Alpha or Beta?

Alpha or Beta? That is the question – for writers and readers of romance novels, that is. While alphas and betas can appear any work of fiction, be it action, spy thriller, or sci-fi, they are the bread and butter of romantic fiction.

The Alpha Hero

Who is the alpha hero? James Bond is probably the most recognizable alpha hero. He’s the prototypical male sex symbol. The guy we think of as a hunk, a hottie, a walking wet dream. He’s strong, confident, smart, and often charming. He may be a little dangerous, with a barely-contained dark side. He might even carry hidden emotional wounds. He’s the powerful business man, the heroic warrior, or the daredevil. He’s sexually adventurous, with no (or at least an unrecognized) desire to settle down. But when he does find his lady love, woe be unto the person who tries to harm her or come between them.

In popular fiction, think Jacob in Twilight or Gale in The Hunger Games.

Jacob and Gale

In classic literature think the Byronic Rochester in Jane Eyre or the aloof Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. And of course, one can’t forget the debonair Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind.

Rochester, Darcy, and Rhett

The Beta Hero

Where the Alpha Hero is the sex symbol, the Beta Hero is the boy next door. The one you’d bring home to mother. He’s cute, smart, affable, and charming as well, only in a quieter, sometimes more sincere way. He’s trustworthy, dedicated, and an all-around nice guy. He might have had his heart broken, and be less willing to take the risk again, until he meets the heroine. He’s perceptive, a good listener, and a genuine friend. And while he may be quiet, even laid back, he’s fierce when faced with an injustice, especially if that injustice has been meted out against a loved one.

Some may argue otherwise, but I’d place Edward Cullen in this category. He’s not brash and cocky like Jacob. And while he has a dark, powerful side, for me, it’s his overwhelming desire to be good that tips him into the beta camp. Peeta from The Hunger Games also fits this archetype.

Edward and Peeta

From classic literature I’d place Jude Fawley, from Jude the Obscure, and aside from Fitzwilliam Darcy, all of Austen’s heroes in this category, especially Knightley from Emma and Edmund Bertram from Mansfield Park. 

Jude, Mr. Knightley, and Edmund Bertram

Personally, I tend to lean toward the beta types (Yes, I’m Team Edward). While physically I may be drawn to the sexy, charismatic male, my heart and soul are drawn to those men who have a quiet resolve; the ones with old souls and great depth of character. You know what they say – still waters run deep. Even so, my first to heroes fit in the alpha category.

   

Take Alex Fraser, my hero in The Promise of Change. Alex, a.k.a. the Earl of Rutherford, is one of England’s most eligible bachelors. He has all the boyish charm of Hugh Grant, carries the polish of generations of earls, has the work ethic of his commoner grandfathers and mother, and playboy lifestyle notwithstanding, he has a deep respect for women that prevents him from falling into the unforgiving category of womanizer. Alex is alpha with an air of sophistication. He’s never married, preferring casual flings with beautiful women who have no illusions of marriage. That is, of course, until he meets my heroine, Sarah.

In Rescuing Lacey, Luke Hancock is the polar opposite of Alex, but an alpha
male nonetheless. Where Alex is polished, Luke is rugged. Where Alex is wealthy, Luke lives modestly. But Luke’s sex appeal is undeniable, as my heroine Lacey can attest to. Beach-bum-gorgeous, Luke is a man’s man. A pilot, outdoor guide and environmentalist, with a painful past, Luke is alpha with a few rough edges.

Now enter Josh Ryan. My hero in Dreams of Perfection, Book #1 in the Dreams Come True series, is beta all the way. Josh is the best-friend, the one who’s always there. His frank opinions often guide my heroine, Darcy, through the pitfalls of her romantic fairytale notions. He’s her Mr. Knightley. He knows Darcy inside and out, and loves her despite her foibles. As the story unfolds, Josh is pitted against Blake Garrett, a true alpha, for Darcy’s affections. Will his steadfastness pay off? Or will the charming Blake make Darcy’s dreams of perfection come true?

I must admit, it’s fun writing a beta for a change. I think they are more complex in many ways than alphas, and thus a little more challenging to write.

Finally, there's Nathan Maxwell, my sexy southern gentleman in Ship of Dreams, Book #2 in the Dreams Come True series. He's alpha with charm. Rhett Butler but without the jaded reputation. Nathan gives my heroine, Laura, a run for her money, who falls for his charm when she should be focusing on her professional goals. But who can resist a hot guy with a southern accent, who's a gentleman to boot? Not me, that's for sure.

Who’s your favorite? Are you Team Jacob and Gale, or Team Edward and Peeta? I’d love to hear which archetype stirs your blood. Or your heart.

What's in a Name

People often ask me how I name my characters. Do I put names in a hat and draw? Do I research the name’s meaning? Do I just pull them out of the air?

No, no, and no. When it comes to naming my hero and heroine, and oftentimes, my secondary characters, I put a great deal of thought into it. I don’t have any children, but I imagine I put just as much thought and effort into naming my characters as I would have my children. In many ways, my characters are like my children. I give birth to them, nurture them, and watch them grow and develop, then set them free to make their way in the big, dangerous world we live in.

So, for starters, I keep a running list of names that I hear or see that I think would make great character names. When an idea for a story forms, I think about the characters, who they are, where they’ve been, and what name suits their personalities, or vice versa, what name is completely opposite from their personalities.

In my second novel, Rescuing Lacey, my heroine is a tough-as-nails photojournalist who doesn’t take any guff. In her case, the perfect name was one that didn’t suit her at all. Something frilly and girlie, like … well ... Lacey:

The name Lacey Sommers, and all it implied, didn’t fit the woman standing in front of him. There was certainly nothing frilly about her. Tall, tanned, and muscular, she couldn’t be accused of being girlie, but neither was she the care-worn, jaded photographer he’d envisioned. A knot of desire formed in his stomach.

As for my hero’s name in the same book, I wanted something masculine, something that would sound sexy when whispered in a moment of passion, yet also have an important ring to it, thus, William Lucas Hancock, or Luke for short. Luke works well for the beach-bum wilderness guide Lacey thinks he is, but William Lucas Hancock works equally as well for the Ph.D. environmentalist.

Dreams of Perfection, Book #1 in the Dreams Come True series, is about a successful romance

writer whose real-life boyfriends never live up to her own perfect heroes. She experiences a Pygmalion romance when her latest hero comes to life.  The heroine’s quirky mother is a Jane Austen scholar who names her children after her favorite Austen characters:

And thanks to her mother’s chosen obsession, er, profession, Darcy and her siblings bore some combination of the names of her mother’s favorite Austen characters: Darcy Elizabeth, Anne Elinor, and Frederick Brandon.

They were easy to name — I simply pulled out my Jane Austen bible (that’s the Jane Austen Anthology for any Jane Austen newbies) and put her characters’ names together in new combinations until I was satisfied.

The men in the book took more time to name. I relied on my list of names, and added several more, looking for the right combination of first, middle, and last names that would fit my character’s roles and personalities. For Darcy’s best friend, I wanted a warm, comfortable name, one that said nice guy. Josh Ryan (Joshua Michael Ryan) was born. For the hero-come-to-life, I needed a name that sounded like a dashing romance novel hero, thus Blake Garrett, trauma surgeon, um … came to life.

Finally, for a novella I have in the works, Romancing Dr. Love, my heroine is a brainy psychology professor, who has based her entire career on the hypothesis that love is simply a chemical reaction. But she finds she must defend her science when she meets her antithesis in the form of a handsome, romantic literature professor. 

For her I needed something both fitting and ironic. I chose Samantha as her first name, shortening it to Sam, since she’s grown up with more masculine thought-processes when it comes to love. But don’t let that fool you, she’s all woman underneath. The last name, of course is the irony. The doctor who boils love down to nothing more than a chemical reaction fittingly bears that word for her last name. I’m still working on the hero’s name, but you can be sure it will be something sexy and romantic.

So that’s it. That’s the process for naming my characters. If you’re an author, how do you name your characters? If you’re a reader, what makes you love a character

A Story is Born

I am often asked where my stories come from. My response: everywhere.

The Promise of Change is the result of a trip to Christ Church College, Oxford University in Oxford, England. I spent three summers taking a course as part of Oxford University’s Adult Education Program. A way cool experience! You can read more about my experiences here.

A trip I took to Costa Rica with my husband inspired Rescuing Lacey. An actual experience on a small plane while in that country appears in the book and was the first chapter I wrote. The story grew in both directions from there, but first I had to ask why was my heroine there? What was at stake? And what role did the hero have in her journey?

Now, I have no idea what inspired my latest book, Dreams of Perfection, which is the first in a three-book series. Also, when I began writing Dreams of Perfection, I had no plans to write a series. For Dreams, I started thinking about what would happen if a romance writer’s hero actually came to life, a la Pygmalion, and the story took off from there. About a third of the way into the book, I realized two secondary characters, Laura and Millie, each deserved their own stories, and the Dreams Come True series was born. Laura’s story, Ship of Dreams, is available on Amazon. The "first meet" scene from Ship of Dreams actually happened to me. When the inspiring incident occurred, I hadn’t yet started Ship of Dreams. I had the characters, and I had the premise, but I didn’t know how the story would start or how my characters would meet. Then, voila, an incident with my shoe. Perfect.

Dreams of Her Own, Book #3 in the Dreams Come True Series, features Millie's journey, and will be out Fall 2015.

Beyond the series, I have lots of ideas percolating in my brain – so many that I’m having a hard time deciding which one to write next. One in particular that I’m leaning toward was inspired by one of Sting’s old songs that I’ve always loved. Another sprang from an RWA workshop I attended way back in 2012, and yet another grew out of my, ahem, thirty-year class reunion in 2011. Then there’s the idea that came to me while riding down a two-lane road through Sonoma County, California, where my husband and I were vacationing, when I saw a dilapidated Victorian house sitting on the corner of a forgotten vineyard.

So many stories, so little time. Sigh.

In sum, my story ideas come from travel, songs, experiences, and the firmament (as in Dreams of Perfection). I can see a person standing on the corner and wonder what her story is. And since I can’t know, I invent. And another story is born!

Dreams of Perfection

Ever had one of those girlfriends who went on one date after another only to find something wrong with every guy she went out with? One of those women who’s looking for Mr. Perfect, instead of Mr. Right? Well, that’s my heroine, Darcy Butler, in Dreams of Perfection (Book #1 in the Dreams Come True Series).

See, Darcy’s a best-selling romance writer whose endless round of dates never live up to the guys she creates from her own juicy little imagination. She’s had her heart stomped on for sure, but her defense mechanism is to her standards a tad too high.

Admittedly, some of her blind dates were, well, a little creepy. Like this one, where she’s meeting a guy at a coffee shop on the recommendation of her accountant.

“Now, let me tell you about myself.” He opened his briefcase and pulled out three files, laying them carefully on the table. “I’m looking for a mate, not a date. I don’t have a lot of time to waste dating, and I understand neither do you, if you want to become pregnant before you’re too old.”

He glanced up, clearly mistaking her expression for awed speechlessness rather than horrified incredulity. He patted her hand. “Oh, don’t worry, I am not opposed to children. I have a strong sex drive, so children are inevitable, but I don’t believe in premarital sex, so marriage is mandatory and soon.”

Aghast, Darcy looked around the coffee shop, expecting her family and friends to storm the table, laughing and teasing, certain this must be a joke.

He gestured to each file in turn. “This is my resume.”

Resume? He did realize this wasn’t a job interview, right?

“These”—he pointed at portrait size photos of happy, smiling, neatly dressed children—“are my three children, Kempton the Third, Angela, and my youngest, Thornton.

Children!

“And these”—he picked up a stack of paper— “are letters of recommendation.”

Flabbergasted, and not a little intrigued, Darcy waited for him to continue. After all, she enjoyed a good joke, even if it was on her.

He placed his resume in front of her, which she noted included his salary and net worth. Seven figures—impressive. Next came a description of his home on Long Island and his country club privileges.

Darcy suppressed a giggle, still waiting for the punch line. Let everyone think they’d pulled a good one over on her.

I had so much fun writing Darcy’s story. She’s a little ditzy, a lot adorable, and I just wanted her to find the happily-ever-after (HEA) she writes about—after I finished torturing her, of course. Darcy learns many things on her journey to HEA, like not to take people for granted, and that when you love someone, you love them warts and all.

She learned some of these lessons while visiting her Aunt Rosie and her Uncle Al, who were celebrating their sixty-third wedding anniversary. I modeled Rosie and Al’s relationship after cousins of mine whose long, happy marriage I admired.

To spend time with my cousins, let’s call them Mary and Bob, was to see first-hand what two people still in love after all those years looked like. The little gestures of affection, the flirtations, the sparkle in their eyes when they looked at each other, and the deep respect they had for one another, made you hope for that very thing when you reached those same milestones in your own life. Bob never hesitated to tell you that he’d married his best friend and the love of his life.

Mary and Bob had been married sixty-three years when he passed away, and along with their daughters, they can boast four grandchildren, and fourteen great grandchildren. Quite a legacy.

As a romance author I write stories with happily-ever-after endings—modern-day fairytales. But my stories can’t compete with Mary and Bob’s. They lived the fairytale.

Darcy makes a mess of things trying to figure everything out, and it takes her aunt and uncle’s anniversary party for the light bulb to finally come on:

It suddenly occurred to Darcy that fairytales weren’t found in books. They were found in real life—everyday life, with both its triumphs and its tribulations. And her aunt lived that real-life fairytale every day, while she had been wishing for the wrong fairytale all along.

Dreams of Perfection is available on Amazon.