A Fascination with Alphas

by Camela Thompson

I find alphas interesting, but I feel the male alpha has been overplayed, particularly in Paranormal Romance and Erotica. Is there room for more? Of course. People obviously eat it up. But in my opinion, there are times when the alpha male goes so far that the line of consent is blurred and I end up with a very uncomfortable reading experience. It's not my thing. I'll spare you the twenty page rant because stories shouldn't be censored even if I don't agree with them. And it's cool if you enjoy them especially because it's fiction. 

What I have been enjoying lately is the alpha female. She's hard to find, but she exists!

I've been binge reading the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Biggs. I love that our good-hearted and sometimes martyr-like heroine kicks major butt and no longer needs to be rescued by the time the rescue committee shows up. Love it! And I have a soft spot in my heart for women who are bossy. I have no idea why that would be... She is alpha in the most literal of senses, and I dig it.

Another interesting find was Bitten in the Otherworld series. I had some issues with the book, although I liked it overall. Then I stumbled onto the Syfy television series. Bitten has the high quality CGI that one should expect with a Syfy series. I realize sarcasm doesn't work well in the written word so I'll explain that these wolves are amongst the most anatomically incorrect creatures I've seen. The legs are just odd. The gait from the side view is wrong. The acting wasn't stellar. But I watched season one in a weekend.

I think I'm fascinated with the series for a few reasons.

1. The existence of an alpha female - even if she is a very reluctant participant in the "Otherworld."
2. I liked the book enough to see how true they were to it in the series. I've found season one to have differences in the right place. Some of the choices the writers made improved my ability to like the main character.
3. Man nipple galore! In this world, all werewolves are male because women don't survive transition (except our heroine). This means that the majority of nudity skews towards men. This never happens! It's such a novelty that I've taken to throwing my hands in the air and yelling, "Nipple shot!" every time. So far my husband is still very entertained. We'll see if that holds.
4. A tangled web of lies were constructed for the "greater good." It's messed up when people lie for someone else's benefit (at least in their mind - typically it's still selfish), and I enjoy watching the house of cards fall. I'm twisted like that.

In lieu of Nipple Shot, I give you arm porn.

If one were to create a Bitten drinking game based on nipple shots and man booty, one would die. Plus it's horribly immature and possibly sexist. I'm a hypocrite. But I can't stop watching the drivel.

This month promises to be challenging. I've got a healthy work schedule and I'd like to get book three of The Hunted to the editor. My wonderful beta readers have been providing great feedback, so it's time to cut back on all of the reading I've been doing. Which is a shame, because my Goodreads list has gotten a much needed boost.

What I do plan to make time for is The Revenant. Fortunately I've already figured out that there will be no actual revenants featured in this film. That would have been a major let down. Maybe there's a remake in the future....

Do you have any alpha female reads or shows you'd recommend?