Bad Wolf - Shannon West

 Happy Release Day, Shannon West!

When Connor goes out for the evening, he thinks it’s just going to be another boring Saturday night. And then the fireworks start. An out of control pickup runs a red light, striking Connor’s car and causing a three car pile-up. When Connor rushes to rescue an unconscious driver, he’s surprised to find his blood match and even more shocked when his friend Rayce recognizes the man as the worst enemy of the Dark Hollows wolf pack—the infamous Jeremy Tate. EMTs rush them to the hospital where Connor effects a daring escape with his unconscious mate. After spending time with him in a hotel, Connor’s ready to bring his mate home, but the pack is horrified. Nicky and Marco want to kill Jeremy, Cade and Jax are concerned about Connor and everyone’s in shock. Can Connor pull this off or will the impossible situation blow up in his face?

 Secret Cravings Publishing
Amazon

Guest SCP author Shannon West is on today

What’s Up With These Alpha Males?

Alpha Males are  the ten percent of males who engage in ninety percent of the total love-making in romance novels.  These guys are large and in charge and the leaders of the pack.  Strong, usually rich, handsome and powerful, they stride through the pages of romance books, flexing their muscles and kicking ass.

Most women love them and have read about their exploits for centuries.  From Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice to today’s romantic heroes in one popular romance after another, we like our males as alpha as possible.   Why do we relate to these unpleasant, rude, overbearing, sometimes even abusive (think Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights) men? Are they our fantasy rather than our reality?

In the greater scheme of things in romance novels, the alphas often glow in comparison to the other characters in play.  Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Angel.  Tortured, suffering, and lest we forget, absolutely gorgeous, he was mild, indeed, in comparison to all the demonic, savage, immortal horrors in that show.  He was an alpha we could get behind and ignore all those skeletons in his closet.

In my best-selling paranormal series, Dark Hollow Wolf Pack, I can get away with quite a bit because, after all, my wolves have a biological imperative.  They have to be as alpha-y as possible, since they are, quite literally, the leaders of their packs.  Marco, Casey, Ian and Zack can be over-protective,  demanding, take-charge and totally hot, and (mostly) get away with it, because they’re  Alphas, and in comparison to the evil, violent Hunters roaming the woods, they’re very much the lesser of two evils. Their dominating behavior can be excused as well, since it’s their inner wolves that make them do it.

Of course, in real life, we’d be positively horrified if our significant other started bossing us around and growling “Mine,” in our ears while laying down the law.  No one wants to advocate abusive or even controlling behavior. Rape and abuse of the beta characters are forbidden by all the respected romance publishers, and writers of some alternative romance have to be very careful to obtain their beta character’s enthusiastic consent before submitting them to anything more extreme than torrid kisses.   Behavior like this would be hard to stomach in a real life relationship, which is why it always surprises me to have a few readers who comment on how domineering and controlling these alphas are. Well, duh!

These guys represent many women’s fantasies, and like almost all fantasies, they’re not necessarily what we want for our real lives. Alphas are best left to our imaginations and our dreams, and yes, our sexual fantasies.

There they can stride across the screens of our minds, large, handsome, kick-ass and hot as hell. Only there and in the pages of a romance novel can we have our  alpha cake and eat it too.

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Meet the Author Shannon West

Growing up-
I was pretty spoiled by my parents, and enjoyed every minute of it. Seriously, I had a wonderful childhood.  I always thought that if I ever got famous, I would have nothing to blame my neuroses on—can’t say it was because of a lousy childhood, that’s for sure.  Nope, it’s all on me.


Favorite games (board games and outdoor activity) 
Paper dolls.  I’m probably dating myself, but I loved them, and my paper dolls had wonderful, exciting adventures. I spent hours in my room, dressing them up in their glam outfits for dates with their boyfriends, and fabulous trips to Paris. No outdoor activity for me—yuck!  Always an inveterate couch potato.  My poor mom used to try to get me to go outside “to get some sun.”  Not for me.  I kept my little white ass inside and read my books and talked on the phone.  A lot.  As a young teenager, I did like to go out in the warm summer evenings with my best buddy and ride bikes in the neighborhood. Sometimes we’d sneak over to  a nearby park near the lake and smoke cigarettes we’d smuggled out of the house and meet up with some older boys who rode motorcycles. We were so bad.  Once we almost got caught by my girlfriend’s mother, who rode slowly by in her car.  We found a ladder some workmen left behind and climbed up to the roof of the boathouse to hide.  It didn’t work, of course. She saw our bikes and we were busted anyway.

Family pets  
Dogs!  We always had dogs growing up, and they were my best buddies.

Favorite holiday memory 
Every fourth of July, we’d go to the Smoky Mountains on vacation for a week.  My siblings and I swam in the motel pool until we were waterlogged and pruny.  Then at night, we’d all walk downtown and buy cheap souvenirs and eat funnel cakes.

When you grew up, you wanted to be ___________. Why?  
A teacher.  I was always so bossy, and liked to talk and tell stories so much.  Still do!

Favorite music group while a teenager
Anything hard rock.  AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Kiss...



Now-
Still dreadfully spoiled—by my husband this time. Still enjoying every minute of it.

(Think of the TV commercial for Klondike ice cream bars) I would do anything for/to.
A trip to just about anywhere.  Always sitting on GO.  Seriously, I love to travel, and I’ve done a lot of it. I still have a lot of places I want to see.

Candy bar that best describes me. Why?  
A Sugar Daddy. Do you know what those are?  They’re all caramelly and sweet and just pure sugar on a stick.  And you hold them in your mouth and...oh, is this getting a little too risque?  I always take it a little too far. Story of my life.

Your idea of romance (ex. an event, a moment, a gift)
My husband and I went to Paris a few years ago.  We were jet lagged and couldn’t sleep, so close to midnight, we left the hotel and went to the Eifel Tower.  Standing up there, looking over the lights of the city—midnight in Paris—it doesn’t get much more romantic!

An embarrassing moment that happened to you written in a newspaper headline.
Woman Almost Kills Boyfriend at Funeral in Tragic Accident
Shortly after I  met my husband, he took me to the funeral of a cousin of his.  Very sad, but as we left, we were walking down a steep gravel hill.  (very small country church in Alabama)  I was wearing high heels and stepped on a rock.  My feet went out from under me.  My sweetie tried to help by grabbing my arm and pulling me up.  That put me off balance, so my feet swept right under his, knocking him down, and we rolled together to the bottom of the hill.  I just lay there, panty hose in shreds, dress way up around my hips,  laughing hysterically, and getting some very outraged looks from his relatives. He was mortified!   He yanked me up and took me to the car, then administered first aid to my skinned knees.  He married me anyway.  Lord knows why.


If I wasn't an author, I would be a/an 
Can I pick anything? A heavy metal rock star, with tattoos, black hair, kohl lined eyes and an eyepatch.

Shannon's links

http://remyshannon.weebly.com

http://wecantthinkstraight.blogspot.com/