The Alpha Warrior Brotherhood: A Guest Post by Trish McCallan

Today it's my pleasure to have author Trish McCallan as my guest. We first met on twitter and began to chat. She had a self-published novel out at the time and we talked about the editing of self-pubbed books. Later, her book, "Forged in Fire", was picked up by Amazon's romance imprint, Montlake. She re-worked the book and I had the pleasure of being one of several proofreaders she hired to work on it. Tomorrow is it's official release date and Trisha is out and about the blog world, celebrating it's release.

Trish McCallan was born in Eugene, Oregon, and grew up in Washington State, where she began crafting stories at an early age. Her first books were illustrated in crayon, bound with red yarn, and sold for a nickel at her lemonade stand. Trish grew up to earn a bachelor’s degree in English literature with a concentration in creative writing from Western Washington University, taking jobs as a bookkeeper and human- resource specialist before finally quitting her day job to write full time. Forged in Fire came about after a marathon reading session, and a bottle of Nyquil that sparked a vivid dream. She lives today in eastern Washington. An avid animal lover, she currently shares her home with three golden retrievers, a black lab mix and a cat.

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The Alpha Warrior Brotherhood

I’m a sucker for the alpha hero, even more of a sucker for the alpha hero brotherhood of warriors. I gobble these books up like no one’s business. 

There is just something about the heroic, stoic, courageous in the face of adversity, alpha hero. When you collect a whole bunch of these guys and sprinkle them through the book, you’ve snagged me for the whole series.  Don’t get me wrong, I love romances. Love the play of the developing relationship, the little surprises as the hero and heroine get to know and love each other. But I’m also fascinated by the relationship between men. How they interact, how they show their feelings without ever expressing them.

It’s the bonds of loyalty and trust, it’s the lengths they will go to help each other. It’s the phenomenal subtext in their dialog and their expressions and their actions. It’s the way they broadcast their feeling for each other through that dialog, and with their expressions and by their actions, but without ever actually talking about their feelings for one another.  

These bonds of brotherhood fascinate me. The way men show their feelings are so different than woman. They show their affection with a hard slug to the stomach, or a snarky verbal dig. They show it with rounds of one-upmanship and scoffing at each other’s sexual prowess. 

 My favorite shows and books focus just as much on the relationship and subtext between the men in the series, as they do on the love relationships between the heroes and their heroines. Maya Banks KGI series, Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooters, Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed and JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series—I count these among my favorites, which is no surprise because they all have one thing in common, the heroes are members of a elite warrior brotherhood.  A brotherhood that will back each other to the death, that will go to the wall for each other, that will grieve with heartbreaking silent intensity when they lose one of their “one,”  and show in every way imaginable the depth of their love for each other, but without ever actually saying the words.

When I started writing Forged in Fire, my high-octane romantic thriller, I wanted to explore the bonds that exist between the men in a warrior brotherhood, just as much as I wanted to explore the love story.  I wanted to create the same kind of closeness between my male characters as JR Ward created in her Black Dagger Brotherhood, or Maya Banks created with her KGI series.  I wanted the reader to turn the last page of the book knowing how my heroes felt about each other, even though they never once mention the word “love,” at least in relation to one another. From the volume of email I get regarding the heroes of the series, I’m guessing I managed to accomplish this. 

It’s also pretty obvious from the popularity of series like The Black Dagger Brotherhood and the Troubleshooters, that I’m not the only woman fascinated by how men interact with each other. So tell me, are there any series or shows you’ve read or watched that highlight this phenomenon? Any books or shows you’d recommend?

I’d also like to let everyone know about the big contest fellow Montlake author Norah Wilson and I are holding. The winner of this contest will get a brand new 64GB, Wi-Fi Capable iPad 2. You can find the contest details here.  http://tandnsbiggiveaway.wordpress.com/ {Go enter! I did ~ Bea}

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FORGED IN FIRE
By: Trish McCallan
Publisher: Montlake Romance
ISBN: 978-1612185330
Genre: FICTION, ROMANCE, MYSTERY, PARANORMAL
Format: EBOOK, PAPERBACK, AUDIO
Length: 394 pages
Release Date: September 4, 2012
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Buying Link: Amazon 

Beth Brown doesn’t believe in premonitions. But her recent dream feels too real to ignore: a commercial airliner is hijacked, and a handsome passenger is shot dead. Beth hasn’t met the mystery man in her dream; she would never forget a gorgeous face like his. But she can’t deny the bizarre connection she feels. Now awake, and unable to allow for the violence she’s convinced is impending, she races to the airport…and comes face to face with the man of her dreams.

Zane Winters lives for his job, using his uncanny psychic powers to carry out missions for elite SEAL Team 7. Yet the constant adrenaline highs can’t drown out the numbness seeping into his life as he yearns to find a woman he can trust. All that changes when he meets a beautiful stranger who sets his soul on fire—and somehow knows he’s about to die.

To thwart the global crisis the hijacking will unleash, Beth and Zane join forces. But even amid the danger, they can’t deny the powerful force drawing them together. Is it merely attraction…or destiny?