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Sabrina Jeffries | Rakes Are Just Hell on a Writer

February 19, 2008

I don’t write many rakehell heroes. The hero of my upcoming book, Let Sleeping Rogues Lie, is really only my third. And why is that, you may ask?

It’s simple, really. I like my heroes to have compelling reasons for what they do, and I tend to think of rakehells as skirt-chasers who just want to have fun. A guy like that is hard to reform, and if he doesn’t reform, well, I worry that he’ll go on chasing skirts after the wedding. That would certainly put a damper on the whole happily ever after thing.

Still, I’ve managed to create a few by digging deeper. For Gavin Byrne in One Night with a Prince, I gave him a fear of rejection that made him skittish of anything but the most basic of physical relationships. Jordan, the Earl of Blackmore from Forbidden Lord, saw himself as unable to love. And my latest hero Anthony Dalton …

Well, I’ll leave that to you to find out. But I must admit that I have a soft spot for Anthony. His chickens have come home to roost, and they’re laying eggs all over his comfortable rakehell life. He handles it pretty poorly at first, which is where my heroine comes in. She shows him it can be fun to be responsible, respectable, and, most of all, monogamous.

Of course, that doesn’t keep them from finding enjoyment in the bedroom. My characters always do. But then, that’s what we like about those rakehells, isn’t it? That they reform while still holding on to the fun aspects of their character?

Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe you have another reason entirely for liking rakehell books. Maybe you don’t like them at all.

Here’s your chance to voice your opinion. Do you like those rakehells in romance? If you do, then why? If not, then why not? And what would a rakehell have to do for you to decide that he’s irredeemable?

Sabrina Jeffries, author of Let Sleeping Rogues Lie

http://www.sabrinajeffries.com/

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