Kim Vandervort, author of THE SONG AND THE SORCERESS and THE NORTHERN QUEEN, has posted a wonderful essay on defining the heroine in epic fantasy on our new blog Heroines of Fantasy.
Here's a sneak preview:
"The problem with 'traditional' female characters in epic fantasy, as I see it, is that they fall into one of only a few roles: the goodly matron, the healer, the love interest, the witch, the prostitute, and the victim. Sometimes they fulfill more than one of these roles at a time. She’s a witch AND a goodly matron! She’s the prostitute AND the victim AND the love interest! 5x bonus for a character who manages to meet all of the stereotypes at the same time! Unfortunately, she doesn’t play much of a role beyond that prescribed for her by the genre. Our “heroine,” even when she wields a sword like a badass, still swoons over our hero and falls apart like bad toilet paper whenever the going gets tough.
Heads-up, people: these are not real women. In order to write a proper heroine, the author has to respect the characteristics that make women strong and use those to advantage instead of trying to force the heroine to occupy a stale stereotype or squish into the role traditionally occupied by the hero..."
To read more and share your own comments and insights, stop by Heroines of Fantasy.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Showing posts with label Kim Vandervort. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kim Vandervort. Show all posts
Monday, September 12, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Tomorrow We Ride South Together
The title for today's post is taken form a quote out of a soon-to-be-famous book by a largely unknown author. I chose it because it marks the end of one journey and the beginning of another; a new adventure that will not be undertaken alone, but in the company of good friends who share a common vision.
It seems an appropriate quote for this particular moment in my internet life. Next week, I will get on my virtual horse and trot over to another corner of the e-universe to begin a new project with fellow authors and esteemed Magas Terri-Lynne DeFino (FINDER) and Kim Vandervort (THE SONG AND THE SORCERESS, THE NORTHERN QUEEN). Our project, entitled Heroines of Fantasy, is a new blog dedicated to the discussion of fantasy fiction in general, and women in fantasy in particular. I wrote about this last week as well; if you'd like a preview of the new blog, please click HERE.
It's been about a year and a half since I started this blog for EOLYN, and while I'm very excited about the new project, it's a bittersweet moment to be letting go of my weekly posts on this site. I've really enjoyed sharing the backstory of EOLYN: the history of Moisehén, the structure of its magic, the landscape in which its people live. It's also been fun relating the journey of publishing this novel with Hadley Rille Books. In a very real way, this blog has documented one of the most exciting periods of my life, and to be able to share it with all of you -- to feel your support and enthusiasm while bringing my first novel to press -- has made it a truly unforgettable experience.
To give you an idea of how far Eolyn has journeyed since I started posting, here are a few fun figures:
Since its inception in May of 2009, the blog for EOLYN has received nearly 8000 hits.
The countries most represented in terms of visitation have been the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Costa Rica (pura vida, mis amigos Ticos!), Australia, Germany, Russia, the Netherlands, Slovenia and France.
The top five most popular posts to date have been:
Middle Magic
Women, Epic Fantasy, and George RR Martin
The Nutcracker Prince and the Mouse King
Epic Love
Strong Female Protagonists
To learn what people are saying about EOLYN, check out the reviews on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and Goodreads. You can also read the full text of the Publishers Weekly review of EOLYN on this site. I have been very pleased with how people are responding to the novel; there's nothing more fulfilling for a story teller than to know you are telling a good story.
In so many ways, Eolyn's journey has only just begun, so while I will no longer be posting regularly on this blog, the story does not end here. You can still come to this site for announcements and updates about events and signings, or friend Eolyn on Facebook to learn what con, bookstore or library I will visit next.
In the coming weeks, I will probably reorganize this site to make the existing information more accessible to new visitors, so that http://eolynchronicles.blogspot.com/ will remain the best place to go for inside information about the novel and the world in which Eolyn lives.
And, if you would like to embark on a larger journey through magic and fantasy -- one that will include discussion not only about the world of Eolyn, but about many other worlds and their heroines besides -- please get on your virtual horse (or whatever your prefered method of fantasy transport is: dragon, damselfly, magic carpet...) and 'ride south' with Kim, Terri and me to our new blog Heroines of Fantasy. I know you will not be disappointed.
I want to thank everybody who has followed this blog over the last year and a half. Your comments, support and readership have meant the world to me. Thanks to you, the novel EOLYN is off to a grand start. I look forward to seeing you next week at our new location, http://heroinesoffantasy.blogspot.com/, where we will begin brewing up some special magic just for you.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Something Good This Way Comes
Kim, Terri and I will take turns posting, and we will bring in guest bloggers once or twice a month -- editors, authors, and artists in the field -- so be prepared for a wide variety of perspectives on and experiences with this wonderful and varied genre that we call fantasy. We also hope that you, the reader, will take time to participate in those discussions and share your thoughts, insights and inspirations.
As Heroines of Fantasy gathers steam, I will be moving away from regular posts on my blog for EOLYN. This website will remain, so that readers can access it as a repository of information about the history and magic of Moisehen, as well as the writing and publishing of the novel itself. I will also keep the list of events up-to-date, and will likely post special news bulletins once in a while.
But if you want to continue reading the kinds of posts you have seen on my blog for EOLYN on a weekly basis -- now expanded in terms of breadth of topics and diversity of perspectives -- I encourage you to visit and follow Heroines of Fantasy. I know you will not be disappointed with everything Terri, Kim and I have planned for the new site.
A couple other news briefs for this week:
Signed copies of EOLYN will be available next weekend at Bubicon in Albequerque, NM, Aug 26-28. Look for Who Else! Books among the vendors.
The date and time has been set for the Dead Horse Society's Annual Reading, this year entitled Emergence. Ten authors from this Kansas City Area speculative fiction writers group, including me, will be presenting short works on Saturday, September 10, at the Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, Missouri. I will be reading from a story entitled 'Born of Fire', written as part of my Spring 2011 Andrews Writers Residency. Those of you familiar with Eolyn lore will be interested to know that 'Born of Fire' features a scene from the life of Briana, when she was a young maga as as yet untried by love and war. There will also be copies of EOLYN available for purchase and signing. This is the third year we have done this event, and it is always a great evening with lots of wonderful story telling, so I hope you will stop by if you are in the area.
I'm starting the gear up for World Fantasy in San Diego at the end of October. More details to come on that...
Have a great week!
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