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Creating the Heroine

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Question: How do you create a believable heroine?

Answer: Damned if I really know. I suggest picking the type of alcohol your heroine will drink and then consuming that alcohol in large quantities while exploring her behavior.

Women are the toughest characters to write and deciding on who my heroine will be can be much more difficult than one would think. I believe a lot of authors begin with themselves, but somewhere along the line, they morph into someone else. Much like Rose of the comic strips, the heroine has to become something much bigger and bad-ass than we could ever be.

Rose Is Rose is a syndicated comic strip, written by Pat Brady since its creation in 1984, and drawn since March 2004 by Don Wimmer.
Rose Is Rose is a syndicated comic strip, written by Pat Brady since its creation in 1984, and drawn since March 2004 by Don Wimmer.

The simple truth is that I don’t want to read about me. I want to read about the person I wish I was. You know who I mean – the tall, lean, attractive woman, with great hair, and snappy comebacks. The exciting broad with the brains to solve the problems, and when all else fails, a solid right jab or a trusty Colt 1911. Except for the right jab and the 1911 – I’m none of those things. However, they are who I want to hang out with on the pages of a book.

So who is this woman going to be? When I start a book, I have a pretty good idea what my heroine is going to be expected to do in the course of the story. I know if she’ll be shooting, fist fighting, climbing mountains, fixing cars, or any number of other things. She may not be accomplished at the things I select, but she’ll need to have the courage to try. Part of the reason that I chose to write about women who have military and law enforcement backgrounds is they’re “doers.” They don’t just face adversity, they fight back. They don’t think of themselves as “girls” when it comes to the job. They are sergeants or deputies or officers or whatever else it is they work at. When they suit up for the job, they become part of something much bigger and it’s easier to be brave when partnered with brave people.

One of my primary objectives is to avoid letting my heroine do more than her character should be capable of doing. Don’t let a school teacher who’s never fired a gun, pick up an automatic weapon and fire it like an expert. Don’t let your Air Force supply troop be overly tactical. There are some out there who might qualify, but most of them can’t. Give your heroine realistic backgrounds, physical skills, problems, and the brains to know when she’s in over her head. Maybe she’ll get in a lucky punch or shot, but odds are, unless she’s been properly trained, she’s going to get whipped in a fight.

Finally. Creating a kick-ass heroine doesn’t mean that she can’t be afraid. The true essence of any kick-ass person is the ability to face fear and move forward with life.

My Kirkus Experience

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The Good:
I came out unscathed and the review had some very nice things to say. I excerpted the important bits and posted them in the Editorial Review section on Amazon and on my website.

The Kirkus site was easy to use and they met the promised schedule. The contact that I had with the assistant editor responsible for managing my review was excellent. When I sent mail with the problems I found in the original (and second) supposedly “ready for publication” review, he addressed them quickly, and the issues were resolved in a satisfactory manner.

The Bad:
I sort of feel as though I may have been shuffled off to someone who specializes in reviewing romance. There’s a couple of reasons to feel this way. First. I find it hard to believe a regular reviewer of military suspense or thriller would write, “Morgan and his dog prove to be a stabilizing force for Jenna as she adjusts to a new role under the supervision of her uncle Ted.” I just don’t see some guy saying anything about the dog. Admittedly, I do write terrific freaking dogs, but it just doesn’t seem to fit. Second. Everything mentioned until the end is about the relationships. Yes, I am aware that I write relationship stories, but there’s also a whole lot of other stuff going on. Third. They insist on referring to Jenna as a “police officer” rather than a deputy sheriff. Most folks that deal with military and law enforcement books pay attention to the details, rather than being generic. Last. “Unfortunately, with the dual focus on the drug trafficking and missing person storylines, it is hard to tell which matters more. Even the final pages don’t reveal a point or message.” Have you ever noticed that romance novels only have one plot, a limited number of characters, and a “solvable problem”? I’m back to another reason why I’m not categorized in romance. Catching the bad guys (if the reviewer needs one to be more important than the other, they’re welcome to choose), cutting off a toxic relationship, and facing your demons every day in order to heal and lead a healthy life apparently isn’t a message. I guess I could have dropped into first sergeant mode and had my heroine say something profound, but in real life we rarely come up with the profound until later. How about this for a message – “We’re happy to have done our jobs and come out alive.”

The Ugly:
I paid a pretty fair size chunk of money for a quality product and it took three tries to get a review that didn’t contain errors. On the first run (which they claimed was ready for publication), the number of pages at the top was listed at 300 pp (printed pages). In the body of the review was the following sentence: “Hopefully, at 160 pages, the novel will be expanded further or kick off a new series.” The book is actually 286 pp. The sentence led me to question if the reviewer had only read 160 pages and if that was why the point was lost on them. The other major error was that the reviewer had written Jenna was about to be kicked out the Army Reserve rather than the state troopers. I requested the items be corrected for accuracy and they were. Once again, I received a supposedly ready to publish review only to find that in correcting the sentence with the page number issue, there was now a glaring error with a double word. I sent it back again.

For the amount of money Kirkus charges, these damn things should be polished and proofread with the same exactness they expect of the author.

Would I send another novel to Kirkus to review? I can honestly say that the quality of the review is no better than the reviews I see from the reviewers for the Kindle Book Review and those are free. They don’t have the prestigious Kirkus Review name, but they’re honest and well written. Unless I see a boost in revenue or interest that I can somehow attribute to this review, I’m doubtful that I’d be willing to spend the money again.

My Kirkus Review

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Kirkus Reviews is one of the iconic book reviewing publications in America. It caters primarily to booksellers and librarians and has the reputation of being “harsh.” They’ve been known to call out authors for lousy language, plots, grammar, and anything else the reviewer could think of. Kirkus truly doesn’t care who you are or how much your book is loved by the rest of the world – they call them as they see them.

For Dave Eggers’s bestselling and highly proclaimed memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Kirkus opened their review with: “It isn’t…” The final sentence of the review states: “It is evidently hard to have been Eggers, though few readers will be satisfied with this nugget of hard-won wisdom in return for their investment of time and good will.” As I said, they’re reputed to be some of the toughest critics in the business.

So, why would I send Vapor Point to Kirkus Reviews and pay them (yes you have to pay them to review your book) knowing their propensity for being unforgiving? Because how else am I to weigh myself as an author? An outside review, by a professional reviewer who doesn’t care about me or my career should provide some valuable feedback about whether I belong in the game, or if I’m simply deluding myself. Kirkus treats everyone from the unknown independent to the most revered authors in America in exactly the same way – we’re income.

For eight weeks, I waited anxiously for the review. I fully expected to be ripped to shreds by the reviewer. I prepared myself for disappointment and stockpiled chocolate and coffee just in case I needed to lick my wounds. However, I appear to have come out reasonably unscathed. The review isn’t great, but neither is it bad. If anything – it’s a non-event.

I’m publishing the review here in its entirety for probably the only time. I’ll do what all authors do – excerpt the good and ignore the stuff that isn’t useful. There will be a follow up post about my (not so smooth) Kirkus experience in the next few days.

From Kirkus Reviews


VAPOR POINT
Scott, Lynne
CreateSpace (286 pp.)
$9.99 paperback, $2.99 e-book
ISBN: 978-1500700249; July 30, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
Another military thriller from Scott (The Embassy Guards, 2013, etc.) featuring a compelling female lead.

In Scott’s latest stand-alone thriller, Jenna Robinson is forced to take a new role as a police officer near Salt Lake City after her time in the Army Reserves. However, her alcoholism and undiagnosed PTSD soon create issues in her new professional life. By fate, Jenna becomes partner to Morgan North, a deputy on the force, with whom Jenna had felt a connection one night at a club. Morgan and his dog prove to be a stabilizing force for Jenna as she adjusts to a new role under the supervision of her uncle Ted. Meanwhile, Jenna assists Morgan with his ongoing investigation into drug trafficking in the area. More significantly, Jenna is recruited to help investigate a man’s disappearance, a case that ultimately leads to the person responsible for acts of domestic terrorist activities. Also on Jenna’s radar is her narcissistic mother, who threatens to destroy Jenna’s credibility and reputation. One feels a near-instant connection with Jenna and Morgan, both of whom are likable and down-to-earth, not to mention well-suited to each other. The romance between them feels natural and logical, and their chemistry is apparent. Jenna realizes she wants to live a healthy life, and readers will want the same for her. Scott’s depiction of law enforcement and military culture is accessible and not overshadowed by excessive jargon, and under her skilled hand, the plot hums along nicely as action pushes the narrative forward. Unfortunately, with the dual focus on the drug trafficking and missing person storylines, it is hard to tell which matters more. Even the final pages don’t reveal a point or message. Hopefully, the novel will be expanded further or kick off a new series.

An accessible, engaging novel with likable main characters that readers will feel good about cheering on.

Scott-ober is Over

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Scott-ober has reached its conclusion, and I’m still standing.

First and foremost, I’d like to thank Abbie from The Spontaneous Reader Book Blog and A Million More Pages Group on Goodreads for all of her hard work on my behalf. My goal entering into this was to pick up a few new readers and hopefully a few positive reviews. Done and done.

The winner of the $25 gift card from Amazon was Greta. She participated in most of the discussions and took the time to write an awesome review of Blood Link. Greta also gets a huge shout out as a former medic with the Army National Guard. Thank you for your service Greta, and thank you again for participating.

Was I comfortable with the promotion and would I do it again? I was very comfortable working with Abbie. She took great care of me and it was a very positive experience. I might even go so far as to say that parts of it were a lot of fun.

In general, am I any more comfortable with promoting myself? I’m not sure that I’ll ever really like this part of the job, but I’m trying. .

How all this will play out in the end, I can’t really say. What I can say for the short-term is that I moved a few books, my web traffic picked up, and I noticed that several of my books are now on some people’s To Be Read lists. Those are all positive things.

Of greater importance is that I forged a positive relationship with some wonderful people. Thanks again, for a great month, Abbie.

How Much Can One Woman Take?

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Question: Why do you give your heroines so much trouble? Just how much can you reasonably expect one person to endure and still manage to do their job?

Answer: No more than anyone else. I know many who’ve managed to survive much worse. They may be a little battle damaged from life but they’re still in there swinging.

Apparently, some people are bothered by the number of issues that I heap upon some of my heroines. I’m a little bothered by it myself because, in some cases, I didn’t give them enough trouble to be realistic.

The idea that more than one or two problems at a time is too many suggests that you’ve been watching too many old Kung Fu movies. You know the ones. Twenty bad guys in black surround our hero dressed in white, and they attack one at a time or in pairs. The rest stand around like honorable and polite little thugs and await their turn at the hero.

Life isn’t like that. When bad things happen, there’s no referee to blow the whistle and signify the end of the play. The hits keep coming and all you can do is act like a good running back by keeping your legs churning as you try to drive forward to the goal line. In the real world, the goals are surviving and thriving.

Let’s look at a couple of my heroines and their problems:

Parker Cotton in Protecting Parker – A chain of events puts her in the wrong place at the wrong time, she’s wounded, two of her team die, and she returns home to a dangerous soon to be ex.

How many military members have wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time? Dozens of Army and Marine units have been on patrol in “reasonably secure” environments only to find themselves in pitched battles where team members were killed and wounded. Jessica Lynch’s supply unit took a wrong turn from the “reasonably secure” route near Nasiriyah, Iraq, and was almost wiped out in 2003. Air Force Security Forces in “reasonably secure” environments have repelled heavy attacks of their airfields and had team members killed and wounded.

How many of them came home to failed marriages? I once knew of a troop who returned from a six-month deployment to an empty house and a set of divorce papers on the kitchen counter. When he finally tracked his wife down and went to see his kids, her new boyfriend assaulted him and the troop wound up in the hospital for a week. While the numbers for divorce aren’t as high as some would have you believe, deployment issues are one of the leading factors in the divorce rate among military members.

Jenna Robinson in Vapor Point – Her fiancé died and she had to move back home, her buddy died on the deployment, she’s a trooper who holds it together by day but drinks when not working, and she’s got the mother from hell.

Maybe I could have let her be divorced instead of having the fiancé die, but hey, it happens. Your life goes to hell and you have to move back home. Take a look around. How many of your friends, or if you’re older, your friend’s kids, have had to move back home? Out of the seven houses surrounding me, three have adult children who are employed full-time but are at home due to divorce or money issues. How many military members whose units saw combat, lost a soldier? How many of those returning troops have some form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that keeps them from functioning to their fullest potential?

And, if you don’t think a mother like Karen exists, then just go look at the narcissistic, spoiled, and obnoxious “it’s all about me” people on Facebook. I recently saw a post from a soccer mom that read, “We suffered through two hours of brutal heat just to watch XXXX score a goal. And now I have to figure out what to have for dinner.” And she was mild compared to many others.

Do the types of things I write about happen often? Of course not. But they’re a hell of a lot more plausible than a lot of the stories I’ve seen selling. Tell the truth now. When was the last time a spy washed up on the beach by your house? When was the last time you saw a bomb squad guy save a hot chick? When was the last time your neighbor in small town USA turned out to be an escapee from the Russian Mob? When was the last time you heard of a rich billionaire who actually wandered into a library, much less swept a librarian off her feet and took her to Monte Carlo? Oh, yeah. Those are plausible. Go ahead and wait for any of them to happen. Feel free to call me and gloat when it does.

Now forget my characters for a minute and look at your own life and the people you know. My characters aren’t burdened at all compared to the woman in your church who lost her mother last year to breast cancer, has a father with Alzheimer’s, and is raising her ADHD grandson because her drug-addicted daughter has been declared unfit and is serving time. Or perhaps you know the nice cop down the street who’s just back from his fifth deployment in thirteen years and has to go to work on midnight shift tonight, but he’s not going to get a lot of sleep today between the teething baby and the neighbor’s barking dog. And how was your day? Did you have to get up and figure out how to get the kids fed and out the door while hoping your old car would get you to work, only to have to deal with a micro-managing boss, over-sharing Susie, and Henry the perpetual sneezer and snorter who sounds like he’s hacking up a lung in the next cubicle? Did you come home to find out that the dog left you a present on the carpet, one kid has a note for head lice, and the other kid has a project worth half his grade due tomorrow and you forgot to stop at the store and buy whatever it was he needed to complete that project? Have you figured out how to pay for little Angela’s allergy shots, Sammy’s soccer equipment, and get the dentist to carry you for a month so you can take care of the crown you need?

How many people have you met who suffered multiple tragedies, or lost their jobs, or just couldn’t catch a damn break from the universe when they needed it? Didn’t it leave you wondering how they simply managed to go on?

If you’re reading a book where the character only has a single issue to resolve—you’re reading a fantasy. It’s as fake as those bad Kung Fu movies and the romance novels where the billionaire knows where the library is. I’m not faulting that type of escapism. I like a quick little flight of fantasy myself. But I don’t write that stuff. I’ve spent my life surrounded by the survivors and fighters and those are the people I write about. Real people, facing real issues and moving forward in their lives. If that’s not your thing, feel free to move along and read something else. No harm—no foul.

A Q&A about Saving Emily

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In keeping with The Spontaneous Reader Book Blog highlighting Saving Emily, I’m posting the answers to some of the questions I’ve been asked about one of my most popular books.

Q – Where did the story come from?

The basic concept for the story came from an overheard snippet of conversation. Two of my friends were discussing the problems of trying to date while being single dads with daughters. One told the other to just wait until his daughter turned thirteen. He stated that thirteen year-old girls were the most judgmental people on Earth. His daughter said everyone was either too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, and picked apart everything from their makeup and hair to their clothing choices. I immediately wondered what would happen if he brought home someone five to seven years older and the kid said something rude and he yelled at her. What would happen if the kid then got into some kind of trouble and the only person who could save her was this woman? And what if the woman wasn’t exactly the kind and nurturing type? I knew within thirty seconds that this would make it to paper.

Q – How did you create Janice Bracken?

A – The same evening I heard the conversation, I turned on the television after returning to my room and Lethal Weapon 3 was on. Rene Russo plays an absolutely kick-ass cop in that movie. I figured if she could beat up five guys in a garage than Janice Bracken could be just as tough and cool. I wanted to write about a woman who lived her life to the beat of her own drummer. She’s very “male” in her attitude about work and sex. If this was a James Bond book, he’d have gone ahead and had sex with the gym owner at lunch and still gone home with the love interest that night. All the male readers would have cheered. But my female characters can’t do that. There’s a fine line between free-spirited and sluttish. However, I did make sure to let Janice at least think about it.

Q – If Janice was created based on a Rene Russo character, was Mac created based on an actor or character? Do you normally write with actor’s in mind?

A – I don’t normally write with an actor in mind. I have friends that pin pictures of an actor/actress to a board and write to their appearance and style, but I write to fit the story. Most of the characters that I create begin as personalities and then I simply choose the look and style of the individual. In Saving Emily, Mac needed to be all man, but out of his depth when Emily is taken. I needed him to be lost and dependent without being emasculated. I “felt” like he had a Gary Sinise “look.” How’s that for helpful?

Q – Isn’t Janice a little older than your average heroine?

A – She and Evie Duncan from A Shared Fear are both past their fortieth birthday. The older I get, the more I see forty as young. I don’t know that many twenty-two year olds that have it all together. I prefer that my characters have had some life experiences and made some mistakes. Realism matters. Plus, women and men with a few years and some mileage are much more interesting to me than all that new and innocent stuff. My people have real problems to overcome and the brains and skills to do it.

Q – This is one of your shorter books. Do you plan for a specific length with your novels?

A – I don’t generally think about length. My goal is simply to tell a story. Some are shorter than others. In this case, I wrote the book during National Novel Writing Month (NaNo Write), November 2011, and I was shooting to get past 50,000 words in thirty days. I ended around 63,000 on the first draft by 29 November. I set the book aside and worked on something else for two months before going back to it. Saving Emily was pretty rough and contained things like. “Janice walked into the gym. Describe the gym in detail.” And, “Janice and Mac have sex here.” By the time I finished the rewrites and edits, the book finished out at 72,500 words, which is just under 200 pages.

Q – Did you know who the killer was prior to writing the story?

A – Not a clue. And thank you for not giving anything away. All I’ll say at this point is that once I wrote the ending, I then had to go back and make sure I included enough clues so it wasn’t implausible. I hate reading those murder mysteries that end in a gotcha without any clues along the way. If I did this right, you should be in suspense until the reveal, but not pissed off afterward. I’d tried my hand at this with A Shared Fear, but this book took it a step further. I learn something each time I try.

Q – You’ve said that this book was fairly well plotted in advance since you did it for NaNo Write. Were there any surprises for you when you wrote this book?

A – The character of Oscar Islas and his role in the story were completely unexpected. I never planned on Janice feeling a connection or being interested in Oscar. He was simply a plot mover – the guy she could address her age and conditioning with. But in writing the section, Oscar took on a life of his own and things changed. He became important to Janice and thus important to the story arc. He provides an interesting bit of speculation about what her future will be.

Q – I see at least one person in the reviews asking for more from Janice Bracken. Any thoughts of writing additional stories with this character?

A –If there was one of my characters to take forward in a series, it would be Janice, but she hasn’t spoken to me since Saving Emily. Series writing is not as easy as it sounds, so I’m okay with where I left her for now. I have other stories to tell, but who knows, she could come back someday if the right circumstances presented themselves.