Karen Erickson on why tortured heroes are so tempting

Oh, how we love our tortured heroes. The tortured-er the better. I love to write about them and I love to read about them. My favorite tortured hero of all time is Cole Latimer in Kathleen Woodiwiss' Ashes in the Wind, though I'm thinking heroine Alaina might have been more tortured than he was — and she did a lot of torturing Cole while masquerading as a scamp of a boy. But, still. Tortured is good. Karen Erickson, author of Tempting Cameron (out now), agrees and explores why we love our wounded heroes so very much.

Karen: There's something captivating about the tortured, wounded hero, isn't there? They've been in romantic literature for pretty much as long as romantic literature has been around. Mr. Rochester (from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte) is the perfect early example. Mysterious, full of secrets, brooding and quiet, he captures both Jane's and the reader's attention right from the start. I remember reading the book in high school — and I loved it. That Mr. Rochester was downright scary sometimes but I didn't care. I needed// him to fall in love with Jane. Forget the crazy wife locked away — he and Jane belonged together!

So why are romance readers such suckers for a tortured soul? It's not like we relish the hero's pain or delight in seeing him so traumatized over … whatever the heck it is that disturbs him. I know in real life, I'm not sure I'd want to deal with a man full of so much emotional upheaval. They're fun to create, wonderful to read about but to actually deal with one on a daily basis?

I'm not sure if I'd want to.

I do know this, though. A tortured hero brings to a story ready-made conflict. An extra layer, if you will. They have their secrets, their problems that they keep close. All these issues mean they need to stay far, far away from a certain someone (most likely the heroine). That sort of behavior, in turn, seems to spur the heroine (and the reader) into action. Wanting to find out his secrets, why he's in so much pain, why he won't commit, talk or spend time with her.

There's also that element of danger. What sort of secret is he keeping? Why is he so quiet? Could he be hiding something dark and dangerous? Could his secrets, once revealed, ruin her as well? Is he … gulp … a bad guy who's done very bad, break-the-law-type things?

The tortured hero becomes the mystery the heroine — and the reader — is desperate to solve.

Besides, let's just face facts. The tortured, brooding hero is sexy. All that bluster and darkness, the quiet stares, the low-spoken words (and usually so few of them are spoken they're like precious gems when they fall from his lips), this all adds up to one big, alpha, sexy package. They're big, bad and tough — the epitome of masculinity. Talk about swoon-worthy …

As the reader, when we watch this sort of story unfold, we're rooting for the heroine's strength and unwavering support to slowly open him up. Make him see that he's worth something — and that the two of them are worth something together. Once it happens, once she breaks down those tortured walls and is offered a glimpse of the sweet, protective man hidden deep within, she now has the best of both worlds.

And we readers finish the book with a happy, contented sigh.

I'm so excited about my newest (and rather tortured) hero, Cameron McKenzie, from Tempting Cameron, which just released with Entangled's Bliss imprint. He's got his secrets and his wounds, and the last thing he wants is a woman he's known since she was a kid trying to solve all his mysteries. But Chloe has a way of getting directly under Cam's skin, and he soon discovers that he likes it.

Cam is one of my favorite heroes I've ever written. His story just poured out of me. His emotions ran so deep, which in turn made me a bit of an emotional wreck while writing this book. Thankfully, Chloe is his perfect match. Hopefully, readers will agree.

To find out more about Karen and her books, you can visit her website www.karenerickson.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook and Twitter (@karenerickson).