The other day, my oldest daughter was saying how she loved seeing what people imagine certain book heroes look like. So I thought I would share what I think Jack in CIRCLE OF DEFIANCE looks like. A combination of the two fellows in the top two pictures. Jack keeps his head shaved (his story will reveal why he does it), has piercings, tattoos, and isn’t classically handsome though women would call him good-looking in that manly way. He’s a lady’s man. So he loves women. Not for just sex. He actually has a female best friend. Though his younger brother, Rex, hates him, he will do anything to keep him happy. Jack even tricked Rex into marrying the woman his brother had loved for years. Because of the decisions Jack has made, he’s a lonely, lonely man. Thankfully, Katerina comes along and cheers him up. LOL! If you could call fearing for his life as cheering up. Don’t forget CIRCLE OF DEFIANCE is on sale now at Amazon! Plus Amazon has CIRCLE OF DESIRE and CIRCLE OF DANGER on sale for $1.99. Not sure how long that will last. For those who have been following my blog, I’ve mentioned a couple times I’m working on a new series. This hero let’s his hair grow, unlike Jack, and wears it in a hairstyle that has become popular again. It was the thing to wear in the 1930s to 1940s. I wasn’t alive then, but I’ve seen the movies (reruns 100 times over) from back in the day. I so hope fedoras come back in style too. Here are a couple pictures of the hairstyle I’m talking about. So sexy if done right. Plus the new hero leaves some scruff on his face. By the way, CONGRATULATIONS to Melissa Ruiz! She won the 2nd set of books, bag, Hello Kitty, $10 Amazon Gift Card and tee shirt! Melissa, be sure to answer my email. Thank you!
[Update: Melissa is excited to have won. Her package is being mailed out Saturday. Congrats again!]
Release date 2/24/2015 Amazon.Over the years, I’ve heard debates on the plus and minuses of Alpha and beta heroes. Personally, I prefer Alpha heroes, and strangely, as unchanging Alphas appear to be, they have been changing with the times. Maybe it has to do with women liberation and the younger generation.
Geez, that last part makes me sound so old.
I guess it’s because I don’t have a problem with a man being a man. For a man to beat his chest and open my doors never bothered me. But at the same time, why are women still referred to as Mrs. in the business world or if I’m purchasing something? Hell, I’m proud of being married to my hubby (love him dearly), but what does my marital status have to do with my work? Men are Mr., no matter if they’re married or not. Never understood it. Equal rights and all.
Sorry, got off track. Back to the three type of Alphas.
1. The Tarzan Alpha. Loved watching Tarzan movies on TV when I was a kid (they were re-runs of re-runs), but as an adult in the present PC environment, the movies from the 1930s for sure show a hero who’s not really very nice to Jane. Even in one film, he tears her clothes off. Of course, he’s just curious about the clothing. Yeah. Right. It was the same movie (Tarzan and His Mate) along with a few others that helped bring about censoring movies in Hollywood during that period. The Johnny Weissmuller ones were my favorites. By the way, Tarzan’s English name was John Clayton. Thought I would throw that in.
Now on to this Alpha. At times, he can come across as being not the smartest cookie in the pack. Maybe because he’s raised by apes/wolves/lions/etc., from a different planet or time. Isn’t that a great excuse to do whatever he wants? But when he’s in his environment, watch out! You’ll look a fool if you underestimate him.
The other side of the same coin, this Alpha can also be super-smart, and you’ll know it from the start. Often he’s that way because he’s lived a horrible life. Cruel biological or foster parents/guardians, bad choices or friends, etc. So he grows up thinking women are nothing but sex toys for him to play with. That is, when he’s not busy taking care of business. He often plays a brutish hero, steam rolling over the heroine, forcing her to do what he says. “For her own good.” Hey, I enjoy reading this type, but no way do I want to be around one in real life.
What authors write this type? Lori Leigh, Anne Stuart (she has some scary, delicious ones), Beth Kery, and Nalini Singh (some I’m told).
2. The James Bond Alpha. This is the category where most Alphas fall. They’re self-sufficient and don’t believe they need a woman until they meet The One. Sometimes they have a hard time recognizing her. That’s the part we find so much fun: watching him come to terms, that he can’t live without her. Oh, yeah. The mighty falls hard.
And don’t be hating my favorite James Bond. Even today, wrinkles and all, Pierce Brosnan is so sexy.
The authors for his type? Linda Howard, Maisey Yates, Debra Webb, Anne Stuart (her Ice series has this, mixed with the Tarzan) and Carla Swafford (of course, I had to add mine).
3. The Jamie Alpha. Yes. Simply stated. If you don’t know who I’m talking about, you haven’t read, watched or listened (audio) to any of the OUTLANDER books. The author has created a new alpha. He’s strong, gentle, and reasonable. Expects his woman to be as honest as he is and to stand by her man. But he’s willing to sacrifice his life or even give her up to protect her.
The authors with this type of Alpha? Diana Gabaldon (duh!), Betty Bolte, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Victoria Dahl (some), and my next book will have a lot of this Alpha in the hero. The book is due out February 2016 and should be titled BURNOUT [update: title has been changed. More about that later.] More info to come in the next few months.
As you noticed, the authors I mentioned have a mixture of Alpha heroes (including mine), but they appear to gravitate to the types I mentioned.
Something I noticed when I finished writing this post, all three Alphas are named after characters from the U.K., and all have “J” names. Funny. HA!
Anyway, comment and let me know what authors you believe match up to the Alphas above. Chances are I’ll love to read them.
Earlier this week, I wrote a long post about the last year and what I have to look forward to and then yesterday morning I deleted it. It was way too sad and wordy. So the short version is this.
2014 had a lot of good moments to celebrate while darkened by one bad event.
At the end of August last year, I lost my biggest cheerleader. My dad. He died unexpectedly. One important thing was he knew I was in the middle of working with a new editor toward a new contract with a new publishing house, and my writing career was looking up. He was very happy for me. Being a voracious reader, he was as excited as I was about me being published and continuing to be so.
So in October, I received a two-book contract from a wonderful editor at Penguin/Random House’s Loveswept line. Yay! And then a couple months later, I signed with Prospect Agency. Love my new agent!
I’m starting off 2015 the right way. All fresh and new. I have to pinch myself on occasion. Other times, I freak out and worry that I have lost my mind. Who am I kidding? I can’t write!
Well, this is where I dig in my heels and prove I can do anything, if I want it bad enough. Nothing will stop me but me. And I won’t let that happen. Heck, my daughters and writing family won’t let me. I’m so grateful for them all.
The past week, I’ve been on vacation. So nice. Working on my writing during the day and watching TV or reading at night. Mercy, I’ve watched quite a few movies and TV shows on Netflix.
You know, it got me to thinking about the millions of actors and authors who hope to become famous for what they love to do. It blows my mind.
Does it make me want to quit? Goodness, no. All of this makes me want to work harder, to become a better writer. Every author should strive to improve with each book.
When my husband I were dating, he was known for being a bad boy. Since I don’t want to embarrass his family or my daughters, I won’t get into about what he did. But we hung out with some people you would call in a nice way – rough. Now, I’m not saying all of them were that way. A few of the girls were like me, from the middle class part of town and attracted to the bad boys.
I can tell you after a few years, I realized that life wasn’t for me. The drinking, drugs, smoking, cussing (still a bad habit of mine that slips out on a occasion) and living on the edge sucked big time. They cheated on each other, stole from anyone, even their friends, and many didn’t know the meaning of hygiene or taking care of their possessions. And they would laugh about it all.
Thankfully, my hubby grew up to be a good man, though that bad boy mentality (a.k.a. Cranky) comes out on occasion.
Over the years, a few people have recommended to me book series about motorcycle gangs/clubs. My sister even talked about how much she loved Sons of Anarchy. I gave in and bought one book, “sampled” a few others and watched the Sons. The book I didn’t finished, the others I didn’t buy, but I did watch all seasons of SOA. The TV series had some good moments. I think mainly I wanted to see Charlie/Jax’s butt. Otherwise, the show had more violence than plot.
The books and even the show reminded me of those days from my youth.
So now I’m writing a motorcycle club series. It will be toned down (really, I’m known for writing about sex and violence; so there will be enough in it) compared to the series and the partial books I’ve read. As I mentioned, I’ve been around those type of people. You don’t want to mess with them or be like them.
But there is something romantic and sexy about bad boys and dangerous men. Even more so when they’re reformed.
The other day, my oldest daughter was saying how she loved seeing what people imagine certain book heroes look like. So I thought I would share what I think Jack in CIRCLE OF DEFIANCE looks like. A combination of the two fellows in the top two pictures. Jack keeps his head shaved (his story will reveal why he does it), has piercings, tattoos, and isn’t classically 
handsome though women would call him good-looking in that manly way. He’s a lady’s man. So he loves women. Not for just sex. He actually has a female best friend. Though his younger brother, Rex, hates him, he will do anything to keep him happy. Jack even tricked Rex into marrying the woman his brother had loved for years. Because of the decisions Jack has made, he’s a lonely, lonely man. Thankfully, Katerina comes along and cheers him up. LOL! If you could call fearing for his life as cheering up. Don’t forget CIRCLE OF DEFIANCE is on sale now at Amazon! Plus Amazon has CIRCLE OF DESIRE and CIRCLE OF DANGER on sale for $1.99. Not sure how long that will last. For those who have been following my blog, I’ve mentioned a couple times I’m working on a new series. This hero let’s his hair grow, unlike Jack, and wears it in a hairstyle that has become popular again. It was the thing to wear in the 1930s to 1940s. I wasn’t alive then, but I’ve seen the movies (reruns 100 times over) from back in the day. I so hope fedoras come back in style too. Here are a couple pictures of the hairstyle I’m talking about. So sexy if done right. Plus the new hero leaves some scruff on his face. 
By the way, CONGRATULATIONS to Melissa Ruiz! She won the 2nd set of books, bag, Hello Kitty, $10 Amazon Gift Card and tee shirt! Melissa, be sure to answer my email. Thank you!![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000039_00009]](https://carlaswafford.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/circleofdefiance_final2.jpg)
sufficient and don’t believe they need a woman until they meet The One. Sometimes they have a hard time recognizing her. That’s the part we find so much fun: watching him come to terms, that he can’t live without her. Oh, yeah. The mighty falls hard.
Carla Swafford, Author 