Katheryn Lane: Why I Love Strong Female Characters by James West

Today I'm doing a blog swap with author James West. I'm over at his place, at http://jamesawest.blogspot.com eating chips and salsa,and talking about sheikh romances, while he's kindly agreed to come over here to talk about why he loves strong female characters (as do I!) and eat some local flat bread, olives and hummous and maybe even a bit of camel's hump? Over to you James!

First, I want to thank Katheryn for inviting me to guest post on her fantastic blog! It’s so nice to be here.

I knew right away I wanted to talk about strong female characters, a topic that has been on my mind as I work on my new novel. I will apologize for the shameless plugs right up front, because I will mention some of my work in this post :)

I come across this subject occasionally when I am on Goodreads, KindleBoards, etc. Like with most things, people seem to be split down the middle on what they prefer.

Personally, I love strong female characters. When I read The Lord of the Rings for the first time as a teenager, Eowyn was one of my favorites. She was strong, loyal, brave, and wanted nothing more than to protect the people she loved. I admired her spirit and courage when she hid her identity and charged into battle with the Riders of Rohan. And when she faced the Witch-king of Angmar at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, that is one of the most awesome fantasy scenes ever written! EVER. I love what she told him when he boasted that no living man could hinder him:

"But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him."

That gets me every time! I knew I wanted women like that in my stories. I enjoy writing fantasy where the damsel in distress longs for a good sword, and heaven help the bad guys if she gets her hands on one.

In The God King, book one of my Heirs of the Fallen series, one of the main characters is Ellonlef, a Sister of the Najihar. She is a scholar, a healer, and a warrior. It is because of her that hero, Kian Valara, is able to stand against the evil of the God King. People have emailed me and written reviews telling me Ellonlef was their favorite character. That makes me so happy! To write a character you can connect with and care about is every writer’s dream, and it’s a personal goal of mine with every story I write.

In my upcoming release Lady of Regret, you will be reunited with Lady Nesaea. You first met her in book one, Reaper of Sorrows. The Scorpion did have to help her out of a spot of serious trouble, but she took down plenty of scumbags before she was captured! I don’t want to give too much away, but she plays a major role in this story :) I have a special sneak peek on my Facebook fan page for anyone who is interested.

Overall, I think strong, passionate women enrich a story in so many ways. I enjoy reading about them as much as writing about them, and I hope you do to!

Thank you again Katheryn. I enjoyed being here and meeting everyone.

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