Who Makes Your Imagination Thirstier: Lachlan MacGregor, Cam Rafferty or Christian Grey?

They say all the good men are taken, but I say all the good men only exist in books. Where else can you find a chiseled, sensitive, smart and hard-hitting male that you can introduce to Mom and Dad one weekend AND get rough with the next? Its not common to find a refined wild man in the city streets. The macho, bearded lumberjack (no, not the wannabe hipster and his man bun) is hard-pressed to find.

Sure, when we were teenagers we wanted to meet Prince Charming, but who wants someone as stale as white bread now that were older? We’ve had our real-world experiences and learned some things. We’ve even been able to pull what we’ve read from books like Love Me Forever, Divine Evil and 50 Shades of Grey and apply it to our love lives.

books and imagination
A stack of novels.

I know, there’s been a lot of talk that anyone with half a brain could write a romance novel, but that’s just not true. It takes elegant wordsmithing to get readers involved in the story, excited about the content and attached to the characters and their place in the world. When writers are able to make us feel about a fictional character how we should feel about flesh-and-blood people, you know they have story-telling talent.

There are three fictional men who have (at least for me) set some high expectations. Through their daring, mischievousness and sex appeal, these men jump right off the page and into your lap.

Novel: Love Me Forever

Fictional Hunk: Lachlan MacGregor

Lachlan MacGregor, a Scotsman recently become the impecunious Laird of Clan MacGregor marries the wealthy daughter of the Earl of Amburough, though he most desires the Duchess of Wrothston, a married woman who sets him aflame.

Johanna Lindsey has written the character of a strong, masculine man who is as passionate a fighter as he is a lover. Standing at 6′ 7″ – the Scotsman is armed with long-flowing copper hair, broad shoulders and pecs that you could bounce a quarter off of. His cocky behavior, quick-witted banter and brawny frame would make any woman go weak in the knees.

Novel: Divine Evil

Fictional Stud: Cam Rafferty

Bad-boy-turned-county-sheriff, Cameron Rafferty (Cam for short) is out to find the satanic cult guilty of grave robbing and worst of all: murder. Reunited against these nefarious beings with his high-school crush after loving her from afar for years, Cam is determined to rescue her and the town from the evil lying in wait to tear them all apart.

Cam Rafferty, a man of action, heroism and determination comes alive thanks to the brilliant writing talents of Nora Roberts. Cam is described as a 6′ 2″ wiry framed strong man. With black longish hair that curls around his collar and blue eyes, this motorcycle-riding savior is the bad-boy version of Prince Eric. Wearing form-fitting jeans and shirt, you can see everything, at least with your minds eye. And besides, are we really objectifying him? He’s a fictional character; but goodness how we wish he wasn’t!

Novel: 50 Shades of Grey

Fictional Hottie: Christian Grey

We’ve been introduced to the film version of Christian Grey, but I think its fair to say that the print version reigns far supreme. EL James fills page after page with erotic, sensual details of pleasure and gratification: all delivered by a man who knows exactly what he is doing – there isn’t any faking going on here.

Christian introduces Anastasia to a world of enticing thrills and carnality; he introduces us to what we can really be and achieve in our private lives. A stunning, savvy and successful businessman, Christian can turn a woman on in more ways than one.

Now tell me, who’s your favorite? Its okay to have more than one.

Melissa Thompson writes about a wide range of topics, revealing interesting things we didn’t know before. She is a freelance USA Today producer, and a Technorati contributor.