Jayne Ponders Vampires and Werewolves

The classic Alpha Male has always been at the heart of the romance novel. This is the powerful, self-contained, deeply honorable hero who is also dangerous, emotionally reserved, enigmatic and hard-headed. Beauty and the Beast is the core romance story and a good hero always has a bit of the beast in him.

In recent years a lot of writers have softened up the Alphas in contemporaries and historicals because they came to be perceived as politically incorrect. Let's face it, they don't always come across as sensitive, modern guys and that bothers some writers, readers and editors. (Historical footnote here: Prior to the early 1990s nobody worried too much about Alphas. They were simply considered to be classic romance heroes).

The hero's most important job in any romance is to present a suitable challenge for the heroine. Just as James Bond requires a super villain -- not some fumbling, low-rent bank robber -- a really good heroine requires a hero who is worthy of her. He must be her equal in terms of courage, honor, determination and sheer stubbornness. He must be capable of love.

He must also be perceived to be at least somewhat dangerous. Although, in the end, a true Alpha hero always proves to be a good guy -- not a genuine threat to the heroine -- the story is usually a lot more interesting if we don't know that for certain up front. Readers like to discover the Alpha's underlying heroic qualities along with the heroine. They like the adventure.

Naturally, if our Alpha doesn't turn out to be a real hero in every sense of the word -- the take-charge guy who is willing to risk his life to protect those for whom he feels responsible; the man whose code of honor makes it impossible for him to hurt anyone weaker than himself; a man who respects the heroine as his equal -- he fails as a hero. The heroine would never accept him.

Although they are less common now in contemporaries and historicals, Alphas are vital to the soul of the romance novel. And you can't keep good Alphas down for long. In recent years they have been reinvented big time in one of the romance genre's many sub-genres: The paranormal.

The new Alphas have emerged as the vampire/werewolf heroes. And they are hot. Yes, indeed, we're back to heroes who pursue the heroines with a single-minded focus that would look suspiciously obsessive in a contemporary or historical romance. Think about it folks: It would be weird if the hero of a contemporary or historical romance arrogantly declared that the heroine was his chosen mate and had no choice but to marry him, right? But it happens all the time in the vampire/werewolf stories. By the way, we used to call those "forced/arranged marriage" stories back when they were popular in historicals and contemporaries.

And a hero who sinks his teeth into the heroine and sucks her blood in order to "transform her"? You're going to tell me you don't know what that action really symbolizes? Of course you do.

In the fantasy realm of the paranormal the Alpha no longer has to be disguised or camouflaged. He is the leader of the pack. Dangerous. Exciting. Deliciously challenging. But underneath the surface of the story nothing has really changed. He still has to prove himself a hero to the heroine before she will accept him as her mate.

Got a favorite Alpha Male hero? Or do you go for Beta types?

Love,
Jayne