So, sticking with the Modern/Presents authors today as well - my next contributor will come as no surprise to anyone, not after I posted how much I enjoyed her latest release, Savas' Defiant Mistress.When so many people do seem to think that Alpha = brute, bully, domineering thug . . . that description just doesn't fit Anne's heroes at all. It shouldn't fit any hero either in my personal opinion - how can a bully be a hero? And what I personally love about Anne's heroes is that there's no way those accusations can be levelled at them.
Which is why I wanted her to take part in this discussion. Because Anne's heroes help prove how impossibly narrow, constrictive and just plain wrong those stereotypes are. They show that, with Alphas, as with any other form of good writing, you can't write 'by the rules' because there aren't any. Anyone who has read Savas' Defiant Mistress - and if you haven't, you should - can't be under the illusion that Sebastian is anything but an Alpha. But bullyig? Domineering? Thuggish? No way!
You'll find what I think about this book earlier on my blog here and here's what Anne has to say:
I often hate discussing the "Alpha hero" because the discussion so often leads
to either supporting or slapping down a cardboard character I find unpleasant at
best.
The stereotypical cardboard Alpha seems often to be a wealthy,
arrogant know-it-all who throws his weight around and not only misunderstands
but bullies everyone in sight. Certainly these characteristics can be associated
with "powerful" men or rather, men who abuse power. But, to me, none of them
make a man an Alpha.
Are they really men you would want to follow? Men you would trust? Men you could fall in love with?
Not me. I can't be bothered.
For me an Alpha hero is a guy who gets the job done. It's as simple as that.
He's honorable and reliable and dependable. He's the one who -- despite what
he says or what anyone else says -- will never let you down. Even if he doesn't
want to do it, he will do what needs to be done. And because he's competent, he
succeeds.
He doesn't have to be brutal or arrogant or wealthy or a bully to
do any of that.
He is not, however, perfect. Usually he's anything but. I guess you could make a hero brutal, arrogant and a bully and reform him, but it doesn't particularly interest me. What interests me is seeing him find the courage to face his own flaws and overcome them -- getting that job done. That's what makes him truly and fully an Alpha hero in my book.Seb, for example, in Savas' Defiant Mistress, will do anything for his sisters, for his family, for his work. He fits the Alpha bill at the start. But he's flawed. Inside
where it counts -- for himself -- he is a man who doesn't trust. If you know
where he comes from, you understand why. But knowing why, which Seb does -- and making up your mind to do something about it -- are not the same thing.
That's the journey he takes in the story. He has all the Alpha
characteristics -- with regard to others -- at the start. He does what everyone
else needs him to do. But he short changes himself. He's there for everyone in
the family, but when he faces doing what needs to be done for his own future
happiness, he's not quite so sanguine.
What makes Seb fully an Alpha -- the leader of the pack (or in this case a family) at the end of the book -- comes from his ability to finally confront that fear, to accept the love of a good woman, to trust it (and her). Then he's even better than before.He's a real Alpha hero -- a complete fully integrated human being.
