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<\/a>I read three blog posts recently that peaked my interest and sparked this post. This one<\/a> by Ed Magusson pointed me in the direction of this one<\/a> by Jane on Dear Author and finally this one<\/a> by Jean on All About Romance. The first two talk about the \u2018alpha-male\u2019, Ed in \u2018real world\u2019 terms and Jane in terms of the romance novel. Jean then discusses heroines in contemporary romance novels. <\/p>\nIt\u2019s the two about the romance novel aspect that I\u2019d like to respond to here, primarily because they both sum up my own thoughts on these topics and discuss aspects of character creation that I strive to avoid. I\u2019d like, if I may, to discuss the points raised in the posts and refer them to characters in my own novels. <\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start with the boys. <\/p>\n
In the past, I\u2019ve avoided referring to my novels as having \u2018heroes\u2019, preferring instead to call them \u2018male lead characters\u2019 \u2013 very PC of me, I know. But the point I was trying to make in doing that is that I don\u2019t think that my heroes fit the \u2018template\u2019 of a romance hero. I didn\u2019t think of them as alphas<\/em>. Of course, to qualify that, you really have to discuss what the term \u2018alpha male\u2019 means. Ed does this very well in his post in terms of real people we might meet every day, and under this definition my guys would all class as alpha<\/em>. In her piece, Jane discusses what alpha<\/em> has come to mean in the romance genre, and my guys don\u2019t qualify under this definition at all. Why? Because Jane argues that the alphas<\/em> you find in many romance novels today are \u201ccaricatures instead of characters\u201d. She said, <\/p>\n In recent years, however, this reliance on a concept rather than individual traits, has homogenized the hero experience for the reader. Perhaps in an effort to create diversity, authors have tended to over masculinize the hero to the extent that we have caricatures instead of characters for heroes. In recent years, I\u2019ve seen the romance alpha hero morph from tall, strong, and commanding to oversized, monstrous, and overbearing.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I\u2019d have to say that this definition (apart from the last point) fits my antagonists more than it does my heroes – yes, I said heroes. I\u2019ve dropped that whole \u2018male lead\u2019 nonsense. <\/p>\n If we keep this discussion to my novels rather than my shorts, we have five heroes to discuss \u2013 Matt from Reunion,<\/em> David from Charlotte\u2019s Secret, <\/em>Chris from Lost & Found, <\/em>Adam from Kissed by a Rose, <\/em>and finally Will from Eternally & Evermore.<\/em> <\/p>\n CONTROLLING?<\/strong> <\/p>\n So, are any of these five controlling or possessive? In a word, no. Each one of them is desperately in love with his respective heroine but none of them try to control what she does. Matt has no choice. Kelly is actually more successful than him in her business dealings. If anything, from when they meet up again after the titular reunion, Kelly is the one controlling the relationship. <\/p>\n David is in an odd situation from the outset of Charlotte\u2019s Secret.<\/em> He\u2019s married to his heroine\u2019s sister \u2013 a situation which is somewhat out of his control. He does, however, manage to manipulate circumstances to his advantage. But making the best of a situation isn\u2019t the same as being controlling, is it? <\/p>\n In Lost & Found <\/em>it\u2019s Beth\u2019s father who is the controlling and possessive one, not her hero, Chris. And due to his young age and his heroine\u2019s fame, Adam finds himself sweep along by events in Kissed \u2013 <\/em>although don\u2019t think this makes him a wimp. It doesn\u2019t. <\/p>\n Finally, there\u2019s Will \u2013 who you won\u2019t have met yet as Eternally<\/em> isn\u2019t released until August. Will is perhaps the strongest of my heroes. He\u2019s a partner in a law firm. He\u2019s decisive. He knows how to take the lead. But controlling? No. Yes, he \u2018rescues\u2019 Amy from her situation, but he doesn\u2019t make her do anything she doesn\u2019t want to. No, that\u2019s John\u2019s role. Who\u2019s John? You\u2019ll have to read the book to find out. <\/p>\n OVERPOWERING?<\/strong> <\/p>\n I\u2019m not even going to bother breaking this down. I tend not to do much physical description beyond hair & eye colour or generalities such as \u201cTall\u201d or \u201cBurley\u201d in any case – I like for the readers to fill in the blanks – but in my<\/em> minds eye, each hero sort of looks a bit like me. Maybe an idealised version of me, but me nonetheless. And I\u2019m not prototypical romantic hero. I\u2019m not \u2018six foot ten and built like a brick shithouse\u2019. Now, what my readers project on to my heroes I have no control over, but I\u2019ve certainly never used descriptions such as \u201cClub-like manhood\u201d. <\/p>\n SEXUAL GODS?<\/strong> <\/p>\n Okay, so all my guys are good in bed. They\u2019re romantic heroes, so to some extent they have to be. I mean, would my strong, independent heroines want a man who can\u2019t make them scream his name? But in her post Jane talks about how modern alphas have had multiple partners and ruin virgins for all her future partners (not that she\u2019ll have future partners after bedding the alpha). <\/p>\n In Reunion<\/em>, Matt\u2019s friend comments that the story Matt tells him of how he didn\u2019t<\/em> make it with Kelly when they were teenagers because his was too shy \u201cdoesn\u2019t sound like you\u201d and he makes reference to Matt\u2019s \u2018little black book\u201d. So it\u2019s clearly implied that he\u2019s \u2018living the single life to the full\u2019. But it\u2019s also been implied he\u2019s been in love and had his heart broken more than once. <\/p>\n Charlotte\u2019s<\/em> David is married. And before that he was desperately in love with Charlotte’. Beyond that, there\u2019s no discussion of sexual history. And neither is there any discussion of Lost\u2019s<\/em> Chris\u2019 history \u2013 mind you, Chris and Beth met in an online forum and carried on as cyber-lovers with an ocean between them for over a year, so read into that what you will about Chris\u2019 sexual exploits in the \u2018real world\u2019. <\/p>\n In Kissed,<\/em> Adam is just nineteen \u2013 so how many partners could he have had? Still, what happens between when he arrives at university and when he first meets Chloe do hint that he\u2019s not led a virginal life. Which brings us back to Eternally\u2019s<\/em> Will, who fell in love with Amy at fourteen, bedded her at eighteen, lost her at nineteen, fell in love and married someone else, got divorced and then\u2026 Oh, wait, am I giving away the plot here? <\/p>\n CONTRADICTORY?<\/strong> <\/p>\n The example that Jane gives is this <\/p>\n if the hero should be heroic, shouldn\u2019t he be honourable? shouldn\u2019t he refrain from leading young women into ruin? Shouldn\u2019t he have the strength of character to resist temptation that could involve danger to the heroine? Shouldn\u2019t he have the care to protect her from pregnancy and use a condom?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Essentially she\u2019s saying that if an alpha is overpowering, controlling and has multiple partners in the manner that would have a woman branded a slut, isn\u2019t all this at odds with the very idea of him as a romantic hero. Is that the sort of man our heroine would actually want<\/em> to spend the rest of her life with? And before someone pipes up and says, \u201cYou don\u2019t marry alphas\u201d let me point out that if a Happily Ever After<\/em> doesn\u2019t mean for the rest of their lives then we need to change the name. Perhaps “Happy Until the Alpha gets Bored<\/em>. <\/p>\n I don\u2019t believe that my heroes are contradictory. Matt scarifies everything for Kelly\u2019s happiness. David moves heaven and earth to be with Charlotte and when her secret is finally revealed\u2026 well, he does the honourable thing. Chris crosses the Atlantic just to comfort Beth in her time of greatest need and Adam\u2026 Well, Adam takes everything that Kissed throws at him and still comes out smiling in the end. <\/p>\n What about Will though? Will is interesting in that he rides that fine line. There are times when you will questions his actions. There\u2019s one particular scene where even his best friend questions the way Will taunts his nemesis. But even then, he\u2019s still doing what he thinks is best for Amy. He still puts Amy\u2019s best interests first. So no, not contradictory at all. <\/p>\n THE DIMINUTION OF WOMEN?<\/strong> <\/p>\n This is an interesting one for me. Why? Well, in case you hadn\u2019t noticed, I\u2019m a man. A man that has a certain\u2026 shall we say, fondness for the female of this particular species. I\u2019m not ashamed to say that I\u2019m a great admirer of the female form in all it\u2019s shapes and sizes. Well, maybe not all. <\/em>But the point is that while I find the very diminutive Kylie Minogue <\/a>very\u2026. <\/p>\n Sorry, what was I talking about? Oh, yes, I remember. <\/p>\n Look, Kylie and Kiera Knightly aside, I much prefer a fuller figure. In short, I like boobs and bums. Now there\u2019s a blogpost all of its own. And because I like my real live ladies to have a bit of shape to them, so too with my fictional ladies. No, they\u2019re not of porn star proportions, but you certainly couldn\u2019t describe Kelly, Charlotte, Beth or Chloe as diminutive. Hell, take this line from Kissed<\/em> in reference to Chloe\u2026 <\/p>\n\n
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<\/a>She then goes on to define aspects of this over-masculinised alpha-male which I\u2019ll simply list here. <\/p>\n <\/ul>\n
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<\/a>HEROES?<\/strong> <\/p>\n