1
Feb
We all love a good hero. The more alpha he is, the more we love him, usually.
I'm partial to them, and most (probably all) my heroes are alpha males. That doesn't mean they are identified as such from the first page. Some of them are sneaky blighters and hide that alpha streak rather well. So much so, one of my critique partners (who always try to sneak off with my heroes) told me point blank she won't be fobbed off with "the gay one".
Oh she has NO idea. He may appear very beta in the book she saw him in, but in his own… oh my. There would be no mistaking him for a beta male. Nor would anyone think he might be gay. 
(Not that there is anything wrong with a gay alpha male, but I don't write gay romance.)
My heroes always come across as strong. I have to work hard at it so they don't overpower the other males in the story, because they like to dominate too.
Oddly, there is one of them who refuses to be cowed into taking a backseat when he crops up as a supporting character. All my girls want him, every reader so far wants him and falls in love with him.
I don't know why. I just know I have to keep knocking him back, because he likes to take over.
He's a toughy, but he has a sense of humor, too.
I've given him some not-so-endearing qualities — he's a womanizer, arrogant, presumptous, pigheaded, holds a grudge like you wouldn't believe — and STILL they are all after him.
He's no mouse, that's for sure. When he's around, you know about it, you sit back and take notice.
But is it so bad to have a hero who is a mouse?
Can't there be some beta heroes?
Do women not like a beta?
We do. In fact, if those alpha males in our stories were real, we would hate them. Truly and absolutely hate them. We'd loathe every aspect of their personality and character, while the beta gets the girl.
Odd, isn't it? We fantasize about the ultimate tough guy — but if he came our way and actually noticed us (he's likely too preoccupied with himself), we'd run screaming in the other direction. Or straight into the arms of that beta we don't want in our stories.
In real life, we'd have an affair with an alpha, but we'd likely be in love with a beta.
So there's hope for all the beta guys out there. Yeah, your girl might drool over that alpha hero in her novel… but she wouldn't swap him for the real thing.
Maybe for a day.
God help any alpha male who runs into an alpha female. Their egos will most definitely clash. It'll either end in tears (his, most likely), bloodshed (his, most likely) or there will be a dead body at the end of it. (Yeah. His.).
It works well in a story, where you need conflict.
Real life?
Take it from someone who didn't put up with crap from an alpha male: Not so much.
I think he learned the concept of "I am woman, hear me roar" rather quickly — and the hard way.
It didn't last. We were both too stubborn and too set in our ways to compromise with someone so much like us.
Gimme someone I can compromise with, any day.
(I have the greatest guy already, but damn… I do miss the arguments sometimes!)
My conclusion?
Alphas make for great conflict-driven writing – but I wouldn't want to live with one.
