I was asked to write a guest post recently for Contemporary YA Month. The topic I’m supposed to write about is how to make the male characters in a book swoonworthy. I joke that it requires a lot of research, much like a MANday post. Lots of trolling the internet for pictures of hot guys with abs. But really, it’s more than that.
So I’ve been thinking a lot about it. What do I love about men? What do I love about my husband? What characteristics did I look for when I was dating? Yes, I used to tell my friends that there was nothing wrong with wanting my happily ever after wrapped in a hot package, but I knew it was more than that.
But when thinking about my husband, one thing immediately comes to mind. And no, it’s not his abs or his man parts. It’s the way he smells. Hubby is a big guy, almost six five, and when I hug him my nose is the perfect height to nestle into his neck. And his neck always smells amazing. Cologne, no cologne, sweaty, freshly showered, it doesn’t matter. He just has this smell that makes me feel like I’m home. Like I’m exactly where I belong.
In the Harry Potter book series, I loved that when they did their love potions, the potions smelled like the person they would eventually end up with. I can’t recall which book it was, but Harry’s potion smelled like treacle tart, a broomstick, and “something flowery that he thought he might have smelled at the Burrow.” Later we find out that it smelled like Ginny’s hair. We react strongly to smells.
When a friend of mine read an early version of That Boy, one of the things she told me she loved was the way I had described how two guys smelled. Phillip, her best friend, smelled all manly and musky. “His neck smells really good. I love the way Phillip smells, all manly and musky and quite yummy. For a minute, I almost forget about that Matt guy.” Later she meets that Matt guy. She’s very attracted to the way he looks, but here’s how she described the way he smells, “He smells different than Phillip, more like soap, but still very nice.” My friend told me she knew right then that Jadyn would choose Phillip eventually, just because of the way he smelled.
So what about you? What is it about a man that makes you weak in the knees? Does your man have a certain scent that drives you crazy? Is that what attracted you to him in the first place??
If you want to hear more about what makes a man sexy, check out my book, That Boy. A contemporary novel about falling in love with the boys next door. That Boy has been popping in and out of the Kindle Top 100 for Contemporary Romance. To find out what readers think of the book, check out all the reviews and rating on goodreads.
Maybe there’s something to that human pheromone theory after all 🙂 I love it when my hubby wears cologne because other than that, generally he smells like shampoo or my laundry detergent – but I love it when he takes the time to put on cologne just for me 😉
Lisa
That should make you feel good! I love when mine wears cologne too, but he smells awesome without it too!
Hey Jillian!
The other half smells best when he’s freshly showered. He doesn’t wear cologne, not after a bad Old Spice experience in junior high. The attraction? His sense of humor and humanity and his giant brain.
Have a great weekend!
I like how you put it: “He just has this smell that makes me feel like I’m home. Like I’m exactly where I belong.” Perfect. That’s how I would describe my husband too. I once dated a guy whose scent reminded me of something familiar and I couldn’t place it. When I eventually connected it with milk, it was over.
For me, a guy has to be funny and smart. Not like a member of MENSA or anything, but smart. I’m a sucker for great arms and I fell for this guy once who had amazing biceps. But then he started talking. Eeesh.
“safe” “protected” “feels like home” – Such fine feelings and, I agree, all important parts of the right relationship. Some women may want to stress their liberated selves … and that’s a good thing too … but all of those feelings you connected to smell really ring true! So good …
My husband wears lots of different colognes, but he just smells good. My mom was telling me today that she dated a boy in high school that was really popular and cute, but she just never liked the way he smelled. Like he didn’t have body odor or anything, but I do think we are attracted to certain smells.
Good luck writing about it. I strongly believe that smells are an important part of attraction and I’m pretty sure there is scientific crap that backs up that statement. LOL. Just don’t know exactly what it is!
Funny timing on this post. I have put the smell in for my main characters but was recently asked to make it more precise. So this is exactly a topic that has been on my mind. My husband isn’t into smells, colognes and such so I can’t turn to him for help. Is it bad that I have to think back to previous relationships? Hmm
Long ago when I used to spend much time on IRC and “dated” a few people internationally. Someone asked me how I could judge if I wanted to be a with a person I had never smelled. WHat if we met and I didn’t like his scent? What would I do?
None of those relationships worked out long term.
That’s a good point. Lots of people these days are meeting on the internet and falling in love. Guess you have to meet up with them and see what they smell like!!!
No abs, today, Jill? I agree – smell is important. Who wants to date a woman who smells bad? Or vice-versa.
No abs, cuz I couldn’t get you to send me a picture of yoursssss!!
Smell for SURE! I love the way hubby smells when I nuzzle up to him and you are right, it doesn’t matter the context. It’s just HIM and I love his scent. I love the idea of figuring out how to put it into words to use in a book – woot woot!
So definitely smell but also their stature. Hubby, like yours, is a big guy. He’s 6’3″ and about 280 pounds and he’s manly…he’s got big arms, big personality, and big love. He makes me feel small and fragile (not in a bad way) when he wraps me in his arms. Protected. Safe.
And like Tameri – his hands. They way I usually only hold one or two fingers of his fingers when we hold hands cause they are so big. It might seems almost parental (little girl holding her Dad’s finger as she walks with him).
FAB post!
That’s the other thing I’m writing about for this blog post is I love how a man can make you feel small. And that’s exactly right, safe, protected. All those things they are supposed to do.
Smell, definitely. Funny, but I don’t think I ever actively thought about putting smell in my book, but yeah, I describe the hero’s smell in the very first chapter and reiterate it several times over the course of the story. And for the heroine, it does smell like home. Perfect way of saying that, Jillian!
As for my guy, I love his smell and his hands. He has these long, spidery fingers that give me chills in a good way.
You know what they say….big hands…….um, big feet. LOL But yes, I agree that men usually smell really yummy.