How do you create a successful Alpha male hero?
Your aim should be to ensure that the reader instantly falls in love with your hero – his charisma should ooze off the page and sweep the reader off her feet! To achieve this, it is important that you are confident in his Alpha qualities – his passion, his attraction, his charm, his charisma, his ability to control his environment, his confidence – but also his honour and his integrity.
So, just for you we’ve put together our top tips to guarantee your Alpha hero is utterly irresistible…
Above all, remember that he is the man whom every woman wants. If you are in love with your hero, then the reader will be too!
And, to prove that it’s possible for Alpha males to come in all shapes and sizes, here are the Mills & Boon editors’ guilty pleasure crushes:
John Nettles
Simon Cowell
John Thaw
David Seaman (circa Euro 1996)
Zack from Saved by the Bell Zac Efron (and his HSM dad…) Taylor Lautner – clearly we like them young! Andrew Marr Nigel Havers David Bowie & Mark Bolan – we’re still loving 70s & 80s musical talent Peter Kay Andy Parsons Lucius Malfoy Jonathan Ross Louis Theroux Jeremy Paxman
More on heroes from the archives of the weekly Behind the Scenes at Romance HQ blog by editor Flo Nicoll…
Is Beta the new Alpha? Posted July 21st, 2011 http://community.millsandboon.co.uk/forums/behind-scenes-romance-hq/beta-new-alpha
Hi all!
I have a confession to make. Up until two weeks ago, my love for all things romance was of the ‘PG to rated R only’ variety. But then I went to that hotbed of iniquity (aka the RNA) and courtesy of an absorbing talk by the founder of Xcite books, graduated onto my first x-rated erotic romance. Which I promptly read on the train home – all in the name of research, obviously! – and wow, was it an eye-opener. I kept stopping to read extracts aloud to Anna, which kept both us (and the other occupants of the carriage) fascinated and giggling all the way back to London.
What’s the point of this potentially quite embarrassing anecdote? Well, from a romance-reader’s perspective, the erotica’s most fascinating aspect was that it featured a hero who managed to be both strong and sexually submissive. It’s also not just erotica that explores this fantasy successfully - if anyone’s a fan of Suzanne Brockmann’s excellent Troubleshooters series and has made it to Decker’s story…well, be still my beating heart. Here’s a hero who is SO Alpha and tortured by his experiences as a top military operative that the only way he can get outside of his own head and unleash his sex drive is by having his heroine order him to. Trust me, it’s hot.
All this has got me opening the whole what-exactly-does-‘Alpha’-mean can of worms!
It’s an often-asked question: can a hero be Alpha if he also exhibits what some might think of as ‘beta’ qualities - caring/ socially awkward/ sexually inexperienced? And, the answer is, of course he can! The precise details of a perfect Alpha male fantasy are flexible and personal to the reader’s own tastes. The universal appeal lies in establishing that the hero can sweep the heroine off her feet and can give her the life and love she deserves - be he a tycoon or teacher, stud or virgin. Personally, give me a hero who can be made to blush (especially if they’re mortified by it) and I’m half-way in love with him already.
The Alpha male fantasy is timeless – but moving with the times has broadened the definition. For example, we’re seeing more and more heroes on the horizon working in what could potentially be described as ‘geeky’ industries, particularly techno-based ones. Now, from my obsession with the CSI franchise, I am very aware that techno-geekiness can equal hotness. Clearly, competence is key – as with all heroes, it’s important they’re good at what they do. No-one wants to read about an averagely talented hacker, but a hero who uses his techie skills to save the day…well, where do I sign up?
But as ever, what I really want to know about this week is your opinion. Basically, what do you want to read about? Are you a reader who loves a geeky or awkward hero? If so, what do you find sexy and appealing about this twist on the Alpha fantasy? Alternatively, perhaps this discussion topic fills you with complete horror – do you like your heroes so Alpha there’s no room for anything remotely resembling so-called ‘beta’ qualities?!
Would love love love to know your thoughts, so get in touch!
Flo x
That’s heroes for you – but what about the real gateway to your story, the heroine? Read on for more tips on how to ensure your heroine is every bit a match for your hero…
Heroine Addiction – or when an Alpha male just isn’t enough! Posted November 19th, 2010 http://community.millsandboon.co.uk/forums/behind-scenes-romance-hq/heroine-addiction-5
So, now that New Voices 2010 is well and truly over (sigh), have been thinking hard about what I’ve learnt from it, and do you know what I’ve discovered? When it comes to romance, I’m a man’s girl through and through – for me, the lure of a good romance is ALWAYS a drop-dead-gorgeous hero! He is the character that draws me through the story, and he’s the character that makes or breaks it. (Come on, let’s not even try and pretend that we watch Grey’s Anatomy to enjoy the byplay between BFFs Meredith and Christina - it’s the holy trinity of McDreamy, McSteamy and – my personal fave – dysfunctional delicious Alex Karev that reels us in!) So, if you asked me my favourite hero, I’d have to give you a top 5 – narrowing them down is just too hard. But ask me my favourite heroine, and suddenly it’s a whole different ball game…!
But at Romance HQ, we pride ourselves on writing books about women, for women, generally by women. So, why is so much attention focussed on the hero? (Well, beyond the obvious…!) The heroine is the reader’s main way into the story – for the fantasy to work, we have to place ourselves