The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom: All Hail the Heroine Guest blog and Giveaway with Mimi Sebastian

All Hail the Heroine

Mimi Sebastian

Developing characters is one of the more fun parts of writing and is integral to the story. As readers, we want to identify with the characters even if they are aliens! For romance, we want a heroine that encompasses a little bit of everything, because she is a heroine, after all, but she can’t be perfect. What’s the fun in that? We want to relate to her flaws and bad decisions, because we have them and have made them ourselves.

I can think of a couple of popular culture heroines, one of them being Wonder Woman. Now, Wonder Woman isn’t exactly the flawed, down-to-earth heroine. I don’t think many of us could identify with the Amazonian Princess/demi-god, but when you break down the different facts about how and why she was created, Wonder Woman becomes much more relatable and fascinating.

Psychologist, William Moulton Marston, developed the Wonder Woman character in the 1940s. He wanted to create a female character that fought for peace and sexual equality. Pretty ground breaking, but it doesn’t end there. Marston's wife gave him the idea to create a female superhero. (On an interesting side note, Marston invented the polygraph…magic lasso anyone??). Marston and his wife lived in a polygamous relationship with another woman and both women influenced the character’s creation. Yet there’s more. Some of the early Wonder Woman comics contained some bondage inspired scenes with Wonder Woman tying up her foes in addition to wresting and bondage play between WW and the other Amazonians. Later writers slowly began filtering out the bondage angle. Hmmm, they could have capitalized: 50 Shades of Red and Blue?

One of my other favorite heroines, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is simply one of the best heroines created. Talk about flawed and damaged. Josh Whedon has a wonderful ability to create tough, vulnerable female characters. Buffy was far from perfect and sometimes I grit my teeth at her! (And Riley? Really?) The final two seasons of Buffy were some of my favorite because we saw her become alienated from her friends. She had to make the hard decisions they weren’t ready to understand because, despite all their involvement in helping her, ultimately she was the one on the front line and understood all too well the sacrifices necessary to defeat evil. I groan at some of the watered down, emo young adult heroines we see today. Buffy never lost sight of her calling. She killed Angel, right? Thankfully, he came back J I could include Willow in here too, but that’s another blog post.

In developing Ruby, my necromancer heroine, I had to go beyond physical strength. She’s no Buffy, nor did I want her to be. And I wanted to show necromancy as a power that manifests itself in a completely different way than other supernatural powers, forcing the necromancer to be creative in using the power to escape sticky situations. And kind of like Willow’s transformation after dabbling in dark magic, necromancy can also turn a necromancer to the dark side. So what makes Ruby strong and sexy? She has a career (she’s a professor) and is financially independent. She’s seen lots of tragedy, yet she perseveres and values her independence, her own sense of identity beyond the supernatural community. She had avoided using her power, due to its dark nature, but when other supernaturals need her help, she is driven to respond by an innate sense of seeking justice. She makes mistakes and sometimes her actions bring about dire consequences, but it’s how she overcomes the obstacles that make her an interesting heroine.

The Necromancer’s Betrayal

The Necromancer Series

Book 2

Mimi Sebastian

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Publisher: ImaJinn/Belle Books

ISBN: 978-1611945119

ASIN:

Number of pages: 226

Cover Artist: Debra Dixon

Book Description:

Her powers have been hobbled. Her enemies are growing stronger.

Old loves challenge her. And her worst betrayer may be herself.

Necromancer Ruby Montagne is battling for her life in the realm of demons. Unfairly branded for the death of a fellow necromancer, she’s got to prove her innocence without the full use of her magic. And the real culprit is still on the loose.

While someone is stalking her friends among the witches, Ruby searches for answers inside the dark intrigues of both the demon and necromancer worlds. Ruby must confront this new, sinister threat while reconciling her feelings for her former lover, a demon warrior. Only it’s difficult . . . because a sexy vampire is making it clear that he’d like to be a lot more than just friends.

The competition for Ruby’s trust heats up as the enemy pushes her toward a dark side that could threaten the entire realm. Yet what can Ruby do when she’s not even sure what she is? With the fabric separating the realms at stake, she must decide whom to trust. But will the ultimate betrayal be her own?

Available at Amazon

About the Author:

Mimi Sebastian raised herself on books and the strange and unusual, and an unhealthy dose of comics and movies. When a career as a punk guitarist failed to materialize, she completed her degree in urban planning, spent two years in the Ivory Coast with the Peace Corps, and another three years in Brazil. By day, she debates the merits of transport oriented development, by night she writes about necromancers and pirates. She’s convinced she could live off coffee, ice cream, and comic books, but is sure only one of those is good for her health.

She's a member of Romance Writers of America and the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal chapter of RWA. A transplant from the beaches of Florida, Mimi now wanders the desert in Phoenix, AZ, and attempts to balance writing with a day career, fantastic family, and household diva: her Amazon parrot.

www.mimisebastian.com

https://www.facebook.com/NecromancerSeriesMimiSebastianAuthor

https://twitter.com/SebastianMimi

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/13508578-mimi-sebastian

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