I’m not a big drinker, but I remember the days when drinking a single margarita could make me a little tipsy—just enough that I was a little braver and adventurous than normal, but not so much that I’d lose site of what was inappropriate and cross the line. I no longer can access this lovely state with one drink—I have to drink several to get to it and it doesn’t last long at all. And since I don’t particularly like the taste of alcohol, I never get there.
In Lori Foster’s book, Too Much Temptation, the heroine Grace Jenkins has little experience with men and she’s been in love with Noah Harper for years. When Noah breaks his engagement with his less-than honorable fiancée and Grace comes to check on him, she finds Noah and his brother Ben well into a case of alcohol. Partly because of the alcohol and partly because he can no longer hold back, Noah lets Grace know he’s wanted her for a long time, too—luscious curves and all. The next morning, Grace thinks that it was just the alcohol talking, and Noah has to work a little to convince her that the alcohol just made it easier for him to say what he’d wanted too all along.
Given the addictive qualities of alcohol and the problems society suffers because of it, I think relying on alcohol as a literary device has to be handled with care. But let’s face it, just like in real life, a little alcohol can aid an author tremendously when it comes to breaking down a character’s inhibitions and giving him/her the courage to be a different person. Inevitably, however, the characters have to face the world sober and it’s their actions at this time that will make us cheer them on or roll our eyes.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: How do you feel about characters who need a little alcohol to be brave? Does this make them less likable or heroic for you? Or does it make them seem just human enough to relate to?
July 9th, 2008
Virna 
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Everyone loves a good hero, but what do readers, agents, editors, and writers love most? Join us as we delve under the covers and find out!
July 9th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Courage in a bottle. I think if the author uses the alcohol once, to make a point, then lets it go after that, it can work. But if the hero has to grab a bottle everytime he’s in the presense of the heroine, well, Huston we’ve got a problem. I really don’t like the idea of it. I’d rather see the true raw emotion, without a prop. Why can’t a guy who has broken up with a bad relationship, just be relieved he’d dodged that bullet and move on? I don’t mind the use of a recovering alcoholic, that can be interesting, since that is a constant battle, that can be lost at any moment. That would add a lot of GMC…
July 9th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I prefer characters having the confidence to say what they want to say and face their feelings without needing alcohol to do it. I do love my wine, and I like a man who will enjoy it with me, but not as a crutch. Could be because my former longtime boyfriend drank every single night from the time he came home from work til the time he either went to bed or fell asleep on the sofa. He did it out of boredom or something, but still…I tend to see it as a weakness if one has to drink like that in order to deal with something.
I do think that it’s realistic to have characters in a book be drinking one night and something happens between them that might not have normally happened, and that’s fine. I don’t mind that at all. But if they had to drink every time they were together, then it would be more about the alcohol than it would be about romance.
July 9th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I totally agree with you Lee and Lone–an isolated and mild use of alcohol as a jump start to something rather than a dependency for action is so different. Foster definitely made the intoxication of the hero more fortuitous and humorous than a weakness, so it didn’t take away from his appeal. Thanks for posting!