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.
30
Jan
Do you like Vampires? Demons? Werewolves?
I do. Well, I like the stories, not the monsters. I don't think I'd want to ever encounter a real vampire, or get bitten by a werewolf.
Kinda not my thing, the whole blood and pain deal.
Writing about it? Sure.
There is plenty of blood and gore in my books, my heroes get stabbed, shot, tortured… even killed. (Yes, I have been known to kill off the hero about 1/4 into the story…)
But it isn't always a bad guy doing the stabbing and shooting, it's not always a monster doing it, either. Sometimes it's an average Joe, who feels threatened enough to defend himself by any means possible.
When we speak of monsters, we inevitably picture Nosferatu, Frankenstein, or something like Predator. We never think of the man next door, who may be perfectly nice when we meet him in the street — but who secretly buries people alive in his back yard.
Sometimes human monsters are worse than supernatural ones.
Take Elizabeth Bathory for example.
Born in 1560 in Hungary, she managed to kill over six hundred girls in about thirty years. No one stopped her, until she made the mistake of killing noblewomen, rather than peasants.
People knew about this, but because the girls were peasants, no one did anything.
It wouldn't surprise me if those (of her own standing) who met her saw a very different woman to the murderous monster the peasant girls got to meet.
The human race definitely has its own monsters, and sometimes they are scarier than anything we can make up.
So next time you find yourself stuck for something to write, and reach for the werewolf or the vampire — consider turning that innocent looking elderly man next door into a monster.
Then ask yourself… What if?
28
Dec
I don't often donate to something.
Money is tight, after all.
However… I tripped onto Wikipedia today — as I do so often — to look something up.
There was a banner up top, and I clicked on it after I read up on what I needed to read up on.
I read the message there, and I was struck by how genuine it sounded. And then I thought "What if Wikipedia weren't here? What if it weren't free? What if every page were littered with ads?"
The first… I don't even want to consider it. Life without it would be a step backwards.
The second… I'd probably pay for access, but what about all the people who can't afford it? What about all the people who contributed to the wealth of knowledge on there? Wouldn't they feel cheated? Wouldn't they want to be paid to contribute, if Wikipedia charged people for access? Ergo… I hate that idea, because it would wreck Wikipedia.
The third… I'm very pleased to see at least one place on the web where I can be sure not to be hit in the face with some flash ad for whatever product might fit in with the subject search.
If you use Wikipedia, then consider making a donation. If you can't afford much, then give what you can. Let's keep it free for everyone. Let's keep the knowledge available to everyone.
I am proud to have helped a little bit. The button was added to the side, in an effort to promote their effort.
Please.
6
Oct
I am in planning mode.
On the 29th October I’ll be leaving for Boston, starting a 2 week trip through the eastern USA, visiting friends. There will be a lot of talk about books, writing, books, writing, writing… and writing… You get the idea.
I’ll be jetting around the country, from Boston all the way down to Dallas, with stops in Rhode Island, Alabama and North Carolina. Possibly Tennessee, but not sure yet. That one is up in the air, because well… the woman is kinda busy. 
And while I jet around, I’ll take notes. And photographs. And more notes. And pick up leaflets all over the place. Talk to people. If you own a restaurant in any of those places… prepare to lose a menu.
Before then, I have a hot date with Samhain. The publisher, I mean. I’m pitching my "Short" story on the 13th October — wish me luck.
Another day for the calendar is the 1st November, when the results from the Cleveland competition are due in. Cross your fingers for me, pretty please. I’d like to final, at least.
Of course, Halloween (Samhain) is coming up. I’ll be in the US for that, obviously. I wanted to see how it is celebrated there, since it isn’t really done here — and I write for the US market.
I’ll be asking people all kinds of weird questions while I’m there. Sorry Bill, I’m gonna get you drunk and grill you about prisons, and American Football. 
Which brings me to the reason I’m writing this.
I don’t do package holidays to the beach. Can’t stand them. I get bored.
Even when we went to Egypt — a beach holiday for me, and a surfing holiday for my better half — I didn’t stay on the beach.
No. Way.
I spotted a guy with horses for hire — and I was off. I trooped around places regular tourists don’t get to see. I had a guide who didn’t mind my asking him lots of questions about the area, Egypt in general, and local customs in particular.
I had a blast and came away with a wealth of knowledge I would never have aquired had I stayed on that beach.
The thing is, a lot of people don’t get the way I travel. They look at the hopping from one place to the next, stopovers and multiple plane changes… and think I must be insane. (They’d be partially right, but that’s another story.) Why would anyone go zigzagging across the country?
Why not? I will see a lot of things, experience a lot of things. There are nice people everywhere, and I don’t really mind going through an airport to change planes. I take it as an opportunity for research.
Where is the coffee bar? Is there a chapel? Where is it? Do I have to go to a different terminal, or is it all in one place? Which airlines are where? Rental car agencies? How are they situated? Where do you pick up the car? Are the check in desks upstairs or downstairs? Customs? Elevators or closed in lifts? Both? Where is the taxi rank? Restaurants? Shops?
I have a Moleskine for just this purpose, I just haven’t travelled any place since I got it.
It’s called an "Info Moleskine" and I plan to put it to good use in those two weeks.
There is nothing worse than coming home and trying to recall where you’ve been. I make quick sketches of areas, make notes of odd stuff I notice. People I meet. Food I ate (and what I paid, too). Distances I’ve travelled and what I saw along the way that stuck out to me. You name it, I’ll make a note. Maybe not detailed, but I will make a note.
Why?
Because to me, it’s research. I might want a character to fly (or transit) to Atlanta. Well, I’ve never been to Atlanta Airport. I don’t know where anything is. I’d have to make it up, or be incredibly vague.
Things like that annoy me. I don’t want to be vague. I hate it when I read a book and the author describes an area I know — and gets it totally wrong.
So when I travel through, I will make a note of what I see. I can use it later, even if it will only make a brief appearance. But at least it will be authentic.
So the next time you go somewhere, think about making some notes along the way. You never know when they will come in handy, and the more detailed they are, the more authentic the scene you write.
That little moleskine? It’ll be a record of a place in time and it should survive a while. Who knows, in a hundred years, someone might read it and go "Oh, so that’s what it was like!"
It’s a record of a time and place you’ve been to, and reading it over again in a few years time will bring back memories.
It’s worth taking the time — and do it longhand.