Enjoy this guest post from paranormal romance author, Barbara Donlon Bradley, on what makes a kick ass heroine.
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How do you write a kickass heroine? What makes her kickass? I believe a heroine should always be strong in your story. I’ve read many a book when the heroine might seem like she’s kickass but she just came across as whiney to me. I didn’t want that in my story. I wanted a heroine who was strong, and stuck up for herself. I have one thing more though, she also has to have a sense of humor.
In my latest series, the Vespian Way, my heroine is Heather Drexel. She works for Earth’s security and is one of their best. Found in a field of heather as a child, she became a ward of the planet and was groomed to work in security. There were those that teased her for being an orphan. They made her feel like she had no value so she pushed herself to prove she was important and excelled.
Heather has strong beliefs and she’s driven to do the right thing, even if it goes against her current assignment and has been demoted on several occasions because of it. I made her like this because I don’t like wimpy heroines, but she also needed to be strong because of my hero.
Storm is from the planet Vespia, a highly aggressive, very dominate race. He stands seven foot six and all muscle. Heather is tall for a human but she’s still over a foot shorter than Storm. When she first meets him she’s assigned to protect him. He doesn’t make it easy either. To him she is petite, how is this little slip of a woman going to protect him? They’re at a function, where she is discreetly watching the crowd when he comes over and starts to mimic her, watching the people as well. His thought is if she is a security officer let’s see what she’s made of. All she sees is he has just made her job a lot harder.
Heather also needed to be able to handle the truth about her. Throughout the series she has learned she could speak the ancient language of Vespia, that she was part of that race and had been sent to Earth for her protection. How would you handle thinking you were from one planet all your life then to learn you were part of an ancient race from another planet?
A lesser character would have curled into a little ball and cried why me. She faces each twist with grace and her own style. The way she was raised and her military training made her strong. Being able to stand up to her mate keeps her strong. She proves it time and again when she uses her training to protect herself. She has brought men to their knees with a joint lock manipulation, knocked people off their feet when they tried to grab her, thrown them over her shoulder when they came at her in training or with no warning.
I like characters like this. They’re fun to write and fun to read. She’s the person I wish I was at times. Don’t get me wrong I’m not the shy type. I’m a people person, a bit domineering and loud. You hear me long before you see me, but I’m not always the quickest on my feet. I’m the one who will think of the great comebacks hours later when I’ve had time to think about it. So in a way she’s my alter ego. The woman I would love to become.
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Thanks Barbara!
Guest Post: Kick Ass Heroines In Science Fiction & Fantasy Posts by Barbara Donlon Bradley http://bit.ly/1a1nADz #KickassHeroines. Click to tweet.
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Writing for Barbara Donlon Bradley  started innocently enough, like most she kept diaries, journals, and wrote an occasional letter but she also had a vivid imagination and wrote scenes and short stories adding characters to her favorite shows and comic books. As time went on she found the passion for writing to be a strong drive for her. Humor is also very strong in her life. No matter how hard she tries to write something deep and dark, it will never happen. That humor bleeds into her writing. Since she can’t beat it she has learned to use it to her advantage. Now she lives in Tidewater Virginia with two cats, one mother in law – she’s 86 now — her husband and teenage son.
Thanks for having me Beth!
You’re welcome, Barbara! My pleasure!