Good men

By Sarah Mayberry

Watching laundry detergent and beer ads, you might be forgiven for thinking the world is full of men who don't know a spin cycle from their elbow and who think fidelity is something they want in a stereo system but not in a relationship. At least, that's the way it seems to me sometimes. The reality, of course, is that the world is full of men who are just like us women - human, frail, flawed and afraid. Just because they don't wear all of that on their coat sleeves doesn't mean it's not there.

I think there's a fairly common mythology accepted in Western culture that men, left to their own devices, would be happy to horndog around for their entire lives and that it's only the love - or will - of a good woman that tames them. This myth tells us that men are dogs on the leash, always straining a little, but ultimately happy to have been tamed. I'd like to cry bull on that myth. When I look around me at the happy men in my life, almost all of them are in good, loving relationships with good, loving women (or men!). They're in those relationships willingly, participating fully in raising children and supporting their partner. They want it, just as much as their partner. There's no leash - or if there is, it's one of their own making, created by their own beliefs and code of honor.

I guess my point is that I don't think women are the only one's who dream of love and value it and savor it. Men do, too, even if they're not reading books that explore romance and relationships, and even if our current culture means it's not "cool" for them to stand up and shout their needs and wants from the highest mountain top. Everyone who has ever been in love with a man knows what it feels like to have him hold you tight in the dark of night - and that, my friends, is not about sex.

All of this - in a very round about way! - brings me to my August release, One Good Reason. This book is the sequel to The Last Goodbye, my February book. Jon, the hero, is brother to the hero in TLG, and the heroine is Gabby, who is the ex girlfriend of that same brother. Like all good men, Jon is searching for love and belonging. Like all of us, really. He doesn't quite know it. He's still punishing himself for what he perceives as the sins of his past. But when he meets Gabby and understands her, he knows he wants her to be a part of his life.

For her part, Gabby feels overwhelmed by Jon the moment she meets him. She has lots of excuses for that, but really she's coming to life after nearly four years in suspended animation while she recovered from loving and losing Tyler. She doesn't recognise her feelings for Jon at first, and they have a prickly, testy first few days as they circle each other. Then all that tension and misapprehension finds an outlet - ahem - and they are forced to face the reality of their feelings.

Both The Last Goodbye and One Good Reason deal with the tough issue of the aftermath of domestic violence - specifically, the violence inflicted on Tyler and Jon by their now-deceased father when they were children. Obviously, this is a serious and difficult topic, but I like to think that there's a lot of hope and love and light and laughter in both books. Jon and Tyler are strong men with good hearts, and when they meet the women who match them they know it and they hang on tight.

I'd like to give away three copies of One Good Reason today. I'd love to hear what you think makes a heroic man - in real life or in a book. What is essential in a hero? And what do you love about men?

I'm really looking forward to chatting about this with you all. So over to you!