This week on WW, we're discussing why you like to write the particular heroine you do!
Christi likes urban types; for what Kristi, Margie, Shawn and Liz perfer, you'll have to read the rest of the week's posts to find out!
For me, it's a no-brainer.
She has to be western. Not only in the setting I place her in, but her mind-set and actions.
I love the kick-ass cop or FBI agent. I like innocent girl meets the millionaire bad boy as much as anyone and a couple of CPs have really great ones. But, for me, my heronie has to be a western woman, most likely on a ranch or at least a small farm. A horse--or a hundred--is a given. And most likely she'll have an Australian shepherd or two and at least one cat
Am I writing me?
Parts, yes. The horses, dogs and cats. The love of bad boys. (Do all women love bad boys?)
I live in the west, always have. Don't want to be anywhere else.
I don't set my heroines here because it's the only thing I understand. I grew up half-time in Phoenix and have also lived in Dallas and Jackson. I know big cities. Don't like them much. Sure wouldn't live in one, and my hoard-er-herd of animals would hate it, too.
Most of my heroines are like me...they wear boots and jeans and drive pickups with horse trailers attatched. They can ride, rope, shoot. Strong-- both physically and mentally. Who stand by men, not behind them.
My grandmother, my mother, my sisters, my daughter and my friends are all western women.
Being western is a mind-set as much as a location. I have "western" friends all over the country, and the world, thanks to the internet and Facebook.
The kind of heroine I want read, and more importantly, write, is one I'd like to sit down over a cup of coffee with.
What's your favorite heroine, and why?
I suppose I'm something of a strange duck. I like my heroines to be real, down-to-earth types with flaws--no raving beauties, model bodies, etc. I think I do this because I want women to be able to relate to her and think she was just average, like me, and look at the hot hero she got!
ReplyDeleteActually, this is a tough question for me. I enjoy a variety of heroines in all kinds of fiction. But I agree with C.J.--they should be real. Does Kim Reynolds, my librarian reluctant sleuth in The Inferno Collection, The Drowning Pool and The Truth Sleuth come off as a real person? I hope so. She's honest, ethical and tries to help other people, but she has emotional problems to deal stemming from her background.
ReplyDeleteI like my heroines to be average looking. It makes them that much more appealing to the men that fall for them. I also like them to be explosive - fighting tooth and nail for what they believe, going the extra mile for those they love, running at the mouth because she's emotional.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is the westen woman. I have read a variety of romance novels and greatly enjoyed the hero and heroines of all occupations, but I always come back to the westerns. Even though I have always lived in the eastern part of the US, I love the west, cowboys, and the woman who are strong enough to put up with them.
ReplyDeleteFun post, D'Ann. I didn't know you lived in Dallas. Born and raised here in BigD and am as far from western as any girl. My heroines are generally smart but maybe a bit naive/innocent. Articulate and funny and sometimes a little spoiled. I don't really write badass heroines or heroes for that matter. I don't mind a little naughty streak but their hearts and motives are generally pure.
ReplyDeleteGreat question and great post.
ReplyDeleteI like my heroine to be smart, funny, pretty--not model beautiful--and one who knows herself and has no problem getting angry if she feels she is being taken advantage of.
The heroine in my current MS is a mixture of some of my real life friends.
Fun post, D! Hmm what's my fave heroine and why? Good question.
ReplyDeleteRunning a blank right now but she must be confident, strong and considerate.
I love a man in boots but I don't care if he's a corporate, western, or blue collar. A strong, loyal man who sees the heroine's strong points even when she can't. That's my kind of hero. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great topic. I write the same kind of heroines I loke to read, real ones. They have a smart mouth, not a size 0, have lived an average life with the ups and downs we all have. Most have had their hearts broken so the hero has to work to get near her.
ReplyDeleteI want someone that I would be friends with and could sit down for a beer with.
great post, D'Ann... you write some of the best down-to-earth, Western women I've ever read. Very real people with very real problems and very real love affairs. As for the kind of heroine I like to write...check back tomorrow and I'll you in on it! :)
ReplyDeleteI read to escape. I'm familiar with the ranching life, hunky cowboy, tons of manure, and shooting straight - I married into that type of life. So my heroine has to be bigger than real life, different from the norm, aspire to make me want something she has. I read a contemporary once that was good, but all it did was motivate me to clean the house. That's not what I'm looking for in my vacation between the book covers. And it's the reason why I write in the fantasy/paranormal genre.
ReplyDeleteCool bunch of answers, D'Ann, and a cool post.
ReplyDeleteI just like the female to compliment the hero. I don't particularly have fav qualities. I enjoy personality of any shape size and ethnicity. I think souls find each other no matter what even the shallowest of heroines might grow into substance with the right man :) Happy writing
ReplyDeleteA great topic! I read just about everything, but what I love to write is the Western heroine, too. Which considering I've never been west of Pittsburgh, PA, is rather funny. But I think it comes from what I'm most familiar with and what I wish I had now... I grew up on a farm in Western PA. Like most know-it-all kids, I couldn't wait to leave and moved to the more metropolitan area of Harrisburg where I can't even throw stone without hitting a neighbor's house.
ReplyDeleteMy heroines are tough, but have a vulnerability that she doesn't like. She has to gutsy and kind. She better be passionate about life. And occasionally she'll be the kick-ass type.
As far as looks, my heroines are physically pretty, but it's their inner beauty that makes them beautiful.
Great post, D'Ann. My favorite heroine is Lucky Santangelo from the Jackie Collins' "Chances" series. She's the daughter of a mob boss who took over while her father was in exile in Italy. Once he came back, she'd earned his respect. She was kick-ass, but never mean to anyone who didn't deseve it.
ReplyDeleteThank you all so much for coming by! When I read all your fabulous comments, I realized I've done this post a few times, so need to move on, get a new subject! LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks again, everyone!
I'm the duck out of water here--I write historicals, so a lot of my women have very specific social expectations. I do, however, try to make them spunky within the confines of that historical context. Not every Victorian woman was a dishrag or an angel, though they were supposed to be. I also like the heroine who starts off either shy or submissive and through the course of the novel comes into her own--becomes her own strong person.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, D'Ann!
Great post, D'Ann! My heroines are normal, everyday women--no Zena warrior types among them.
ReplyDeleteI pretty much second everything CJ Clark said. I want a character women can identify with, and I suppose many of us feel average.
Good post,D. I'm still trying to decide what kind of heroines I like to write. Stay tuned.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I have a type, unless it's women who are not, in any way, damsels in distress. In "Storm Chaser", Allie is a disaster photographer from a rich family in California who's been traveling around the country, on her own, since graduating from college.
ReplyDeleteThat seems like a type, but in my two unpublished romances the heroines are very different: One is a corporate attorney from Boston, the other a small town midwestern girl trying to break into the acting business. "Fearless" is the only character trait that seems to connect them.
Thanks for coming by, all!
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate it!