For The Love of Reading: FORGED IN FIRE - GUEST BLOG : A SEXY ALPHA HERO & GIVEAWAY!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

FORGED IN FIRE - GUEST BLOG : A SEXY ALPHA HERO & GIVEAWAY!

Welcome to the third stop on you Forged In Fire Virtual Tour!

I have a treat for you! A Guest Blog by Trish McCallan, and on a topic that one rarely has any objections to!

Don't forget to read the Review below, it entails 1st Chapter excerpt, and participate in the international Giveaway!

A SEXY ALPHA HERO

The alpha hero has been a staple of romantic fiction for as long as I’ve been reading it. Sure, he’s gone through several reimaginings—back in the 80s during historical romances glory days, he often crossed that thin line into domineering and cruel. He’s evolved since then though, stepped out of his cave, shed his brutish propensities and took on a cloak of civility.

But what makes these alpha heroes so sexy? So sought after in romantic fiction?

Part of their appeal is their complete and absolute confidence. There is something incredibly sexy about a confident man. Their self confidence is a subtle thing. It’s the way they carry themselves, the set of their shoulders, and the lift to their head. It isn’t a matter of bragging, or wearing a front. Their self-confidence isn’t something they even think about. It’s simply part of their inherent make-up. They don’t question themselves; they simply know that they are capable of handling whatever life might throw at them.

Which brings up another reason alpha heroes are so appealing. They are supremely capable. No matter what the circumstances, no matter the odds, they’re capable of handling the situation. A terrorists’ cell with twenty tangos carrying sub-machine guns? No problem, our heroes will rescue the hostages and kick some terrorist butt while he’s at it. What if the family van breaks down in the Nevada Desert mid-afternoon in the middle of a heat-wave? No problem, our hero would fix that blown radiator hose with some duct tape and a ball point pen, and get his family back on the road before the temperature climbs past seventy in the car. You’d never have to worry with an alpha hero by your side. The alpha hero is capable of dealing with whatever goes wrong, and correcting the matter in record time.

They also know exactly what they want, they strategize, they implement and they succeed. Be it a woman, a job, or a mission—the alpha hero knows what he wants, he knows what needs to be done, and he single mindedly accomplishes his goal. He’ll do whatever it takes, implement whatever measures are necessary, but in the end he will prevail. He’s incapable of anything less.

Another trait I find extremely sexy about such men is their protectiveness. The alpha hero is inherently protective. Not just of his family, but of those weaker than him. This is another embedded trait in his visceral make-up. He doesn’t think about it, he simply steps between his charges and danger. He’ll put his life on the line, throw himself into hell, and face impossible odds to protect those unable to protect themselves. When you mix love with this protectiveness, you get a dynamite combination. This is a man who will give his life without hesitation or regret for those he loves. There is nothing sexier than that!

Loyalty. The alpha hero is completely and utterly loyal: to his friends, to his family, to his mate. He doesn’t stray. He has no interest in other women. Once he’s committed to something, he is fully and completely committed. No matter how rough the road gets, you never have to worry about an alpha hero abandoning you. They are in it for the long haul. They are with you forever.

These are the traits that make the alpha hero so appealing to me. What makes him appealing to you?

"Beth Brown doesn’t believe in premonitions until she dreams a sexy stranger is gunned down during the brutal hijacking of a commercial airliner. When events in her dream start coming true, she heads to the flight’s departure gate. To her shock, she recognizes the man she’d watched die the night before."

Author: Trish McCallan
Pages: 218 pages / 950KB
Publisher: Self-published
Published: September, 2011
Form: E-book
Series: The Forged Series #1
Genre: Romantic Suspense / Paranormal Romance
Amazon (Kindle): Buy / $5.74
Barnes&Noble (Nook): Buy / $2.99

Excerpt: 1st Chapter

Zane Winters, and his two fellow elite SEALs Rawls and Cosky are on their way to a friend's wedding in Hawaii, being on leave isn't easy and Zane can't shake the feeling of foreboding. But a playful bunch sets off his psychic visions, he gets two quick flashes, his partners, dead, in the plane. And to top that few minutes later he sees her, a woman who's magnetic pull ignites everything territorial and possessive in him - his brothers and father have found their soul mates the same way and now... here she is, his.

Beth Brown isn't going to Hawaii, but here she is anyway, events of her dream have started coming true, but the most disturbing, a plane full of people slaughtered by hijackers she can’t just sit and wait to see if it happens... she has come to the gate to see if she recognizes any people from her dream. And suddenly there they are, the three big guys. Suddenly the dream is true, and she has to find a way to stop it.

Beth decides to try and convince the three men to hear her as she heard other call Winters a Lieutenant in her dream, hoping they are military. And Winters convinces her that they should play lovers to not attract attention of the hijackers, but Beth feels there's bit more to his touches and embraces than just acting.

❝I’ve been watching you. You’ve been watching me. They’ll think we had a lovers’ quarrel and now we’re making up.” He pulled her closer.

With a startled gasp, she started to pull back, but caught herself and relaxed against him.

He took another long sweep of the terminal. Loverboy glared at him from across the room. Zane tightened his arm around her waist and snarled back. Time to show the little prick just who had the right-of-way.

“Put your arms around my neck.”

Her eyes were huge, cheeks flooded with pink, but she lifted her arms and slid them around his neck. They burned like a collar of fire.

Jesus…she was so soft against him. Perfect.

He could feel her nipples poking against his chest.

Satisfaction speared him—finally, she was reacting to him. He could build on that, fan the chemistry into something stronger, something enduring. Women were wired differently than men. They equated sex with love. He could use that. Drown her in sensuality, leapfrog a couple of steps, and tie her to him.

Threading his fingers through the soft cloud of hair at the base of her skull, he cupped the back of her head and tilted her face up. As he bent, he got his first whiff of her. She smelled like strawberries. He froze, drawing that fresh, sweet scent into his lungs.

His gut clenched. And with a muffled groan, he took her mouth.❞

Before you can spell SEALs things get out of hand and time is against them as they have to a way to protect Beth's dream from getting her in jail, fight to try and get a step ahead of the hijackers, and find out just who they can trust and who is compromised, and it all becomes more dangerous when they realize this is about something much more sinister than just hijacking a plane, there is an agenda and they've yet to discover what the hell it is.

I loved this book! McCallan's writing is fast-pace and exciting, you don't want to skip any of it! She built a story world that you can see very clearly as you read, with compelling villains, torn victims and sexy SEALs and not forgetting the main couple - I love books where the man knows exactly what he wants and isn't afraid to be little scheming to get it, especially when it's a woman. Zane was all this! He's hot, seductive, possessive and yet so genuine with his desire to be with her for the rest of his life. I loved that Beth wasn’t the dumb woman getting in the way of people who know how to do their job, she had her own strengths and Zane had his, she didn’t go busting in anywhere and getting herself in trouble for the hero to save – I loved that! Go smart girls!

The story flows so easy, you want to keep reading, and even when the POV goes to the villains from Beth and Zane you don't want to miss it. As multiple POV, this book is a success, I especially loved Mac's POV even though he despised women he still did the most heroic thing in my book, in this book when he took out "the driver" ( you'll know what I mean after you read the book ).

I could easily keep gushing how great this book was and what little things I loved, what scenes and what moments were superb, but that would ruin the book for you so I won't, but just know that there were all those things! Oh... I cannot forget to mention Cosky's mom, loved her and her book habits!

This book is perfect for readers of romantic suspense, good old suspense and those who like their books to have a little twist of supernatural, in this book it’s the visions and a connection between two people that goes beyond intuition. As I mainly read Paranormal Romance, this was still just my kind of book, filled with action, thrills and romance, this one I will definitely go back to when I want a sexy thrill ride with a trio of hot SEALs!

I highly recommend this! Get a copy, it's so worth it! ( and don't forget to participate on the Giveaway below! ) Next book Forged in Ice will be out early next year!

Rating :

Forged in Fire Giveaway!

Leave a comment and then come back to click "I DID THIS!" and leave your contact information on the Rafflecopter.
Open Sat. 15th ( in 12:01 am in EST ) - Tue. 25th of November!
The winner will be announced ( appropriately on Niina's nameday;) ) Nov. 26th!