When I was crafting my series of St. Barts romance novels I knew who the heroine was going to be. Sunny O’Hara was always stupidly optomistic and nice regardless of the crap the universe tossed her way.  So the hero had to be more of an anti-hero, someone who could be healed by her love (if and when he stops being a douche and grows up.)

Enter Sven Larsen, an actor with an 8 pack, an adolescent sense of entitlement and a nagging sense that there’s more to life than easy women and the next movie shoot. I took inspiration from everywhere including Eric Northman, the Viking vampire in Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mystery series. He was so world weary, understandable after a thousand plus years. It also helped that Alexander Skarsgard played the part on True Blood. Eye candy + good acting=inspiration. I could never understand why Sookie didn’t ditch Bill and Sam.

Does that make Eric my book boyfriend?  Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t like bad boys in real life but a don’t mind a sprinkling of bad in book boyfriends.

Rhett Butler comes to mind because Gone With the Wind is the granddaddy of great romances. I never liked Ashley Wilkes, I always thought he was wet and I don’t like cheaters. (Yes, he cheated even though he and Scarlett never had sex. Somehow, emotional cheating is worse in a book boyfriend.)

I love Jaimie in Outlander. He’s almost too perfect. (Like that’s a flaw in a book boyfriend!)

Mark Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. The Colin Firth edition. (fyi-When my husband goes away on business I have a Firthathon and watch his movies non-stop. Better than chips.)

But writing out these names of book boyfriends makes me realize I don’t have that many of recent vintage. Christian Grey? Too controlling for me. The guys in Hunger Games and Divergent felt too young. I need a new book boyfriend! Any suggestions?