ALPHA VS BETA MALE

This is really a companion to my "bad boy" blog. Bad boys are always Alpha males, and we know all about them. They are at the heart of most romances

So what then, are Beta Males? The Urban Dictionary is not kind to Beta males, giving this definition:

An unremarkable, careful man who avoids risk and confrontation. Beta males lack the physical presence, charisma and confidence of the Alpha male.

Others are kinder, calling a Beta male collaborative, supportive and emotionally sensitive, possibly the next in line to the Alpha male in a pack, or a "wing man."

Yet Betas have a place in Romance, too.

They are intelligent, giving and balanced. Sexy but nurturing too.

It would be a mistake to think too black and white about these roles, that one is strong and one is weak.

They both have weaknesses and strengths.

It may be true that Alpha can be too domineering, while beta may forget to fight for what they want. Anything in extremes can magnify their flaws, as well as their qualities.

Beta or Alpha, they are always great heroes in romance.

Have fun writing them. And tell me what you think, Alpha or Beta?

Craving the 'bad boy'?

Not very original I am afraid. This is an age old question women have been faced with, probably since cavemen, when we were clubbed over the head and dragged back to a lair.

Is it biology? Some think it is. That those bad boys, those hard to pin down, hard to hold on to, men that drive us crazy( insane and in lust) are testosterone laden magnets for us, and we women are bio-hardwired to crave those hormones. We could no more stay away from this chemical catnip (meow!) than we could stay away from chocolate after a hard day.

So, perhaps it really isn't our fault.

Except that these oh-so-bad boys, aren't the best partners, usually. We find them sometimes in our friend's beds, tom catting around, out with the boys every night of the week, or otherwise being unreliable. That chase we loved, is the chase we have to keep making to keep them in our lives. If they stick around at all!

My story, Demon of Desire, is a paranormal romance about the ultimate bad boy --a demon. He may be just what my heroine Sarah needs. Because we all know what makes that bad boy so irresistible is that very bad (as in hot!) sex.

Is he able to give her what she wants?

Should she even care?

The question is, do you care? Do you crave the bad boy too? What is your best bad boy story?
Who was the one you couldn't stay away from, even if you should have?

Mine I will call *Joe*. Joe was six feet of man, mixed race and exotic. I don't know what he did for a living. He eventually told me more than one story, but I guess at this point I wonder if it was anything legal. He was an ex-football player and possible bounty hunter. He showed up to my house with a bullet proof vest, and rather vague stories. I should have run then. But when I was in his arms, I thought that was I was put on this Earth for. To be in his arms. As his stories got wilder and wilder, (he told me at one point he was working for the government in some covert way) I was chasing him like a carrot on a string, always out of my reach. He showed up on my door when he wanted, and left when he wanted. Which drove me crazy, having someone but not really having them. It got to the point I wonder if I would have stepped over bodies to get to him. Sounds terrible to say, and I am being somewhat facetious, but that was how hooked I was on him. Hooked on the sex, and the chase. I saw all the signs and ignored them all. I let him lie to me, because the alternative was to call him on it and have him leave. But that was eventually what I did, and what he did.

I was younger then, although old enough to know better. That's an extreme example, but the point is, that bad boys, like too much chocolate, are not always good for us. But they give us something we crave. Excitement, challenge, passion...They're wild and they play by their own rules. They can teach us something. And some are even redeemable.

Let me know your own feelings, or stories, on bad boys!