A Romantic Hero …

At Amazon

Caroline Bourne, author of Shadow Marsh, a historical romance set in Louisiana, is my guest. 

Back in the early 90s I read a historical romance novel at the request of the writer. On the very first page of the novel, the hero sat in a saloon belching and passing gas.  It wouldn’t have mattered how good the story was; I was immediately turned off of the novel by this uncouth pig.  Whenever this man was with the heroine, all I could think about was him sitting in that saloon belching and passing gas…and why on earth was the smart, educated heroine even giving him the time of day?

Since then it has been my opinion that a reader’s first impression of the hero of a romance novel will set the tone for the story. It is much easier for a female writer to associate with the female protagonist, because she has those natural feminine feelings. It takes a good deal of patience, understanding and imagination to get into the head of her male protagonist and know just how much of a soft side he needs to win over the reader, or how brutal he can be and keep the respect of the reader. I like to think that I had some success in that regard, simply because I always gave the hero traits that I like to see in a man. Can the hero have a soft side? Certainly, he can. 

The reader of historical romance, typically women, will fall in love with a hero who climbs a tree to rescue a kitten or throws his coat over a muddy puddle for the heroine, or any woman, to step on. I have to admit that, to my recollection, the hero in none of my 14 historical romances climbed a tree to rescue a kitten or threw out his coat, but they all had their soft side. I fell in love with each and every one them. My 14^th novel, Talon’s Heart, out soon as an eBook, has two dominant men.  Only one gets the girl, but I was totally “in love” with the one who didn’t.  To right that injustice, his story continues in a sequel.

Coming soon from Echelon Press

The characters of a book are as important as the story. Their personalities must be consistent, and stir the reaction in the reader that the writer intends. And please, no belching “hero” passing gas in a saloon.

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She is Talon Rose, half-blood daughter of a Comanche chief and a white captive. As an outlaw who prides herself on never having killed, she rides the Arizona badlands with Mexican bandits, rustling livestock to sell south of the border, and eludes a “hang on sight” order. . . until a US Marshal captures her.   Taken to an American army camp deep in the Huachuca Mountains and forced to scout with Apaches, she is soon caught in a triangle wrought with desire.

John Nightwing, the Apache Chief of Scouts, proud and determined.

Major Laine Taylor, Officer of Scouts and a genteel Southern gentleman, stubborn and equally determined.

Talon's heart is captured between the two equally imposing men, but only one can gain her undying love and devotion.  Torn between her heritage and her heart, Talon Rose battles the demons of the world as fiercely as the ones within herself. But her struggle is not the only one as two suitors face off in a passionate battle that may cost one man not only his heart, but his life.

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Caroline Bourne was born in Southampton, England, served in the United States Marine Corps, and is the author of 14 historical romance novels. She contributed stories to two holiday anthologies for Kensington Publishers of New York.  She currently works for a Southern Indiana police department, and has two daughters, six granddaughters and one great-grandson.    

Personalities--alpha, beta, or gamma?

Bruce Willis, Tears of the Sun

As we all know, a SEAL team took out Osama bin Laden. I believe it was also a SEAL team that shot the Somali pirates, the ones who took the ship captain prisoner. SEALs seem to be the supermen of our day—no wonder they’re featured in so many romantic suspense novels. I wonder what sort of personalities they have in real life. In books they’re always alpha males, tough and hard but with a tender side the heroine uncovers.

Attila and his Hordes Overrun Italy and the Arts
(Detail) Eugène Delacroix

So I googled alpha males. Try it. You’ll be surprised at all the advice on how men can transform themselves from betas (another name for lily-livered losers) into alphas and get all the hot women they want. (Alphas never chase women; women swarm to them.) Most of the advice struck me as how to turn wimps into jerks. There seems to be some confusion between being dominant and being strong and between confidence and arrogance (one site advises “never apologize”). From some of the descriptions and advice, I think they’re creating sociopaths. I kept thinking of a twist on Mae West’s words: Too much of a good thing isn’t necessarily wonderful.

The websites ignored the sensitive, caring side, seeing it as a weakness that needs to be wiped from the psyche. But there’s hope. According to a few sites, there’s another type, very rare: the gamma male. Having some of that tender side is what makes gamma males. Gammas seem to combine the strength of alphas with a little of the sweetness and sensitivity attributed to betas.

I think these advisers and men who want to change could learn a lot from reading a few good romance novels. The heroes of books are leaders because they’re smart, strong, and exciting but still good men. They lead through respect, not fear. “Bold” and “bad” are not synonymous. I don’t think women would find them so exciting if they weren’t decent guys with a sense of honor and responsibility, men who care about others. Those characteristics are as much a part of their attraction as the strong stuff. If that makes them gamma men, then let’s have more gamma men.

Real heroes, male or female, should be strong enough and confident enough that they don’t have to prove themselves. They can respect another’s knowledge or ability and work as a team, using everyone’s skills to the advantage of the team. It can be a woman’s skills as well as a man’s. If she’s the better marksman, let her pull the trigger. If she speaks fluent Urdu, let her do the talking. If he can calm the frightened child, let him be the one to hold it. That’s true confidence—when a person is comfortable in his or her own skin. That’s how I think of SEALs, and that’s how I hope to see heroes in books.



 Some of the new super-tough, kick-ass heroines leave me cold too. Where are their redeeming qualities? There should be something to like, something to smile at.

What do you think about alpha personalities? What’s your definition? Do you have any good examples of alphas, betas, or gammas?