What Would Luke Do?
I’ve just joined Access Romance and am thrilled to be a blogger here. For this, my very first blog with AR, I’d planned to introduce myself, my books, my philosophies, and generally treat you to, as Katie Couric would say, “a celebration of all things moi.” Alas, something big has happened, necessitating a change of plans. All that fun stuff will have to wait. And no, I’m not talking about the mid-term elections. Bigger than that.
Laura’s back.
As in Luke and Laura. General Hospital. November 16th is the 25th anniversary of their TV wedding, which was seen by millions including me and, probably, you.
Oh, please. Don’t act like you didn’t know. And don’t act like you were in kindergarten way back then, either. Let’s keep it real.
I’m all aquiver with excitement. So much so that, even though I don’t normally watch much TV, except for my new favorite show, Friday Night Lights, I had to wrestle the remote out of my children’s grasping hands, delete all their stored SpongeBob SquarePants, Saddle Club, and Ben 10 episodes, and make room on the DVR for a few episodes of General Hospital. Oh, who cares if I haven’t seen the show in years? Does that really matter? Nor does it really matter too much that Laura’s back, other than the fact that she gives Luke a nice focal point for all his turbulent emotions.
The bottom line is this: I just want to see Luke, the modern-day model for all deliciously wicked alpha males everywhere, back in action.
Am I the only one?
Forget the Luke from that awful night on the floor of the disco with Laura while Herb Alpert’s Rise played in the background—that’s not the Luke I’m talking about.
I’m talking about the tormented, scorchingly intense Luke. The one who loved Laura to desperation and would—and did!—kill for her. Who’d walk over hot coals to be with her. Who’d manipulate, when necessary, to bring her around to his way of thinking. The slightly twisted, wickedly funny, excruciatingly vulnerable Luke.
Remember him?
Maybe I love this fictional character so much because I met him during my formative, impressionable teenage years. I can’t account for his enduring allure, and I certainly wouldn’t want to meet him—or anyone like him—in real life. But I love his unpredictability, his wild card ways. You can’t pin him down, and you can’t change his mind. He does what he wants.
And while I’m having true confessions, I have to admit that Justus Robinson, the hero from my February, 2007 book, Risk, channels this free-spiritedness every now and then. Once or twice I threw him into a scene, held my breath, and asked myself, “What would Luke do?” Then I put Justus into action and had tons of fun.
I’d love to write more, but I’ve got several hours of General Hospital to watch before the kids come home from school and kick me out of the TV room. But before I go, I’ve gotta ask:
What about you? Who are your favorite wild-card characters in romance novels or on the screen? What’s so irresistible about these ill-mannered, unpredictable men?
