Welcome to our weekly guest post on what makes a kick ass heroine in
science fiction and fantasy. This week author A.Lightbourne shares about
the kick ass heroine featured in her science fiction novel, Space Trippers Book 1 and what it’s like to write about a strong female lead. *^*
I believe a ‘Kick-ass Heroine’ should be smart and spunky, able to take care of herself but with a bit of a vulnerable side.
Holding a doctorate in scientific engineering Valesque Rhaugh is not
the violent type. She believes in the sanctity of life and will do
everything in her power to protect the innocent crew of her commandeered
vessel.
Not that she can’t take care of herself when the need arises. As a
Virrilian she possesses not only four sharp fangs, claw-like nails and a
virtually indestructible body but also an exceptional ability she calls
‘hunting mode’, where her warm brown eyes turn a bright silver as they
film over and her senses elevate, enabling her to see her ‘prey’s’
circulatory and nervous systems, even in pitch dark, and vastly
improving her physical prowess.
Although she has not had much need for this natural ability as a
scientist, and has in fact avoided using it ever since she was exiled
from her home planet, as her unwanted adventure continues, she is forced
to use it more and more: to evade alien scavengers, escape captivity,
track potential enemies, gain temporary employment as a ‘lie detector’
and to protect herself from the dark forces that threaten our world.
All ‘Kick-ass’ women have the same challenge: interpersonal
relationships. Strong women can tend to be loners, preferring to go it
alone and do it ‘their way’. Valesque is no different. She had been on
her own for a number of years. After being wrongfully accused and put on
the most wanted list of her home planet, she moved from place to place,
working on engineering jobs, some of which she found ethically
challenging, but all of which were a necessity for making a living.
When her under-construction science ship is stolen, with her onboard,
she is reluctantly befriended by a young, genius, science officer and
an extremely flirty ex-police pilot. These two people did not have much
knowledge of Virrilians — since they lived in IPA space which has been
at war with Virrilia for longer than any of them had been alive — and
thus were extremely surprised at how much her small frame could take.
From having fallen over twenty stories with hardly a thought to being
barely singed by laser fire, her natural abilities continue to surprise
them.
The first time they see her in hunting mode they are taken aback by
her unusually fierce appearance, with her glowing eyes and exposed
fangs. She breathes heavily and growls at them in her heightened form.
As time goes on they are still wary of the sight of her in that state,
never sure which is more in control, the scientist they know and love or
the beast that surfaces and grins at them with that cunning, blood-red
smile.
Writing a strong female lead can be challenging. You always have to
keep a balance of good (sweet) and evil (spunky) in her thoughts and
behavior, and in others perceptions of her. Although Valesque is not a
‘hard as nails’, violent or gruff kind of person, she is strong willed,
sturdy, a bit scary and aloof. Keeping her true to herself in many
different situations, and especially while with people she is not sure
about want to keep getting closer to, is something that takes a lot of
planing, so that we can see her development along the series of books.
Things have to be paced evenly over the course of the story.
Writing a ‘Kick-Ass Heroine’ is a challenge and even more so when she
is the star of a series, but they are so much fun! Who doesn’t like a
cool, talented, self-sufficient, spunky gal?
About A.Lightbourne
I began writing stories almost as soon as I learned to write. From my
1st grade ‘journal’ full of tales of rabbit adventures to my first full
length book at 14, I have always had a love for writing stories. I am
happily married with lots of furry little ‘children’. Most of which I
raised by hand when a local rescue group or friends brought me orphaned
babies to bottle feed. Most of my writing is YA and Fantasy based. Right
now I have Fantasy/Sci-fi mixes: the Space Trippers series and Brass Hearts: A Steampunk Fairytale. All of my writing, especially Space Trippers, is generously sprinkled with humor. I hope you enjoy reading my work as much as I enjoy writing it.
AlexanderWelcome 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.”
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.
Welcome to our weekly guest post on what makes a kick ass heroine in science fiction and fantasy. This week’s author Lynn Flewelling shares about the kick ass heroines featured in her book, Luck in the Shadows, and in her Tamír trilogy, which begins with The Bone Doll’s Twin. Thanks for portraying strong women on the page, Lynn, for us all to aspire to!^*^
Since I got into the business back in the nineties there’s been a real blossoming of kick ass female heroines, and I like to think I’ve contributed a few.
Some of my own favorites, in no particular order, include Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson, Kristen Britain’s Karigan, Laura Anne Gilman’s Wren, and, if you will, Bram Stoker’s Mina Harker and “that woman,” Conan Doyle’s Irene Adler (the book versions all.)
They span genres and time, but they all share one thing: guts. Which isn’t to say that they don’t get scared or sad or knocked down. But they get up and keep swinging for the fences every time.
I have a number of kick ass female characters in my books, but I’d like to talk about two: Beka Cavish, a secondary character in the Nightrunner Series, which begins with Luck in the Shadows, and Tobin/Tamír, heroine of the Tamír trilogy, which begins with The Bone Doll’s Twin. Beka is the easy one, so I’ll start with her.
Beka’s father is the best friend and long time partner in adventure of Seregil, the hero of the Nightrunner books, who has been a sort of uncle to her. From these two Beka learned sword play and a thirst for adventures of her own. There’s a war on, so she joins the prestigious Queen’s Horse Guard cavalry regiment where she excels and plays a pivotal role in several of the Nightrunner books, particularly the second, Stalking Darkness, in which she and her group of raiders, the “ghost wolves,” turn the tide of battle at a pivotal moment and help save the world.
She’s not only good with a sword, but smart, honorable, crafty, and a
good strategist. She also falls in love with a handsome foreigner. Does
she leave the cavalry and settle down to have babies? Not on your life,
sister. He goes home with her, serves as a scout in her regiment, and
she goes on with her career.
Tobin/Tamír
is more complicated. She is heir to the matriarchal throne of Skala,
but her uncle has usurped the throne and is killing off potential female
claimants, except for Tobin/Tamír’s mother who, though he displaced
her, he loves enough to spare. Not so her unborn child—or rather,
children. She gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl. To protect the
girl, the boy is sacrificed to a spell that gives his sister male form
for the first thirteen years of her life.
As Tobin, she is sent, with her squire and best friend, Ki, to serve
at court with her cousin, who is next in line to the throne. And all
this while she has no idea who or what she really is, but has a niggling
sense that something isn’t right. When she was very little she was
punished for showing an interest in girl’s toys (a well-meaning attempt
to protect her) and trained as a boy and a warrior. She finds an outlet
in art, a skill inherited from her mad, distant mother.
It all gets very complicated when “he” begins to menstruate in Hidden Warrior and
assumes he has plague. The truth comes out, and Tobin is at first not
pleased to learn that he has to change gender. By then he’s acclimated
to being a boy, although he’s desperately in love with Ki.
As Tamír, she must lead a civil war against her uncle and beloved but
flawed cousin to claim the throne and save the land. And all before
she’s sixteen. Ultimately she embraces her identity, fights a tragic
battle, and assumes her rightful place in the world. The greatest challenge of writing these characters, and others like
them, I think, is to give them what are often considered “male” skills,
without allowing them to become the infamous “men with breasts.”
They have to be tough, but feminine—not a girly stereotype feminine,
but preserving our strengths: wisdom, persistence, intelligence,
compassion, sexuality, resilience, the boundless will to protect who and
what we love, just to name a few.
No fictional character is going to embody all of those traits, and
each one will have flaws and dark sides, or should, but there is a
female essence and you have to capture and bottle it in your kick ass
heroine to make her recognizable to the reader as female.
Because that’s the point, isn’t it?
To say to the world “Women can damn well be
tough/courageous/wily/strong/wise/what-have-you, and you know what, Dear
Reader? So can you.”
About the Author
Lynn Flewelling is best known for her Nightrunner and Tamír series, but has also published short fiction and articles on writing in publications including Speculations and Writer’s Digest.
Her article “The Complete Nobody’s Guide to Query Letters” has appeared
in several books on writing. She teaches occassional workshops,
including one on a cruise ship, and enjoys interacting with students and
readers. She currently lives with her husband Douglas in Redlands,
California. When she’s not writing she can usually be found knitting,
hiking, and drinking tea.
For our regular guest post on a kick ass heroines, please welcome
Shannon McRoberts. She’s a fantasy and science fiction author, and an
artist, illustrating her own covers. Please note that her first book in
her series, Athine Verses: The Beginning
is free through the 4th of January. As an added bonus, Shannon will
give away to one of our readers a 5×7 print of some of her art. All you
need to do to enter is comment below on your favorite kick ass heroine.
Be sure to leave your email so we can contact you and Shannon can mail
you your prize, if you win. We’ll pick a winner Monday, Jan. 7th, 9am
PST.
***
I have always found myself attracted to the kick ass women in books
and TV. When I was about 5 or 6 Conan was popular. It was out on VHS
and I remember watching it and liking it (although my mother had a fit
because it was rated R). However, Red Sonja was
my favorite. I could give a crap less about Conan after that and
wanted to see the female leads on the screen all of the time. This is
why I probably enjoyed Xena, Buffy, La Femme Nikita…do
you see a pattern here? I’m also a gamer, but I have to be able to
play a girl character…preferably a fantasy styled female character.
It’s just who I am. To think I almost didn’t want to watch Star Wars
because there was no girl LOL!
I
think this is why all of my books feature strong, kick ass, smart,
stealthy, ladies—I have this inherent desire to see a strong female lead
that is both feminine and kick ass. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do
enjoy stories with helpless damsels in distress from time to time. Yet,
I would rather watch the damsel pick up a sword/gun/pipe wrench and
knock the crap out of their captor!
One of the questions I have been asked was to name some challenges
writing a strong female lead. I think for me it isn’t a challenge
because I am a strong female like my characters. I just put my own
personality into my characters. Take Athine for
instance–she is always trying to prove herself to her doubting men that
seem to think women cannot be strong leaders. I myself have fought this
stereotype my entire life and have often come out on top of the pack.
I
also like to combat the stereotype that strong women can only be
physically or emotionally ugly or they have to be a homosexual to be
“strong” or you have to be “ugly” to be smart. I see that theme over
and over in books/movies/TV. I know I took great offense to the fact
that everyone said Xena and
Gabrielle were lovers just because they were two females that kicked
ass and traveled together. I don’t remember anyone saying that about
Hercules and Eolis. This is just wrong. You can be strong, beautiful,
smart, and sexy no matter what you look like or who you choose to love.
You can be kick ass and a wife/mother/companion. You can be beautiful
and deadly. You just can’t let society tell you that it is wrong.
Maybe this is why I liked the Kill Bill movies so much?
I started writing my own series and creating my own fantasy art
surrounding the series because I saw a real lack of strong female
entertainment after Xena and Buffy ended. I needed something to love again; so, Athine
was born. Originally she was only supposed to be a single story, but
as of this date she has spiraled into four stories and has now connected
with another kick ass heroine Zarra from my The Secret of Genetic Corp X. In Worlds Collide the fantasy like world of Athine crashes into the sci-fi like world of Zarra.
The story will then continue in my current work in progress Cursed
Bloods. I take what you think you know about mythology and mix it up. I
also take your normal character set up for fantasy–some heroic muscular
bound male–and throw him on the sidelines. In my books there is a lot
of role switching if you want to think of it that way. The men are not
weak, but they play second fiddle to most of the ladies!
*** Shannon McRoberts currently resides in Kentucky and is a full time
working mother and wife. She loves playing MMORPGs like Guild Wars 2
and has now become addicted to Skylanders Giants. Of course she only
plays with Hex, a strong female necromancer, and is anxiously awaiting
the Ninjini giant to be released..yes she is a female too! Shannon’s books are here: http://www.amazon.com/Shannon-McRoberts/e/B0060ZFD60.
Today’s guest contributor, Ryk E. Spoor, discusses how to measure the heroicness of the kickass heroine. Enjoy!
***
I’ve written several books with kickass heroines; the two which are solo works are Grand Central Arena and Phoenix Rising, whose kickass heroines are, respectively, Captain Ariane Stephanie Austin of the Holy Grail, and Kyri Victoria Vantage, Phoenix Justiciar of the god Myrionar. In some ways the two women are similar – both know how to fight, both have the will to continue even when they’re badly beaten down in one way or another, and both are crusaders trying to protect the people who matter to them. But in other ways they’re quite dissimilar. Ariane is a daredevil, a thrillseeker who used to race at orbital
speeds because she found it fun, a partier and two-fisted brawler, a
woman who never expected to have more responsibility than just
making sure her pit crew was taken care of, and suddenly finds herself –
quite literally – potentially responsible for the well-being of the
entire human species. Kyri, by, contrast, is a much more serious
character, very much aware of her responsibility to others as a member
of the Vantage family (local lords/nobility), expecting to end up as
either a priest of the god Myrionar or perhaps as an adventurer, who
ends up chosen by Myrionar to be the one true Justiciar, holy warrior
for the faith, to avenge the deaths of Kyri’s family and destroy the
now-corrupt original group of Justiciars. So to answer the original question, my first reaction is: the same measure as the Kickass Hero.
What in the descriptions above couldn’t apply to various male
characters? Nothing. And because of that, I don’t think of my characters
as “Female Kickass Heroes”, but just as Kickass Heroes who just happen
to have, as one of their less-relevant characteristics, the fact that
they’re female. So what’s a Kickass Hero, then? In my view, such a hero has to be both badass
– able to lay the smackdown on even formidable opponents, so tough that
they’re the kind of person that can get run through with a sword, and
the guy doing the running-through is still terrified that this
won’t be enough – and have other traits that make them notable, powerful
within their field of expertise, so that their respect isn’t JUST from
the fact that they can probably break anyone who disagrees with them. Ariane and Kyri both fit that description to a T. When Amas-Garao realizes that Ariane keeps getting up,
despite her being apparently utterly outmatched, his reaction is
disbelief; no one could be that determined to get themselves killed, so
willing to fight against impossible odds. When Kyri finally confronts
the killer of her brother, even he cannot keep a momentary expression of
fear and uncertainty from his face. I should note that I like sympathetic kickasses, not
grim-faced gritty angst-machines. While Kyri Vantage was, in some ways,
originally envisioned as a fantasy-world Batman, I didn’t want her to be
grim and humorless. She is fairly serious, but not devoid of
humor, or of the ability to find enjoyment and fun in the world around
her even though she has, honestly, lost much. Her losses, and her
earnest intentions to try to save even those who have walked darker
paths, make her – I hope – more human and appealing than she might be
otherwise. Ariane is playful and, admittedly, sometimes irresponsible, as one
might expect from someone whose initial training was more for “Extreme
Sports” than for “Interstellar Diplomat-At-Arms”, which is a better job
description for her position in The Arena. This, plus her occasional
almost paralyzing uncertainty as to whether she really, truly, is
the right person for the staggering responsibilities resting on her
shoulders, helps tell us that even as a heroine she is human. The other measure of a true Kickass, as I said, is whether
they can translate their badassery into something other than pure
physical confrontation. Kyri Vantage does this in one of my absolute favorite scenes, when she demands that her god COME DOWN and explain itself to her. You read that right: she calls out her own deity and demands an explanation… and she gets one. Ariane Austin, too, gets her own moment; it’s a quieter, more subtle
moment, but in a conversation with someone who is, in all likelihood,
the most utterly badass person she’s ever met – the product of an
illegal and insane project to produce superhuman beings – she manages
to take control of the conversation, give him advice, directions… and
dismiss him, without giving Dr. Marc C. DuQuesne a chance to do more
than simply agree. So what measure is a Kickass Heroine? The same measure as any
true Hero: three times as large as life, four times tougher, and five
times scarier… and exactly one hundred percent human. *** Born
in Omaha, Nebraska, Ryk E. Spoor is a long-time gamer, SF/F fan, and
author of science fiction and fantasy, published by Baen Books since
2003. His works range from hard SF to epic fantasy. He lives in Troy, NY
with his wife, 4 children, and a poodle
**Read these posts and leave a comment telling us what you think! Our opinions matter.
Welcome to our weekly guest post on what makes a kick ass heroine in science fiction and fantasy. This week’s author Lynn Flewelling shares about the kick ass heroines featured in her book, Luck in the Shadows, and in her Tamír trilogy, which begins with The Bone Doll’s Twin. Thanks for portraying strong women on the page, Lynn, for us all to aspire to!^*^
Tobin/Tamír is more complicated. She is heir to the matriarchal throne of Skala, but her uncle has usurped the throne and is killing off potential female claimants, except for Tobin/Tamír’s mother who, though he displaced her, he loves enough to spare. Not so her unborn child—or rather, children. She gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl. To protect the girl, the boy is sacrificed to a spell that gives his sister male form for the first thirteen years of her life.
It all gets very complicated when “he” begins to menstruate in Hidden Warrior and assumes he has plague. The truth comes out, and Tobin is at first not pleased to learn that he has to change gender. By then he’s acclimated to being a boy, although he’s desperately in love with Ki.
For our regular guest post on a kick ass heroines, please welcome Shannon McRoberts. She’s a fantasy and science fiction author, and an artist, illustrating her own covers. Please note that her first book in her series, Athine Verses: The Beginning is free through the 4th of January. As an added bonus, Shannon will give away to one of our readers a 5×7 print of some of her art. All you need to do to enter is comment below on your favorite kick ass heroine. Be sure to leave your email so we can contact you and Shannon can mail you your prize, if you win. We’ll pick a winner Monday, Jan. 7th, 9am PST.
***I have always found myself attracted to the kick ass women in books and TV. When I was about 5 or 6 Conan was popular. It was out on VHS and I remember watching it and liking it (although my mother had a fit because it was rated R). However, Red Sonja was my favorite. I could give a crap less about Conan after that and wanted to see the female leads on the screen all of the time. This is why I probably enjoyed Xena, Buffy, La Femme Nikita…do you see a pattern here? I’m also a gamer, but I have to be able to play a girl character…preferably a fantasy styled female character. It’s just who I am. To think I almost didn’t want to watch Star Wars because there was no girl LOL!
I think this is why all of my books feature strong, kick ass, smart, stealthy, ladies—I have this inherent desire to see a strong female lead that is both feminine and kick ass. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy stories with helpless damsels in distress from time to time. Yet, I would rather watch the damsel pick up a sword/gun/pipe wrench and knock the crap out of their captor!
I also like to combat the stereotype that strong women can only be physically or emotionally ugly or they have to be a homosexual to be “strong” or you have to be “ugly” to be smart. I see that theme over and over in books/movies/TV. I know I took great offense to the fact that everyone said Xena and Gabrielle were lovers just because they were two females that kicked ass and traveled together. I don’t remember anyone saying that about Hercules and Eolis. This is just wrong. You can be strong, beautiful, smart, and sexy no matter what you look like or who you choose to love. You can be kick ass and a wife/mother/companion. You can be beautiful and deadly. You just can’t let society tell you that it is wrong. Maybe this is why I liked the Kill Bill movies so much?
Today’s guest contributor, Ryk E. Spoor, discusses how to measure the heroicness of the kickass heroine. Enjoy!
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Ryk E. Spoor is a long-time gamer, SF/F fan, and author of science fiction and fantasy, published by Baen Books since 2003. His works range from hard SF to epic fantasy. He lives in Troy, NY with his wife, 4 children, and a poodle
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