“Why do you write these strong female characters?”
“Because you’re still asking me that question.”
~Joss
Whedon
Growing up my heroes were almost always men: Apollo from
Battlestar Gallactica (The original, baby!), John from Chips (Am I dating
myself yet?), the Duke brothers. They
were cool. They were bad ass. And they kicked some serious bad guy back side.
Why didn’t I have female heroes? Well, there weren’t any.
Okay, there was one: Wonder Woman. And she was the most excellent of all. But
most of the women on TV were pretty much useless, beautiful props in skimpy
outfits.
I didn’t want to be a useless prop in a skimpy outfit. I
wanted to be right there with the boys taking names and kicking butt.
Things are different now, of course. Over the past few years
many strong female role models have popped up on our televisions screens. From
Dr. Quinn and Captain Janeway to Buffy and Rizolli, these women are a reminder
of everything we can be and do: powerful, sexy, smart, loving, and really good bad
guy butt-kickers.
It’s so important to me that my female characters are all,
each in her own way, are the strong, confident role models I never had as a
child. It’s also important to me that my fictional women, like real women, are
more than one dimensional. This is why Morgan Bailey is both a powerful vampire
hunter, and a kind hearted friend, sister and lover. When her world is rocked,
which it frequently is, she gets right back up and keeps on going.
And if anyone ever asks me why I write strong female
characters, I’ll just smile and say, “Because I can’t write them any other
way.”
Who are your fictional female heroes? Or real ones, for that
matter? Share your thoughts and I'll give away one autographed set of the first two books in the Sunwalker Saga!
15 comments:
In fiction, or for real, all my female heroes are not only intelligent & strong, but fight for what is right.
Strong, independent, smart, sense of humor, with a touch of vulnerability to make her real.
Some of my favorite fictional heroines are Rizzoli (and Isles too), Buffy, Veronica Mars, Sydney Bristow (love her, rewatching Alias for the umteenth time) and finally, Madeline Weston, Michael's mom on Burn Notice. She's a woot!
Love your wonderful post.Women who have principles and values. Fictional female hero is Maisie Dobbs. She is a unique woman. Real hero was my mother whose fearless spirit and selflessness was known by all.
Mary - Amen to that!
Karen, I love all the heroines you mentioned. And youre, right, Michael's mom is a hoot!
Thank you, Petite. My mom is also one of my real life heroes. :-) Without her I'd have never become a writer!
Shea
My favorite fictional female heroes are the
ladies of NCIS, of Rizzoli & Isles, and of
The Closer. My favorite real life heroines
are all the mothers and grandmothers of the
past and today. They are the real linchpins
that have held families together!
Pat C.
You know, I have a female hero who is the most unlikely person you would ever think of as being a hero. She is my best friend. She has been through so much, a bad marriage, sibling committed suicide, 2 of her kids are not talking to her(she has 5), her mom is struggling with COPD and pneumonia right now but somehow she always has an upbeat attitude. She has gone through so much heartache but is always so much fun to be around. She can bring laughter to any occasion. She might be 62 but she looks like 50 to me, which is my age! So, my hero is my best friend.
Pat - Thanks for stopping by. And yes, I agree! For sure none of my fore mothers were wiling violets. :-)
Michele - That is fantastic! Thanks for sharing that. Your best friend definitely deserves hero status!
thanks for a fun post and congrats on the series!!! Ummm.. I like women who are strong, smart and can kick butt! So I'd have to choose: Mercy Thompson from Patricia Briggs, Jane Yellowrock from Faith Hunter and Kate Daniels from Ilona Andrews :)
In books they're Jennifer Estep's Gin Blanco, Jeaniene Frost's Cat Crawfield and Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock. On television I love Kate Beckett from Castle, Jane Rizzoli from Rizzoli and Isles, Teresa Lisbon from The Mentalist, and Hetty Lange from NCIS: Los Angeles.
Eve Dallas from the In Death series. There are a few other but Eve is my favorite.
Erin - Thank you! :-) Mercy and Kate are great choices. I haven't read the Jane Yellowrock books. Guess I'll have to add them to the TBR pile. :-)
Barbara - Hetty Lange is one feisty lady and the shining star of NCIS:LA. She even beats LL Cool J's guns. ;-)
Donnas - That's one of my faves, too!
My female hero is Ziva from NCIS. She's strong, intelligent, doesn't get her ass kicked by men, but she's also sensitive with her heart in the right place.
Iris Johanson's forensic scientist Eve Duncan. She reconstructs dead victim's bodies to try to find clues to their killers. She's searching for the killer of her own child too.
Sacajeweja- I can't imagine being forced to guide Lewis and Clark through the Rockies in the dead of winter. She had a terrible French fur trader husband too. Not an easy life but an amazing woman.
my fave heroine is katherine katt from touch by an alien by gini koch
I have a few that I love. I love Cat from Night Huntress series, Anita Blake from Laurell K Hamilton, Mercy Thompson from Patricia Briggs, and Stephanie Plum from Janet Evanovich. These books sound great. You are a new author for me and always looking for new books to check out.
christinebails at yahoo dot com
Post a Comment