Why We Love a Heroine Who Refuses to Be Small

One of the things I love most about clean historical romance is the way it gives readers heroines who are strong without being harsh, capable without losing their femininity, and brave in ways that don’t always draw attention.

Phoebe Sauber, the heroine of my Regency-era novel Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 1: Archer, is that kind of heroine.

When her story begins, Phoebe has been deeply betrayed by the one person who should have protected her most. Cast out of her home and stripped of security, she’s left asking a question many romance readers recognize immediately: Who am I, when everything familiar is taken away?

What makes Phoebe compelling to me is that she doesn’t respond to betrayal by becoming cruel or reckless. She doesn’t shrink, either. Instead, she learns how to stand her ground in a world that has suddenly become very unsafe.

I love heroines like that.

Phoebe is genteel and well-bred, fully at home in Regency society. She understands manners, expectations, and the quiet rules that govern polite life. But she’s also practical, resourceful, and more capable than anyone expects her to be. If circumstances demand it, she can defend herself and others without abandoning her principles.

That balance is something I find especially satisfying. Strength doesn’t have to look modern or aggressive to be real. In historical stories, it often shows up in quieter ways through endurance, moral courage, faith under pressure, and the refusal to let bitterness define one’s future.

Phoebe’s journey isn’t about revenge. It’s about choice. About deciding who she will become after betrayal, and whether faith and love still have a place in her life.

Readers who enjoy clean historical romance with emotional depth, slow-building relationships, and heroines who don’t quite fit the mold society gives them will enjoy reading about Phoebe and find that her presence tends to linger long after the final page.

What I love about reading and writing clean romance is stories that remind us strength and grace don’t cancel each other out, they grow best together.

If you enjoy clean historical romances with thoughtful heroines, gentle faith elements, and a touch of mystery, you may enjoy my Regency stories as well. Learn more on my website.

Unconventional Heroines

I came across an article where a few readers complained that most of the romance heroines are in their mid-twenties, fresh out of colleges, or running away from their homes or difficult past, and working low-paying jobs while trying to earn their way to college. Some have a child they are trying to raise without the missing father. These readers wanted to discover unconventional heroines.

Are my heroines unconventional? They are career women who graduated with advanced degrees and dedicated themselves to build a reliable future. Ranging between twenty-eight and thirty-five, they are fiercely independent and struggle with different problems while trying to succeed in life. 

Several are doctors—pediatricians, psychiatrists, neonatologists—exposed to life and death situations every day, or scientists, architects and engineers competing in a man’s world, reporters and fashion designers who travel a lot. They represent the modern woman that many teenagers want to become.

Although they are attractive women, they count on their brains more than their looks. When they meet their special men, they allow their tender side to surface. 

I have one exception, Barbara, the fifty-five-years-old heroine of Mother’s Day Babies. She never went to college and raised five daughters, all grownup and successful career women. Barbara is the American Mother, the loving young grandmother, who finds her own romance and convinces women that love is available at every age.

 

 

Who are the men who love my strong-headed heroines?

They are doctors, lawyers, engineers who do not feel threatened by the personality and success of the women they love. These heroes are smart enough to share the decision making with their heroines, and they are not afraid to show a soft side from time to time.

Who are your heroines?

As Valentine’s Day is nearing, I will introduce you to my Valentine Babies heroine, Roxanne, a fearless reporter who doesn’t think twice before traveling for important assignments, even in a war zone. But her last trip led to a life-altering mistake.
Getting involved with the strong-headed and too generous reporter involves more complications than Dr. Greg Hayes faces in the OR. Yet what wouldn’t he do to save the love of his life and her baby?

May I remind you of the Sweet Romance Reads Valentine’s Day Party being held at our Sweet Romance Reads Cafe on Facebook. The authors will be available all afternoon and into the early evening, from 2 to 8 PM (Eastern Time), on Friday, February 12th. There will be games, prizes, giveaways, and more! Please come join in the fun!