Behind the Sundays: HBG Files #3

"The Difference between a player and a protector."

Welcome to blog post number three in Behind the Sundays miniseries "HBG Files." This week, we're bringing up the topic "Player vs. Protector." We typically do not hear these two titles in the same sentence. One doesn't equal the other because these two "people" have different values.

The Player

That man or woman who cycles through people like used tissue. Getting what they want out of someone and moving on. Often, this cycle includes a string of people who have been offended or hurt by this player. I think the term "Player" is corny for several reasons. To one group of people, it's a title that means you have something everyone wants. To another, it's a person with that title you dodge like it's the plague.

The Protector

It's the person who will risk everything to make sure someone is safe. That MMC that beats up a bully in a YA romance, or the MMC that's a biker who is mean to the FMC but will kill anyone else who dares to approach her. The protector has a "special set of skills" or pockets that run so deep the FMC ends up with round-the-clock security. It's the person that we all read about in novels that we can only hope to know in real life.

Are these titles interchangeable?

The greatest thing about fiction of any kind is that it's not dependent on reality. While you may know that the playboy from High School would have never risked his football career just because he saw a cheerleader picking on you, it doesn't mean it can't happen in your favorite book. I personally love a Playboy MMC that ends up being the protector of the one woman who can make him fall to his knees.

Even in reality, a Playboy could be a protector. The greatest thing about writing a character is that you can always explain how two very different "characteristics" seem to work for this character. A strong athlete who is scared of bugs. The shy woman with glasses who is in a fight club on the weekends after clocking out from her nine-to-five. Or a wealthy chef who doesn't do relationships but can't seem to ignore his tiny obsession with a sweet Kindergarten teacher.

The player and protector roles of the Heart Breaker Gang

I know how the name of this group sounds, but you have to learn about them to understand. SPOILER ALERT! It's a name given to them in college by the women who didn't succeed in hooking them into monogamous relationships. For the seven men, the term "Player" is too specific to a certain behavior that none of them exhibited. Their views on romance, sex, and monogamy still step into player territory at times. However, protecting the women in their lives is second nature. Even the women they deal with are treated with respect, but they don't get love. For example, meet Carter and Sicily, from "The Desire for More."

Carter Davis

Carter Davis, a wealthy chef with a newly opened restaurant, "Fusion." His first love is food, all kinds in all forms. He also has quite a healthy appetite for women, but his taste is very strict. Nothing long-term or serious.

He's very up front about his desires, and yet women still take a ticket for the ride, hoping to change his views. Carter has no specific time frame for how long he will entertain a woman, but it could never be forever.

Sicily Peters

When he falls for the woman who needs protection, he'll do whatever he needs to do to keep her safe. It's like night and day the way Carter Davis switches from the "Player" to the "Protector".

What changes a player into a protector?

I think it's simple. It's a threat to their happiness that changes them. A woman they really like, threatening to walk away or their player ways, causing unintended harm.

What's your take on this?

Enjoy the love story between Carter and Sicily in "The Desire for More," available on Amazon.

Thank you for reading this Sunday's edition of the miniseries " Behind the Sundays: HBG Files." Make sure to leave a comment. See you next Sunday!