There is something about alpha heroes that is so sexy, but of course, no one really wants a true alpha hero. I mean who could live with someone who always had to be on top, didn’t want emotional connections to anyone and equated physical strength with emotional strength. Just some of the not-so-nice traits of alpha heroes.
What we do love is strong men who are seemingly sure of themselves, but have that chink in their armor that allows for real relationships to develop. Physically strong men who are capable of being gentle as well as capable of showing emotional weakness. They can know to be strong by sharing the burdens of life with a significant other.
When I started writing THE FIFTH KINGDOM, I knew CIA Agent Bill Santana was going to be that kind of sexy hero. One who was strong, but had a soft spot inside. A wounded spot, actually. I didn’t know that at first when I started writing, but as Bill met up with the prickly and equally alpha Dr. Deanna Vasquez, a lot of his pent up old emotions rose up to make him so much more of a real person.
That pain that he was carrying inside of him touched Deanna, who likewise had a similar wound in her psyche. I think that’s what made them so special together – that their love for each other healed the scars they both bore in their hearts.
Of course we need some action as well since it is a romantic suspense. In THE FIFTH KINGDOM, the action revolves around Bill’s search for an archeologist kidnapped by a Mexican terrorist group. The archeologist is Deanna’s mom, Dr. Miranda Adams, who abandoned Deanna nearly fifteen years earlier which is the source of her pain.
Miranda has discovered what may be Montezuma’s tomb and an ancient artifact within the resting place, but it is only as the story evolves that Deanna comes to realize that the relic has some very unusual powers.
I loosely based the relic on the Mexican sun stone (shown below). The sun stone is a calendar of sorts, but also a history of the Mexica people (whom we call the Aztecs). The original of the stone is in Mexico City and in the story, Deanna and Bill take a visit to the museum to see the stone and to also try and infiltrate the terrorist group.
In case you haven’t had a chance to check out an excerpt from THE FIFTH KINGDOM, here it is!
FIFTH KINGDOM Romantic Suspense by Caridad Pineiro and Carina press
When I first thought of the hero in my new romantic suspense novel, THE FIFTH KINGDOM, there was no doubt in my mind who Bill Santana would look like: Eddie Cibrian.
On this very wet and cold Wednesday morning I have a little something to warm you up – an excerpt from AZTEC GOLD, my paranormal romance novella from Carina Press. As you may remember, this story was inspired by my trip to Mexico and an