Working Men in Fiction

Dio, the Farmer

I'm a bit of an oddball when it comes to my romance novels under my pen name Ella M. Kaye. Okay, hermit writer and oddball might go together naturally. Still...

The current romance trend is to feature men in suits, not necessarily black suits, but suits and ties, the gorgeous business exec with money and power who still tends to woo women to the point they can't resist even if they try. Or, they're modern men who care about their trendy casual appearance, on which they spend a good bit of time making sure is just right, while acting like they don't care how they look.

Of course those heroes work well in romance. It's a good fairy tale story. :)

Me? I like working men with dirt on their hands and faded, stained, even torn clothes they might even wear to town because ... well, why not? They're in the middle of working and looks are just a thing, a second-hand thought, if that. At least when it comes to their own looks. That does not mean they don't notice a woman's looks. Of course they do.

Eli, the Construction Worker

Labor Day is a day to celebrate these working-with-their-hands people. It's about the roughnecks, the out-of-sight-out-of-mind everyday workers who keep us running, moving, driving, growing, with generally no recognition. These are the people I feature. Yes, plenty of women work roughneck jobs, as well, and trust me, they make an appearance, as well, such as Caroline from Pier Lights who takes a gritty job after her more lofty job ends. I also have cameo business execs as heroes and minor characters. Yes. It takes all of us together to be strong and fruitful.

Fillan, the Fisherman

The men featured here are from the Dancers & Lighthouses series: Pier Lights (Dio, the farmer/swordsman), Shadowed Lights (Eli, the high-rise construction worker), and Pieces of Light (Fillan, the fisherman/dance instructor).

The Artists & Cottages series so far features a road construction crew boss (Shadows of Greens & Memories), a big-time exec turned naturalist (Shadows of Blues & Echoes), and a welder (Shadows of Rust & Reels).

Overall, EMK heroes are hard physical workers who are also smart, sometimes charming, sometimes annoying, savvy but at times a bit insecure, and always very real while coping with their daily struggles.

Please feel free to honor your everyday working hero in the comments or by sharing the post.

You can find the first chapters of my books at EllaMKaye.com. The Dancers & Lighthouses series has been revamped and are now in print as well as eBook, available at ANY book retailer nationwide, as well as internationally via participating retailers.

The Artists & Cottages series is in the middle of a makeover and will soon be available in print and new edition eBooks.

More books to come in both series, plus the new Songwriters & Cities series that will be out soon.

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Would you like a promo postcard mailed to your library or local indie bookseller? They are available through Ingram and Overdrive. Send me a note at staff (at) elucidatepublishing.net with the address and I'll send one along with your name as a request. (You can also request them directly at your local library.)