What Professions Turn You On?

I'll admit it ... my favorite heroes are alphas rather than betas. I like the strong, capable, opinionated male character. It's sexy. It's also, and this is important, a fantasy. Something I never really considered before now is that it's not just alpha or beta. Certain types of professions turn me on more than others.

I love a man in a uniform. If that's not alpha, I don't know what is. In fact, is it even possible to have a beta character in a uniform? Cops, FBI agents, Rangers, U. S Navy seals - they're all powerful.

I also love men who are capable in an every day sense. Construction types. You know a man who's capable with his hands knows how to use those hands with a woman's body. Oh, baby!

Then there's the rich man, the self-made billionaire entrepreneur. I don't care how he's made his money, he
done it on his own and that's a different kind of power.

For the first time in my romance writing career I've got a story with a cowboy (kind of) hero. The "kind of" comes into play because he's also a doctor. I know, interesting combo. Not something I planned. It's Sean Griffin, if any of you are following my Mirabelle series. He's the only doctor on the island - which is far from a full time job, given the size of the island - and so he's bought out the stable and livery operations.

Turns out that although Sean grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, he spent his summers all throughout high school and college working on ranches to get away from his domineering doctor father. Working with horses ended up becoming a passion for him.

Honestly, and I know this will come as a shock to some of you, but not only am I not attracted to doctors, the whole cowboy thing has never really done it for me, either. Now, though, as I uncover the layers of Sean's character, I'm finding cowboy hats and scuffed up boots very sexy. I'm not sure if it's Sean, his old faded blue jeans, or the horses, but he's got something going on. Maybe part of it, is the contradictions within this character. The simple man working with his hands on one side, the well-educated, thinking doctor on the other.

Got me to thinking about how we tend to have our favorite types of heroes, so I'm doing an informal poll today. Disregarding the alpha versus beta thing, does profession play a role in your favorite type of hero? Are you turned on by power or money? A man who works with his hands? A thinker?

Does a guy in a uniform do it best for you?














Or do you prefer an ordinary Joe?














Most importantly, I want to know ... WHY?

Helen