In the Beginning….The Wow Factor

Who doesn’t love a good romance, right? Especially the part of the story where the guy is stunned by the beauty, personality, camaraderie, or even the smile of the woman who’s bound to steal his heart. You know what I mean.

It’s like the part in the movie How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days when Kate Hudson steps out in the killer yellow gown and Matthew McConaughey places his hand over his heart…

or when Jack sees Rose for the first time on the Titanic….

or when Jack in While You Were Sleeping sees Lucy for the first time (or their cute little moment on the ice ;-)

It’s that little bit of ‘fairytale-feel’ in real life. Boy meets girl… and is spellbound, or at least attracted (maybe even against his will ;-).

Simply put, it’s the ‘Wow’ factor.

We entered the great wide world with the ‘wow’ factor firmly in place – set up by a loving Father – and to be honest, we’ve never quite recovered.

If you don’t believe me, just go to the beginning.

The VERY beginning.

The children’s book When the World Was New by L.J. Sattgast explains it best.

As we know from Genesis God said everything was good… until Adam was lonely. Well, God planned to remedy that problem lickety-split. So he caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam.

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Here’s how Sattgast explains what happens next:

So while he slept God made a wife

And breathed in her the breath of life.

The man awoke. She took a bow.

And all the man could say was… “Wow!”

In fact, Adam is so wowed by his bride he immediately starts spouting poetry.

It’s fantastic! God’s first gift to his creation is…a woman, and with her came wonder and pure unadulterated amazement.

And women have liked holding that sort of wondrous appeal ever since ;-)

One of my favorite parts of a book is getting inside the hero’s head. When we learn what draws him to the heroine, what softens him to her and not someone else – it’s the ‘wow’ factor. When a manly man falls all over himself for a woman, it’s touching, sweet, and endearing – tapping a part of our hearts with a craving instilled from the dawn of time.

We love living it and we love reading about it, or watching it on movies.

That’s why we get all dolled up for dates and add a spray of perfume.

In my most recent WIP, Just the Way You Are, my hero, Wes, is a reformed British bad-boy. He’s seen it ALL when it comes to women, or so he thinks. As a former actor, he’s spent time with plenty of beautiful women, but what is it about my heroine, Eisley, which captures his heart? Her authenticity and generous nature. One thing he’d never expected and it gives her the ‘wow’ factor. :-)

Here’s his first reaction to her (he’s placed his palm over her mouth to keep her from revealing his identity to the passersby at the airport:

A shock ran up Wes Harrison’s arm, directly from Eisley’s lips. Heat rifled through him, awakening his senses with every detail, the interlocking ribbons of green and gold in her eyes, the warmth of her breath against his palm, the scent of rosemary and mint. Her honesty set his cynical perspective into a spin. Whether it was the easy drawl of her accent or the feigned innocent look in her eyes, he was tempted to allow the suspicion of the past two years fall from his shoulders.

Would you share a book you’ve read lately which dazzled you with a ‘wow’ factor from the hero’s point of view? Or maybe share a movie you’ve watched recently which showed the ‘wow’ factor so well.

Pepper Basham (4 Posts)

Pepper Basham writes Blue Ridge romances sprinkled with grace and humor. She is a regular contributor of Christian Fiction Online Magazine and blogger at The Writer's Alley. A mom of five, speech-language pathologist, and lover of chocolate, you can find her chatting about life or giving book reviews on her personal blog, Words Seasoned with Salt.