A few weeks ago I read a great blog over at Dear Author, titled: Who’s at the Center of a Romance, the Hero or Heroine.

It’s a very interesting question and it really got me thinking. There are all kinds of books that focus on one or the other. All kinds of great books in romance that focus equally on the male and female protagonists through the course of a story.

I’ve never thought about this one way or another before now. I do know I prefer to read and gravitate toward books written by women over men, though I read both. I do love a fantasy novel that focuses on a woman’s journey as opposed to a man’s. I prefer a romance novel that might have more point of view (POV) scenes done from the woman's standpoint than the male protagonist. And, above all, I want to relate to the character in some shape or form while I'm reading. I don't have to step in her shoes and be her, but I want to go along for the ride in her character ARC more than I do for a man.

I'm guessing that last point has a lot to do with the reason I prefer a Heroine centered novel. I'm a woman, I relate to women characters more easily than I would a male lead. I become more emotionally invested in a story for one told through a woman's eyes. Don't get me wrong, I love me some yummy heroes. I love the intense ones as well (Lord Ian MacKenzie!) And romances are about the journey of two people coming together, falling in love and triumphing all.

But, I'm still drawn to stories that focus a little more on the women, their relationships, their loves, and their journeys in life.

If I can't connect to the heroine, I most likely won't finish the book. If she does things that I find silly or completely degrading to her part in the story it's an instant wallbanger. If the heroine has a smaller arc than the man, I might forgive the story it's flaws if it's really well told.

I think my preference for the heroine-centric novel (and there are many ways to interpret what heroine-centric can mean to you) has inadvertently influenced my writing. I love my female leads. Love them to pieces. I think my greatest strength in my story telling is in my heroines. I put more time and consideration in building their dynamics than I usually do my heroes because my heroines are more likely to represent community for me and be more family centric than my bachelor heroes. That's not to say I dislike my heroes. I love them, too, and I have to work extra hard to make them shine because they have to match my strong heroine leads.

If you haven't guessed, most of my books favor the heroines. The Surrender of a Lady is told mostly in Jinan's POV, the story is a romance, but focuses more on her journey of acceptance (watch, readers will think something completely different than this, which is fine by me). The Seduction of his wife is more about the growth of Emma's character, and the POV is slightly favored on the heroine's side. The Secret Desires of a Governess also favors my heroine a tiny bit more, though my hero, Elliott is totally droolworthy in my eyes.

Readers: Take at look at your book shelves . . . what kinds of books do you mostly see?

Writers: Who do you better relate to when writing your stories? Is it gender based? Now that I've asked the question are you going to think about this in depth?

Do you love the heroines or the heroes more in your stories? Do you like them evenly? Are there specific things/roles you like each gender to play?

I want to talk about a writer’s health. When we sit in front of the computer for at least half our waking hours, it’s easy to forget about our health. About what your body really needs, about taking the time to make proper, healthy meals instead of quick fixes that probably aren’t the healthiest of choices. It’s easier to sit on the couch with my laptop most days than to get up and get moving.

Like so many other people/writer’s I have a high stress job on top of my writing. And writing isn’t exactly low stress either. I have youngish kids, too. Balancing two jobs and a family is tough. I’ve managed this for some years now, but it’s sadly been at the expense of my health. I’ve not watched my diet. I’ve not tried to keep the stress under control. Instead, I just let it get out of hand, and I’m suffering for it health wise.

The biggest change that has happened to me in the last while is my diet. I’ve had to change the way I eat. I have to read every ingredient on everything I buy to make sure I’m consuming absolutely no sugar, no yeast, no wine (my Tom Wait’s writing sessions with a bottle wine and me on the weekends, are a thing of the past). I’ve also had to start exercising. I walk. Walking isn’t really like exercising—at least not in my head—so I pick up my kids at the afterschool, and they only way for this non-driver to get there is to walk!

And if you are wondering what kind of crazy diet I’m on, it’s the Candida Diet link here for more information. It’s been a tough start, but once I got going on it (and I’m a very disciplined person when I need to be) I started to feel better. Now… if I could just reduce the stress in my life, I’d be in a much better place

Do yourself a favor today. Take a deep breath, and get up and get moving. Go for a walk for twenty minutes. Say no to that chocolate (I can’t tell you how hard it’s been to say no to chocolate). And do something just for you, that is all about you!