Creating Heroines

I like my heroines to be strong, but still be feminine. They are usually beautiful, but not in the ordinary way. My heroines are usually mysterious and not alway human. They are bold enough to stand up to a man, but also know when to let the man have control. There is usually an aura of sadness surrounding my heroines.

I think in recent times there have been stronger role models for women. My favorite t.v. heroines are Xena and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They can kick butt and still enchant a man with their beauty and feminine wiles.

In the story I just finished, White Rose of Avalon, the heroine is Gwenhwyfar. She is innocent, but she is also intelligent and she grows as the story unfolds. She shows the ultimate strength in the end. I have to admire a woman like that.

My heroine in Of Water and Dragons is part faery and she is full of mystery. She is also flawed, having made mistakes in the past. She wants more than anything to be human, but what does it mean to be human? In the second book, Ravenwolf, she discovers that she misses the life she once had. She is drawn once again into the life of magic and discovers that she cannot escape her dark past, a past she had forgotten.

My latest heroine has to live with a curse. She has to fight the hatred that continues to live inside her. Revenge, she finds out, is not always sweet.

I like to create heroines with an inner strength and with flaws like ordinary people even if some of my heroines are otherworldly creatures.