Rose, Exposed – Historical Alpha Males

Thank you for hosting me today. I’m excited to discuss historical alpha males and my recent release, Rose, Exposed, a multicultural historical erotic romance set in the 1930s.

This post is part of the official Rose, Exposed Blog Tour (3/26 – 4/09).      

The grand prize for the tour is vintage-style rose earrings for pierced ears (U.S. shipping address only).

To be eligible, COMMENT on this post. Comment should include the historical time period and geographical setting (when and where) you’d most like to see in a romance.

The tour winner will be announced at http://www.aftonlocke.com/RoseExposedTour.html on April 11th.


Historical Alpha Males

My favorite hero type to read and write about is the alpha male. From Cicada, my first release with Ellora’s Cave (featuring an alpha ghost) to my current release, alpha heroes command the bedroom. The allure of the alpha man is timeless. They take charge of any situation, broadcast power and a little danger with the simplest gesture, and take care of their loved ones with fierce loyalty.

The farther we look back in history, the more alpha they get — from today’s Dom who can bring a woman to orgasm on command to the bodice rippers of the 18th century to the popular image of the caveman dragging his woman by the hair. Because many women in history didn’t have the right to own property or vote, a man could be alpha purely by situation. Society expected him to rule the roost and he did. Women were also burdened with strict moral guidelines, such as not being seen with a man in public without a chaperone. Sexual double standards were common as well.

Now that most women work outside the home and enjoy equality with men, the balance of power has shifted. Many sexual unions and marriages are created as equal partnerships. In some cases, wives may even support their husbands who might stay home to raise the kids. Because the alpha man today does not have the social structure to support him, he has to use his personality. Finding a woman who can tolerate and even enjoy his power-wielding ways might prove a challenge. Unless, of course, he has power over her because he’s her boss. With today’s sexual harassment laws, that isn’t easy either.

Rose, Exposedis set during a turning point in the balance of power of men and women in society. Husbands still commonly acted as head of the household, but women now had the right to vote. In the 1940s, independence increased even more as women worked men’s jobs during WWII. My heroine Rose is torn between a strict father and would-be domineering husband versus her need to be free and independent. Nothing sets off an alpha male better than a heroine with an independent streak because conflict creates sparks and keeps readers reading.

Rose is symbolic of the emerging modern woman. If she wants her alpha man in the bedroom, she’s going to have to teach him a thing or two. I can’t wait to write about more alphas from different time periods. The next book in the series, however, will feature a beta man, so that will be a challenge for me!

Rose, Exposed 

*[cover image here]

Publisher:  Ellora’s Cave Publishing

Release Date:  27 March 2013

eBook ISBN #:  978-14199-45205

Stay tuned for reviews and more: http://www.aftonlocke.com/Rose.html

(I love creating trailers for all my books!)

Blurb

When Leroy Johnson gets promoted at the new oyster plant on Pearl Point, all he cares about is working hard. When he meets the flirtatious artist Rose Wainwright, however, nothing matters except getting her to the altar and into bed. Healing from a recent loss, he’s not about to let her go too.

Because Rose’s strict, social-climbing father doesn’t approve of dark-skinned Leroy, they court in secret anyplace they can find. Although Leroy’s raw passion can convince her to do almost anything, why can’t he understand she needs freedom, not marriage?

Her father wants her to be white, but Leroy wants her to be black. Playing both sides of the fence leaves this young biracial beauty exposed in more ways than one.

Excerpt (explicit)

Rose, Exposed – Copyright © AFTON LOCKE, 2013 – All Rights Reserved, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.

“You’re so…dark,” she exclaimed. Instead of the disdain he expected, he heard fascination.

Come on, lady. Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a colored man before.

“Yes, I’m dark,” he agreed as he politely removed her hand, “which is why it’s not a good idea for us to sit alone together in this car. Someone might come along and jump to the wrong conclusion.”

A conclusion that could get him beat up or worse with the Klan close by on Oyster Island.

But before he could stop her, she clasped both sides of his face and pressed her sweet mouth to his. Aw, hell. A man only had so much self-control, and she’d just shattered his. Unable to stop himself, he plundered her delicate mouth. Her lips reminded him of rose petals, and he sucked the sweetness out of them as if he were a bee. The more he tasted, the more he wanted.

She opened, giving him access to her even sweeter tongue. His penis strained, hard and now wet, against his undershorts. Hell, even his balls must be twice their normal size. Taking a big breath, he pulled away from her.

“We can’t do this. You’re white.”

She looked down at her upturned palms. “Then I really do look white?”

Leroy frowned. “Aren’t you?”

For the first time, her smile disappeared, making him shiver in his wet clothes. “The truth is, I don’t know what I am. I suppose that’s why I took this foolish drive.”

She must be biracial then, he realized, and not forbidden after all. The thought made him want to dance on the hood of the car. She still looked white, though. If he didn’t have the time to court a girl his own color, he sure didn’t have any for a complicated one like this.

“Kiss me again,” she demanded.

Without waiting for him to answer, she locked her hot, damp mouth on his again and tugged hard on his shoulders. Before he knew it, he was on top of her on the front seat. He wished her dress weren’t so thin when two round breasts pushed against his chest and long, slender legs shifted restlessly under his. Dizzy with the scent of rain and her, he froze.

At that moment, nothing mattered except finding out if her cunt was as sweet and yielding as her mouth. He didn’t care if the entire Klan showed up, knocked on the window and caught him thrusting between her legs on this slippery leather seat. It had been too damn long since he’d had a woman. He needed to stop this while he still could.

“Do you know what you’re asking for?” Lust had turned his voice into a husky croak.

She laughed and touched his face again. “I don’t know. What am I asking for?”

This girl was crazier than he’d first thought. What if someone less honorable than himself had stopped instead? She could’ve been raped.

“A whole lot of trouble.” He sat up. “Look, this is not the time or the place. Now let’s get you home.”

The sooner he could be rid of her—before she derailed him from his job, family, and everything else that mattered—the better.

WIPs Coming Soon

Rose, Exposed is the sequel to Plucking the Pearl, an interracial historical erotic romance.

I have two more books planned for the Oyster Harbor series. Next up for romance are Sadie and Henry.

In addition to interracial/multicultural historicals, I also plan to keep writing erotic contemporaries.

Can an older woman find love with a hot male stripper? My current WIP, Two Hours to Entice, will answer that question.

Where readers can find me

I will be attending EC’s RomantiCon Oct 10-13, 2013 in Canton, Ohio – http://ecromanticon.com/:

Don’t miss the book signing on Oct 13th.

I’m also hosting a Fabulous Fusion workshop with Koko Brown and Eve Vaughn to celebrate interracial erotic romance for EC’s Fusion line.

Newsletter – The Love Chronicle: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thelovechronicle/