Does Size Matter - Who wants a millionaire?

Before Christmas I started a four part series called "Does Size Matter?" three of the posts went live - The size of the story,  the hero and lastly the heroine. Today I discovered the last post scheduled for late December didn't post for some reason, so I'm going to share it with you now.

© Liz Van Steenburgh
Dreamstime Stock Photos

The last topic in my series "Does Size Matter?" might seem a bit odd, but it's something I've been thinking about as I write and read the books I love. 

Today I'm discussing the bank account. Do we like our heroes and heroines to be financially independent? Are wealthy heroes more appealing and is a character that never has to worry about where the money is coming from what we want to read? Certainly most of the books I've read over the years have indicated a big yes to those questions. Very few characters struggle to make ends meet. The money is always there via a well paying job, an inheritance or some other windfall. I'm guilty of the same thing to a certain extent, although I have had the heroines in both Finding Angel and Playing Jax have moments of low cash flow, wondering how they will make ends meet. It doesn't last long though because in both instances permanent employment plus an inheritance has always ended up providing for them.  

So why do I and so many other authors write financial security into our books? I'm not sure of the answer. Perhaps it's custom, romance has always been written that way. Maybe tradition explains it, wealthy heroes are a reflection of old held norms that the male is the provider in the family, so the alpha males in our books need to be able to provide and do it lavishly. Lastly it may simply be that, as readers, the last thing we want to read about is financial stress. 

The economy hasn't been great for a while now, lots of people are struggling to make ends meet and books are our escape from reality, so we want that world to reflect an easy financial environment. I guess a lot of us must want the love story with nothing to impede it, not the mortgage repayment hassles, the fights and worry over money that so many of us experience. I mean if we didn't, then we would seek out books that reflected that - wouldn't we?  

So now it's time for your opinion. Would you rather read about a hero who buys the love of his life a diamond necklace or show his love, or a box of chocolates because it's all he can afford? I mean isn't it the thought that counts and not the bank account?