WHY WE LOVE OUTLANDER
Dianna Gabaldon released Outlander in 1992 and I fell immediately in love with her as an author, the book (eventually to become the series) and her hero, James Fraser.
I’m a woman of my times, raised by a woman who was ahead of her time. My mother, born in 1923, was an educated professional woman at a time when very few women were educated. She raised me to be strong and independent and I knew from an early age that NO man was better than a man who was not my equal.
I wasn’t consciously aware of this simple truth until I was in middle age: at times I yearned for a man who was (at least occasionally) stronger: physically and mentally. I suspect my subconscious knew it. A tall, physically strong, heterosexual woman, I was moved to giddiness by men taller than myself. I tested candidates sorely to discover if the man could stand next to my internal weather. And while I was almost pathologically unable to allow myself to be taken care of, I was smart enough to recognize the power and pull of a man who occasionally just did it anyhow. With much protest (I tossed the flowers that arrived at the Reception Area into the trash at the security desk: how dare he send such a public symbol of my femaleness to my place of work where I needed to be respected!?) (I said pathological) I married The Big Man.
By using Time Travel, Dianna Gabaldon created a world where an intelligent mature woman could be physically and emotionally overpowered by a man who loves her, respects her, and therefore needs her to breathe. That spoke to some primal chord in me. Politically correct? No. Universal? No. Just me. And obviously, from the success of both the books and the Starz Series, millions of other women and men (because some men yearn for a powerful male partner, too). Of course there are many other reasons for the success of the books, and the show, of course. Gabaldon is a gifted writer, who creates memorable characters and weaves them into a historical plot. She also maintains an important role in the production of the television show.
I started writing books featuring dominant men for Blushing Books in 2011. The challenge for me was creating characters I could live with. So my women were independent and intelligent. No bratty, infantile women for me. No men who believe they have a god given right to lead the little woman, or that my street vocabulary should warrant a spanking. No idiot who allows a man she just met to physically dominate her. Just doesn’t work for me. It’s fine if it works for you. You won’t like my books.
In the first two books I created a heroine who was just awakening to her potential as a mature responsible human, and a man who was attracted to the Head of Household concept. In the third, my heroine is a responsible, mature woman who is overwhelmed and doesn’t need anyone save her. She’s washed under, and accepts help by the intense attraction she feels to her powerful ex-husband. In my current Work In Progress I jettison the stereotypical images for the archetypes we find populating the erotic literature and dabble in the concept of masculinity and femininity- for lack of other terms.
The hero is more what readers would consider a Beta Male. Until he’s not. (Grin)
Sorry, no name for it yet, and it will probably not be out for another 6 months…maybe longer. Keep tabs on it at the website: saoirseroghan.com.
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