Welcome Guest Author Ana Blaze & Her Latest Release The Best Man & Enter to Win!!!!


Six smoldering…Beta heroes?
Yup, I’m here to show some love for the good guys. Hi. I’m Ana Blaze and I was lucky enough to get a coveted invite to introduce myself and my new release, The Best Man, here at Cheeky Reads. Thank you, Sabrina and, may I say, that’s a super cute blog name you’re wearing.

I’m not going to say that I don’t love a good Alpha man. I am romance writer after all. Alphas are, by definition, hot and steamy and their testosterone-driven antics can certainly be charming.
But at the end of the day, it’s the Beta boys that stick with me. They shyly and cleverly worm their way deep into my heart, curl up all cute and cuddly and stubbornly refuse to leave. They are the guys every woman really wants to marry.

I’ve narrowed down my favorite beta romantic heroes to a svelte list of Six Sexy Sweeties. They will appear in no particular order because Beta guys just aren’t very competitive.

Edward Ferrars Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Edward. Some of the girls may not think much of shy and often tongue-tied Edward, but he is a good man. He is studious, unfailingly kind and honorable. He is a man who will sacrifice his own happiness to keep a promise. Edward Ferrars might not be as flashy or witty as Mr. Darcy, but he is decent and loving from his first appearance until his last.

Carter Maguire Vision in White by Nora Roberts (Book 1 of the Bride Quartet)
Carter. He’s a quiet, klutzy, tweed-wearing, English teacher, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t got any moves. Carter is patient, persistent and has a delightful and often self-deprecating sense of humor. He has a three legged cat! Oh, and when he gets embarrassed, the tips of his ears turn red. Now, tell me you wouldn’t want to kiss this guy…every day for the rest of your life.

Peeta Mellark Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Okay, let’s talk about Peeta. He’s not a wimp. At sixteen he can toss a hundred pound bag of flour with ease. But the boy with the bread is most certainly a Beta. He bakes. He paints. He decorates cakes (with pretty flowers!). He can’t walk quietly through the woods even when his life literally depends upon it. Peeta is a classic good guy. He’s the boy next door that girls overlook during their teen years only to realize he’s a catch later on. He’s too shy to talk to the girl he loves, but he’ll take a beating to help her.  In the face of almost certain death, Peeta Mellark maintains his deep-rooted sense of right and wrong and that, my friends, is sexy.

Ford Sawyer Tribute by Nora Roberts
Ford is living the geek boy dream as a successful graphic novelist. Yup, like comic books but longer. He’s quirky and full of nerdy references. He’s got a dog named Spock. He does not pick up power tools and instead he leaves those and the sledge hammer to the heroine. That’s right. He is absolutely comfortable with himself. He knows his strengths and his weaknesses. His girl doesn’t have to hide her strength to make him feel manly. He wants her to pose with that hammer and be his new superhero. Hot? Oh yeah.

Lucas Cortez Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong (He reappears in several other books in her Otherworld series)
Lucas may be a powerful sorcerer, but he is also a rather nerdy lawyer. He was born into a powerful family (of crime and magic), but chooses to set out on his own and do good. He actively fights against the wrongs committed by his own family. When Lucas first appears, the heroine thinks that the most remarkable thing about him is his utter lack of any remarkable quality. He changes her mind, of course, and is undoubtedly the only sorcerer in the world with enough inner goodness to convince her to ignore the long and hostile history between their races (she’s a witch) and trust him.

Colin Pratt The Best Man by Ana Blaze
I can’t leave without introducing my Colin. He’s shy; if I don’t say something he might spend the whole evening with his handsome face buried in a book. Colin is a British Literature professor who dabbles in a little sci-fi writing on the side. All that time spent reading has given him a sharp wit and a clever tongue but he hasn’t had much luck with women in the past. Losing his fiancĂ©e to his brother didn’t help his confidence; but when he finds the right woman, Colin isn’t too proud to chase her.

The Best Man Blurb: 
Beth Chase is too busy planning perfect weddings to worry about the lack of action in her own love life. But if she was looking for a man, she wouldn’t be looking at Colin Pratt. Her boss swears that Best Man Colin is a quiet scholar and science fiction writer who couldn’t possibly cause a fuss at his own brother’s wedding. He’s clearly never met the man in question. Snarky, sexy and more than a little inebriated, Colin is the final obstacle between Beth and the last perfect wedding she needs to make partner. Of course, when she helps him into a taxi at the end of the night she has no idea that he’s only just begun to poke holes in her professional exterior. Colin might have the skills to seduce a romance professional, but can he convince her that he’s the best man to share her happy ever after?

About Ana: 
Ana lives just outside Washington DC with her very supportive husband and three rather demanding cats. She loves the ocean, Indian food, IKEA, and cooking. Ana admits to watching too much television and she swears that someday she’s going to learn how to play the guitar resting on the bookshelf in her office.

Twitter: @ana_blaze

Thanks Ana! 
One lucky US reader will win The Best Man ebook and a goodie pack to share with the best man or woman in their life. The pack contains candles, Godiva chocolate, Tuscan lavender soap, Sensual Massage Oil from The Body Shop and two lip treatments from The Body Shop. It will come packaged in a pretty photo box - Click Here to Enter to Win! 

I'd love to hear what you think about beta heroes. Have any favorites we should get to know?



12 comments:

  1. Hi! Thank you so much for having me over. I had a lot of fun preparing my list of Awesome-But-Not-Alpha Men! I can't wait to hear about some of your readers favorites. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Welcome Ana!

    I love your post and am a very big fan of Beta Heroes so I was excited about your topic.

    Carter was one of my favorites too and your Colin sounds fantastic!

    I'll see if I can wake the blog up a little this morning!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Ana, CHeeky Girl - saw this on Twitter, I'm a fan of beta heroes, too, and I like your examples. You nailed it with Edward Ferrars, and I think that Mr. Bingham is a beta, as well (though he's not a lead character).

    The Best Man sounds like a fun book. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, that sounds right to me too. :)Lovely to meet another fan of Beta men!

      Delete
  4. Well, this is a little awkward. I too love Betas and in fact, the hero of the 2nd book in my series is names Lucas and just happens to have lost his fiancee (who is named Beth lol) to his brother (in book 1.) For the record, Ana and I have never met (I don't think) and there are no wedding planners in my books.

    Wait, book 3 is all about planning a wedding. Shoot. Well, they aren't professionals!

    Lovely list. I was nodding all the way through. Nora does the Beta so well. Ford completely stole my heart. I'll throw Sebastian Iverley into the mix. The hero of Miranda Neville's The Dangerous Viscount is a total Beta and quite delicious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh-I'll have to check that out.

      And, no-I don't think we've met. :) I like the name Lucas. You didn't mention the name of your books. I'll see if I can find them on Goodreads. Nice to meet you!

      Delete
    2. I'm only 3 hours south of you so I'm sure our paths will cross eventually. :) I write the Anchor Island Series and book 1, MEANT TO BE, comes out the 21st of this month. It's my debut and I'd like to say I'm totally calm, but not so much.

      BTW, LOVE this cover.

      Delete
  5. Hi Beverly and Terri - thanks for stopping by!

    Terri - Those are some similarities! I have that Neville book on my TBR pile and I think it just moved up a few notches. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I too am a beta backer! I love Carter and Ford, but Murphy Muldoon from the Concannon Sisters series is probably my favorite of Nora's beta heroes. Other beta heroes I have loved (grin) include Major Hugo Darracott (The Unknown Ajax, Georgette Heyer), Sydnam Butler (Simply Love, Mary Balogh), Avery Thorne (My Dearest Enemy, Connie Brockway), Scipio Africanus Butterworth (Miss Milton Speaks Her Mind, Carla Kelly), Ross Cannon (Lady Sophia's Lover, Lisa Kleypas), Clay Stryker (All Summer Long, Susan Mallery), Cam Early (Red's Hot Honky Tonk Bar, Pamela Morsi), Stephen Kenyon (One Perfect Rose, Mary Jo Putney), Quinn Hunter (Till the Stars Fall, Kathleen Gilles Seidel), and Blue Reynard (In the Midnight Rain, Ruth Wind). That's a baker's dozen, and I could keep going.

    And as a retired English professor, I know how sexy a beta British lit professor can be in RL. The Best Man sounds like a book I'll appreciate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh my! That's is such a nice list. You've named a bunch that I've never read. I will definitely be checking those out. Thank you and it's nice to meet you. :)

      Delete
  7. I'm a fan of the beta, though most of the heroes I write are more a mix of alpha/beta.

    Your book really does sound delish.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Maureen! It's nice to meet you. A mix can be great. :)

    ReplyDelete