Only 7 Stories . . .

Depending on who you talk to, there are supposedly only 7, or 20, or some other arbitrary number of basic stories in the world. (Sort of a secular version of Solomon's lament "There is nothing new under the sun.") What they mean is there are only a few foundational themes and all stories are variations of these seminal ideas.

There are Revenge stories--Moby Dick and The Count of Monte Cristo fall into this category. Quest stories--Lord of the Rings, and basically all fantasy literature falls into this column. There are Buddy stories, Coming of Age stories, Child in Jeopardy stories, Redemption stories and of course, Love stories.

The underlying themes are the same within each category. What makes it interesting, we hope, is the author's execution of the theme.

For STROKE OF GENIUS, I drew on my passion for mythology for inspiration, specifically the Pygmalion myth. Pygmalion was an incredibly gifted sculptor who fell in love with one of his creations--an ivory form of a woman whom he named Galatea. Problem--As lovely as ivory is, it's no match for flesh and blood. So Pygmalion went to Aphrodite and begged for her help. The goddess of love was in a giving mood and turned the statue into a real live woman. Pygmalion and Galatea got their Happily Ever After handed to them on an Olympic sized platter. The end.

As you can see there are several problems with adapting this story for a romance. For one thing, there's not nearly enough conflict. Pygmalion's problem is solved by a third party instead of through his own efforts. Not terribly heroic. And what about Galatea? She's pretty much a cipher who does what's expected of her, whether she's in ivory or skin and bones.

So I made my Pygmalion (aka Crispin Hawke) an arrogant SOB, brilliant but with a chip on his shoulder. He delights in messing with people's heads. He's not looking for love. It blindsides him.

And my Galatea (Grace Makepeace) is a Bostonian heiress who is seeking a titled husband to please her mother, but really wants to see her secretly penned mythological stories in print. Bookish, overly tall, and opinionated, Grace isn't the sort of woman most titled gents seek. When Crispin agrees to help make Grace fashionable, he doesn't intend on falling for her himself. He only wants to manipulate the ton for his own amusement.

When Grace catches the eye of a marquess, Crispin is no longer amused.

So you see how I've taken the basic shape of the Pygmalion myth and altered it for my purposes. Think for a moment how many Cinderella stories you've read. How many variations on Beauty and the Beast?

Noted psychologist Carl Jung thought the building blocks of stories are floating in our collective consciousness because we all tend to respond to certain hotbutton touchpoints along a story's path. Humans crave pattern and repetition. But we also enjoy variation on a theme.

I recently read and enjoyed Loretta Chase's LORD OF SCOUNDRELS. It was Beauty and the Beast all the way, but recognizing the bones of the story didn't diminish my enjoyment of it one bit.

What was the last book you read? Is there a ghost of a fairy tale or myth embedded in the structure of that story?

Alpha Heroes and Why We Love Them

Politically correct? No way! Alphas don't give a dang what anyone thinks of them. They do what they want, say what they want, and, in the case of my pirate hero, take what they want. But if Alphas are such knuckle-dragging Neanderthals, why do we love them?

For one thing, they are frequently damaged in some way. Gregory House is wracked with constant pain. Jennifer Ashley's Ian MacKenzie suffers from Aspergers Syndrome centuries before it was diagnosed. Edward Cullen is undead and unhappy about it. In Loretta Chase's LORD OF SCOUNDRELS, her hero Dain was convinced as a child that he was a monster, unworthy of love. And as a man, he set out to prove them right. If you haven't read this terrific story, I urge you to run out and find a copy today! It's Beauty and the Beast writ large.

Alphas aren't limited to historical venues. My DH received the first season of 24 as a Father's Day gift and we sat down to watch it. (Warning: The series affects the nervous system like heroin. We had to finish the whole thing in just a couple of days!) The hero Jack Bauer is an uber-alpha. Smart, tough, overflowing with physical courage, he does what needs to be done, regardless of the personal consequences. He exhibits one of the most attractive qualities of an alpha--self-sacrifice.

But not all alphas are so high-minded. Bad boy heroes have captured our imagination since Bronte first created Heathcliff. There is an enduring feminine myth that any man, no matter how degenerate, can be brought to heel and reformed if the right woman sets out to reclaim him. While this makes for engaging fiction, I suspect actual cases of bad boys turning good can be counted on one hand.

So what about you? Do you like alpha heroes? Do they make you want to run the other direction? Who is your favorite Alpha?