How to make your hero infertile

So I met with the writing group tonight, and we got to talking about male infertility during a brainstorm session. Basically someone in my writing group is looking to make her hero infertile but still, you know, studly.

Therefore, he couldn’t find himself Suddenly Emasculated (no pencil in back pocket dramas, ala While You Were Sleeping) or suffering from prostate cancer. Apparently stress-related infertility is a myth, and mumps as a reason has been “overdone”. And this is when I sat up and learnt something new.

Apparently,

• there are heaps of romance novels that deal with the hero thinking that he’s infertile
• the purported infertility in such novels is usually a temporary condition, or actually the fault of the previous lover
• if the hero does indeed suffer from temporary infertility, the most popular reason given is his brush with mumps.

Mumps! I don’t know which tickles me more – the fact that there are a swag of plotlines that revolve around male infertility, or the fact that mumps-induced infertility is apparently the most common reason given in romance novels.

I just read another reason for infertility that definitely could mark the hero as a stud. Too much nookie. Apparently, frequent intercourse can also make a man infertile. See? Sexier already.