March 8th, 2010

I don’t know about anyone else, but to me it’s the little things in romance books that make them such great reads. I love a strong hero who has a thoughtful touch. One who takes the heroine’s hand without thinking about it because it’s where it belongs. Or he slips his arm around her to simply comfort or console. And then there are those moments when he expresses his love for her and not because he has to, or she wants him to, but because he feels it in his heart.

What about the hero risking death itself to save the heroine? I know there are many kick-ass heroines who can save themselves, but you can’t tell me that it doesn’t catch at your heart when a hero does something heroic to save the woman he loves.

I have gotten and continue to get more e-mails than ever about one particular scene in my book The Buccaneer. The hero arrives at the island where the heroine is being held, tied to a stake near the water’s edge and he knocks out anyone who stands in his way of getting to her. Then of course he must fight the bad guy.

While there were many little things I could do in Bound To A Warrior, especially with the hero and heroine being shackled together, the most challenging part was having Duncan protect Mercy. It wasn’t as if he had two free hands, he always had to consider that one was constantly tethered to her. While that certainly could prove beneficial; it also could prove dangerous in more ways than one.

Still it’s those little things that tug at my heart and keeps me reading romances. What about you?

What are the little things in romance books that catch your heart?