Congratulations Heather C! You are today’s winner. Email MicheleC(at)romconinc.com with your information to claim your prize. Thanks for visiting RomCon today. J
Why Selkies?
One question I get asked a lot is, “Why selkies?” Selkies, or seal-shapeshifters, aren’t an obvious choice for an urban fantasy heroine. And it is hard to imagine the thought process that starts with, “I need a type of mythological creature on which to base my heroine,” then ends with, “I know! A SEAL!”
Seals, after all, bask on rocks. Then they swim. Then the bask some more. Not very exciting, to start, and certainly not very tough or sexy, two characteristics that normally define my genre.
So why selkies? I cheated a little bit, first of all, by making Jane only half-selkie. Secondly, I knew I wanted to write a different type of UF or Para-Rom heroine. In most of the Para-Rom I’ve read, the women are strong and brave but ultimately vulnerable compared to their men, whereas in urban fantasy, the women are Amazon Women from the Planet Kick-Butt. Don’t get me wrong, I adore reading about both types of heroines. Both are fantasies, after all: one is the fantasy of finding a soul mate who both complements and dominates (at least in bed), while the other is about a fantasy of feminine freedom and control that would make Betty Friedan weep with joy.
For my part, I wanted to I indulge myself, and my readers, in both of these beloved character-types, but I also wanted to play with them a bit. For example, in most of the romance I read (and love), the women are “mere” humans to begin with, but they’re usually also astrophysicists/surgeons/marathon runners whose skills are direly needed by whatever supernatural community from which her brooding hunka-hunka springs. Meanwhile in UF, as I’ve said, the women are witches, and warriors. Or witch-warriors.
So I thought, what if my heroine works in a bookstore?
Such questions defined my approach to my novel. In many ways, Tempest Rising is a parody of the fiction I know and love so well. It’s not just a parody, but the parody is there. So instead of a more typical brooding, inscrutable vampire lover, my vampire’s a bit of a pimp-daddy-mack. Instead of reacting to danger with a flaming sword, my heroine usually faints, swears, or realizes she needs to pee.
As I’ve indicated, I didn’t set out to parody UF or ParaRom because I don’t like it. I love it! But I wanted to honor “real” women in a genre defined by its use of the supernatural. Jane, however, is Everywoman--who just happens to be half-selkie. Jane will grow in strength, until she’s pretty kick-butt. But she’s never gonna be in leather, and she’s never gonna be comfortable in her new role as urban fantasy heroine. She will always long for a hot rock to bask on, in the peace and quiet.
And yet Jane does what she needs to do. Because that, at the end of the day, is where I think real women’s true strength lies. I think, for the most part and with some exceptions in both gender categories, women are used to just getting things done. We take it for granted that if something needs doing, it gets accomplished. We wonder why the men in our lives can’t also “just get it done,” because we think “getting it done” is normal. But it’s not. We take for granted our feminine abilities to multitask, to prioritize, to compromise, and to sacrifice (oh, dreaded word!), but these are actually skills, or talents, of which we should be proud.
In other words, then, I wrote the kind of heroine that I wanted both to honor and to see on paper. A heroine that celebrated the women in my life who have been so very brave, so very strong, without ever having wielded a crossbow.
Which leads me to my question for you, to be answered in comments for the contest: What kind of heroine do you like to see on paper? Don’t be afraid to name either someone already written or a type of character you’ve never seen before but would like to see.
And thanks for listening! Come find me at http://nicolepeeler.com
, on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nicolepeeler
, or on twitter as NicolePeeler.
Answer Nicole's question today for a chance to win a signed copy of Nicole’s book! Winner chosen at random and posted after midnight. Check back tomorrow to see if you’re a winner!
2009
