Realistically Sized Alpha Heroines and Why We Need Them

This isn't a post about skinny shaming -- not at all. But it is a post about female empowerment in books. Particularly for those females that don't fit into the societal role of "physical perfection" (which, let's face it, is purely an illusion). No matter the size, the most confident woman shows it the most in her attitude. Confidence has no size -- and it shouldn't.

Normally, love stories show a strong (or at least semi-strong) heroine finding love and her true self while partnering up with an alpha male. And it's the alpha male who usually shows her how beautiful she is.

Well, I chose to write something different.

Because why can't the heroine be the alpha character? Better still, why can't a confident, plus-sized lady sizzle with her own sexuality and seduce the hot as hell male? Is that so off-the-wall to imagine? After all, society is riddled with rules that we so often contradict or prove utterly fallible (because so much of it is bullshit anyway).

Confidence. Ambition. Attitude. Kindness. If we spent more time emphasizing these 4 traits to our daughters, maybe we'd be less concerned about what we look like and more concerned about building one another up. Because the thing about a confident and secure woman is no matter what size she is, she's not going to be rattled by someone trying to bring her down. She's gonna toss a pity pill down to their level and strut on with her life.

Maybe that's why I love writing stories with alpha heroines -- specifically realistically sized alpha heroines. What does "realistically sized" mean? The current US average size for women is 12-14. The average size of a runway model is 0-4 (but generally more in the 0-2 range). What that tells me is that in my non-runway model life, more women are my size (the 12-14 range) than a 0-2. Hey, skinny girls, no hate intended. Again, the goal here is to promote self-love and empowerment. Don't ever change yourself. Just love yourself.

The heroines I write about will tend to fall in that average range size -- 12 to 14 -- if not bigger. Because every woman has the right to feel good about herself and build herself up -- not fall into a pit of despair because someone's idiotic ideology thinks she needs to lose (or gain) a few.

This week, I'm wrapping up my first Megan Sharpe book. It's a short novelette about two people thrown together because of an unimaginable circumstance.

Rose, the non-size 2 heroine, finds herself married to her brother's best friend. It hardly starts out as a romantic attachment, but definitely an arrangement to keep them both out of danger. But the closer Rose gets to new husband Jacob, the more she finds herself wanting him...despite how precarious their future looks. And Jacob quickly learns he's no match for Rose's seduction. His surrender is inevitable. The fact that Rose is a size 16 is the least important detail about her. Her boldness, her confidence, and her passion is what ignites this love affair. And while Jacob is certainly not a weak man, he falls hard for this woman...despite the fact that she may not have fit the physical mold he's accustomed to chasing. Bottom line: Rose is a beautiful, sexy woman and she knows it. She doesn't need Jacob or society to tell her those facts. She doesn't need to remake herself in order to get a happy ending.

None of us do.

~~~~~

More details on #SpousalPrivilege coming soon! 

(Let me be clear -- this is an adult story. With very graphic adult moments. I don't shy away from any woman's right to be as passionate as she wants. No one should.)

#bbw #romance #hea #alphafemale