Monday, June 10, 2013

What Makes A Heroine?

Well, last week I wanted to find out what makes a hunk for you ladies. I was surprised what the answer was and still, it was a great way to find out what women find attractive in a man. If it means he does the laundry or dishes, while looking good doing it, why not?

But today I'm going to answer my own question: What Makes a Heroine?

No one likes a dim-witted woman. I don't like seeing a woman walk out alone at night, unless, of course they're Buffy Summers, of course, and I know she can whip anybody's ass.
Photo: working on a post today. Back to put it up later (^;
Buffy fighting Angel in season 2
When I created my Sabrina Strong, I needed her to have some realistic issues--like money issues--so that it made perfectly good sense that when offered to work for vampires, she couldn't turn it down. I mean, her biggest problem is keeping or even gaining employment. It would you too, if you were a touch clairvoyant and anything you touched, or came in contact would put you into a coma for a week.

While I enjoy other books in my genre, Sookie Stackhouse comes to mind. She has virtually the same problem as she is a telapath, and every man she might try to date she can hear their very thoughts. Sort of kills the moment when you know exactly what a guy is thinking about you.

I like Buffy because she did have a couple of falts, like falling in love with a vampire. Well, who wouldn't fall for Angel? And then she had to kill him because he became evil. That was a thrilling show, let me tell you. The build up of how they fell in love, had a few fights along the way, she had to fight and kill him. I got all tied up in the overwhelming grief over the fact she had to kill her boyfriend. And, of course, save the world, at the same time. That Josh Whedon, gotta love how he can blend humor with  horror, and know exactly how to hit the emotional bar juuuust right.

Sookie Stackhouse Books:

With Charlaine Harris's character, Sookie, we find a young woman who never has gone on a date, let alone had sex, and is introduced to both through Bill, the vampire. Their on/off relationship is steamy, wild, and at times she's fed up with it because she just winds up in the hospital, or gets beat up, or is staked. I think her first novels, Sookie is black and blue and bleeding all over the place. Sookie eventually goes from Bill to Eric, and then she's in and out of relationships with a werewolf, a tiger-were, and then back to Eric. NOTE: I have not read the last book, so do NOT tell me what happens, please!

Sabrina Strong Series:

My heroine of this series had to be strong willed enough to resist the vampires the best she could. In the first book Vampire Ascending, she certainly meets up with some handsome vampire dudes (Vasyl, Tremayne and Nicolas), and one shapeshifter dude (Dante Badheart). Who wins her heart in the end? Well, she falls for Dante. Resisting and later on rejecting Nicolas for the things he has done, or was part of abducting her best friend, Jeanie, who almost dies, and she asks the vampires to save Jeanie by turning her.

Sabrina is hired to find out who has killed Tremayne's life-time mate, in the first book. In the second book, she's involved in learning more about Vasyl, who has been seeking her--the sybil--for centuries. He saves her from a car wreck, takes a bullet out of her and proceeds to tell her all about why he has been waiting for her. And, because Dante has distance himself from her (because Tremayne has forbidden him from being intimate with her any more), she naturally becomes infatuated with Vasyl.

Her mission in this second book, Vampire's Trill, is to rescue Tremayne from imprisonment, and get him to his trial on Dark World. Easy? Not really. While there she makes a few enemies. Well, she sort of kills a designer pet and cuts the tails off a demon (he grows them back, but he's pissed). But they all return to Earth okay. But she is later abducted and tortured because Jeanie's mother wants to know where her daughter is. Jeanie's brother just wants to cut her up. Sabrina winds up in the hospital at the end of this book, and the two Mrs. Woodbine and son, Mark, are put in jail.

Meanwhile, Sabrina's guy troubles have mounted. New guy across the road, Bill, Gannon, wants to date her. Vasyl proposes, and Dante has died.

The third book, Vampire Nocturne, continues with Sabrina becoming Vasyl's bride, and then because she is still mourning her loss over Dante (who she still loved), he gives her time to grieve. But she learns that her cousin, Lindee, has disappeared, and when she goes to investigate, Sabrina winds up on a totally different world where vampires rule, in fact, Drakuyla (Vlad Teppes), is king and a number of other men want to become her lover, or taste her blood. I enjoyed witing this one where I place Sabrina into a world stuck in the Victorian age.

In each book I've manage to put Sabrina up against some nasty vampires who want to do her in, or taste her blood. I've always wanted to put the real Dracula into a story and Vampire Nocturne has him in there as the unlikely hero in the end, and my little surprise ending cures readers curiosity as to what is going on with Dante and that stone he gave her.

More adventures for my heroine is in store, so either check out those you've missed, or stay tuned for updates on the next book in the Sabrina Strong Series.


VAMPIRE'S TRILL
Curently, Lorelei is working on
fourth book in the series.
Vampire Ascending (Sabrina Strong, #1)

6 comments:

  1. It's interesting to see these influences on your own work.

    I miss Buffy and Angel, but they live on in comic series, so they don't quite go away...

    And without reading any of the books, I would surmise that in the last book, Sookie decides to become a cloistered nun.

    Watch. That's the actual ending of the series.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I loved Buffy! Didn't make a connection with Sookie though. Sabrina sounds strong. Its interesting how you've taken traits you liked and built a great character around them.

    .....dhole

    ReplyDelete
  3. ~Hahaha! William, I can almost see that (about Sookie) If I ever can afford the $20 price on the hardcover from Wally World, I'm going to grab it and report my findings right here.

    I did love Buffy, but I didn't want a heroine who was so super-heroish to make her invincible, and Sabrina has to learn how to fight the vampires and demons she has to face off with. Much more coming up in this series, I guarantee you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ~Donna, thanks!

    I don't know what it was about Sookie that some people couldn't connect to. Was it her southerness? Even as I read along, I find some phrases are so downhome southern, I'm like "huh?"

    But like I said in another post, Harris' books were the very first vampire (and the only ones), I found refreshing, not for teenagers, and inspired me to write my own series.

    Thanks for stopping in and putting up a comment, Donna (^;

    ReplyDelete
  5. I loved Buffy, as well. Never read the Sookie Stackhouse novels. Eventually I'll get around to it.

    Hugs and chocolate,
    Shelly

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for chiming in, Shelly.
    Chocolate hugs!

    ReplyDelete

Talk To Me...

AUDIO BOOK NOW AVAILABLE!

Hi, everyone, I have some great news! My first Sabrina Strong book, Ascension, is now in an audio book format.  NOW THAT I HAVE YOUR ATTE...