I’ve never written arrogant, smouldering male romantic heroes. The men in my novels have always been ordinary, attainable men. They’re kind, flawed, trying to do their best. Sometimes they’ve been high-flying corporate men. Sometimes they’ve had no job at all. But they’ve always been the sort of men that most of us would come into contact with on a daily basis.
So it was a big departure for me in my latest - and nineteenth - novel Wrapped up in You to have a hero who is a fully-fledged Maasai warrior! When my heroine, Janie, goes in search of adventure on an African safari, she doesn’t expect to fall in love. Similarly, when I set out to write the character of Dominic, I had no idea that I would fall in love with him too.
I wanted to explore the fact that it’s so much easier these days to find love outside of our own small circles. It used to be the case that you’d meet someone at school, at work, in your own town, date and get married. But that’s not how it works now. Due to the internet, it’s now possible to forge relationships with people from all over the world.
But, as Janie finds out, falling in love with someone from another culture and on another continent can also be fraught with difficulties. Dominic doesn’t look the same as the usual romantic hero - he’s exceptionally tall, has a shaven head and wears traditional costume. I also wanted to have some fun comparing a village in the Maasai Mara to a typically English village, so brought Dominic back to England.
This is a man who doesn’t conform to the norms of our society and, as well as making Janie fall head over heels in love, he sets the hearts of the good ladies of the The Nashley Church Flower Committee fluttering too with his easy charm.
He’s and incredibly strong, emotionally and physically, due to his Maasai culture. Theirs is a life of hardship and privation. Ladies, this man can wrestle lions with his bare hands! But he realises that he’s a man caught between two worlds and strives to blend the two without losing his identity. The more I wrote about Dominic, the more I fell in love with him too. He has a beautiful sense of fun and a fundamental commitment to his community.
At first, I thought that Dominic and Janie’s relationship might not survive, that the odds would be too great for them, but I just knew that Dominic would do all that he could to keep them together.
He might not wear a suit or work in high finance but, in some ways he’s the ultimate alpha male. Already my readers are asking me where they can find their very own Dominic. I hope when you read the book that you’ll fall in love with him too. I think he’s my most perfect romantic hero so far!
Thank you, Carole.
Wrapped Up In You is out 27th October.
You can find out more about Carole at her website, find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter: @carolematthews
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