The “Clones and Mutants Trilogy” contains Full Medical (the clones), Evil Agenda (one clone + one mutant), and No Amber Waves of Grain (both clones and mutants). Sirena, the mutant introduced in Evil Agenda, represents an extreme example of my strong, smart female characters.

From the young Shashibala Garcia (The Secret Lab) and Asako Kobayashi (The Secret of the Urns) to the mature Esther Brookstone (Rembrandt’s Angel), I celebrate what I call the secular strong-willed feminine, as opposed to Dan Brown’s religious “sacred feminine” and the more generic “divine feminine.” It’s been a long time coming, but at the end of the 20^th century and in the 21^st, women are finally getting the respect they deserve, in real life and in fiction.

I’m pleased with women assuming power in the U.S. and around the world, for example. I’ve always thought that the world would be better off with women in charge, and I still do, more so than ever before. They can more easily look beyond testosterone-driven greed and power and see that humanity should be one happy family on this planet we’ve leased for a while. Yes, they’re assuming power now, but my female characters have been doing that for some time.

Real life and fiction have both influenced these portrayals in my books. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing quite a few strong and smart women during my many years of observing human behavior. I’ve encountered many more in my reading. Both represent a lifetime of admiring the strong-willed feminine.

While I believe Deaver’s best book is Garden of Beasts, I admire his character Amelia Sachs in the Lincoln Rhyme series; she influenced my portrayal of Dao-Ming Chen (“Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series”) and Mary Jo Melendez (“Mary Jo Melendez Mysteries”). (By the way, one reviewer of the second edition of The Midas Bomb complained that all female characters in that book were bimbos, so I’d like to know what he thinks of Amelia. The reviewer didn’t see the complexity of protagonist Detective Chen or villain Lydia Karpov, so he probably wouldn’t see Amerlia’s either, but I salute him–he at least took the time to write a long review.) Heinlein’s Friday was a big influence too, especially for Sirena (if you’ve read Heinlein’s sci-fi thriller, you’ll know why). Although I’ve said that Esther Brookstone is like a 21^st century (and slightly younger) Miss Marple, my portrayal of her is influenced by many female sleuths, past and present. And, of course, all those strong and smart women I’ve encountered in my life influence my characterizations.

I’ve always been very careful not to treat these female characters as sex objects. Dao-Ming Chen would have none of that, for example. Beauty pageants and Victoria’s Secrets have done that for years, but I refuse to do so. My female characters can be sexy, but I emphasize their will, fortitude, and cleverness–in short, their human complexity. You’ll find no Barbarellas in my stories flaunting their sexuality.

Yes, there’s some romance. That’s part of human behavior, after all. Ashley Scott, who shares some qualities with Esther Brookstone in Ashley’s novel The Golden Years of Virginia Morgan, is even looking for it as she nears retirement. Both Ashley and Esther have had previous relationships (Esther’s were a bit more enriching), and they wonder if that certain someone will appear to make their “golden years” less lonely. That much works for male characters as much as female ones, of course, but romance always plays second fiddle to mystery and thrills…or sci-fi fireworks, for that matter.

Romance is all too often confused with sex and lust. Male writers have to watch out for the latter (hence the danger of the bimbo factor the reviewer mentioned–male readers might focus on bodies instead of personalities). In a recent exchange with a well-known writing coach/editor, she pointed this out: what drives women in relationships is very different from what drives men. Male writers have to understand this. They shouldn’t reduce romance to porn and erotica from a male point of view unless that’s what they’re writing. (Just to make sure it’s clear, that’s not what I write! Romance can be found in my books, though. One reviewer of Teeter-Totter between Lust and Murder complained there wasn’t enough lust. Maybe there was on the part of the character of the victim, a male senator, but Detective Chen was just looking for a meaningful romantic relationship, which is a need many human beings have that goes far beyond chemistry.)

Yes, my plots put my female leads into stressful and dangerous situations. They wouldn’t get through them unscathed if they weren’t smart and strong. That’s my general message: no macho men are needed to save these Paulines in peril. They can take care of themselves!

There are strong, smart fellows in my books too. Castilblanco, Chen’s partner, and Brent Mueller, one of the leads in the “Chaos Chronicles Trilogy,” are examples. But where would Mr. C be without his wife Pam and his partner Dao-Ming? And where would Brent be without his Jenny Wong?

Female leads outnumber male leads as my protagonists. It’s just the opposite for my villains. Maybe there’s something to Dan Brown’s “sacred feminine” and the more general “divine feminine” after all? Good women versus bad men, countering the myth perpetuated by men of many faiths in the Garden of Eden story? Before my readers make too much of that, though, they should consider Caitlin and Juan Pablo in Soldiers of God—both fighting the forces of evil…and my arch-villain Vladimir Kalinin.

***

Comments are welcome!

Goin’ the Extra Mile. Mary Jo in #3 in the “Mary Jo Melendez Mysteries” trilogy provides the quintessential example of one of my strong and smart female characters. I’ve put her through the paces in all three novels, but she has to really go the extra mile in this one. And do you remember that Chinese Ministry of State Security being in the real news for their cyber warfare attacks? MSS plays a more nefarious role here because they’re after Mary Jo’s friends, the MECHs, and kidnap her and her family to get them. Available on Amazon and Smashwords and all the latter’s retail affiliates (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, and so forth).

Around the world an to the stars! In libris libertas!

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2019 at 3:30 am and is filed under Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.