Bronwyn Jameson ~ Romance Author

Irresistible Heroes: Those Australians

I am writing this article during the football World Cup, which has captured me more completely in 2006 than on any previous occasion. The coverage in Australia has included cameos of the host cities, with colourful pieces on German life, culture, people, history, and so on. I've enjoyed those, but not quite as much as the world theatre played out on a football field.

I've been captivated by the beautiful game, the Brazilian joga bonista, the silky skills of the Argentineans, the brilliance of Ballack and the finesse of Zidane. I love that the French coach took his team to museums and art galleries, and that the Dutch players spent their off days enjoying sports other than football. But more than any of that I adore the story of an underdog, of a team achieving beyond expectation, of surprising everyone except themselves...which pretty much sums up Australia's performance.

What has this to do with romance heroes?

While watching reports of our team's games, I started to notice the descriptors attributed to their play. Not words like elegant or silky. Not beautiful or brilliant. Try tough, rugged, physical, big-hearted, tenacious, uncompromising. Hmm, I thought. That sounds like my idea of the quintessential Australian romance hero.

I paid more attention, making a list of the commentators' favourite adjectives, and here they are, in no particular order:

Physical/Over-physical. In football parlance this isn't a compliment, but in a romance hero, I give it a big two-thumbs-up. I like physicality. I like a man whose muscles come from hard work rather than from preening in front of a mirror at the gym. And I really like a man who's comfortable with his body and who knows how to use it.
Rugged. This one goes hand in hand (or arm in arm) with physical, but with an edge that makes the man a tad enigmatic, a little unpredictable, a touch uncivilized. Often it comes from the harshness of our outback lands and I love that parallel, possibly because the first romance heroes I fell in love with, as a teenager, were Lucy Walker's rugged and enigmatic outback men.
Strong. I'm talking of strength beyond the physical, about mental toughness and strength of character, which are both essential ingredients in my favourite romance heroes.
Direct. These are men who don't waste words or bother with subtleties or idle flattery. They're not diplomats. They're brutally honest, even with themselves, and that's a trait I find very attractive.
Determined. Once they know what they want, they go after it with dedication and purpose. Which is all well and good unless you're in their way, in which case you may get steamrolled. Heroines at odds with these determined men have been known to call them bull-headed, stubborn, obstinate, and worse!
Competent/Resourceful. Don't you love a man who can mend, make, protect and provide, especially when the chips are down? Personally, I find there's nothing more sexy than a man doing what he does best, whatever that may be. I also love when the resourcefulness extends to how he overcomes his woman's objections and wins her over. He mightn't always play fair, but he reckons all is fair in love and war.
Confident. The Australian hero exudes a quiet confidence that isn't arrogant or self-involved but directed more at the task. If he knows he can do something, he doesn't talk about doing it, he does it...without fuss or fanfare. If someone says he can't do it, he sets about proving them wrong. He isn’t over-awed by the occasion or by reputation.

So, courtesy of the World Cup commentators, there is my list of attributes of the Australian romance (and football) hero. It's a pretty decent list, I think, to which I can only add a couple of final ingredients. Firstly there is the Aussie sense of humour, which is a bit on the dry side, often self-deprecatory, and always laconic.

Lastly, these are tough guys but they are not Neanderthals. They're good guys who will own up to their mistakes and make amends. They're respected by their mates and protective of their family. They're the men I read about and the men I love to write about in my books.