Almost every woman says she wants a nice, funny guy. No matter what the media tells you, it's true. Real stories of women seeking out the bad boys are exaggerated. Nice guys don't finish last.
We don't see that many nice guys in romance novels, though. Why is that? Women want to read about the bad boy with the hidden heart of gold. Women of every social class, of every age. Again, you ask why? For the fantasy of it, for an escape from reality. If you ask the same women if they want a man in real life like the arrogant and possessive heroes in the books, they'll say no. They want the nice guys.
Nice guys are almost impossible to find in paranormal romance. The dark supernatural worlds with all those monsters to fight tend to produce hardened men. Or the men that the heroines fall for are the monsters. I love all the layers this adds to the romance aspect of the story. Ah, the complexities of being a vampire's life-mate or falling for a gorgeous ghost that you can't even touch.
Not that paranormal romance is void of nice guys. Usually they're family or friends. Not the love interest.
I find nice guys are more common in YA than adult. I'm glad for that. The most popular example I can think of is the Harry Potter series. I love that Harry and Ron were nice guys. They prove you can have a fantastic story with nice guys. They each got the girl at the end too.
My heroes are usually the sarcastic, arrogant type. They're just so much fun to write. Of course, they can be highly moral and have good hearts, but they have flaws that would make them highly annoying in real life. I should take up the challenge and write a story with a nice guy as the hero.
Do you prefer reading romances with the bad boy or the nice guy? Can you name any paranormal romances with a nice guy as the love interest?
