We are happy to have Avery Flynn at Smexy today, to celebrate the release of the third book in her Layton Family series, Passion Creek.
Alpha, Abs and Attitude by Avery Flynn
Picture the moment. I’m in yoga pants and a tank top. I haven’t slept more than four hours at a shot or shaved my legs in about a week. I’m living on coffee and adrenaline because I am under the gun to finish a story before the a deadline drops on me like an anvil and I need an copy editor STAT.
(I know, you’re already amazed at my glamorous life.)
Right before I can drown by stress and sorrows in a packet of double stuff Oreos, the fabulous Mr. Flynn comes to my rescue with the offer to proof my story so I can hit submit. These are the times when I totally forget that he never makes the bed. He gets about two chapters in before he bursts out with: Why always these alpha guys?
Why indeed. (Should I mention now that the fabulous Mr. Flynn is himself an alpha?)
The short answer is confidence. An alpha knows what he wants and he’s willing to fight to get it. Megalomaniacal cult leader intent on taking over the world? No worries. Gold digging mean girls trying to submarine his love? He’ll dispatch them without thought. Stalkers, mad killers and demons from another dimension? Easy targets. (Are you shivering with anticipation yet?)
Alpha heroes come in all forms. There’s the cocky alpha hero, like Jake Warrick in Temptation Creek. Or you can have the All-American righter-of-wrongs alpha hero, like Hank Layton in Seduction Creek. Then there’s the Adam Cartwright strong-and-silent alpha hero, like Sam Layton in Passion Creek. They’re all divine and enough to annoy and enrapture their heroines.
But there’s more to it than that. There’s six pack abs. :) Ha, I’m kidding. The abs don’t hurt but they don’t make an alpha so delicious. Here’s my handy guide to see if the hero your reading is an alpha hero.
1. If he looks like a bad boy but has a heart of gold, he might be an alpha hero.
2. If he drives a motorcycle, truck or muscle car that he restored himself, he might be an alpha hero.
3. If he has ever rescued a bag of drowning kittens, runaway train full of orphans or the heroine from a nutjob stalker, he might be an alpha hero.
4. If he’s ever saved the world from domination by an evil villain, he might be an alpha hero.
5. If he has a tragic past that leaves him with a vulnerable under belly, he might be an alpha hero.
6. If he has a stubborn streak as wide as the Pacific Ocean, he might be an alpha hero.
7. If he does the right thing even if it’s the hard thing, he might be an alpha hero.
8. If he is willing to sacrifice himself to save those he loves, he might be an alpha hero.
9. If he’s smart, savvy and a leader among his peers, he might be an alpha hero.
10. If he meets the heroine and she thinks he’s the most frustrating, pig-headed man she’s ever met, yet her knees turn to jelly every time she sees him, he might be an alpha hero.
How about you? What qualities are on your alpha hero cheat sheet?
Answer Avery’s question, and be entered to win your choice in one of her three e-books in her Layton Family series. Open through September 19.
For more information about Avery Flynn, check out her website.
Thanks so much for having me over here today. Also, all those typos. Jeeze. I think I should have called in the fab Mr. Flynn for a quick read before I hit send. :)
I dunno… some of those traits sound like they could belong to beta heroes with beer bellies, too! But I love all those traits in a hero, no matter where on the alpha/beta line they fall. Nice post, typeos and all!
Don’t even talk to me about beer bellies. :)
How about fights the villain to the death and dispatches him with his claymore? Wears a kilt? Steals the heroine’s heart with his stubborn pride and determination to win her?
I could go on, but you get the idea. No motor vehicles required!
I swoon at every book cover with a pair of strong thighs and a kilt. Yum!
I agree with your list! Especially #1 & #10! Annnnd a six-pack of abs doesn’t hurt! Some of my fave book alphas are Bones from Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series, and Barron’s from KMM’s Fever series.
I am such a sucker for a bad boy. Glad to know I’m not alone. :)
Oh, great list! And, according the number 6, I am the biggest Alpha hero ever :)
I love you so I won’t comment on that. *stage whisper* It’s totally true.
Love #10. I want my hero to be frustrated, clueless, but still melt when I enter the room. *sigh* so totally not real, but hey, this is fantasy, right?
*raises fist to the air* Let’s hear it for the fantasy. :)
Love this! I’m all for #5 and #7. But I’m a sucker for the troubled bad boys that always do the right thing–and it usually gets them in trouble. Jason Bourne, perhaps? Does the right thing and then is hunted by his country.
Oh, and abs always make everything better.
“Abs always make everything better.” That should be a T-shirt.
The alpha hero’s I like best have caveman type qualities & growl a lot ;)
Growling, eh? :)
I’m all about the possessive and protective types:)
yadkny@hotmail.com
In books if not in real life, I’m with you there.
I want him to be strong. Protective without a doubt. He can be a nerd, a dork, a man’s man as long as he acts down to earth. But he’s also got to have that other side to him, the side that comes out when the two of us are alone, the side that say’s ‘do whatever you want to me, I can take it’.
Oh, I am totally hot for that guy. I want him right now.
Congrats on the book! He’d be possessive and protective.
Thanks so much!
Thanks for a great post!!!!! Congrats on the new release! You are on the top of my wishlist :)
I’d have to say mine is your #10. Anytime the heroine is like “grrrr!” to the guy at first meeting… I’m all yup… alpha! :)
Thanks for the fun post. He needs to be protective, possessive, sexy, dominant, and would do anything for the people he loves.
Congrats on the new release. It sounds fantastic. Can’t wait to read it.
I love all the traits you have listed. Sounds like my kind of man. Thanks for the giveaway. Please enter me.