MEET GUY HERO, Male Romance Reader

MonaVie

Drink It ~ Feel It ~ Share It

Don't get me wrong. The number of men who read romance novels is steadily increasing, because men enjoy books with action, adventure, history and drama and happily ever afters just as much as women. However, most men do not admit it.

Recently I met a man that blew all my male romance reader stereotypes out of the water. His name is Guy Hero. He's tall (6'2"), dark (wavy, dark locks) and handsome, with blue eyes that you can stare into and see forever. He's strong and masculine, but definitely in touch with his sensitive side. And yes, ladies, he's straight. And single.

I first met Guy at the local bookstore, just before Christmas, browsing--of all things--the romance shelves. I'm ashamed to say that I let my preconceived notions of male readers get the better of me; I assumed he was looking for a book for his wife or girlfriend, or maybe even his mother, so I asked him if I might be able to help him find a particular book.

He looked up from the back cover he was skimming and said, "No, thank you. I'm just looking for a couple of good historical romances that I can take with me when I go to Florida over the holidays."

Ladies, you know my curiosity got the better of me. Here I was, standing face to face with one of those fabled male romance readers! I whispered to my daughter to take my little one to the kids section and told her I'd meet them there in a few minutes, and as soon as the kidlings walked away, this strange man holding the romance novel with the man in a kilt on the cover was all mine.

I confessed to Guy that I was a romance writer, and was admittedly pleased when he not only recognized my name, but had actually read my book (and trust me, I tested him <g>). He seemed as eager to pick my brain as I was to pick his. So we had a friendly round of Q and A, both of us nearly giddy at the opportunity we'd stumbled across. By the time our conversation in the book aisle was over, I knew I could not let this man get away. I mean, with a name like Guy Hero, and a love for all books that is unrivaled, I simply knew there were big things in store for him if I could just introduce him to the right people.

Since our first meeting, Guy and I have kept in touch. And he's also offered to help the readers at the TRC book sites, with his vast knowledge of authors and books, and I have promised to help him find his dream job in return (more on that later).

I wanted to introduce Guy to romance, mystery and mainstream readers with an interview, so everyone could get to know him a little better. I think you will find that Guy Hero is not only good looking and charming, but he's intelligent and just the kind of man we can all get used to.

Guy: It's the first question everyone asks me. Hero is really my last name, and when I was a kid, it came in handy. My father had run off when I was just a baby, so I never really knew him. As I got older, I fantasized that he was like the superheroes in the Saturday morning cartoons and in comic books, and I created this whole fantasy background of my father being Clark Kent, and he couldn't be home because he had a world to save. So when a couple of the mean kids teased me about not having a father, I just told them the story that I had convinced myself was true, and they were gullible enough to buy into it because of my last name.

G: Fortunately, I was pretty tall for my age, and excelled in athletics. All it took for me to convince the disbelievers was to stand toe-to-toe with them, and I think my sheer size scared them into believing I might possess some sort of super powers, or at the very least, I could whup them.

G: Nope. (He laughs) I guess that sort of deductive reasoning doesn't occur to kids in kindergarten. By second grade, Betty Sue Smith--the prettiest girl in school--had a crush on me, and I was the envy of all the other boys for reasons that had nothing to do with my parentage and superhuman abilities. I guess they all forgot about that kindergarten playground tale eventually.

G: That's real, too. The story goes that my father wanted to name me Luigi, Jr. Lucky for me, Dad was out boozing the night I was born, and my mother was so angry--she's Irish--that she named me Guy, which was her father's nickname.

G: It was only a week later that he ran off with the floozy he was boozing it up with the night I came into the world, so I don't think he ever saw my birth certificate. Say, can we talk about books now? Talking about my old man just reminds me of the pain of my youth, and all the reasons I've become the walking wounded alpha that I am.

L: Sure, Guy. Let's go where I'm sure everyone reading this interview will want to go. How did you become a male romance reader?

G: Well, by the time I was in high school, I knew, of course, that my father was not Superman. I knew the truth. And there my mother and I were, barely scraping by, and never knowing what the next day would hold. Mom worked scrubbing floors in office buildings at night, and also worked as a waitress at Perkins pancake house. I had a part time job after school at the fast food joint. It was then that I met Sue Ellen Jones, the prettiest girl to ever ask, "Would you like fries or a cherry pie with your order?"

Man, she was hot. Blonde hair, dreamy blue eyes, and the sweetest smile. I was in love at first sight. She was a manager, and unlike all the girls at school, she didn't even seem to notice that I existed, except when she wanted another basket of fries dropped. So I was went down to the break room for my lunch break one night, and passed Sue Ellen, who was just going back on the floor. I noticed she left one of her books on the table, and as I ate my double cheeseburger and chocolate shake, my curiosity got the better of me, and I picked up her book.

G: Not right away. I mean, it was obvious it was a chick book, and frankly, I was too cool to engage in chick-like activities. But as I ate, I started wondering what a woman like Sue Ellen saw in these romance novels. Maybe if I figured that one out, I could figure out how to get her to notice me--not as a fry boy, but as a man worthy of her attention. I had just turned eighteen after all. I definitely was a man.

I started on page one, and read the remaining twenty minutes of my break. In fact, I was so engrossed in the story, that I didn't go back to the floor on time and Sue Ellen had to come and remind me that my break was over.

G: Yeah. I was so embarrassed! I handed her her book, and ran out of the room. I didn't dare look her in the eye for the rest of the night, for fear I would witness her disapproval. I mean, men do not read romance novels! And I would have just died if she'd have said anything to any of the other guys working on the grill with me. Man, they wouldn't have let me live it down.

G: (He grins boyishly) No. But as I was clocking out, suddenly, from out of nowhere, Sue Ellen appeared. I was so sure she was going to razz me about what she'd seen me doing in the break room, and it was all I could do not to let my flight instincts take control. But I stood there, squared my shoulders, and at last looked her straight in the eye, as if daring her to tease me about the book.

Then she said, ever so softly, "It's not a burger, silly boy. It's the book. I'm done with it. I just started a new Virginia Henley, and I thought maybe you'd like to finish The Flame and the Flower."

Laura, I tell you, that was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. And the best part was, not only had I unwittingly gotten Sue Ellen to finally notice me, I had found another love--romance novels. I swear, I scarfed those books up. At first, I only read books that Sue Ellen recommended. But then I started noticing romance novels in the convenient stores and grocery lines when I'd go shopping for my mom. I'd see the hero on the cover, with that beautiful babe in his arms, while brandishing a sword, and I'd think to myself, "I want to be him for a while." So I'd buy the books, and escape--from school and work and being poor. I could be someone else. I could live an adventure, and I was sure to get the girl.

Sue Ellen was so supportive of my new reading addiction. By the time I graduated high school and started college, we'd become good friends. And about a year or so after that, we became even closer, our bond even stronger because of the books we shared, and well, let's just say that we didn't need Dungeons and Dragons for role playing.

G: Ah, I joined the Marines so I could finish college--Semper Fi!--and she couldn't handle the long distance relationship, so she ran off and married the manager from the Dairy Queen. I guess I knew all along it wouldn't last forever, but it was beautiful while it did last.

L: But even after you and Sue Ellen broke up, you continued reading romance novels?

G: Oh, hell yeah. Everything I learned about unconditional love of a parent for a child, I learned from my mother. But everything I learned about loving a woman, I learned from a romance novel. And to be honest... well, Laura, the fact is that romance novels are great chick magnets. Just like you, a woman cannot resist a man who is reading a romance novel.

G: Yep. The first thing they experience is shock--it gets their attention. The next thing, they assume you're gay. And then, when they find out you are totally not gay, it's almost like they want to test you, to see what you've learned from all your reading.

L: So you're saying that reading a romance novel is the equivalent of a well-timed pick up line?

G: (He shrugs, as though a compliment makes him uncomfortable) Reasonably good looking men are easy enough for a woman to find. But women usually will not approach a man just because he's good looking. It's like that romance novel makes it impossible for them to walk away without saying something.

G: Again, I'm a big guy. An ex-Marine. Semper Fi! Six foot, two inches, and broad shouldered. Not too many people actually mess with me, no matter what I'm reading. But my friends? Well, they are somewhat in awe. There can be twenty of us standing together, and not a woman in sight, but the moment I pull my current read out of my inside coat pocket, it's just a matter of moments before I'm being approached by a woman.

You know, I've told them--my friends, that is--that if they really want to know how women think and feel, and what women really want, they need to read romance novels.

G: Because romance novels are books written by women, for women. A lot of men get all offended by the suggestion, because they think they could never live up to the heroes in romances. But the reality is that it's not the buff, ruggedly handsome dude that women crave, but the man who loves her beyond reason and will sacrifice anything to be with her. It's not the physical. That's just the cherry on that proverbial sundae. It's the emotional. And we men don't naturally let ourselves be emotional. That is where the romance hero can give us a lesson or two--in bearing our hearts.

G: No. I read a little of everything. Or I should say a LOT of everything. I read an average of a book a day. I read all kinds of romances, and also mysteries, mainstream, biographies, and even the occasional self-help or how-to book. Lord, I love books!

G: Once. But I don't think my reading tastes and Oprah's are the same. I like stories where good things happen to good people if they work long enough and hard enough. I like knowing that the bad guys will get it in the end, and the good guys will get their reward, whether it's another case solved, or marrying the woman of their dreams. Oprah's picks, well, depress the hell outta me. I read to escape and for entertainment.

G: Not at the moment. I'm still searching for Ms. Right, and I know one day I'll find her.

G: Actually, I majored in computer science, and I've done some work in that field. But my love for books took me in a different direction, and I now work in a bookstore.

L: Yes, you do. I didn't tell readers that the store I met you in was the store you worked in.

G: Right. I was so shocked when you asked me if you could help me find a book. Usually I'm the one asking that question.

G: Introducing readers to new books. I love it when they come back to me and tell me that a book I recommended was a perfect read. But I take my job very seriously. Before I worked in a bookstore, nothing irritated me more than asking a clerk for help finding a certain book, or a book with a particular setting or in a specific era, only to realize the clerk was not a reader at all and couldn't help me. If I didn't already know the title and the author, I was out of luck. I call it "self-serve book buying". But as a reader, I love going into a store where the owner and staff are all readers. That is when I leave the store with an armload of books and an empty wallet, and I have enough entertainment to last me a week or two.

L: Besides reading books and working in a bookstore, what do you do in your spare time, Guy?

G: Thanks to you and all the authors you've introduced me to, I've been able to start my own website, where I'll recommend books to readers every month, and answer reader questions about books and authors. I think it will be a lot of fun.

G: To be honest, Laura, I know... there's something more for me. A higher calling, so to speak. Don't get me wrong. I love the bookstore and helping readers. But I really want to...

G: All right, I'll just say it. I really want to be... I don't know if I can do this...

G: I feel... like the weight of the world has finally been lifted from my shoulders.

G: I have. I have! I've wanted to be a romance novel hero ever since I read The Flame and the Flower. And I've denied the truth, to myself, and everyone else.

G: Laura, thank you! I couldn't have done it without you! I can finally say it to the world. I. WANT. TO. BE. A. ROMANCE. HERO!

G: Man, I feel truly alive for the first time. This is better than... chocolate! Say, Laura...

G: Any chance you could talk to some of these authors and arrange an interview for me?

L: Gee, I don't know, Guy. Most authors make up their romance heroes. They don't use a real man as their hero.

G: Just imagine it. I can see the cover now. Me standing there, looking all manly and proud, pecks and abs all tight, holding a babe with a reasonably large bosom in my arms... and the embossed foil title "Guy Hero's Seduction", or "Guy Hero's Bride", or maybe even "A Rake Named Guy Hero". What do you think?

After our interview, Guy walked away a new man. Since then, he's invited me to view the progress on his new website, and I must say, I really think readers are going to have fun talking to Guy.

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