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The Underrated Good Guy

It makes me sad that the good guy never gets appreciated in fiction. He’s always stuck just out of shot somewhere, being emotionally available, proffering tea, mopping up tears and never, ever getting the girl. So I’m fighting for the good guy today! I say NO to dashing, dangerous heroes who sweep a girl off her feet then drop her from a great height because of their dark and brooding troubles. I want someone who’s there when, at the end of a truly rubbish day, I come home and need a shoulder massage. Someone who I know will make the right choice when faced with the temptation to hurt someone he loves. Someone whose sense of humour is more developed than their internal angst. Let’s hear it for the tea-bringers, the children-feeders and the bloody good friends.  I admit I may be biased because I’ve recently re-watched a very old series called Due South. Haven’t heard of it? Order it immediately. Do not pass go – it’s worth more than £200.

The hero, Benton Fraser, is a Canadian Mountie (an under-represented genre of romance hero that I’m currently in the right mood to receive submissions for, hint hint). He has almost no sense of humour, a moral compass of such exactitude that most of modern life is a mystery to him and believes in everyone implicitly. He’s a big ol’ hunk of gullible, crime-fighting good guy and he’s the best proof I’ve come across that ‘good’ doesn’t have to mean ‘dull’. So come on any wannabe writers among you – write me a true hero! I could murder a cup of tea and a shoulder massage right about now…

Have you come across any good guys you’ve fallen for? Or are you firmly wedded to the dark side… We’d love to hear what you think!