All About Alphas 14 - Michelle Styles

Today's author quote comes from another writer of Historical Romance - Michelle Styles. Michelle has written novels set in historical periods set as far apart as Ancient Rome and 1814, when her latest story is set. And her heroes reflect the times they lived in - but they also match up to the criteria that Michelle has in mind when she thinks of an alpha hero.

Michelle and I share similar opinions on the term alpha male - most importantly the belief that alpha must not mean domineering brute. One of the things that I envy the historical authors is that they are writing about a time when the idea of a man taking charge was often vital and not neccessarily something to be fought against and to see as being controlling or domineering. But whether in a Modern or a Historical - or any other romance - the point is that the heroine doesn't neccessarily see things that way. That is where the challenge/the conflict comes in - whatever date in history the book is set.

Here's what Michelle has to say - and once again that word 'code' comes in.

Alpha male means a leader. Just like you can have good leaders
and bad leaders, you can have good alpha males and bad ones. However, if you are
talking about alpha male heroes, you are automatically talking about the good
ones. The word hero gives it away. We are not talking anti-heroes here,
but full blown heroes. So good leaders and positive attributes. For me
this means: a leader who cares about his men, a leader who has
integrity, a leader who is strong and tough because he has to be. He has
strength of will. He is willing to make the hard decisions and does not shirk
from his responsibility. This is a man who understands there are lines which you
do not cross. He lives by a code. But he is also someone who does not
automatically give his respect. It has to be earned. And above, he requires a
strong mate.


One of the best exercises I ever did was to write down
the qualities I admired in my own personal heroes. I then try to incorporate
them into my fictional heroes. So for example, Simon Clare, the hero of
Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife, demands as much of himself as he does of
others. Unfortunately he is also impatient and unforgiving of faults. This can
be a good thing when you are trying to solve problems in a mine. It is not so
good when you are trying to deal with your young son and Simon has to be taught
the difference by the very strong willed Phoebe Benedict.

Michelle's latest novel is Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife which is out now.

His unexpected bride… Wealthy landowner Simon Clare shuns Northumbrian society. With his son gravely ill, the last thing Simon needs is an interfering woman assuming command of his household and nursing young Robert – no matter how sensuous her figure, or how tempting her luscious lips.

Phoebe Benedict knows what it is to struggle, and finds herself drawn to the badly scarred recluse. Despite his tough exterior, she knows that Simon is a father who yearns for his son to recover – and a man who misses the tender embrace of a woman…

Michelle has promised to drop by the blog - as have all the authors - if there are any questions but I think that she is busy today at the Hexham Festival so she may come in later.

All About Alphas 2 - Mills and Boon Checklists

Over on the Mills & Boon Community site editor Jenny Hutton has given this checklist of the way that the Alpha hero appears in all the different line.

So you'll see that he is not just the sort of man people immediately describe - usually based on their image of a Modern/Presents hero - as an Alpha hero being something of a domineering bully.

I'm giving you this as it appears from the editors though I'm just going to say a couple of things where the Modern Romance/Presents Alpha is concerned - and I'm going to be honest here.

One is that, for me, "believing in himself and the reach of his influence" isn't actually being arrogant. It can appear that way at times - particularly to the heroine when she and her situation conflict with and challenge that innate sense of self that the Presents hero has. But in my book he's probably entitled to that sense of self - he's built himself up to the position he's in, and he has earned it. So I'm not going to use the word arrogant - sure of himself, fine. For me, it's something like the comment on Honour for the Historical stories - the Modern/Presents hero can come across as arrogant in that challenged situation but he's not trampling other people underfoot arrogant.

And I would want to add that, just as with the Romance hero, that my Modern/Presents hero - darn it - any hero - needs to have that Code of Honour - that strong sense of right and wrong that is the foundation of the way he lives.It's when that core of honour is - I'm going to say that word again - challenged that he comes out fighting.

OK so here's the list:

Mills & Boon Modern Romance®
Commanding: he’s always in control and calling the shots – except when the heroine finally tames him…

Demanding: he’s come a long way since his emotionally or financially impoverished childhood; he wants it done, and he wants it done now!

Arrogant: he believes in himself and the reach of his influence, totally – until the battle with his feelings for the heroine begins…

Passionate: sensual and sexy, he uses his charm and power to get what he wants, though his need for the heroine may ultimately prove stronger

Status: impossibly wealthy, probably self-made; often has celebrity status in the media. The ruler of all he surveys, be it a company or a country

Mills & Boon Modern Heat®
Young: he’s aged between 25 and 35 and has yet to settle down

Confident: he knows what he wants and has a good idea of how he’ll get it; he knows he’s attractive and relishes challenges – he might have a extreme hobby

Easy-going: he plays as hard as he works, knowing how and when to have a good time. He doesn’t sweat the small stuff…

Accessible: he’s very approachable, but his physical presence and his confidence and charm make him stand out from the crowd

Status: he hails from all walks of life and can have any level of success and wealth

Mills & Boon Historical Romance®
Strong: he could appear unyielding, determined to claim the heroine but he would lay down his life for her

Charming: he can be a rake, a cad or a bounder – but ultimately he’s redeemed by the heroine who’s the love of his life

A Man of Action: he can lead armies into battle, or influence political or local events

Honourable: he may have killed on the battlefield, but is fair in his treatment of his men

Status: either financially, politically or militarily powerful; often a member of the first estate

Mills & Boon Romance®
Tower of Strength: he has a steely core, is not easily manipulated and uncompromising about the things that matter

Aspirational: the guy with whom women aspire to spend the rest of their lives; definitely Mr Right

Code of Honour: he has a strong sense of right and wrong, is reasonable and fair

Sense of Humour: he can laugh at himself and life; he’s often understated and modest in manner

Status: Definitely successful, can be wealthy or just comfortably off; perhaps a specialist in his field

Mills & Boon Medical Romance®
Dedicated: his primary objective is to save lives; he has high standards and expects the same of others

Strong but Caring: he’s approachable and has a great bedside manner – he shows compassion and passion to his patients and the heroine

A Mover of Mountains: he will do whatever it takes, and then some, to save a life or resolve a medical issue. A man of action

Respected: he’s well respected in his field and is committed, honourable and human

Status: a senior member of the medical profession, or has a connection with medical profession, e.g. senior firefighter

Great Big Blog Party 13 - Michelle Styles

I'm dodging thunderstorms in order to post and the possibilities of needing to build an ark are getting stronger and stronger by the minute - my sympathies go out to everyone who is suffering as a result of the floods all over the country.



The Guest Blogger today is one of the new rising stars of the M&B Historial line and her books are also appearing as Harlequin Historicals in America - Michelle Styles. She is also responsible for bringing stories of Ancient Rome to the Historical line - a time period that everyone said that M&B would not publish - well, Michelle proved them wrong.

Michelle was born in America, in San Francisco, but she moved to the UK when she married and she now lives in Northumberland. Michelle was one of the authors who joined me for the writers' weekend in Lincoln - where her lovely daughter acted as a caring babysitter for Julie Cohen's small son. Michelle has just filmed her first UK TV appearence for Tyne Tees TV (Hope I have that right Michelle) and perhaps she'll tell us when we can watch that on Monday.



Here's Michelle:

Kate Walker has invited me to take part in her 50th book party blog. Okay, I would have begged very hard, if she hadn’t asked, so she was being kind. She said that I could blog about anything, and after a great deal of thought and consideration I have decided to speak about –


VOICE.



When I first went on e-harlequin, Kate W was there and she had posted a little thing about voice. Basically it was: Harlequin has Betty Neels and Charlotte Lamb books. They can and reissue them when readers demand more stories by those authors.. They even have Kate Walker books which can be reissued. What they don’t have is YOU and the way YOU tell a story. I read that and thought thank God, I can’t write a story in the style of anyone else, but I can write like me.

Voice is very important. It is also very hard to define. It is more than word choice. It is all about what you choose to include and exclude in your book. It is about how you mould your world and define your characters. It is how an author combines ideas. It is what makes your story yours. If you try to write in a different style, it will feel off – much like Noel Coward trying to do a James Brown song. Inevitably, your own voice appears. Through a cultivation of your unique voice, you can write memorable stories.


One of Kate’s great strengths as a mentor (and I considered her a mentor before she even KNEW of my existence) is that she encourages authors to write their own story.

As she says – toss out an idea or a premise in a room full of 50 authors with distinct voices and you will get 50 different stories. None will be the same. Each author has her own idea of what is important in a story. It is the making the idea yours that is important.


Once she took time out of her busy schedule to write me a lovely email about how I should write from the heart and how I should choose to write what I wanted. Because IT SHOWS. This gave me the confidence and courage to follow my dream and start writing historical romance, in particularly The Gladiator’s Honour.

The reason Kate’s books are so well loved is that they come from the heart. When you write from the heart, your voice shines through. It is all about form, not formula and it starts with the

author’s voice.

And please Kate can we have 50 more books all written in your wonderfully evocative voice?


GIVEAWAY
Michelle is giving away a signed copy of her third book Sold and Seduced as a prize

QUESTION
If you could write - or read - a book about any time and any place in history what setting and period would you choose?

As always, post your answers in the Comments section and Michelle will pick a winner from them

PS - Michelle has just pointed out to me that I've got the prize slightly wrong - so the full prize is:

" . . . a signed copy of S&S plus a signed copy of her book --The Antonakos Marriage. I still have a couple.The Antonakos Marriage gave me the seed for S&S and by reading the two, you can sort of see how two writers approach things."

Thanks Michelle!