Regan Black

So we’d had Boo for a couple of months, she was settling in and following Brody’s lead on all things regarding etirement when we had the opportunity to dog sit a couple of great hounds.

Ransom was a real queen and her forever brother Ozzie had been one of our more interesting fosters (he didn’t like any flooring other than carpet and came up with creative ways to avoid tile and hardwoods).

But I digress.

So Ozzie and Ransom arrived and said good bye to their Dad and having stayed with us before, settled in easy enough.

Then came bed time.

Ransom, being a high queen, slept on the bed at her house and didn’t find cause to change habits when she stayed with us.

Boo was confused. A dog on the bed? She always slept on her comforter on the floor just like Brody. But now there was a dog on the bed with her mama.

Boo’s world tilted – as did her ears. The potential was undeniable.

And apparently irresistible. Some time in the night, she made the leap and I found her curled up next to my legs in the morning. Ransom was near my pillow.

So began a week of quiet, regal competition for supremacy . I would turn on the alarm system and head upstairs. Invariably, Brody and Ozzie were already up there, content with their portions of the floor.

Boo and Ransom however, finding it necessary to escort my every move, flew up the stairs and juggled for the spot closest to my head. By the end of the week, Boo was winning.

It was almost as if Ransom was content to abdicate the pillows because she was so pleased with Boo’s personal growth.

Most nights, Boo sleeps on the floor, though she’s happy to grace us with a few minutes of cuddling first.

But if Ransom’s in the house, you can be sure the bed will have Boo in it: as close to the mama as possible.

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That sounds like a no-brainer. Female athletes are naturally alpha females, right? Not necessarily.

In my opinion what makes athletes alpha females isn’t the inherent nature of competitive sports…it’s the dedication to the dream those athletes hold inside themselves.

Most athletes – even olympic athletes  – are not household names in their own countries. The world stage – complete with lights, cameras and questioning reporters  – is only a blip in the daily reality of hard work and determination.

The female athletes populating the Olympic Winter games are there because they made a conscious, alpha female sort of decision to put in the time every day to reach the goal and realize the dream.

Those athletes have looked inside themselves, daring to discover their innermost talents and dreams and then gone a step further to assess the price of making it real.

For some, it’s an achievement just to be at the winter games. And with no expectation of reaching the podium, they strive anyway and sometimes they even create the upset.

Such is the nature of a true alpha female in real life or fiction: To strive with decisive action toward a goal no matter the odds.

Most writers – even bestselling authors – aren’t household names either. Any  lights or cameras are only a blip in their everyday reality too. It takes daily, solitary effort and perseverance to put together a book with characters that resonate with enough readers to hit the bestseller lists.

Alpha female athletes, characters, and authors can – and should – inspire viewers, readers, and writers.

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What makes a female protagonist an Alpha Female?

Is it a natural ability to land a roundhouse kick to the jaw of an attacking alien? Is it a gift for strategy? Is it the ability to stay cool in the midst of war and peace?

In my experience as a reader, writer, and editor, the alpha female is uniquely defined by her self awareness and her singleminded determination to act – despite the mores of society.

Alpha female heroics are not merely about doing the unexpected or taking the obvious, bold action in a given situation. It’s about taking the right action for the character’s progress (and the reader’s enjoyment).

Claudia Dain has an excellent, sexy historical romance series (the Courtesan Chronicles) featuring Sophia, a woman forced to become a courtesan, only to have her reputation saved by her true love.

Sophia is technically a supporting character, to each of the love stories, but the current marriageable misses of the ton turn to her for advice on how to capture the husband they want (or in some instances the one they need).

The young ladies who seek out Sophia also learn (and find ways to emulate) her inherent strength and courage in the face of damaging gossip and merciless rumor mills. They find their own ways to alpha female status.

Sophia is an alpha female protagonist. Not only did she make tough choices, but she turned circumstance to her advantage – working first at the fringes, then in the heart of the London society system.

I’ll let you enjoy the series, and Dain’s superb plotting and writing, without any spoilers here. Once you have, you’ll see alpha females aren’t just for contemporary settings or paranormal romance activity.

Dain’s character is just one of many fine alpha female examples outside the realm of paranormal romance novels. Proving that stereotypes are made to be shattered in the name of stronger storytelling.

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