Alphas

Please welcome guest blogger Caridad Pineiro

Alphas, alphas everywhere and what’s a girl to do?  No matter where romance readers turn, alpha heroes dominate the genre, from paranormals to romantic suspense to those guilty pleasure stories about billionaires with secret babies.

What is the fascination with such seeming hard as rock heroes?  Let’s consider some of their characteristics.  Alpha heroes are generally:

1.       Physically strong

2.       Protective

3.       In positions of power, whether by virtue of wealth or their profession, such as law enforcement, military, firefighters, etc.

4.       In control of themselves as well as others by virtue of their position.

5.       Loners with few connections to others.

Those five traits, along with some others, make alpha heroes seem unattainable and even rude, over-bearing, domineering and emotionally distant.

So back to the question:  Why the fascination with alpha heroes?

If we somehow break past that hard façade that alpha heroes present to the world, we often find that alpha heroes may be emotionally tortured.  In some popular series, the alpha heroes are even physically challenged by one ailment or another.  Even if they are not, there may be some incident in their lives that has wounded them and made them equate having physical power and being distant with being in control.

As readers, we often see past that illusion to the heart of gold inside that wants to be healed and doesn’t want to be alone anymore.  We yearn for such heroes to find a mate that will help them lose the hardness without losing their strengths.

At least, that’s why I love alpha heroes.  I see past the face they present to the world to what’s within and I want to help them grow past the limits they have placed on themselves.  I also want these heroes to find the perfect mate and oftentimes, that mate may be as wounded as they are.  By getting together, they save each other!  Always a perfect ending in my opinion.

Other times, that mate might seem like a genteel and easy-going woman, but beneath that veneer lies a spine of steel and the fortitude to tame the alpha hero.

That’s another thing that I love about these heroes.  For all their power, control and strength, it takes an equally strong woman to truly make for a lifelong mate. When you get two such people together, the sparks will not only fly, but it is intriguing to see the alpha hero finally allow himself relinquish control to his woman.  That is a very very sexy thing, especially when the happily-ever-after leads to a loving and equal partnership between the two.

Thanks for dropping by for this too brief discussion about alpha heroes.  I look forward to sharing more about them in the future.


Rock Hard, But With a Heart of Gold, presented by Caridad Pineiro, runs from May 14, 2012 through May 27, 2012


New York Times and USA Today bestselling author and RITA® Finalist Caridad Pineiro wrote her first novel in the fifth grade when her teacher assigned a project – to write a book for a class lending library.  Bitten by the writing bug, Caridad continued with her passion for the written word and in 1999, Caridad’s first novel was released.  Over a decade later, Caridad is the author of over thirty published novels and novellas.  When not writing, Caridad is an attorney, wife and mother to an aspiring writer and fashionista.  For more information, please visit www.caridad.com.


The Claimed

Victoria Johnson loves her life. She’s her own boss in a quaint beachside town, and has great friends who keep her grounded. If only they knew who she really is: an heiress to an ancient race who possesses astonishing superhuman powers. It’s Victoria’s duty to restore her clan of Light Hunters to their former glory by choosing the perfect mate. In Christopher Sombrosa, she just may have found him. Strong, smart, and successful, Christopher exudes a powerful energy. Their connection is sensual, irresistible-and forbidden.

A member of the Shadow Hunter clan, Christopher has defied his own father to lead his people away from affliction and violence. Yet he cannot ignore his duty to carry on his ancient bloodline. Stunningly beautiful and brimming with an erotic life force, Victoria is everything Christopher ever hoped for in a mate . . . but as a Light Hunter, she’s his mortal enemy. Together, they could unite their warring tribes. But murderous factions on both sides don’t want peace-and they’ll stop at nothing to keep light and darkness apart forever . . .