Everyone knows that alpha males are super popular in romance novels. They’re the kings, the real rulers of the romance industry roost. And, of course, you don’t just see the alphas in romance books–you can find them in movies (ex. pretty much every role played by the super talented Vin Diesel) and in television shows. Folks just seem to love those alphas!

But, lately…more heroes are emerging. Vicki Lewis Thompson has written an interesting series of books about unlikely, downright nerdy heroes–and those books are flying off the shelves. Apparently, women don’t just go wild for the big, strong, tough guys…they also like the smart, sensitive ones, too.

Well, in addition to the alpha and beta men, there is another hero type out there that I really enjoy. I don’t have a cool greek name for him, so I’ll just call him the “drunken pirate.” Yes, I said drunken pirate. You see…the hero that I’ve enjoyed the most in the last three years isn’t a guy who has tons of muscles or even tons of brain power. Instead it’s a man who weaves when he walks, a man who appears to be in sore need of a bath. A man, in short, who is my drunken pirate–or, as many of you may know him–Captain Jack Sparrow.

When I originally went to view Pirates of the Caribbean, I anticipated that Orlando Bloom would the strong, romantic lead–and, of course, he was. But…as much as I enjoyed good old Will, Captain Jack Sparrow stole the show for me, and I found myself thinking it be a heck of lot more fun to sail off into the sunset with him than to stay with the good-looking Will.

So…what? Did I go crazy? No, I don’t think I did. I think I just fell for the allure of an unusual hero. Don’t get me wrong–I still love my alphas, always will. But…oh…my drunken pirates are close second on my fav list. And I’m waiting, eagerly waiting, for the next drunken release: Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man’s Chest.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 20th, 2006 at 11:38 am and is filed under Romance. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.