What Makes a Hero?

by Christine Wells

I've been on a rather waterlogged holiday with the family the past couple of weeks. We've been swimming in the rain and running down to the beach to catch odd patches of sunny weather, but a lot of time has been spent indoors. Thank goodness for crayons and paper and DVDs!

Yesterday, we opted for the big screen and braved the crowds of washed out holiday makers at the local cinemas.

Of course, as a hopeless romantic, I tried to convince my two sons that TANGLED looked like a rip-roaring boys' own adventure. What could be better than a clever modernized fairytale with a kick-ass heroine, comic animal friends and a cute hero with a recalcitrant horse.

But my boys saw through my cunning ruse. I was overruled and we saw MEGAMIND instead.

I was so glad we did! This is such a clever film with lots of snappy lines, wordplay and irony to keep the adults interested. This is not your average fight between good and evil but an examination of what heroism really is. A valuable lesson for a romance writer!

I can't explain fully without spoiling the plot, but let's just say that the theme of the movie really resonated with me: a hero isn't someone who happens to be born with special powers. Being a true hero is all about the choices we make.

I think that's true of our romance heroes, too, don't you? A real hero will make hard choices and stick with them, even though they might be against his own self-interest.

Who is your favourite hero in a romance and what quality in him do you most admire?

And will someone come with me to see Tangled? Pretty please?