest Black Dagger Brotherhood series (which is my favorite vamp series above all others) there was little bit of BDSM and that is not for me. I reviewed it saying "I felt like I read this book with one eye closed and cringing" and it set off a firestorm of comments that did not like my review even though I gave it 5 stars

We like what we like, what we like. That's why I go in a bookstore and pick out the books I'm going to read and I don't send someone else in to choose for me. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but I do expect others to respect my right to like, what I like, what I like.