With HIS BORDER BRIDE, I crossed a border myself and set a book in Scotland for the first time. While I’m still writing 14th century medieval romance, this time I looked at the world from the northern side of the Cheviot Hills.
I crossed another border with the book, too. I wrote my first “bad boy” hero.
(Well, at least everyone THINKS he’s a bad boy. We all know he’s a hero at heart.)
What’s the perpetual appeal of the “bad boy?”
The man who is “mad, bad, and dangerous to know,” as Lady Caroline Lamb once said of the poet, Lord Byron, should have STAY AWAY signs all over him. He’s disillusioned, cynical, and has done things you can’t tell your mother about.
(Many of which, we suspect, have something to do with S-E-X.)
But despite all this, (or because of it?) he’s somehow irresistible. Not only is he sadly wiser to the cruel ways of the world, he’s also developed a charismatic charm that will draw you closer until you’re hooked and you can’t escape.
I’ve always written wounded heroes, and the hero of this book is no exception. Gavin Fitzjohn is the illegitimate son of a prince of England and a Scots woman. Not only is he torn between royal and noble, he’s torn between two kingdoms. “A rebel without a country,” as the back cover copy says, he’s a man with a reputation so terrible, he’s outcast by both sides.
How does he fight what other people think? He doesn’t. He knows that no matter what he says, his words won’t change someone else’s opinion. He just puts on that lazy smile lets them think he’s as bad, or maybe even worse, than the rumors.
So who is a match for a man who refuses to defend his reputation? Who can challenge a man who seems to revel in every bad thing ever said about him?
A woman who is looking for the perfect “knight in shining armor,” of course.
Clare Carr expects perfection in herself and in her future husband. But chivalry was an uneasy mix of religious, romantic, and militaristic tenets that provided a veneer of civilization in a warlike era. A knight was first and foremost a fighter. Gavin’s business, like that of any knight, was violence, dominance, and death. It’s no surprise that a “knight in shining armor” might hide some dark deeds beneath the shiny façade.
Or, that the bad boy might see beyond a woman’s spotless reputation to the things she’d prefer to keep hidden…
I’ll be giving a copy of HIS BORDER BRIDE to a commenter. To start the conversation, here’s your task:
Do you like the Bad Boy hero? If so, why? If not, why?
BLYTHE GIFFORD is the author of five medieval romances from Harlequin Historical. She specializes in characters born on the wrong side of the royal blanket. With HIS BORDER BRIDE, she sets a story in Scotland for the first time, where the rules of chivalry don’t always apply. Here’s a brief description:
Royal Rogue: He is the bastard son of an English prince and a Scotswoman. A rebel without a country, he has darkness in his soul.
Innocent Lady: Daughter of a Scottish border lord, she can recite the laws of chivalry, and knows this man has broken every one. But she’s gripped by desire for him—could he be the one to unleash the dangerous urges she’s hidden until now?
She loves to have visitors at www.blythegifford.com or www.facebook.com/BlytheGifford.
Cover Art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved. ®and T are trademarks of Harlequin Enterprises Limited and/or its affiliated companies, used under license. Copyright 2010 ■ Author photo by Jennifer Girard
About Misa
Hi Blythe! We are very glad you are here.
I definitely like the bad boy. Especially when their bad boy breaks rules to get his heroine and charms the pants off her!
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I love all kinds of Heroes. But I think my favorite is the…washed up, but later reinvented Hero that gained strength through inspiration, or the love of a woman.
Thank you for sharing
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Blythe, I’ve always loved medieval period and stories set there. I fell in love with them when I read Roberta Gellis years ago. Ssomehow, I’ve missed yours. I’ll have to rectify that.
I like the *wonded* psyche conflict and bad boys, if you will, that reform. Thanks for sharing your book with us.
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Hi Blythe, and welcome to TNH!!! I love the bad boy. I always write my heroes as bad boys. As you said a rebel without a cause. I like the deep dark damaged side to them, that softens a bit under the guidance of the heroine. I like to bring out into the light what made them bad. No one is born bad, although as a retired cop, I did wonder at times if that belief was some how very flawed. But in fiction it works. I’m with you, as a history buff, we all know that shinning armor was tarnished underneath, to the point of in most cases almost completely blackened. I love going through those layers and making it shine a bit in my hero..Turning them into that hero, we all love, the reformed bad boy.
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Blythe, sounds like a good book!
I love bad boys even though I know I shouldn’t. There’s just something about a cocky smile that makes my heart go pitter-patter. However, a complete bad boy doesn’t work for me. There has to be a deeper reason for his “bad boy” rep whether it’s a tormented past, a lost love, or bleak future. I think that also makes him a bit of a wounded hero, so a blending of the two is what makes me melt.
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Hey Blythe! SO great to have you here. Your book sounds really fabulous. Can’t wait to pick up my copy!! I do love the bad boy (we devoted a whole page to him! http://thenakedhero.com/evolution-of-a-hero/hero-archetypes/bad-boy ).
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There IS something irresistable about him, isn’t there. Misa, your page is spot on. But I’d never written one before, so it took awhile for me to understand him. Even longer for the heroine to understand him! But in the end, the armor was pretty shiny. Thanks to all of you for the warm welcome and the wonderful comments!
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Blythe, what a cool name, I’ve only seen it in a story. I love the bad boy hero. Of course with medievals they had to be bad to survive. But your hero sounds like he has good reasons to be bad, and that is all a bad boy needs…a reason and a woman will move in on him and show him all his reasons are wrong. LOL
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Of course I like the bad boy hero! My reason? You said it yourself – He’s irresistable.
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And it’s really my name, too! Both Jill and Janette are hinting at something I didn’t say, but is part of the Bad Boy’s appeal. When a woman saves him, it’s a real victory because he needs saving sooooo badly.
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Hi Blythe!
Goodness what a question…I think I’m going to be the first on this page to say I’m not enamored of the bad boy (gasp, does this officially make a pariah amongst romance fans?). But I do like the bad boy as you have written him, in that he is not truly a villain, just that society see’s him that way. But I would love to see more “bad girls” or girls who don’t tow society’s rules.
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Always good to see you! Glad you liked Gavin, even if you’re not a fan of “bad boys.” Interesting idea about “bad girls.” Maybe a post for another day…
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Thanks for being with us, Blythe!!!!
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