Category Archives: Kick Ass Heroines

How Kick-Ass Heroines Can Be “Normal” by Leona Wisoker

by Beth Barany Posted on May 8, 2013

Top of Bunker at Cherry Beasley by Adam Theo

Enjoy this guest post by author Leona Wisoker on how kick-ass heroines can be normal.

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I’ll start by saying I’m not a big fan of the term “kick-ass heroine” (or hero, for that matter). The base idea–of a strong, independent female character able to fight her own battles–is fantastically worthy; but sometimes it seems to me that everyone is claiming that they write “kick-ass heroines”–and many of them, in fact, do not. The term feels as though it’s become a touch Barbie-fied at this point in time–commercialized, overused, trite, and turning into a parody of itself.

The term “kick-ass” is inextricably linked, in my mind, to covers showing women in ridiculously skimpy outfits holding oversized weapons and posing in ways that would break most of our spines. (In case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the infamous post on this topic by Jim C. Hines: http://www.jimchines.com/2012/01/striking-a-pose/)

Perhaps that’s just the cover art side of the industry, which we all know is distorted. There are certainly many wonderful examples of strong heroines in speculative fiction that are in no way plastic bad grrrl copies; look at Tamora Pierce‘s work, or C.J. Cherryh’s, or Marion Zimmer Bradley. I don’t know that I’m comfortable using the term “kick-ass heroines” for any of those characters, though. I get visions of scenes from Watchmen and Tomb Raider when I’m faced with the term “kick-ass”. When I’m faced with great fantastical fiction, I tend to describe the characters with words like “incredible” and “gutsy” and “resilient” and “innovative”.

Maybe we need to come up with another word that means the same thing. Maybe I’m just being tetchy today. But when I ask my female characters if they think they’re “kick-ass”, they just laugh at me and pat me on the head and say they’re not that melodramatic. Alyea of Peysimun, throughout the Children of the Desert series, grows from an impulsive young woman with more courage than sense into an adult with a real appreciation of the hard choices life forces us into–and that the price is higher with each new responsibility we take on. Eventually, there are no good choices, only variations on less bad choices.

Now, to my way of thinking, any human being who can face an impossible decision–such as giving up your first born child as the price of your own survival–is more kick-ass than a sexy sword-wielding female samurai. Alyea faces that choice in the first book, Secrets of the Sands, not understanding at the time that it’s a rigged game; she’s supposed to die regardless. She survives, and has to live not only with the guilt of her choice but the eventual understanding that she was played. Throughout the series, she is, on multiple occasions, faced with the need to kill to protect her own life, which she does without hesitation or remorse–not because she’s a bad person or a psychopath, but because she believes her life is more important than the lives of the people trying to hurt her.

She’s the type of girl who, if someone broke into her apartment in the middle of the night, would cooly take a gun out of the bedside drawer and shoot the intruder dead–without asking questions, because questions take too long and just get you killed. Now, it’s not the act of killing that makes her tough–it’s the willingness to make a fast decision and commit to it, and to accept the consequences of that decision, right or wrong.

Not all of the women in my novels are tough. Some are moral weaklings. Some are broken in irreparable ways. Some are just flat stupid. In other words, they’re normal human beings put through normal crises–well, maybe not normal situations, or I’d be writing lit-fic, not spec-fic. :D

They don’t stare at hunky guys or gorgeous gals with burning passion; they don’t leap joyfully into battle; they don’t do what they do because they’re in love. There is absoutely nothing wrong with those things, mind you; I love that sort of book as much as anyone else. But it’s not what I–currently–write. (Who knows what the future holds?)

Whether my female characters deserve the label of “kick-ass” is, ultimately, up to the reader–not to me or, sadly, to my characters. I completely respect and support the original intent of the phrase as meaning “strong and independent”.

One day I may even start using it myself. Just not–quite–today.

***

Leona Wisoker is a writer, teacher, reviewer, editor, and blogger. She lives in eastern Virginia with her husband and two large dogs, all of whom routinely try–and usually fail–to drag her away from the computer for long, rambling walks. Details on her writing credits and projects may be found at: http://www.leonawisoker.com and http://www.mercuryretrogradepress.com; her blog is at http://leonawisoker.wordpress.com; and she recently joined Twitter under the handle leonawisoker.

 

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What Makes a Strong Kickass Heroine? by Jaleta Clegg

by Beth Barany Posted on May 1, 2013

poisonpawn

Enjoy this guest post by Author Jaleta Clegg. She explains how to make your characters distinct from one another. Enjoy!

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Which is stronger – vinegar or chili peppers? That depends on how you use them and how you define strong. I use cooking analogies because I know cooking. No, it isn’t going to win a fistfight, but I could cook you under the table, especially if the contest involved baking cookies or using weird vegetables.

It’s the same with my characters. Strength is a relative term. I try to make all my characters distinct, with their own failings and triumphs. If a character is weak in the story, it’s deliberate. Not everyone can be powerful.

My first book, Nexus Point, introduced Dace. She’s short, scrawny, and tougher than old shoe leather. Or so she wants you to believe. She’s had a hard life. She has to fight for everything she wants – mostly to be left alone to fly her starship wherever her curiosity takes her. She armors herself against other people, which makes her appear strong in her isolation. But she’s a lonely person with a lot of baggage.

Book two, Priestess of the Eggstone, introduced Jasyn Pai. She’s drop-dead gorgeous in an exotic way. She’s a qualified, certified navigator. She’s got a thing for shoes and nail polish. She isn’t much of a fighter, but don’t ever, ever, ever make her angry or threaten her brother or her friends. She’ll find a way to make you pay.

Book three, Poisoned Pawn, pits the two of them against multiple enemies.

Each is strong in her own way. In many ways, Jasyn was the hardest for me to write. I’m not a girly person. Tomboy geek fits me much better. But writing from her viewpoint forced me to examine my own prejudices. I gained a lot more respect for the more feminine members of our gender. Jasyn isn’t afraid to get dirty, when necessary. She isn’t the one to charge headlong into battle, but she won’t stop Dace if someone needs shot. And when push comes to shove, Jasyn will do whatever is needed to protect those she loves. She will bend under pressure, but she won’t break. That by itself is an incredible feat of strength.

Jasyn lets her emotions show. Dace doesn’t. We tend to equate stoicism and lack of emotion with strength, but if you bottle up your feelings, does it make you stronger or does it make you more easily broken?

Strength is in your definition. Whether solid as a rock or resilient as a tree, both are strong women. They do what needs to be done. They stand up for what they believe is right and good. They protect those they love. And then they bake cookies.

***

jaletacleggmedJaleta Clegg wants to be Han Solo when she grows up. Or Ursula the Sea-Witch. In the meantime, she writes science fiction adventures and silly horror stories. Her day job involves starship simulators, and inflatable planetarium, and lots of school children. She lives with a horde of her own children, the requisite writer’s cat (named Chunkalicious Rex), two dogs, three zombie frogs, and a very patient husband. Find links to her work at http://www.jaletac.com or http://www.altairanempire.com

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Jain Lazarus: Karmic Return Personified By Devon Ellington

by Beth Barany Posted on April 17, 2013

HexBreakerAlt

Enjoy Devon Ellington’s post on writing kick ass heroines.

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“Kicking ass” goes beyond physical combat.  “Kicking ass” means standing up for what you believe in, stepping in when you see or hear someone deliberately causing harm.  You don’t back down.  You don’t look away, do nothing, or hide behind “company policy”.

Jain Lazarus, the heroine of my Jain Lazarus Adventures, is a flawed, impatient, smart, talented woman who is incapable of doing nothing when something “wrong” happens — be it in the physical or metaphysical plane.  That leads her into a career of righting wrongs, even though there are missteps on the way.  Not every choice she makes is correct.  Not every solution gets the result she wants and needs.  But she doesn’t simply let things happen; she makes things happen.

To me, someone who stands by and does nothing when a crime is committed as dangerous as the person committing the crime.  The criminal takes action; the by-stander encourages the crime via a lack of action.  The Kitty Genovese Case is an example. In 1964, Kitty Genovese was murdered in New York.  Fourteen people overheard the murder and not one of them so much as called the police.  Each of those fourteen people should have been prosecuted as an accomplice to murder.  They are as much to blame as the person who repeatedly stabbed her.

Jain would have gone after them.

In a more recent case, banks hired individuals at $10 an hour to forge thousands of signatures so those banks could illegally foreclose on property. Take away people’s homes, throw them into the streets.  Yet, the banks are allowed to settle, instead of facing the consequences.  The individuals  and bank executives who performed the forgeries should be prosecuted, if not worse.

Jain would go after them.

A kick-ass heroine doesn’t just go after legal justice, but also karmic justice.  We can try to comfort ourselves that each of these individuals who cause harm will have to pay a karmic price at some point in their lives, and none of us will know what that is.  But in our books, our kick-ass heroines can bring those types of criminals to justice, along with the ones who pull the trigger or throw the punch.  It happens while we are with the characters on the page, giving us catharsis, not in some distant future we can’t predict and won’t find out about.

That is deeply satisfying, especially in these days where special interests buy themselves legislation crafted to keep said special interests in huge profits while everyone else struggles.

Kick-ass heroines evolved from a need for women to have female characters to identify with who took action against those causing harm, and taking an action that has genuine, long-term consequences.  Kick-ass heroines take action in spite of their own hurts (physical and emotional), and, most importantly, they get results.  They get justice.

Jain Lazarus is a kindred spirit to a character in an upcoming trilogy, Valerie Jones.  Valerie is not human; she is a preternatural creature who was created to dole out justice according to the Justice of Ancient Greece.  Valerie makes a lot of people uncomfortable — many think she goes too far, and her decisions are too black-and-white.

That’s the point.

With Jain, I’m writing from a point of view of a human woman who sees the variations on morality, understands them, and makes the best choices she can in the moment.  Jain is both active and re-active.  She does not enjoy violence, but when she is pushed into a situation where there isn’t another choice, she will use it.  In fact, there’s a running joke in the series about her different weapons and carry permits.  She prefers knives to guns (guns being too impersonal and the easy choice), other than one she modified to take down rampaging paranormal creatures or blast them into other dimensions.  Valerie was created to be the effect of a criminal cause.  She is much more ruthless and much more intentionally violent.

Living inside these women’s skins changes me for the better.  I question the choices more closely, and it makes me take stronger actions in my own life, albeit without the violence.  Jain is more than I am, which is why she makes a good protagonist.  She also makes me realize where I can be more than I am and strive for it.

***

Old-FashionedDetectiveWork_HiResDevon Ellington publishes under multiple names in fiction and non-fiction.  Her work appears in anthologies, and her plays are produced around the world.  Blog: Ink in My Coffee (http://www.devonellington.wordpress.com); Website: www.devonellingtonwork.com.

Found out more about Devon Ellington here:

Hex Breaker, The First Jain Lazarus Adventure

Amazon Kindle:http://www.amazon.com/Hex-Breaker-ebook/dp/B00872VCSW/

Print:http://www.amazon.com/Hex-Breaker-Devon-Ellington/dp/1482057298/

OLD-FASHIONED DETECTIVE WORK, The Second Jain Lazarus Adventure

http://www.amazon.com/Old-Fashioned-Detective-Work-ebook/dp/B00BQKZUOY/

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The Anti-Mary-Sue: How Flaws Reveal a Heroine’s Strength by Emma Larkins

by Beth Barany Posted on March 25, 2013

mechalarum1-jewelry-small

Enjoy this guest post by writer and science fiction author, Emma Larkins on how flaws reveal a heroine’s strength.

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As writers, we often fall prey to a desire to make things larger than life. It’s a good impulse – after all, what is fiction if not more-or-less exaggerated truth? Still, while we quest to discover greatness, it’s important to remember that “better” heroines aren’t always better.

Here’s an exploration of a character trope to help explain why.

Chances are good that you’ve come across mention of “Mary Sue” at some point, especially if you tend to dip into the world of fan-fiction. If not, here’s a basic overview: Mary Sue was a character in a 1970s fan-fiction spoof. Her characterization made fun of the current practice of inserting a flawless, impossibly young and wonderful-in-every way heroine into Star Trek fan fics; the practice was widely viewed as a way for people to insert perfected versions of themselves into the fictional universe.

(Check out TV Tropes http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue for more information, in addition to great resources for disambiguating the many faces of Sue).

But Wait; Isn’t My Heroine Supposed To Be the Best?

Some might think that the fewer faults a heroine has, the stronger she appears. Obviously, a laser-gun-toting, roundhouse-kick-delivering, gorgeous, six-foot-tall Amazon fluent in every alien language ever discovered (and a few that aren’t even known yet) is the pinnacle of kick-ass, right?

The things is, strength isn’t measured objectively based on the number of ways a character can kill the bad guys, the suitors who swoon at her feet, or the rivals she reduces to fits of jealousy. Instead, we perceive strength when we see that a heroine – or a person, for that matter – manages to overcome hardships through effort and determination. Giving a character flaws humanizes her. It lets us access the core of her soul in a truly understanding and empathetic way.

Are Goddess-Like Heroines Really a Big Deal?

Overpowered heroines aren’t just a problem to the stories that revolve around them. In fact, they’re almost as detrimental to the characterization of women in fiction as the omnipresent “damsel in distress.” When we indulge in either of these one-dimensional tropes, we’re not creating role models (or cautionary tales). Instead, we’re trivializing what it means for a person to really succeed or fail, to truly tap into inner strength or unwittingly give that strength away.  We’re “taking it easy,” and giving up true meaning in return.

How to Make Your Heroines Human

In my upcoming novel, Mechalarum, Kiellen has more than enough flaws to make her believable. She has a history of bucking authority, and frequently refuses to follow rules, or even the better judgment of her friends. Many heroines display this trait, but what makes it a flaw in my story is that Kiellen suffers consequences because of this attribute. My fictional universe doesn’t let her get away with flouting tradition unscathed. First, she gets kicked out of the famed ranks of the Mechalarum pilots. Then, her actions put her entire society at risk – and she pays the price for it, ending up in a crippled flying suit alone in the middle of a desert.

Another flaw that writers often tap into is relationship inexperience.  In Kiellen’s case, her obsession with taking control of situations, combined with a well-hidden fear of rejection, leads to a series of betrayals and bungled romances.

And, most importantly of all, she puts her very life at risk by clinging to the power and control that the half-organic, half-machine Mechalarum suit gives to her – even as it corrupts her body from the outside in. She gets sick. She grows weak. And she refuses to see the error of her ways.

Every heroine needs to display capability and competency in some way. After all, if she’s completely inept, she’s not going to be able to do much to fix whatever mess she’s gotten herself into. Still, it’s the overcoming of obstacles, not the actual strengths themselves, that make for a memorable heroine and a rich story.

***

Bio

profile-pic-2011-smallEmma Larkins, a freelance writer, recently embraced the bright lights of NYC. She’s running a Kickstarter to publish her first science fiction novel, Mechalarum http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/emmalarkins/mechalarum-a-science-fiction-novel, and using her learning to help Knodes (http://knod.es/) develop products in the crowdfunding space. Check out her website http://www.emmalarkins.com/ or follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/emmalarkins

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Inspired by Strong Women and Girls

by Beth Barany Posted on December 31, 2012

Susan Pevensie, Chronicles of Narnia, from http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/the-chronicles-of-narnia/images/8698224/title/susan-pevensie-fanartMany readers ask me what inspires me and where do I get my ideas. Well, I’m inspired by what movies and TV shows out there that feature strong women and girls, especially in fantasy and science fiction. Where I get my ideas, well, I get there from all around, and mostly from my desires and dreams. More on that in a future post.

 

 

Strong Girls in Fantasy

Just tonight I enjoyed watching Lucy and Susan Pevensie in the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Susan wields the bow and arrow with focus and precision, and Lucy has a dagger and her magic healing potion and courage.

Strong Women in Science Fiction

I just discovered the show Continuum on the SyFy channel.

Continuum, TV series, image from IMDB.com“A detective from the year 2077 finds herself trapped in present day Vancouver and searching for ruthless criminals from the future.”

Since I haven’t watched it yet, all I can say is that I’m intrigued. I love time travel and smart, savvy women.

SyFy [UK] Already broadcasting Season 1

SyFy [US] Premiering Season 1 Jan. 14th, 2013

 

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Girls Have To Believe They Can Kick Ass by Author Eva Pohler

by Beth Barany Posted on December 13, 2012


Enjoy this post by author Eva Pohler about her fantasy series The Gatekeeper’s Trilogy and The Mystery Box.

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Girls Have To Believe They Can Kick Ass

“The most common way people give up their power is by believing they have none.” (Alice Walker).

To be sure, plenty of outside forces exist that subjugate and oppress girls, but I agree with Alice Walker when she says self-doubt is the worst culprit. When we’re brought up in a world where men continue to hold the highest offices in government, church, and the work force, it’s not hard to understand why girls often think they don’t have what it takes to kick ass.

At the beginning of my Gatekeeper’s Trilogy, The Gatekeeper’s Sons, a young adult contemporary fantasy based in Greek myth, fifteen-year-old Therese Mills believes she’s the least powerful person on the planet. Her parents have just died. Her aunt has come to live with her in her beautiful home in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, but even though this means her friends and school won’t change, Therese is ready to give up on life to join her parents. Death, known as Thanatos, has other plans.

Thanatos briefly meets Therese while she’s in a coma. Avoided by all gods and mortals because of his job, he’s shocked when she throws her arms around him and calls him lovely. He later makes a deal with his father, Hades, to go to the upperworld to win her heart. In return, Therese must agree to avenge her parents’ murder.

Throughout book one, The Gatekeeper’s Sons, Therese struggles with her feelings of ineptitude. Thanatos’s sisters, the fierce and beautiful Furies, help her hunt for the killer, but their strength and efficiency make her feel weak. She feels small and insignificant until she learns her aunt’s life is in danger. The desire to protect her loved one helps her rise above her self-pity to become the warrior she never knew she was.

In book two, The Gatekeeper’s Challenge, Therese is required to complete a set of five challenges designed by Hades, who hopes to see her fail because he’s disappointed with the way things turned out in book one. Once again, her desire to protect a loved one—this time Thanatos—pushes her past her doubts and insecurities into determined action. One by one, she faces each seemingly impossible challenge—including Ladon (the one-hundred-headed serpent), the Minotaur, and the Hydra—because it’s the only way to spare Thanatos from an eternity of torment.

The final book of the trilogy, The Gatekeeper’s Daughter (to be released December 1, 2013), once again forces Therese to look inward. All gods and goddesses serve humanity or the world in some way, and in order to remain at Thanatos’s side, she must discover her unique purpose while protecting her loved ones against forces that want to see her fail. In all three books, power isn’t something Therese derives from her environment, but something she finds within her once she believes it’s there.

To celebrate the completion of this saga, I’m holding a contest from January 1, 2013 to October 1, 2013 for my readers. Details can be found at my website at http://www.evapohler.com/contest.

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eva Pohler teaches writing and literature at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she lives with her husband, three children, two dogs, two rats, and a very large collection of books. She is the author of The Gatekeeper’s Trilogy and The Mystery Box.

Find Eva on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/EvaPohler

Find Eva at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4888434.Eva_Pohler

Visit Eva’s Blog: http://www.bookclubpicks.blogspot.com

To purchase copies of Eva’s books, please visit her website: http://www.evapohler.com/books

You can also contact Eva: evapohler@sbcglobal.net

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Interview with YA fantasy author, Beth Barany: The Next Big Thing

by Beth Barany Posted on December 12, 2012

The author Christine Ashworth tagged me for this blog meme, with my permission of course.

Everyone knows that The Next Big Thing is just on the horizon, so we writers are putting our work in progress out there for the world to peer at, and possibly champion.

So sit back and enjoy reading about my next project that will be out soon.

What is the working title of your next book?

Henrietta and The Dragon Stone, Book 2 in the Five Kingdom series.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

From the fairytales and fantasy I read as a kid. I always wanted a girl heroine who had to go on quests and face impossible odds, so I finally wrote my own. Henrietta’s story begins in book 1, Henrietta The Dragon Slayer.

What genre does your book fall under?

Young Adult Fantasy

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I’d love to see Jennifer Lawrence (of Hunger Games movie fame), Mary Elizabeth Winstead, or Teresa Palmer in the role of Henrietta the legendary Dragon Slayer!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Only one-sentence! LOL Okay here goes! (Go here for the three-sentence description about Henrietta and The Dragon Stone.)

Henrietta the legendary ass kicking dragon slayer must fight for her life and for those she loves against an unknown and terrifying sorcerer who is after her and her Dragon Stone, for the fate of the Five Kingdoms is in her hands, whether she likes her fate or not.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Self-pubbed!

How long does it take to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I generally write chunks of my first draft — 10,000 to 20,000 — quite quickly, in about 1-2 weeks. Then I stall out; then restart with another spurt, months or years later. That’s why I work on multiple projects at a time. LOL

This book has been on the 5 year track. :-)

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Epic like Lord of the Rings; for a strong young woman heroine: Hunger Games; a group of friends facing evil with magic, like Harry Potter… to name a few.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

It may be strange to say, but Henrietta inspired me to write this sequel. :-)

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Things my readers of book have liked: a kickass heroine; friends working together; Henrietta’s sarcastic and go-for-it attitude; a world of magic, and a good story!

 Let me know what you think about my upcoming book – and what you’d like to see more of. Thanks!

Here comes the tagging part of the meme. Since I hopped in rather late, I have 7 people so far. (I’ll add more folks as they jump on! Contact me if you’d like to join the The Next Big Thing blog meme.)

 Next week, please check out:

1. Copywriter, Tanja Gardner

http://crystalclaritycopywriting.com/next-best-thing-blog-meme/

2. Author, Kelley A. Harmon — already posted!

http://kellyaharmon.com/work-progress-update-meme/

3. Author, Faith Van Horne

Scribatious (http://faithvanhorne.blogspot.com/2012/12/next-big-thing.html)

4. Author, Sylvia Kelso

http://www.sylviakelso.com/2012/12/the-next-big-thing-blog-meme_19.html

5. Author, Artist, Clarence Cromwell

http://clarencecromwell.wordpress.com/2012/12/19/next-big-thing-cromwell-quarterly-review-gets-15-minutes-of-fame/

6. Author, Alice Gaines

http://alicegaines.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-next-big-thing.html

7. Author, Carol Malone

http://carolmalone.com/2012/12/16/interview-with-sweet-tender-romance-author-c-a-malone-the-next-big-thing/ (post already up!)

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Guest Post with L.A. Jones Author of Tales of Aradia the Last Witch Volume One

by Beth Barany Posted on December 6, 2012

Enjoy this guest post by 25 year-old college student, L.A. Jones, author of Tales of Aradia the Last Witch Volume One.

***

Hello, my name is L.A. Jones. I am the author of the Tales of Aradia the Last Witch Volume One. It is about a girl who finds out she is the absolute last of her kind.

Over the years we have seen dozens of genocides occur. Luckily, not all of them succeed in wiping a certain race of people off the face of the Earth. However, what if were possible to completely destroy an entire race of people? Furthermore, what if you were to find out that you were the absolute last of them?

This is what Aradia finds out. She was adopted as a baby and grew up having special abilities. Her parents are fully aware of her powers but neither of them have answers. She grows up isolated from other people and as a bully victim. It helps build her sympathy for victims and people who are ostracized because they are different. The powers she posses vary from control over all the elements to super strength and speed. Although she tries her best to contain her powers, she nevertheless loses control. She and her family are then forced to move away. Ironically, to the same place where they found Aradia. At first glance, everything seems normal but Aradia soon discovers that all is not what it seems.

Soon she is fully aware of the supernatural creatures dwelling among us. Namely, Vampires, Werewolves, Fae, and shapeshifters and many more. All of whom are called “hiddens.” Why? Because their biggest law that they follow is that they must remain hidden from the humans. This is the only law they follow though. In contrast to the human race, prejudice and unchecked violence abound amongst the hiddens. Aradia is appalled by all this until she discovers that as the last of her kind she holds enormous political power. As the last witch, she can do things no other hidden can do which makes the other hiddens fear her. She also miraculously survived the slaughter of her people three hundred years ago. This knowledge alone is enough to intimidate the rest of the hiddens. She sees all this as an opportunity to change things for the better in hidden society. She makes it her life’s mission to promote tolerance amongst the hidden race. Using her knack for understanding people, and her special abilities she is able to open clubs and community centers that help ease the tensions amongst the hidden race.

Little does Aradia know about the manipulations that are going on in the background. The Sovereign of all vampires, who not only put her entire race to death, is plotting something sinister.  A massive attack or another genocide? No one really knows especially not Aradia.

I have long since been a “Buffy” and “Charmed” fan and so I have always loved women who could kick ass. However, both shows lacked ambition in my opinion. Yes, Buffy and the Charmed Ones had a mission but the mission was so limited. Most of all their missions were handed to them. In real life, we have to discover on our own what we are meant to do. I grew up overseas and saw first hand the cruelties of the world. It always frustrated me how there was so much I couldn’t do. I began to wonder what if I did have that power, politically and physically, would I use it to make a difference. Aradia is like this, she discovers she has the opportunity to make life better for people. However, nothing in life is ever simple so I throw in a bit of intrigue with the Sovereign.

My editor discussed many things and decided not just to have Aradia be a Buffy sort of character but also a Nancy Drew character. In the first book, she solves a murder and goes on to solve all sorts of crimes. Thus leading her to discover the Sovereign’s plan. My definition of a kick ass heroine is some one who does not just kick ass she also makes a difference. Aradia is just that. She finds out she is the last of her kind. Vengeance in her mind is futile but she realizes because she is the absolute last witch she can make a difference. The only challenges I have come across is trying to resist the urge to make her too powerful. Harrison R. Bradlow, my editor, told me that making a heroine too strong proves to be pointless. Thus I make sure Aradia has weaknesses and has a lot of learning to do.  What I enjoy about writing my series is the thought that my books might inspire people but most of all entertain them. I think that’s what entertainment should be, it should make people laugh but also help them learn.

My bio: I am a twenty five year old college student. My mother and father work in the foreign service. I also have a sister who is studying to be a psychologist. I grew up in several different countries and learned many different things about politics. I use all of this in my books. I like to establish a bit of realism and purpose in my books. I have Aspergers Syndrome and depression so I have also learned about the way people function. Most of all, I learned that I want to do is make a difference on people’s lives. I want to inspire fellow Aspire people. I call my syndrome Aspire Syndrome because I think it sounds more accurate. We all aspire to do something great in our lives.

My buy links:

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

LA Jones is a twenty-five year old college student whose mother and father both work in the foreign service. I also have a sister who is studying to be a psychologist. More information at http://lajonestheauthor.blogspot.com/.
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What Makes a Woman, Any Woman, Kickass? By T.M. Roy

by Beth Barany Posted on November 9, 2012

Enjoy this guest post by T. M. Roy, on what makes a woman, any woman, a kickass heroine.

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I think it’s her capacity for compassion and caring. Her biological instinct to nurture and protect. And her tenacity and fury when something she cares about is threatened. It’s something I see in many women. I see it in my own sisters. I see it in some friends who are mothers or otherwise have those strong mothering instincts. For sure it’s one of the main reasons the small population of the people in my book-worlds have held out so long against a larger, stronger, better-equipped enemy. People who fight for what and who they love have a lot more going for them. You want to unleash the hounds from Hell? Try getting between mothers and their children.

Although she’s never had a child of her own, I think that quality is what truly fuels Rett, my heroine in the Journey to Nyorfias series (Convergence, Gravity, and the forthcoming Stratagem). Sure, she’s strong, physically large and stronger than many men—her height and heft from her father, her way above average strength a genetic anomaly inherited from her offworld mother’s race. Her strength is blessing and curse, something she had to learn to control ever since a single incident of lost temper in her tweens. She’s only unleashed her full strength in battle and it’s earned her a nickname she hates: Killer. She’s not a scholar—getting passing grades was a struggle for her. But she’s very much in tune with her environment, can read the weather, use the terrain around her to advantage. She knows flora and fauna and the ways of predators and prey animals. Her physical prowess combined with her “street smarts” and the love of family and homeworld makes Rett a force of nature.

Of course, one of the drawbacks of such passion is that the heroine takes things to extremes. In Rett’s case, her need to protect someone in her platoon or civilians in danger lead her to thinking the only course of action is making herself a target, the object and focus of enemy attention. Like the prey animals she observed and learned to hunt, she’s made an art of using herself as a decoy to lure the predators on a chase while her platoon gets in and out on a dangerous mission—or escapes a trap. Despite her speed and strength, she doesn’t always get away unscathed. Past horrible personal experiences aren’t enough to make her quit. She pushes the nightmares and pain deep inside and keeps going.

Combined with her nurturing nature, Rett’s denial of facing and letting go her past demons gradually takes over her life. The imagination she had as a younger person, the dreams she had for her future, get pushed aside and buried deep. Almost every waking moment is focused on her platoon, making sure their needs are met and satisfied, even to the exclusion of her own. Sound familiar?  It does to me. I’ve seen this (I see it daily, actually) from a few of my sisters, from some friends who are moms. These strong, kickass women often can’t see this for themselves, how they’re running themselves into the ground. Fortunately, Rett’s unit and a no-nonsense medtech aren’t afraid to stage interventions to prevent her from self-destruction. (My sisters and friends have me, but they don’t always listen.)

In that light, writing kickass heroines comes naturally. Surrounded as I am by examples, frustrated by my inability to do more to help them, I can only stand by and be there for them.

Just in case that sounds depressing and too frustrating—it isn’t  Through writing, I have the power to effect change. I can’t change these women I love, the ones I see self-destructing. But I can change myself. How wonderful is it that some of the characters I’ve written, based on a myriad of real life women, inspired me to actually DO the things I’ve only imagined doing? Inspired me to be braver, less selfish? Building a world and society in which eco-friendliness is paramount and gender issues simply don’t exist has made me more concerned with environmental and social causes. How much more wonderful would it be that a reader who enjoys the story for the action, adventure, and kick-assness also might be inspired by other messages in the subtext?

I love writing kickass heroines. But they’re not just a salute to those women who serve in our military, police forces, rescue services, or other dangerous jobs. I like to think they honor that kickass mom, sister, auntie, daughter, or friend, too. And inspire the heroine inside all of us.

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Another book by T.M. Roy:

Find out more about T.M. Roy here:

The link for Convergence (JTN1) at Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036RTYLA

The link for the Convergence Special Edition (with the funky wrapper and “special features” like maps and extra stories and drawings by me): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009LDI0U4

The link for Gravity (JTN2): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004GKNOI0

My blog: http://tmroy.teryvisions.com
My site: http://www.teryvisions.com (it’s mostly my art/formatting business site)
My publisher site: http://www.zapstone.com (need some updating…new books covers for one, but I’ll get on that.)

Link to all titles at Amazon (product search results)
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=T.M.+Roy

Link to all titles at BN:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/t.m.-roy

Link to all titles at Kobo:
http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=t.m.+roy

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When she’s not writing or gardening, T.M. Roy freelances as an illustrator, cover artist, and designer of pixel and print books. She currently lives in the Land of 10,000 Lakes with an opinionated Quaker parrot named Apple, who has his own blog and writes food haiku, and an eccentric Senegal parrot named Sir Hugo the Naked.

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More posts about Kick Ass heroines.

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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

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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.

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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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