Harlequin Presents author Abby Green kicks off the ‘Jamie Fraser’ appreciation club on Sold! this week as she reveals her ultimate crush…
My current crush (you see, I’m fickle), is Jamie Fraser from Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series of books. I read the first one about three years ago and was blown away by the epic story.
The first book centers on, and is told from the POV of Claire Randall who is a Second World War nurse. She goes to Scotland on a second honeymoon with her beloved husband after the war, and (bear with me) gets transported through some standing stones to 18th century Scotland.
Trapped back in time, she falls into an uneasy alliance with a band of Highlanders who protect her, one of whom is a compelling character called Jamie Fraser. She befriends Jamie relatively early on but even then, there’s no real hint that he’s necessarily going to be the hero.
Jamie does become a larger part of Claire’s story though and as things progress, it’s clear to see that he’s someone to be reckoned with. If you haven’t already read Outlander and don’t want to know what happens, stop reading now! *Spoiler Alert*
Claire is forced into a marriage of convenience with Jamie Fraser for her own protection and it’s at this point that their mutual desire and growing love for each other becomes utterly compelling. So much so that when she has a chance to try and go back to her own time and her husband, she chooses to stay with Jamie.
Considering the very Alpha male heroes I write in my own stories, Jamie shouldn’t appeal at first (even though he is the ultimate Alpha male which becomes very apparent as his character develops), he’s in his early twenties; he’s a virgin; he’s not wealthy; he’s a big hairy highlander with russet hair (i.e. not your typical tall dark hero)…but lets face it, variety is the spice of life, and he wears a skirt (kilt) so that pretty much makes up for any shortcomings.
With Jamie Fraser, Diana Gabaldon has created pretty much the pinnacle of any Alpha male hero. He’s consumed with love and desire for Claire. He’s full of integrity and honour and yet is flawed enough to remain real.
Their love transcends time and space, literally. And as the books progress (there’s 8 of them so far) so does their relationship and you get to see their love deepen and become more profound over time.
Jamie Fraser truly is like a fine wine, he keeps getting more complex and richer as a character. I love how Gabaldon introduced him without a fanfare and then how he stepped into the story and pretty much took it over, along with Claire, to create one of the most enduring romantic couples in fiction today.
If you want to be swept away on a tide of epic lust and fantasy by a gorgeous sexy hero then you could do worse than crush on Jamie Fraser. Whoever gets to supplant him in my affections is going to have a pretty big skirt to fill!
Happy writing! 🙂
