Once again, my blog's about to be hijacked - this time by Chris McHart - a wonderful sprinting partner and fellow m/m author.
Please welcome Chris as she takes over A Little Bit of Naughty to talk about love conquering all in erotic romance.
The floor is yours, sweetie!
Perfect Characters or Love Heals Everything?
Does love heal everything? I’ve come across a lot of books where the character meets his other half, falls in love and suddenly, a lot of things become alright. They get healthy again, they stop annoying/dangerous/unhealthy habits. They are suddenly not the obnoxious person they were.
You get the drift. I love romance, and I love to read about people who get better because they finally have a reason to get up in the morning, but sometimes, I wish there’d be more reality in the books.
Nobody stops drinking because he’s in love. No one gets up with a spring in his step every day and heads smiling to his job because he’ll meet his beloved one in the evening. If there’s a drug that makes you love your day-job, please let me know, but otherwise, we are all human and we have our faults. For a few weeks, everything looks good, bright and wonderful, but if you hate your day-job, you won’t love it because you have a boyfriend now.
If you have a drinking problem, you won’t suddenly stop because you’re in love. That’s why my characters are far from perfect (okay, that’s how they appear in my mind), and they stay that way. They have flaws, are sick, are jerks, whatever. And they improve in some aspects, in some they don’t.
Sebastian in Small Steps has a drinking problem and he doesn’t stop because he meets Ben. He doesn’t even stop when he realizes what he’s done, because he can’t. He simply can’t. Ben is in a wheelchair. He doesn’t suddenly start walking because he’s in love. It would be a perfect world where that happens, but it’s just not realistic. But tell me, are these characters not more loveable? They are real. Their struggles are real. Their hurt is real. It’s the way I see them. They are not loveable because they are perfect. Exactly the opposite.
And that’s what I’m aiming for. Realistic characters. Real love. Not the perfect hero. Because we are not perfect as well.
What do you think about it? Let me know!
BLURB:
Ben Amann currently hates everything: The accident that temporarily put him in a wheelchair, the fact that he has to go for rehab and live in an assisted living home as well. Sebastian Hofers, the good looking but equally bad-tempered new assistant to his rehab therapist changes that.
Sebastian has two choices after causing an accident while driving drunk: community service hours or go to jail. The decision is a no-brainer, and so he meets Ben at the rehab center. The two of them hit it off and slowly, Sebastian sees more than just a patient in Ben.
But their growing relationship faces hard trials, not only because of Sebastian’s heavy drinking, but also because of the truth: The two of them already met on an icy street, eight months ago.
Can love and forgiveness overcome the overwhelming guilt and resentment?
Contains: Two ill-tempered men, a lot of hang-ups, a shared hope, and a destroyed dream.
Trigger Warning: deals with alcohol abuse and alcoholism
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Bio:
Chris McHart lives in Germany, with her husband, slave, Dom, partner in crime, and muse (all in one person, not even she’s that kinky!). She loves her husband, men in kilts and Scotch Whiskey. Her idea of a perfect evening is to curl up with her laptop and write (the other options are not suitable to post in public).
Visit her blog or friend her on Facebook, where you can join her author group.
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