Addison Fox can’t remember a time when words weren’t part of her life. An avid reader, her love of the written word started at the tender age of one with The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear (a poem she could recite by heart to any family member who would listen). Living in Dallas, Addison launched her paranormal romance series, The Sons of the Zodiac, with NAL in March of 2010. The series recounts the adventures (and path to true love!) for an immortal band of warriors, granted the powers of their astrological signs and charged with protecting humanity. Today she is here to give us a few thoughts about strong roles and how men and women can embrace them.

I’m so excited to visit VW&FOM! today. My thanks to Shonna for the invitation. 

I recently read a quote by Joss Whedon that has stuck with me: 

“In everything I do, men who are comfortable with powerful women are more powerful men.” 

It was reported he said this while speaking on the Firefly panel at ComicCon this year. 

This quote dovetailed nicely with what I wanted to talk about today - the fun of writing Alpha Males and the women destined to be their mates.

I’ve been an avid reader my entire life and have voraciously read romance since high school. One of the things I’ve always loved is a strong, take-charge hero who sweeps onto the page (and straight into my heart). The books that were my favorite, though, were the ones where the heroine matched the hero, more than able to take charge as well. In those books, the hero – no matter how physically strong or wealthy or talented he was – was lifted up by a strong woman who was his equal match. His ability to appreciate her, believe in her and love her for exactly who she is was always what made the love story so engaging and entertaining for me.

Understanding that about myself has also helped me understand what types of love stories I want to tell as an author. Regardless of whether or not my story is set in a paranormal universe or one without immortality and super-human strength, the couples who I root for and cheer for are the ones who ultimately come to understand they’re stronger together then alone.

When I started writing my Zodiac warriors a few years ago, there was one thing I saw very clearly in my mind – the women would have to be an equal match for the men. In some cases, they’ve found their strength on the journey to falling in love (Ava in Warrior Ascended and Montana in Warrior Betrayed) and in some, they’ve hit the page in full battle mode (Ilsa in Warrior Avenged, Meg in Wave of Memories and Emerson in Warrior Enchanted) and had to learn to share their talents and their gifts with the men who love them.

I think we’re lucky as romance readers, to spend time with such strong examples on the page. While I recognize the world in a book is just that – a world in a book – I also believe the magic that leaps off the page can inform how we view ourselves and how we believe others in our lives should treat us. 

So what do you think? Is Joss right? Does a strong man grow even more powerful when he embraces a strong woman? 

Two lucky commenters will win copies of my latest release, WARRIOR ENCHANTED.

(Please remember you must be a follower of this blog and leave your email address to be entered)

Thanks for spending the day with me!

Addison

Millennia ago, the Goddess of Justice created a race of fierce Warriors, each imbued with a special power of the Zodiac, charged with protecting humanity from the darkest of evils.
Charming, proud, and impulsive, Leo Warrior Brody Talbot is fighting what may be his final battle. Enyo, the Goddess of War, plans to fulfill an ancient prophecy to destroy humanity by harnessing the dark power of the Summoning Stones of Egypt—and there’s only one person who knows enough about the stones to help Brody diminish their strength.
Since her father’s murder, museum curator Ava Harrison has continued his research of Egypt’s ancient treasures. She’s just landed the exhibit of a century, displaying the Summoning Stones at New York’s Natural History Museum. Used to working alone, Ava is suspicious of the arrogant archeologist who’s been brought in to ensure the stones safekeeping–but his presence ignites an unexpected blaze of attraction.
Never in all his centuries has Brody met a woman who enthralls him like Ava. But, bound to protect her, he struggles to deny his passion as they are drawn into a dark and dangerous final reckoning between good and evil.


For ages, the goddess Nemesis has sought divine vengeance against mortal man, as she awaits her chance for retaliation against Mount Olympus. Now, after making a deal with a dark wizard, she has reinvented herself as a female spy with her own sinister agenda…
Immortal warrior Kane Montague is as lethal as a Scorpion – like the one that marks his powerful form. As an assassin for MI-6, he was an ace gun-for-hire until someone very close burned him. Now on the outs with his former colleagues, Kane knows all too well who’s to blame: a sexy secret agent named Ilsa.
When their paths cross again, the passion between Kane and Ilsa is irresistible…and possibly lethal. But they soon realize that Ilsa is simply a pawn in a conspiracy aimed at the heart of the Zodiac Warriors. Can Kane trust her? Or is Ilsa the only one who can save him, body and soul?

Millennia ago, the Goddess of Justice created a race of fierce Warriors, each imbued with a special power of the Zodiac, charged with protecting humanity from the darkest of evils.
Forty years ago, Eirene, the Goddess of Peace spurned her position to run away with a mortal. Furious with her daughter, Themis set a curse upon Eirene’s unborn child; to one day replace her mother on Mount Olympus.
Montana Grant lost contact with her mother many years ago. Now as she struggles to lead her late father’s shipping company, she’s also dealing with the sudden reappearance of her mother. The frail woman is spouting nonsense about Mount Olympus, immortal warriors, and long-standing curses. But after suspicious activity puts the company’s future – and possibly Montana’s life – at risk, she decides to take her mother’s last bit of advice…
When Montana asks Quinn Tanner for help, she confronts the sexy security executive about his secret identity: He’s a Taurus Warrior. Quinn denies it, but he can’t deny his powerful attraction to the high-powered heiress. With worldwide peace in the balance, it’s up to Quinn to help Montana rise to her destiny – even as they’re falling in love…

After a cruel twist of fate, Aquarius warrior Aiden Cage relinquished his one true love and vowed to become the most fearsome warrior in all the Pantheon. Meg, the goddess of retribution, never fully understood the reasons why she was betrayed by Aiden millennia ago—nor did she ever forgive him. Yet now he is the only one she can turn to for help. The enemy that separated them is back, and he has sworn to destroy them both…for all time.

Pisces warrior Drake Campbell and his zodiac brethren have driven themselves to the edge. He’d love to take comfort in the arms of the woman he cares for, if only she would lift her emotional barriers to him.
White witch Emerson Carano has more to worry about than the Pisces warrior. Their affair may be red-hot, but she keeps the sexy man at arm’s length to avoid getting hurt. When her estranged brother, Magnus, suddenly reappears—wielding a dangerous dark magic—Emerson has no choice but to ask Drake and his brothers for help.
Long-buried secrets and dangerous alliances will threaten the very foundation of the warriors while striking at the heart of Emerson’s carefully constructed world. Can she put aside her fears to join forces with the only man who can help her—even if her own family must pay a terrible price?


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Web site - http://www.addisonfox.com/
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Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2994705.Addison_Fox