Reading Teacher is Looking For Donations of Books for Teens

by Beth Barany Posted on April 23, 2012
Henrietta The Dragon Slayer by Beth Barany, 2012 Grand Prize winner of the California Book Fiction Contest

Hello my friends! Welcome to weekly news from the Desk of Beth Barany, award-winning YA fantasy and paranormal author.

I write for teens because I’m passionate about empowering young adults at this important transition time.

How appropriate it was then that today that I received a personal note from Angie Hoard requesting books for the at risk youth she works with in Georgetown, Texas at the Williamson County Juvenile Academy.

I responded immediately and am shipping my YA fantasy novel, Henrietta The Dragon Slayer, to her pronto.

She is looking to build her library to 1,000 books, and I offered to help her by spreading the word to other authors who write for teens.

Let’s work together to make Angie’s dream come true to discover that reading is an empowering choice!

Read Angie’s request and if you’re so moved to donate a book, email me directly and I will send you her address and email.

Thank you!

Here’s Angie’s request:

I am a reading teacher in a facility for at risk youth.  I have students between the ages of 12-18 who have never read a complete book.  I am trying to build up my class library with books that will hook some of my nonreaders and make avid readers out of them.  I am doing this out of my own pocket, as our school budget has been allocated to other things more important than READING!!!!  Do you donate to such as causes as at risk schools?  Thank you ahead of time for your consideration.  Sincerely and thank you, Angie Hoard

 

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Buffy and the Warrior Woman’s Classic Quest

by Beth Barany Posted on April 20, 2012

This week I feature nonfiction author, Valerie Estelle Frankel, former professor, currently an author, comic, and has great costumes. She’s also author of From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine’s Journey in Myth and Legend, a welcome resource for all us heroine’s journey fans.

She just published Buffy and the Heroine’s Journey (Feb 2012, McFarland).

“A great read for Buffy fans and nice addition to any Slayer collection…”–Examiner.com

***

I just published the book Buffy and the Heroine’s Journey (Feb 2012, McFarland). And why not—it’s an obvious place to go.

A long list of authors have analyzed Buffy’s becoming the Chosen One, refusing and then accepting her calling, and finally descending into death (twice!) to return stronger than before, with a deeper wisdom of adulthood and its costs.

In these steps, the hero’s and heroine’s journeys are basically the same. But there’s really more going on.

There’s the hero’s quest, in which Harry Potter or Luke Skywalker battles his dark father, sacrifices his life, and returns stronger than before. There’s the lesser-known classic heroine’s journey in which Snow White or Psyche faces the evil stepmother and sacrifices her life to save her loved ones.

And there’s the warrior woman’s quest, which blends both in a fascinating story arc. This is Buffy’s journey.

There are many warrior women: Eowyn, Artemis, Mu Lan, Annabeth of the Percy Jackson books, Xena, Elektra. The 2010 Alice in Wonderland, long hair flying over her shining armor. The upcoming Snow White and the Huntsman.

And now Katniss of The Hunger Games has captured our hearts. These heroines ride and fight beside men, often dressed as men, like Alanna of the Tamora Pierce books. They follow the hero’s quest with male mentors and male weapons, fighting to defeat the dark lord and save the world.

Yet after they succeed, they feel a discontentment, a lack of something. She has outfought all the boys and, in doing so, has become a boy herself. The heroine sets out again, this time questing for her lost feminine side.

She battles the wicked stepmother and child killer, once more sacrificing her life, but this time to protect her most innocent self, the little sister Dawn Summers or Primrose Everdeen.

My study follows Buffy’s path as she defeats the male monsters of the patriarchy (the Master, the Judge, Angelus, and the Mayor) and then finds something is missing. She turns to other mentors than fatherly Giles: Professor Walsh, the “evil mom,” Dracula, the deep, mystical masculine and dark mentor, the savage First Slayer.

All of these encourage Buffy to accept that death is her gift, that she needs the dark energy of the unconscious rather than the shallow masculine world of the everyday.

All this crystalizes in season five when Buffy gains a new sister to protect. The heroine’s journey is about rescuing loved ones: Meg Murray’s father and brother in A Wrinkle in Time, Coraline’s parents, and Katniss’s family and friends in The Hunger Games.

Even Twilight’s Bella becomes a powerful shield when her baby daughter is endangered.  In season five, Buffy harnesses her new dark-born powers to accept that death is a gift and to save Dawn.

She also battles the first of the female Big Bads, Glory. This blonde goddess is fashionable, flippant, and spoiled, like Buffy’s season one cheerleader self she must leave behind to become a good adoptive mother.

After Buffy returns from death in the culmination of her heroine’s quest, Glory is succeeded by Dark Willow and the First, once again, Big Bads that mirror Buffy and try to slay the innocent while Buffy struggles to protect them.  Buffy finally grows into a leader, but also surrogate mom for an entire household of young slayers.

At last she remakes the world, redefining it as a place of feminine power, where an army of her chosen ones can defend the helpless and take back the night.

While the hero always gets a sword (as Buffy does when she battles Angelus) or a knife (echoing Buffy’s stakes), heroines fight with tools of life and perception—holy water like Lucy’s healing potion, or a silver amulet like Buffy’s cross. Silver, seen in Artemis’s bow or Galadriel’s ring, is associated with mirror magic and sight because of its clarity.

It’s also a symbol of purity and protection. The heroine is also known for a distance weapon like a bow—Katniss in The Hunger Games has a silver bow, then later a black bow of fire and death. Buffy too frequently shoots a crossbow.

Buffy’s ultimate weapon, of course, is the scythe, echoing the crescent moon and the ancient axes wielded by the priestesses of Crete. It is the death weapon, casting Buffy as the mature slayer, no longer a sweet princess clinging to her daylight powers.

She rules the night and knows that death truly is a gift. And she pulls it from the stone, establishing herself as the one true slayer, the mythic hero coming to remake the world.

***

Valerie Estelle Frankel has won a Dream Realm Award, an Indie Excellence Award, and a USA Book News National Best Book Award for her Harry Potter parodies. She is the author of five new and forthcoming books on pop culture: From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine’s Journey in Myth and Legend; Katniss the Cattail: An Unauthorized Guide to Names and Symbols in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games; Teaching with Harry Potter; Harry Potter: Still Recruiting; and Buffy and the Heroine’s Journey. She lives in Sunnyvale, California, which is apparently a real place. For more on her writing, please visit http://vefrankel.com

 

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A Kick Ass Heroine in Science Fiction and a Large Dollop of Romance

by Beth Barany Posted on April 13, 2012

Illustrated Kevin Radthorne (http://radthorne.deviantart.com/gallery/)

This week I feature science fiction author, Greta van der Rol, for the kick ass heroine post. Her lastest novel is Starheart.

“From the author of the popular Iron Admiral series and Morgan’s Choice comes another rousing SciFi adventure to get your pulse pounding and your blood boiling (with that little dollop of romance)”

***

My books always feature kick-ass ladies. Not for me the swooning beauties waiting for the hero to come to the rescue. Women are quite capable of being smart, resourceful leaders. Just look at Elizabeth Moon’s books, or consider Lessa, pint-sized heroine of Anne McCaffrey’s dragon books.

But then again, I didn’t want a comic book stereotype, either.  When I started writing my latest book, Starheart, I wanted to create a heroine, Jess Sondijk, who is flexible, tough, independent, but very much a woman other women could relate to.

Jess is no special soldier, no super heroine, and has no special traits. She’s a widow with a fourteen-year-old daughter. She and her husband Troy operated a freighter smuggling goods from one planet to another and getting away with it — until Troy was killed in a botched boarding. Since then, Jess bought her own ship (the Saintly Maid, pun intended) and carried on her covert operation, supporting herself and her daughter, who attends a posh boarding school.

Blondes are always seen as the classic stereotype, aren’t they? The dizzy blonde who, when asked, “Did you see the dead bird?” looks up and asks, “Where?”

For that very reason Jess is a beautiful blonde, quite capable of using her wiles to get one up on males trying to make her life difficult. And by the way, she also knows how to handle weapons and where to get snooping and anti-snooping tech.

I had a lot of fun writing Jess. She locks horns with the smart, handsome and rather full-of-himself Admiral Hudson, who finds he’s bitten off a little more than even he can chew.

Hudson asks questions about Troy’s death that Jess can’t answer so she decides to investigate, with the help of her best friend Santh Dekstra. That involves Jess in break-and-entering activities and eventually sends Santh into unimagined danger.

Through it all, Jess is a mother, with a mother’s devotion to her only daughter. And that characteristic lands Jess into a whole load of trouble.

Starheart is a murder mystery, an action adventure and a romance all bundled up into a space opera. The illustration by the talented Kevin Radthorne (http://radthorne.deviantart.com/gallery/) epitomizes what Jess is about – sexy, resourceful, and very smart.

You’ll find Starheart at Amazon US and Amazon UK.

***

 

 

Greta van der Rol loves writing science fiction with a large dollop of good old, healthy romance. She lives not far from the coast in Queensland, Australia and enjoys photography and cooking when she isn’t bent over the computer. She has a degree in history and a background in building information systems, both of which go a long way toward helping her in her writing endeavours. More at:

Check out her site: http://gretavanderrol.net/
Connect with her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/GretavdR
Connect with her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Author.Greta.vanderRol

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Congratulations to the Goodreads Giveaway Winners, Shout outs and other news!

by Beth Barany Posted on April 1, 2012

Thanks to the 933 Goodreads members who entered the Giveaway for Henrietta The Dragon Slayer. Sorry, the giveaway is now closed. I will be doing another Giveaway for Book 2, coming out this summer, called Henrietta and The Dragon Stone. More on that later!

Congratulations to M. Cha and K. Pulli for winning copies of Henrietta The Dragon Slayer. I’ll be mailing your books this week!

In other news…

** I’m currently accepting weekly guest posts from writers on several topics: nonfiction posts on Kick Ass Heroines in Science Fiction & Fantasy, and on Real Kick Ass Heroines: Athletes & Leaders. For all the details check out my writer’s guidelines here: http://author.bethbarany.com/write-for-us/.

** Sweet! My awesome husband, Ezra Barany, added my Grand Prize seal to my cover. He also added the name of the series, The Five Kingdoms. I love it! I’m uploading the cover and a revised edition of Henrietta The Dragon Slayer to my printer soon. The revised edition will show up in all the retailers in a few weeks.

** Those of you who know me from my other role as a writing coach, know I love twitter for authors! as i’ve seen as both a professional and a novelist, Twitter is such a great way to connect with people who share your interests and passions. (Yep, I have a nonfiction book, Twitter for Authors, coming out by the end of the summer!)

On that note, lately I’ve had fun following people who use the hashtags #girlpower and #fairytales.

Shouts outs to @girlpower3, @GirlPowerPR, @WriteGirlLA, and @UNWomen.

Also shouts outs to some of my YA author friends: @JaneGeorge, @UltimateYA, @4KidLit and so many more (my twitter list for YA book everything!)

** I’ll be organizing a blog tour (with help!) for Henrietta and The Dragon Stone (Book 2 of The Five Kingdoms series). If you’d like to review the book and participate in the tour, just drop me a note by May 1, 2012. Thanks!

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A Giveaway for Henrietta The Dragon Slayer

by Beth Barany Posted on March 16, 2012

In honor of my 2012 Grand Prize award for HENRIETTA THE DRAGON SLAYER, my young adult fantasy novel, I’m giving away two paperback copies.

Be sure to enter the giveaway on my Goodreads page for the book here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11713438-henrietta-the-dragon-slayer

What others are saying about the book:
“This is a fun, enjoyable fantasy. The characters are quite interesting, and I really enjoyed the adventure.” — Heather, Book Blogger

“… I have to say I really enjoyed reading this story. Henrietta is exactly the type of heroine I love to read about. …

Henrietta is a girl that can’t stand the thought of killing one more dragon – or anything for that matter. She simply wants to live her life. But, when her mentor falls ill she is forced into a quest to get a healing stone to save him. But that requires one more kill. Can she do it!? Well, you’ll have to read the story to find out!

It was a great read – I read it in one sitting. The dialogue and really the whole tone of the book made for excitement from the first line. Beth Barany did a fabulous job grabbing me right from the beginning with this story. I highly recommend this story to anyone who is a fan of fantasy and kick-butt heroines. It’s really a great book to have in your collection.” — Anastasia Pergakis, Author

PS. You can sign up for news about my fantasy series and other books here:http://http://author.bethbarany.com/ 

PPS. Henrietta The Dragon Slayer can be bought via Goodreads as an epub eBook: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11713438-henrietta-the-dragon-slayer

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Interview With Fantasy Author Camille Picott

by Beth Barany Posted on February 27, 2012

Welcome to another author interview. This week: Camille Picott, indie author of a middle grade fantasy story inspired by her heritage and her passion… Enjoy!

***

1. What got you into writing this book in the first place? Tell us a little about the book as you answer the question. 

 My book, Raggedy Chan: A Chinese Heritage Tale, was inspired by two things: 1) the stories of my grandparents and their not-always-easy-lives as Chinese Americans, and 2) a passion to share some of the wonders of Chinese myth with children.

Raggedy Chan is a fantasy adventure for middle grade readers, though I have discovered that many adults enjoy the tale as well. To young readers, it’s a story about a Chinese princess who travels to America to rescue her stolen dragon. To adults, it’s a story about the immigrant experience.

2. What was the most fun thing to do during the writing, producing or marketing of your book?

My book is an illustrated novella with forty full-color illustrations. Hands down, the most exciting part was working with artist Joey Manfre on the pictures for the book. We met once a week to brainstorm. I loved sitting at his desk and watching him bring the characters and creatures of my book to life.

3. What are readers saying about your book? 

The reviews have been very positive. Here’s an excerpt from C. Keaton at Abnormally Paranormal Reviews: “This is a great story for kids and adults alike, as it not dumbed down in anyway. Nor is it written in a complex way, but it has an incredible depth to it that more analytical readers will love to plunge into, especially those interested in fictional analogies of discrimination.”

4. Why did you decide to Indie publish? 

I don’t recall ever having a particular epiphany moment where I thought to myself, I am going to self-publish this! My decision happened more organically, arising out of a passion to produce a book that didn’t neatly fit any of the New York publishing molds.

For my day job, I work as a professional purchasing agent. This gave me a good foundation when it came time for me to source a printer for my book. I also decided to produce a limited edition Raggedy Chan doll, which I also sourced using professional contacts.

5. What advice do you have to authors just starting out? 

Join IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association). Read their monthly trade magazine from cover to cover. If you can afford it, attend IBPA’s annual Publishing University. I’ve never been able to attend myself, although I did purchase all of the Publishing University seminars on audio, which I listen to in the car as I commute.

6. Anything else you’d like to share?! 

The sequel to Raggedy Chan is entitled Nine-Tail Fox. It was just released in September 2011 as both a print book and e-book. It’s only $7.99 and makes a great stocking stuffer for young readers! While Raggedy Chan explored the immigrant experience, Nine-Tail Fox explores themes of bullying and racism.

 

You can follow Camille Picot’s indie publishing adventures at www.pixiupress.com.

Thanks Beth!

***

Thank you, Camille!

** If you’ve written a fantasy tale with a strong female heroine, and would like to be featured on my blog, please contact me! **

 

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Good News: I’m a Grand Prize Winner!

by Beth Barany Posted on January 6, 2012

I’m thrilled to announce that my YA fantasy novel, Henrietta The Dragon Slayer, has won the Grand Prize in the first annual California Fiction Writers Book Challenge!

http://bookcontest.luckycinda.com/?page_id=583

Thank you to the judges and contest organizers!

Just wanted to share the good news, and give a big thanks to all of my readers, book reviewers, cheerleaders and fans for all your support, advice, hugs and chocolate over the years.

** http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0983296049

Likes, shout outs, reposts gratefully appreciated!

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A Kick Ass Heroine Does What Has To Be Done

by Beth Barany Posted on December 26, 2011

Welcome back to another guest post on what makes a kick ass heroine tick in fiction. This week’s author Cara Bertoia shares the qualities of what makes a kick ass heroine for her.

***

I recently watched a movie made about Dagenham, England. The lead character Rosie O’Grady reminded me what a kick ass heroine is. To me the fiercest heroines are the women that do what has to be done; the ordinary woman that sees a situation that is so wrong she has to try to make it right. In 1968 The Ford plant in Dagenham, England employed 40,000 men and 187 women. Although they called the women machinists, they sewed the leather for the seat cushions; they were paid at half the rate of men doing a similar job. Rosie O’Grady and the women in her department struck for equal pay. The movie is about the courage and will it took for these women to risk their livelihood in order to challenge a major corporation. It was a long and brutal strike, but in 1970 the Equal Pay Act was passed in England.

The great novel Vanity Fair by William Thackeray may have been written in 1847 but the characters still resonate today. Most readers identify with Amelia Sedley who has more heart that brains. But I like my characters a little bit naughty, so I prefer Becky Sharp, for what is a poor orphaned girl to do? Critics say that Vanity Fair is a novel without a hero but Becky will always be mine. Born in unfortunate circumstances she will do what ever it takes to survive. A realist, she takes life as it comes but underneath her brashness one can also find a compassionate heart. When Becky, working as a governess, has the opportunity to marry her employer, being hungry for money and security she jumps at it. Becky may not be nice but that is what makes her so unforgettable, unlike the heroines of that time who were passive creatures waiting for Prince Charming to find them sitting in their own parlor.

In my novel Cruise Quarters – A Novel About Casinos And Cruise Ships, Sarah Seldon works in a square concrete building that has been hastily thrown up beside a freeway, the windows hermetically sealed, not a breath of fresh air allowed in. Toiling away at her hi-tech job in Silicon Valley claustrophobia gradually sets in. When the opportunity arises to join a cruise ship and travel the world she jumps at the chance. She isn’t scared of going, her big fear is of staying – there is a German word for it — torschlusskpanik, the fear of missing the boat. In her case, literally. She never has a moment of hesitation and that is what a kick ass heroine does, she changes her life when it isn’t working for her.

Sometimes we all have to become our own kick ass heroine. Even if we aren’t rich or don’t possess great physical beauty we do have the power to change our own lives, and most of the time we will do it with almost no support only great heapings of criticism. I loved writing about Sarah. She is not a perfect person, she has insecurities and lives with her share of regrets but she isn’t afraid to fail. That is the characteristic of my heroine; she is willing to take that chance. She doesn’t take herself too seriously and she knows how to laugh at herself. It was great fun to write and although it was inspired by my own life, when I put pen to paper my imagination took over and it became Sarah’ story.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004NIFUUU

NOTE from Cara Bertoia: Updated 12/28/2011: This week to celebrate the holidays and all the new Kindles Cruise Quarters is on sale for the low price of $.99.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Growing up in a straight laced Southern family, I was always fascinated with casinos. In my twenties on a summer hiatus from teaching inNorth Carolina, I drove to California and became a dealer at Caesars in Lake Tahoe. I wanted to write the first realistic novel about casino life from the perspective of an experienced table games dealer. More at http://carabertioa.blogspot.com/

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How a Kick-Ass Heroine Reinvents Herself: The Raw Redeeming Truth in Science Fiction

by Beth Barany Posted on December 5, 2011

Welcome to our reignited weekly guest post on what makes a kick ass heroine tick in science fiction and fantasy. This week’s author Erin Lale highlights the transformative power of writing a kick ass heroine.

On a side note, Erin and I were friends in high school and spend lots of time together in the imaginative worlds of Tolkein. We’ve recently reconnected over our shared interest in writing transformative stories about strong women. It’s wonderful to see our friendship re-emerge after all these years.

***

Carla Punch, alive and kicking.

In the Punch series, a seven-book science fiction series, Carla Punch kicks a lot of ass—aliens, pirates, robots, evildoers of various kinds—but her true struggle is against her own fears and memories.

In Book 1, she is an ex-Marine suffering from PTSD who travels to alien space to conquer her fear of aliens, and succeeds beyond her wildest nightmares.

She makes an alien friend and gets drawn into galactic politics, which leads in Book 2 to becoming a knight of the very alien society she once fought against.

She has increasing success in her new career over the course of the series, becoming a ship captain, but continually struggles against her past. Her force of will is tested merely by being on her own ship, with her own alien crew.

Ultimately it’s her tenacity in fighting her own personal demons and reinventing herself as a hero rather than a victim that makes her a truly kick-ass heroine.

Carla Punch’s journey from mental illness to exceptional heroine and ultimately to an unexpected spiritual awakening is a healing journey, a classic rags to riches tail in which the riches gained are the precise opposite of material wealth: the transformation from a matter-based existence to an energy-based being.

Along the way, her struggles parallel the kinds of struggles I dealt with in my own life, which I wrote about in my memoir, Greater Than the Sum of My Parts: My Triumph Over Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Carla’s task in learning to live in a galaxy filled with aliens is a symbolic retelling of my internal struggle to become comfortable living in a world full of men. Carla’s backstory is having been the victim of war crimes by aliens in a POW camp; my history is having been sexually abused as a child. Both kinds of experiences lead to post traumatic stress.

The memoir is raw life, and the Punch series is my life redeemed, filled with meaning, and made universal in accordance with the classical hero’s journey.

Some of the episodes in Carla’s story are direct transmutations of events in my own life. For example, the ghastly dinner party where Carla finds herself seated at the same table as the alien who once tortured her comes from my childhood experiences of having to sit down to dinner every night with a child molester.

The aliens have a terrifying, monstrous appearance, looking like devils, complete with horns, but the monsters they represent are human beings that look like everyone else. Carla Punch has obvious and recognizable physical scars from her traumatic experience; none of my physical scars were acquired in childhood.

So Carla’s story is an analogue of my brain, turned inside out and made manifest, but it is not an allegory with a moral at the end, but a fairy-story in the Tolkienian sense, with a “eucatastrophe,” a twist happy ending.

But the Punch series isn’t all horrible times, any more than my life was. Carla’s story is also filled with humor, accomplishment, friendship, and triumph, like real life but in a larger-than-life way.

Today I have numerous genuine friendships with males; Carla marries an alien.

I had the confidence to run for office last year; Carla runs a starship.

Carla is my aspirational self, the me who does not fail. She grows through all her experiences and ultimately ascends to a higher level of existence. Some people give their problems to a higher power; I gave mine to an action hero.

The inspiration for the type of heroine Carla is comes from a motto that hung on the wall in my teen years in the garage, which was also my older brother’s kung fu studio. It said:

“He who conquers fear conquers himself. He who conquers himself is the greatest of warriors.”

Carla conquers her fear, and is the greatest of warriors.

Writing Carla’s story was an incredibly healing experience for me.

Every time I re-read it to edit it, which I’ve probably done a dozen times over the past few years, it heals me anew.

I hope it can be a transformative journey for the reader, too.

***

 Where You Can Get Erin Lale’s Books

Links to buy Punch book 1: The Loribond

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Loribond-Punch-ebook/dp/B0056KOR94

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-loribond-erin-lale/1103824155

Links to buy Punch book 2: Dark Horse

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Horse-Punch-ebook/dp/B005E3P7RE/

 Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-horse-erin-lale/1104457643

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/75815

Links to buy Punch book 3: Vri 97

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Vri-97-Punch-ebook/dp/B005GIEXF4/

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vri-97-erin-lale/1104732084

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/80032

Links to buy Punch book 4: Dalshon

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dalshon-Punch-ebook/dp/B005LO32Q4/

Links to buy Punch book 5: Dream

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Punch-ebook/dp/B005VHB1ZK/

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/9629

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dream-erin-lale/1106660073

Punch book 6: Ship of Sails and Punch book 7: Clan Imbalo are not yet published. Punch is being published 1 book per month starting June 21, 2011 and continuing until December, for a total of 7 books.

***

About the Author: A polymath genius, Erin Lale is the world’s most prominent contemporary sunprint artist, publisher and editor of Time Yarns, and a skinflint extraordinaire who practices radical recycling and freetarianism in Henderson, Nevada. She was the founding Chairman of City Lights Artists’ Co-op, served on the Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Advisory Board, ran for Nevada State Assembly (her campaign is the subject of her book How to Lose at Politics, Or, Not Bad for a Libertarian), wrote for The Sonoma Index-Tribune, invented technical processes in iDEN and CDMA technology, sang in the Celtic folk-rock band North Wind, got the Double Ruby Award from the National Forensic League, bred a new type of creeping phlox flower, conducted the Sage Women Drum Circle, ran a custom fabric dyeing business, published and edited a print magazine, taught Russian in a university, wrote and directed the magical realist art film Rain Dance, worked as an alarm dispatcher, and farmed. Her Bengal Cat, Beni-Wan Cat-Obi, is the star of the award-winning Cool Cat Campaign Commercial.

Erin stays in touch with her friends, fans and community via her Yahoo group here.

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What Makes A Kick-Ass Heroine Tick

by Beth Barany Posted on October 19, 2011
Midnight at Spanish Gardens by Alma Alexander

Welcome to our weekly guest post on what makes a kick ass heroine tick in science fiction and fantasy. This week’s author Alma Alexander highlights what really makes a kick-ass heroine tick…

^*^

It is perhaps unfortunate – at least from where I am sitting – that the trend for books featuring the textbook definition of “kick-ass heroines” tend to come packaged with the Headless Cover Trope. You know – THOSE covers – the women shown with their rears  encased in tight leather, the briefest possible excuse for a top which serves to showcase, er, curves, as well as a wealth of “ink” in the shape of tattoos which wind around taut biceps, wrists which look entirely too fragile to carry (never mind point, shoot, or cope with the kick of) the kind of firepower that they are depicted as toting in the cover image, or fetchingly situated in the hollow of the lower back, just above the point where those tight leather trousers cling to hips seemingly by the power of invisible skin Velcro (because there’s nothing ELSE obvious that’s holding them up…)

I say unfortunate because I think the best attribute of a kick-ass heroine is actually what’s between her ears. Yes, she can excel at karate, and hunting vampires with a crossbow armed with silver bolts, and unerring and precise target shooting with a sniper rifle – all of that, and more. (Well, perhaps not at the same time. Let’s give the poor girl SOME space.) But the most important thing of all is that she needs to be able to THINK.

One of the poster girls for kick-ass heroines, albeit in movies rather than books, is Alien’s Ripley. There’s very little about her that is soft or gentle. But she has a mind, and a spirit, and her most memorable moment was the Giant Waldo Suit scene and her fierce protection of that little girl. Motivation. There is a reason for the violence. Another iconic kick-ass heroine is Whedon’s Buffy (I never really glommed onto the whole series but I do remember one line, uttered with complete seriousness, which made ME take it seriously and believe the whole conceit: “They have no clue what a slayer is.” There is a world of hurt and potential in those few words. A world of confidence (born not of hubris but of a simple knowledge of what one is capable of). And yet… there have been entire episodes of Buffy where the heroine exhibits… actual… VULNERABILITY. Hey, kick-ass heroines can get hurt, just like the rest of us. That’s a revelation, to some.

Getting in the head of a strong woman like this can be tough, no less for female writers than for the guys. Because, well, in a kick-ass heroine the fact that she can DO pertinent and successful violence is a given. It’s very easy to stop there, and have her wreak havoc for the couple of hundred pages of your book, and never get beyond just that. But what makes it for me, is WHY.

An unlikely literary kick-ass heroine, for me, despite the fact that she never wielded a sword, is Dianora from Tigana – because she is steely inside, where it matters. And because she finds herself unexpectedly betrayed by her emotions, in the end, in a manner that was a crushing weight on her. And because she still makes her own choices, her own decisions, in the end. A kick-ass heroine isn’t one who whacks everything standing until she is the last one left on her feet. A kick-ass heroine is the woman who faces her troubles, can deal with them physically if she needs to, but who can also deal with them in more difficult and more subtle ways. A kick-ass heroine, in other words, is a well-rounded character with strength and convictions, somebody willing and able to stand up for her ideas and for the things that she holds dear, whether wielding a sword or her tongue or her intelligence.

Perhaps this is not the classical definition of what a “kick-ass” heroine is, or does. I wrote one, myself, in the person of Xaforn from “The Secrets of Jin Shei.” I don’t think anybody who has ever read that book, met that woman, could have any doubts whatsoever that she was amongst the most kick-ass of the kick-ass. But her strength, for me, wasn’t in that she could beat down a baker’s dozen of trained warriors and make enough of a dent, enough damage, to make her presence felt. Her strength was steel core of her honor.

A kick-ass heroine should be more than a female thug. In other words… the “kick-ass” is secondary to “HEROINE.”

Author, Alma Alexander

About the Author: Alma Alexander is an internationally published novelist whose work, from YA fantasy to far more “grown-up” books, appears in 14 languages worldwide. She is currently at work on more books featuring the strong female protagonists for which she has become known. Alma Alexander lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two cats.

Where to buy her books:
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Sky Warrior Books Amazon Store

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