Guest Post by Tricia Skinner (in honor of the launch of the third book in her Angel Assassins series, Angel Lover):
Assume the majority of paranormal romance/urban fantasy romance readers gobble up the genre because of the lure of alpha heroes and kick-ass heroines. Characters are thrown into life-threatening, no-one-wins situations, and they end up changed–usually for the better–because of love.
While writing Angel Lover, my latest novel in the Angel Assassins series, I worked to portray my hero, Kasdeja (Kas) and heroine, Mariel, as badass, but also as vulnerable. Not broken. Not tortured. Vulnerable.
The word means “susceptible to physical or emotional attack or harm.” It doesn’t mean “weak.” There’s a depth to a vulnerable person that resonates with me. Kas, who is half-angel, struggles with his self worth. Yes, he’d worked hard, was loyal to his team of Heaven-trained assassins, and would go down fighting if pressed by the enemy. But Kas’s self doubt, his inability to trust himself, left him open to emotional attack.
Mariel was the same, but for different reasons. She did fail her team. She lost her honor and identity, and even her employers (Kas’s enemies) considered her expendable. As tough as she was, as battle hardened and skilled, Mariel left herself exposed to physical and emotional attack because her vulnerability was plain for all to see.
Vulnerable characters, especially in romance, seem to have more difficulty finding their happily ever after. How can you love someone when you don’t quite love yourself? That’s hard, and relationships can’t happen until it’s addressed.
Angel Lover was my chance to delve into that emotion with two characters who needed to find their HEA. Every scene with Kas and Mariel dripped uncertainty, which isn’t exactly what a reader might expect from the main characters in this genre. I believe it worked on the page, but I’ll have to wait to see if you agree. Check it out and let me know. Click Angel Lover by Tricia Skinner
