Showing posts with label hero. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hero. Show all posts

Thursday, 7 February 2013

Can A Heart Truly Break?


Welcome to the Heartbreaker Blog Hop. Leave a comment to qualify to win!
1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet
2nd Grand Prize: A $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Card
3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

(All prizes are international with the exception of the Swag Pack)

Can a heart truly “break”?
Physically, of course, it could break down and we might suffer a cardiac arrest. But that is not what we are referring to on this blog hop.
Why do we associate the misery of lost love, or unrequited love with the heart? After all it’s an organ of the body—albeit a vital one—nothing more.
Yet we would be judged odd if we talked about having our lungs broken, or our liver!

“What’s wrong with you?”
“My lover left me with a broken liver.”

(Come to think of it, men do sometimes refer to having another part of their male anatomy broken when things don’t go their way.)

Do we actually feel pain in this “heart-shaped” organ when love kicks us in the teeth? (Sorry!)
Actually, we do! Acute shock, or disappointment, triggers an adrenaline release in the body, which rushes to the heart. We want to fight the “heartbreak”, argue with the person jilting us, or flee, never to see the cad again.

Too much adrenaline can trigger palpitations, tachycardia, arrhythmia—all symptoms we “feel” in our heart.
It can also bring on headaches, but we don’t talk about having our heads broken!

If there was no such thing as a broken heart, romance authors would be in a bad way! If relationships were easy and worked out smoothly every time, I’d be out of a job!

But life isn’t like that, is it?

Nor was it, thank goodness, in medieval times, my favourite period to write about! In fact heartbreak was rampant then, when women had little choice or say in whom they married, and precious few rights.
But the nice thing about romance is that it is “happily ever after”, so we can mend our heroine’s broken heart with a stroke of the pen (or a tap of the keyboard).

Our heroes can be just plain chauvinists, like Ram de Montbryce, in Conquering Passion, and we can right that silliness by giving him a feisty heroine (Mabelle) who insists on voicing her opinions. He discovers he actually likes that about her and her broken heart is mended!


Sometimes it takes an enormous personal sacrifice to make a hero understand just how much a woman loves him. In Dance of Love, Farah leaves behind her most precious possession when she has to leave her hero. She knows it is necessary for him to resume his life as a warrior after he is stricken by a crippling affliction. Her actions eventually prompt him to pursue her and both are relieved of their broken heart!

My medieval heroes are heartbreakers, but not because they are “bad boys”. It’s just they can’t see the wood for the trees! They don’t mean to break the hearts of their heroines, they simply put other things ahead of love—things like honour, vengeance, fear of rejection.

It’s understandable really when you consider the times these men lived in. They often had to fight to protect what was theirs. It could be dangerous to let down one’s guard. Even within families treachery existed. But not in my medieval family. The Montbryces are intensely loyal to each other. And the men all suffer from the “Montbryce curse.” They are noblemen in love with their wives—supposedly an anomaly in the Middle Ages. It was not “manly” to show loving feelings, even for one’s spouse and/or children.

If you would like to qualify to win a free copy of one of my romances, leave a comment with your email address spelled out. Thanks for visiting the blog hop.

http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com/p/heartbreaker-hop.html

Thursday, 18 October 2012

How To Become an Alpha Male (You Will Laugh)

(Leave a comment to qualify to win a free draw for a copy of any one of the four Montbryce Legacy books-your choice PRINT USA/CAN; DIGITAL INTL). Three Grand prizes are also available. You as a reader can go to EACH blog listed below and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!
Now what are those prizes? 
1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet
2nd Grand Prize: A $130 Amazon or B&N Gift Card
3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack!*

First the Serious Stuff.
Romance authors are fond of referring to their heroes as alpha males as if the romance genre invented the term. In fact dominant males in the animal kingdom have always been referred to as alphas. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In social animals, the alpha is the individual in the community with the highest rank. Where one male and one female fulfill this role, they are referred to as the alpha pair. Other animals in the same social group may exhibit deference or other symbolic signs of respect particular to their species towards the alpha.

The alpha animals are the first to eat and the first to mate; among some species they are the only animals in the pack to mate. Other animals in the community are usually killed or ousted if they violate this rule. Animals tend to live in groups with a specific social order due to their natural tendency. The leader of the pack is called the alpha male; there may also be an alpha female depending on the species.

The alpha achieves its status by means of superior physical prowess, though it can also employ social efforts and build alliances. The individual in the alpha position usually changes when another challenges it to a fight and wins. In some species the fight may be to the death. Alphas may have to fight individuals in their own group several times to maintain their position throughout their lifetimes.
The Alpha Male symbol-
A popular modification of the Greek letter  
There's no doubt alpha male images help sell romance books

Chimpanzees show deference to the alpha of the community by ritualised gestures such as bowing, allowing the alpha to walk first in a procession, or standing aside when the alpha challenges.

Gorillas use intimidation to establish and maintain alpha position. A study conducted regarding the reproductive behavior of male mountain gorillas found further evidence that dominant males are favoured to bear offspring, even when there is a greater number of males in a notably enlarged group size.

Given the popularity of wolves in romance fiction, it’s interesting to make a few observations about alpha males in canines who show deference to the alpha pair in their pack by allowing them to be the first to eat and, usually, the only pair to mate. Canines use eye contact to maintain alpha position, but in order to establish their position they often have to show physical superiority, through playing or fighting. Modern knowledge of wolves dismisses the idea of alpha male in a pack, favoring the concept of breeder wolf, in the sense that in these animals the pack leader is simply the common parent, and its status is not obtained by fighting.

Now, the FUN stuff!
It would be interesting for an author to investigate whether one or more of his/her protagonists measure up to these characteristics. But much more fun would be to read about alpha males from a male perspective. The following article is from a blog about how to improve dating relationships and describes how to become an alpha male!

Please excuse the grammar and spelling errors. The writer evidently does not feel those skills are prerequisites of an alpha male! I apologize that in places it was beyond my self control not to comment! Take a deep breath and enjoy! 

Hey Mate,
As many of us have observed, getting women just comes naturally for a few guys. They seem to have been born with alpha male characteristics. Regardless that it is beyond aggravating for several, especially if you’ve don’t even been along with one woman, it will eventually also be a source of extreme insecurity when making the choice to take a bootcamp or improving your own alpha male characteristic. How to become an alpha male is extremely important to you.

After all, are we weaker men? Are we seriously lack of alpha male characteristic and we will never get it in the future? Of Course NOT! That is why we need to put effort into something on how to become an alpha male that is so important to us. Learning regarding alpha male characteristic is one of the most important investment of your time and money. Here are 10 different reason on why you must learn on how to become an alpha male:

1. End the Frustration
Most men who’ve come to this point in their life are far beyond fed up. A few of you going to explode. (Stand clear!) Not understanding attraction is a serious source of insecurity, depression, and resentment. All that negativity is not doing the individual any favors.

2. Gain Confidence
Having the ability to attract quality women gives us a massive feeling of power.(a line worth remembering for your next novel!) That’s a part of who we’re, and it makes us feel like a full man. This will build your confidence in yourself, and it is going to spill over (pardon the pun) into all areas of your own life. Of course, women like confidence, so your success of building up an alpha male characterisitc has continued benefits for yourself in your life.

3. A couple of Men Just Can’t Learned (only a couple?)
Several of us never learned what can we do to properly socialize. (Understatement of the year) This isn’t necessarily another reason to hate your parents; possibly they can’t learned how either. But we are social creatures and have social needs. Will not sit around dwelling on how unfair that is that others learned this stuff growing up by observing their parents—get out there and do something to close the gaps.

4. Your Methods Can’t Work
Maybe a number of the material pickup artists use seems corny. Possibly you think it would possibly not even work. Maybe you simply feel insecure for the reason that other guys will not need this stuff. Who cares? What you’re doing isn’t working. Einstein once defined insanity as “doing the identical thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Yeah, I learn you might have heard that quote a million times—so why aren’t you listening? (He actually quotes Einstein!)

5. Men Are at a Disadvantage (LOL)
Women spend a huge chunk of their lives talking on the subject of love and sex. Men, meanwhile, brag on the subject of how they are likely to go to the bar and get laid but afterward stand around clutching their beer. By learning more about what women want and opening up the lines of communication between other men, we can close the gap.

6. One and all Can Do Better (No comment!)
Not you are the only one who learning on how to become an alpha male. Even the best players in the world have room to improve. Everyone can get better, and seasoned pickup artists are constantly adding to their game. The guys who’re natural on alpha male characteristic have been practicing their whole lives; they just can’t realize it.

7. Have the Power
Maybe you do fine with women. You go out on a regular basis and always take someone home. You might have had several solid relationships and have girls you’ll be able to call on a whim. But be honest along with yourself—did you go for them or did they go for you? There’s a big difference between having women to sleep together with and having the choice to sleep together with the women you want.(?)

8. Will not Settle
Most relationships start for the reason that a guy finally found someone to sleep with him and it evolved into a long-term thing. He frequently finds himself looking at other women, not just in prefer but wishing he could have them instead. With the correct and power skills, you are able to have the most beautiful, gifted woman achievable. To settle for something you are not happy together with is not fair to you or the woman you spend your life along with.

9. Even Women Think it is a Proper Theory! (What about Odd Women?)
A massive number of women have found out the seduction community as it hits the mainstream. Many have read The Game and browsed the most renowned forums.(Anybody know the links for these?) As they get a sense of what that’s really concerning, most show support and say all guys should figure out this stuff, for the reason that nearly all of us are just clueless when it comes to love and sex.

10. Your Life WILL Improve
The top part about learning this material is by focusing on being better with women you’re certainly focusing on being a better person. The qualities women wish in men are not negative, regardless of the typical “women like jerks” myth.
Your habits will improve.
Your own appearance will improve.
Your own friends will improve.
You can become a more well-rounded person.
That’s astounding what this stuff does for your own life.

Your reasons for deciding to change this source of frustration and build up alpha male characteristic that can attract many pretty girls or possibly just build on what you already have is really up to you. Only you understand what is finest for your life. Only you learn if you are unhappy along with your current situation. But the fact of the matter is that regardless of what your motivations are for trying a new approach to your own love life, this material will have significant benefits, not only on how to become an alpha male.

If there’s a crisis, this is a enormous solution. If there isn’t a problem, you are able to improve. It is in fact a win-win situation.

(Seriously, I DID NOT make this up! The genius who wrote this even has a link to "The Lazy Man’s Way To Easy Sex and Romance!").
Here's a graphic from another site. I love #7!
From another website
*Please note 3rd Prize is not available internationally.
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