Alpha Fantasy, Beta Reality

I just read a post by Romancemama at http://southernsizzleromance.wordpress.com/ and she had MY man on it. Tsk, tsk, Romancemama. Gerard is mine, all mine!

Ahem. She did bring up an interesting question though. What I read isn’t necessarily what I want in real life. This is the point where I explain that the females in my family are dominant. It’s a fact of life. With the exception of two or three, the women rule.

So here I am, a single, stubborn, Southern lady with Alpha tendencies. Does this mean I read stories where the heroine is a dominatrix? Nah. I’m not into that. I actually prefer a good, solid Alpha male hero. I’m sure if I came across such a man in real life, I’d probably want to lay him out. A little Alpha is fine, but when I’m reading…

I want him to take the choices away, corner our intrepid heroine, and make mad, passionate love to her. Rip her clothes off, tell her how much he wants her, and love her and only her. That’s the catch. He does this, not because he does this to all women, but because the heroine has him so stirred up, he can’t help himself. This is what I read ‘bodice rippers’ for. It’s the idea that this strong, independent, naughty male can’t live without her. Does she have to save him from his demons? Nah, not necessarily. Demons are what make the hero dark and passionate, the perfect foil for her lightness.

This is what I love about romance. If I read a book where the hero is wishy-washy, or not aggressive enough, that book goes in my ‘get rid of’ pile. This doesn’t mean I want the hero to rape the heroine. I want him to coax her, seduce her, make her just as wild for him as he is for her. That’s a good romance. Throw in some humor (dark, light, goofy, doesn’t matter), a villain, and I’m so going to read that book.

How about you? Do you prefer your heroes and heroines to reflect real life, or do you step outside reality? I’m not talking science fiction, or paranormal, but the Alpha male versus the nice guy you date/marry. What’s your preference? Do you have an alpha male?

Antici……pation

I’m a big Rocky Horror Picture Show fan. Tim Curry was just so wickedly seductive, I can almost understand Brad and Janet partaking of forbidden fruit. It was the campy dialogue that really intrigued me though. Great lines in this movie and if you add the audience participation, it’s stellar!

So is that what I intend to blog about today? No, not really. I just needed a good title for my post 😀 Anticipation. It’s a killer sometimes, isn’t it? It makes our stomachs flutter with butterflies, it makes our mouths go dry, it makes our palms sweat. It’s nervousness and trepidation and excitement with just a tinge of fear. It can take place at any time or any place, getting on a rollercoaster, going on a first date, seeing an old friend, starting a new job. It’s so many things wrapped up into one little (well, not so little) word. Anticipation.

In keeping with this theme, I found a picture from another one of my favorite movies, Pitch Black. I just love Vin Diesel. Le sigh. So here’s the picture:

 

In this scene, our hero/bad guy Riddick is getting up close and personal with the Captain. Just look at her. She’s scared, not sure if he’s planning to kill her or kiss her. I think he would’ve kissed her. Of course, I’m a romance writer wanna-be. I HOPE he was planning to kiss her. This is anticipation at its grimiest and it’s sexy as all hell.

What are some of your favorite moments in anticipation from movies? Do you think Riddick was going to kiss or kill our fair heroine?

Let’s Get Physical

Okay, so today I’ve managed to put a huge dent in my current WIP. I started feeling creative late yesterday afternoon and stopped right in the middle of a love scene. It was a good scene too! However, I had limited time to work, so poor Piper and Connor had to quiver with anticipation a little longer.

I picked it up again this morning and wrote one of the hottest love scenes I think I’ve ever written. It left me in a bit of a daze until I snapped myself out of it and kept keeping on. I’m not sure how many words I’ve written so far today, but I’m liking it. I think the WIP is coming along swimmingly.

I’m doing my best not to think about Ruby, out there in the cold, cruel world, but she pops in my head frequently as she’s a character in this story as well. I’m the kind of reader who loves to visit with old characters, find out how they’re doing, and how they fit in the writer’s world. I think there are a lot of us out there, so I intend to bring old characters back in this series.

How about you? Do you like to revisit with characters you’ve read about? Do you like them to play a pivotal role in the rest of the series? How about love scenes? Do you sometimes get lost when writing them and think ‘Darn, I’m scorching the pages!’?