An interesting question.

There are many characteristics I could come up with, some of which you might agree with, some you might not.

The article “What Traits Make a Good Romance Heroine,” by Roz Denny Fox, hits the nail on the head with the statement, “A romance heroine needs to be someone any other woman would like to be.” That is the cardinal rule—you need a sympathetic heroine. I had one reader tell me she really wanted best friends of one of my heroines. That may have been the best compliments I’ve had on that book.

In “Three Characteristics a Heroine Should and Should Not Have,” Jeffe Kennedy states that the most important characteristics a heroine should have are to be believable, be relatable, and be admirable.  However, it is my belief that in order to keep heroines of historical romances relatable and admirable, authors in that genre have to…