My post for Heroines in Fiction produced several unexpected results. First surprise: the hands-down favorite was Charlie Fox, the martial-arts expert created by Zoe Sharp. I’d never heard of Charlie Fox until two weeks ago when I met her author on Twitter. I read the book and loved it, so I included her. Apparently, she has a lot of fans.
Second surprise: upstart indie author Joanna Penn’s Morgan Sierra makes a respectable showing ahead of Tempe Brennan and Kay Scarpetta. Not only is she written with enthusiasm, her author is a significant contributor to the Indie community.
Most interesting and unexpected: the third place finisher was “Still Looking for a Great Heroine”. This speaks volumes about readers longing for a new feminine protagonist. Something is missing from the list of good characters already out there. What? That’s why I’m asking for your thoughts.
What makes a great heroine is important to me for many reasons. Primarily because my daughters (39 & 15 … don’t ask) never shared my love of reading. They’re both lost to Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, etc.
In my opinion, part of the reason is the lack of fictional women in leadership roles. I’ve found it disappointing that in the early 21st Century, only 3% of real world Fortune 500 companies are led by women. There is a corresponding shortage of women leaders in fiction. Plenty of women cops, bounty hunters, investigators, and so on, but no women leading large companies.
For that reason, I developed the Pia Sabel series of thrillers. Pia Sabel represents a new kind of role model. She’s a former soccer star who leads a security company with a thousand employees that triumphs over corrupt businessmen and murderous criminals. (Plus she can kick some butt when needed.)
Am I alone? I was surprised to see such a strong reaction to my poll. Surprised that so many people were still looking for their favorite heroine. So, naturally, that begs the question: What should that heroine look like? Click the blue button below to design the next thriller heroine. There will be places to leave your comments AND One lucky entrant will win a signed copy of Jeffery Deaver‘s latest Kathryn Dance novel XO.
Design Your Own Heroine!Peace, Seeley
