The Role of the Hero and Heroine
Probably more so than in any other literary genre, the two main characters of a romance novel are the most important component of the book. If you choose the right characters to carry your story from the first page to the last, the readers will keep turning those pages. What's more, she'll probably recommend the book to her friends and place it on her “keeper” shelf.
But if you choose the wrong characters, well, there's a good chance your book may end up on the remainder table of your local bookseller.
The Heroine
She can be young and just falling in love for the first time. Or she can be older — widowed perhaps or divorced — and looking for someone to share the next chapter of her life. More than likely, however, the heroine of a romance novel is somewhere in the middle between the two extremes.
More important than her age, however, is that she is someone with whom your reader can relate. Someone your reader can understand. While every character can and should be unique, romance heroines generally have two similar qualities:
The female reader can imagine herself as the heroine.
The heroine is the perfect match for the hero.
Other than those two similarities, your heroine is limited only by the plotline of your novel — and by the requirements of your intended market.
Modern romance heroines are usually strong, confident, and in charge of their own lives … although their love lives may be another story entirely. Romance heroines have been everything from cops to government assassins, and starship captains to Regency-era spies. But even if she's leading an ordinary life as a kindergarten teacher, she's the one who decides the course of her life.
The Hero
Much like the heroine, the hero of a romance novel can be of any age appropriate to the story, including being younger than his heroine. Most heroes, however, are in their thirties and have at least one failed romantic relationship in their past.
Just as it is true with the romance heroine, age isn't what defines a romance hero. It's his attitude. Whether an alpha male — the physically strong man of-action type — or the beta male — the emotionally strong, nurturing type — a romance hero knows how to win his heroine's heart.
Regardless of what he may say in the beginning of the novel, he'll always step up to the challenge in the end, whether it's leading his troops into a battle he suspects they can never win or babysitting his sister's twin toddlers.
Making your hero a multi-layered character with emotional baggage is fine but try to avoid making him so complex that he's impossible to understand. After all, if your reader can't identify with why your heroine is falling in love with the hero, it's unlikely she'll care that much about finishing your novel … or buying your next one.
But all romance heroes do share two common traits:
The female reader can imagine herself falling in love with the hero.
The hero is the perfect match for the heroine.
The rest, however, is up to the author's imagination and talent.
