Welcome to Day 2 of the Countdown to both When I’m With You, my new erotic romance serial novel, and Because You Are Mine, Complete on March 5!
Today, I’m giving away a $15 Amazon gift card to one person who “likes” the Day 2 entry at my facebook page! Winner announced tonight at midnight at my facebook page.
Being in the Alpha Male’s Head, BECAUSE YOU ARE MINE
All types of POV have their advantage in regard to storytelling. I’ve always loved writing both from the hero and heroine’s POV, believing it amplifies tension and gives the more complete picture of what’s occurring in the romance. But more than that, I’m just partial to being in the hero’s head. Most romance readers are women, and so the heroine is often more relatable. We ‘get’ a woman a bit better because we are (for the most part) women. A hero, especially an alpha male, is more of a challenge. I like the idea of giving the reader a more layered, complete picture of what’s going on in this complex, often stoic, highly in control character.
The alpha male is the man-myth diluted and distilled. He’s the protector, the height of physical strength, the smartest, the loyalist, the ultimate lover. He’s often flawed, however, but that’s okay. It might help the reader to sympathize if she knows the inner workings of Alpha’s mind and soul. Even when he’s convinced he could never love the heroine, or be loved in return, or says sharp things to her, or comes off like a complete ass, if we’ve been given privy to his thoughts and feelings, we at least get why he’s the way he is, and empathy can build as we watch him grow.
My alpha hero in Because You Are Mine is Ian Noble. Ian is not only a sexual dominant, he controls his entire world with an iron grip. Fortunately, control suits him in a high-stakes corporate world. His authoritarian manner also works extremely well for scorching, intense D/s-type sex with beautiful women who move quickly in and out of his life, but for an intimate relationship? Not so much. Enter artist Francesca Arno—fresh, beautiful, a strange combination of innocence, defiance and the vision of an old soul. She pulls at Ian, even as he tries to resist her allure. Something about her tempts him beyond logic. Since we, as the reader, get to be in Ian’s head at times, we begin to understand things even before Ian does. Francesca represents all the innocence of his lost youth. She also has the ability to see his suffering and treat it with her artist’s sensitive soul. She challenges him…softens him.
At the heart of romance is its transformative effect on the hero and heroine. It’s only love if the characters are able to reach deep inside the other and cause healing or growth. We end up cheering for the couple, but also for the hero and heroine individually. The only problem is, we all resist change. It’s inevitable. But then there’s the moment when the alpha hero recognizes the holes in their heart and spirit and begins to long to be worthy of the heroine’s love. In doing so, he transforms.
Here’s a quick peek into Ian Noble’s head:
Short excerpt: Because You Are Mine
He paused presently in the foyer of the penthouse. She was there. No sound emanated from the depths of his residence, but somehow he knew Francesca worked in her ad hoc studio. Was she still sketching on the massive canvas? He suddenly pictured her perfectly, her beautiful face tense with concentration, her dark eyes flickering back and forth between her quickly moving pencil and the view. She became somber and formidable as a judge when she worked, all of her self-consciousness burned to mist by her brilliant talent and an uncommon grace that she didn’t appear to know she possessed.
She also was ignorant of her potent sexual appeal. He, on the other hand, was acutely aware of its promise and power. Unfortunately, he was equally conscious of her naïveté. He could practically smell it surrounding her; her innocence intermingled with an untested sexuality, creating a heady perfume that had set him off balance.
Today, I’m giving away a $15 Amazon gift card to one person who “likes” the Day 2 entry at my facebook page!