Introducing the BEPHA Hero

By Alyssa J. Montgomery

Yes, you heard me! As both a romance author and a speech pathologist, I've decided to coin a new term - the Bepha Hero! It might be scorned and I don't expect it to be adopted, but let's look at it anyway!

To see how I come up with this, let's first look at the traditional heroes, working our way through to Alpha
  
                                                           

1. The Beta Hero
This guy is often open, friendly, sensitive, more mild-mannered than the alpha, more inclined to open up about his vulnerabilities. He can be confident and secure, is generally respectful and very nice - but not a wimp. He's the type of guy you'd take home to meet Mum and Dad. He's Lord Ian Mackenzie in Jennifer Ashley's "The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie" or Robert Carroway in Suzanne Enoch's "England's Perfect Hero".

2. The Delta Hero
These guys are dark and dangerous, often loners and may have outlaw status. Generally not common in romance novels.

3. The Theta Hero
I'd never heard of this until I researched for this article! These are said to be wounded to the point of self-destruction eg. through substance abuse.

4. The Alpha Hero - Traditionally
Typically the alpha hero is a domineering man who could also be a bit of a tyrant. He's a leader who always ends up as the boss because he likes to be in control - a type of my-way-or-the-highway character. He can be cold, possessive and jealous and can lack sentimentality. 

J.R. Ward has written plenty of Alpha Heroes and I've loved them all.

Jacki Ashendon on the "Heroes and Heartbreakers" blog says that while there is some overlap, she identifies six different types of Alpha heroes:

- The playboy (sexy and charming and always great in bed)
- The wounded alpha (grumpy and sulry)
- The bad boy (a rebel who may or may not be redeemable)
- The a-whole (jerk)
- The alpha in disguise (quiet and more laid back)
- The uptight alpha (has rules and has to follow them)

Sarah Wendell from "Smart Bitches" says that the Alpha hero has evolved from 'asshole...autocratic chest-pounders with a tendency toward rape or forced seduction.' She calls them 'alphole heroes' and says they are 'too assertive without humility or honour'. Sarah goes on to say that the alpha hero has transformed.

The problem I see with redefining the Alpha Hero is that there are still books printed and adored by readers where we have the traditionally dominating Alpha male.Therefore, I think we need a new term.

5. The Gamma Hero
My research hasn't led me to any clear definition and there seem to be conflicting views as to who this Gamma Hero is. Some say he's a combination of alpha and beta (and this may negate my claim for the BEPHA hero). These say that he is super strong and aggressive but not arrogant, that he cares about others, and he usually has a bad reputation that isn't deserved.
The other description I've read of the Gamma Hero is that he's indifferent and never possessive of the heroine and can be cold.

Hm - definitely not my BEPHA hero.


THE BEPHA HERO
This month, in my novel SEDUCED BY THE STRANGER, my hero, Max Bennett is, I believe a BEPHA Hero. Now, here's why - he has both alpha and beta qualities.


1.He's a leader and likes to be in control BUT  he works well with his friends & can delegate responsibility
2. He's a self-made billionaire and has been a success in his own right, BUT he's teamed up with two friends in business (in fact that's how they all made their initial millions).  
3. He is capable of totally taking charge of the situation BUT can re-evaluate and consider things from the heroine's POV & adapt before she even points out that he needs to
4. He can be very jealous BUT controls his jealousy & is evolved enough to know physical violence isn't acceptable toward anyone. So, while he may feel inclined to punch some creep who gets too friendly with his lady, he is NEVER violent. He is more than capable of taking control of the situation without using his fists.
5. He wants the heroine & wants her now  BUT controls himself to let things progress at her pace & level of comfort
6. He keeps information from the heroine in 'her own interest' and doesn't involve her in that decision (a bit alpha of him!)
7. He takes action to 'protect' the heroine's interest and presents his actions as a fait accompli (very alpha of him!)
8. He's not afraid to show his sensitive side to the heroine BUT is aware he doesn't want to look too emotional, especially in front of others
9. He confides to his friends how he feels
10. He can apologise and admit his mistakes
11. He's only friendly to a point and certainly doesn't make his employees his friends

What do you think? Do we need a new term and is Max Bennett a BEPHA male? Or with the way I describe him do you define him as definitely being an alpha or a beta?

Love to Love: Bepha males!

Love to Laugh: Have had many laughs over this term as I've written this tongue-in-cheek.

Love to Learn: Had no idea before researching for this blog that Delta and Theta Heroes existed!

Blurbs - Hook Your Reader

by Enisa Haines

You've completed your novel and now it's time to write the back book cover blurb. Those 150-200 words on the back of the book that grab a reader's attention, intriguing them and enticing them to buy.

How do you write the blurb? In an earlier post author Marilyn Forsyth described the many ways (The Blurb - Make it Count!) and what I learned is that it's not a shorter version of the synopsis as I'd somehow convinced myself. The blurb is a teaser mentioning the setting, the main characters, the conflict and a glimpse of the plot. Most important of all are the tagline, the hook that snags your reader, and the last statement, the hook that leaves the reader yearning for more.

The back book cover blurb to Under Currents by Nora Roberts -
"The perfect facade can hide dark undercurrents" - gives a sinister feel and readers know immediately the story is romantic suspense.

The back cover book blurb final statement to Marry in Secret by Anne Gracie - "But Rose never did follow the rules, and as she takes matters into her own unpredictable hands, Thomas finds himself in an unexpected and infuriating predicament: he is falling in love with his wife..." - tempts readers into immersing themselves in a sweet, romantic tale that promises a happy ending.










How to perfect the tagline? The last statement? Think about your story. What is it's selling point? Is it the main characters, or the plot point that sends them on their journey and pits them against each other? Know the answers to these questions and what to include in the blurb will be clearer.

Do blurbs catch your attention? Do they convince you to buy? Are there any blurbs so memorable you'd like to share? 

Love to love: impulse buys when a blurb reels me in.

Love to laugh: at some of the blurbs I've written - mediocre at best (that's laugh after a good, long cry!)

Love to learn: how to write the perfect blurb.

Magic In The Garden

Maya Linnell grew up in a small country town, climbing towering gum trees and reading her

way through her family's bookshelves before discovering a never-ending supply of novels at
the local library. She found her feet in journalism, working at a rural newspaper before
segueing into public relations and now fiction writing and blogging for Romance Writers
Australia. Wildflower Ridge is her debut novel and gathers inspiration from her rural
upbringing and the small communities she has always lived in and loved. Maya currently
lives in rural Victoria with her husband and three children.

Welcome, Maya!

Gardening is one of my favourite hobbies, and although my love of all things floral has waxed and waned with the many moons of my life, I’ve always found solace in digging and
planting, nurturing and harvesting.

As a child, I remember begging my green-thumbed mother to buy a rose of my own, and when I wasn’t climbing trees, I was eating fruit straight from their heavily-laden limbs. If I
close my eyes, it’s easy to picture myself in the garden as a teenager, tending to a plot directly underneath an old windmill that creaked and whirred in the breeze. Training snow peas to grow up a trellis became a welcome respite from the stress and study pressures of high school, but it wasn’t until I moved out of home and started putting my stamp on gardens of my own that I ever considered myself a green thumb.

I’ll never claim to be an expert gardener - I’ve had bare, ugly patches, weeds and failures in every garden I’ve ever tended – but boy, do I love planting things and watching them grow.

My yard is full of cuttings from friends and family who happily supplied bulbs, seeds and cuttings to help develop the rural property we purchased in 2014. Their donations formed the framework of our home before the concrete house slab was even poured. I often think of these friends as I tend to my irises from Fiona, Marilyn and Lesa, geraniums from Emma and Mum, my very first dahlia bulbs from Mr Ellis and strawberries from my mother’s best friend, Diane. Oh, those sweet strawberries. Each year the plants die off to nothing, their leaves turning crunchy and brown, like poisoned weeds. They return without fail each summer, their juicy, plump blessings reminding me of a very special lady; the most enthusiastic garden I’ve ever known. Diane always sent visitors home with ice-cream
containers full of strawberries, bags of fresh fruit and veggies, as many cuttings as they wanted for their own garden, with a carton or two of eggs for good measure. She passed away two years ago, but I remember her in every strawberry that comes from our patch.


After a busy day, my garden’s tranquillity beckons me, reminding me it’s okay to slow down and take stock. There’s inspiration in every plant that survives our salty coastal winds and thrives in our poor sandy soil, a lesson in resilience in every stubborn weed that spreads like wildfire if given a chance (rocket – I’m looking at you), and a sprinkle of magic in every wrinkly brown tuber that transforms into a magnificent dahlia flower, year in, year out.

Without even realising it, I manage to thread flowers and gardens into my writing. Wildflower Ridge (released June 3 this year with Allen and Unwin) takes its name from a location that’s very special to my main character, Penny, and the McIntyre family. I love the way gardens not only shape memories and moments but bring us busy, highly-technical and fast-paced 21st century people closer to nature.

Just like my own upbringing, my children have grown up watching my husband and I grow all manner of things, helping plant out seedlings, collecting posies of flowers for the kitchen table, picking handfuls of herbs for pizza nights and eating sun-kissed apricots straight from the tree. And I’d like to think that in years to come, they’ll also discover the magic of working outside amongst the birds, the bugs, the plants and the sunshine, and find a hefty dose of happiness and healing with every handful of soil that runs through their fingers.

I love to love… food. Baking is one of my other main hobbies, with my all-time favourites
including chocolate self-saucing pudding, ANZAC biscuits, pavlova and pineapple sponge
cake.

I love to laugh… at Friends. The kids have recently discovered my old fav TV show, which
had me in stitches all throughout high school, and still makes me laugh today.

I love to learn… about new authors and other women who go after their dreams without
fear. Being surrounded by inspirational people is uplifting and good for the soul.

How about you? Do you love gardening? What are some of your favourite hobbies?

Wildflower Ridge is available on Booktopia or Angus and Robertson

Follow Maya online
Website www.mayalinnell.com
Instagram @maya.linnell.writes 
Facebook  maya.linnell.writes
Twitter @maya_linnell