If I wasn't a writer, I'd be...

An interior designer/decorator! Yeah, I was pretty surprised at this realization myself. I’ve already had one successful career in the IT consulting industry and working on my second with my writing. When I renovated my ENTIRE house a few years ago, it was a major undertaking.

That's my living room, BTW, with all the boxes along the right wall the new kitchen cabinets. Shudder, right? It's totally gutted back to the bare bones!

I was excited, apprehensive, and okay a tiny bit terrified. Or perhaps it was a LOT. I designed every aspect of the renovation which ranged from some structural changes to a lot of cosmetic things. I updated/upgraded EVERY SINGLE room in the house. Actually the outside underwent some pretty substantial changes as well. I selected every fixture, fitting, color and finish. I designed every tile layout. I picked the design for each molding and trim we used. I even designed the layout of the kitchen myself from a completely blank slate. I worked with the guys every day on each step of the process and you know what I found? I absolutely LOVED everything about it. I learned I love looking at furnishings catalogs, tile books, paint chips, architectural accents. I loved everything about the process, especially the sense of immense satisfaction I get when I can sit back in any room of my house and think… I did that. So, if I wasn’t a writer I’d definitely be in the design/decorating/home improvement industry.

What about YOU? What do you think you’d be doing if you could absolutely choose anything you'd like to do, anything at all?

Mr. Alpha, what do you do for a living?

When I'm in the midst of developing a character, particularly a hero, the occupation is something I spend a great deal of time on. My heroes are pretty alpha. They're usually focused, strong-willed and yeah...arrogant and demanding in many cases :). There's just something about a take charge man, a man who is both controlling and possessive while exhibiting a core of unshakable integrity. Sigh... And of course, it's very satisfying to watch such a man come completely unravelled by the 'right' woman.

Those attributes though lend themselves to certain types of jobs, or probably more accurately, may eliminate a bunch as viable options. An occupation can define who someone is, can drive their goals or be used to achieve them. It can be a source of passion, of angst and can even provide a source of conflict. For me, an occupation has to fit the character first and foremost, but there are a group of common occupations for just this type of hero. Some I've written myself and others I've seen in books I've read. The most used for the typical alpha hero seem to be:

• Fireman
• Cop/law enforcement
• Military/special ops. Navy seal anyone?
• Private security specialist
• Demolitions expert
• Air marshal
• War journalist
• Self made millionaire

 What others would you consider alpha occupations? What jobs have you seen represented in books you've read? What occupations would you like to see more of?