Female Heroines Who Kick Butt

In recent years there has been influx of strong female characters in books; whether for adults or teens.  These heroines serve as role models for many young women.  When I was in school most of the books I had to read had a male protagonist.  But in recent months that has changed.  There is a demand for strong female characters that are able to hold their own in a fight.  I am certain this trend will continue as I myself love the fact that more and more books are making women the protagonist instead of eye candy.

With the rise in books such as Hunger Games and Divergent I decided to present a few of my favorite female characters.

1.  Kahlan Amneill (Sword of Truth Series) 

Kahlan is  the Mother Confessor in Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth Series.  She is strong-willed and able to defend herself.  One touch from her and you could become her personal slave.  However, Kahlan is very aware of her magical powers and tries to use them only when necessary.  As the Mother Confessor, she is charged with protecting Richard, the Seeker and later the man she falls in love with.  

I love the Kahlan has a grace and beauty that most women want.  But she is also a strong leader and in some of the books she even leads the Dahara A=rmy into battle many times.  She issues commands when needed with an air of authority none question.  Yet she can also be gentle and forgiving.

2. Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games) 

Not to be clichéd, but I really like Katniss’ character in the Hunger Games.  Katniss isn’t a warrior woman in the traditional sense, but she is very strong willed.  When her sister is chosen to participate in the hunger games, Katniss takes her place.  Prim is the only person she really loves.  She knows that she is going to her death, but she goes anyway to protect Prim.  This is an admirable quality.

While in the arena, Katniss proves that she is no wall floawer and is far from stupid.  She can use a bow and is an avid hunter.  She also uses her smarts to try and avoid the other contestants; letting them kill each other off or she blows up their supplies so they can’t rely on them.

Katniss has a protective nature about her.  She tries to help Rue, another contestant.  And when Rue dies, she shows mercy and compassion when others do not.

On the flip side, Katniss has an openly defiant nature.  Without realizing it, her actions in the arena defy the Capitol and its rules.  When she and Peta are faced with the protect of fighting each other, she proposes that they commit suicide.  This forces the government to bend to her will.   Katniss doesn’t set out to be a hero.  She is just sick and tired of the Capitol’s rules and oppressiveness.

3. Sarah Connor (Terminator 2)

They ay that mothers are very protective of their children and that couldn’t be more evident in Sarah Connor’s case.  It can’t be easy having been chased by a machine bent on killing you, learning that your son is the future leader of some resistance and that machines will take over the world.  This woman you would not want to meet in a one on one fight.  She arms herself with assaut rifles, military grade explosives.  Who else would break out of a mental institution, blow up a corporation, and destroy the T-1000 just to protect their son? 

4. Marian Ravenwood (Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark)

 Marian may not be the star of the movie, but she is a strong female character.  When she first meets Indiana Jones she punches him in the face.  When the Nazis try to steal a medallion that her father left her, she fights to keep it.  And I don’t know any women who can win drinking contests, but she certainly does.  She is spunky and aggressive and doesn’t like it when people mess with her or her friends.

5. Merida (Brave) 

Brave is one of those movies that I thought would be cute and turned out to be phenomenal.  Merida is a princess who just wants to change her mother so that she can change her fate and avoid an arranged marriage.  In doing so she ends up turning her mother into a bear.  Then she has to embark on an adventure to reverse the spell and learns something about her country’s history.

Merida is very spirited and prefers archery and horse back riding over the duties of being a princess.  She can best anyone with a bow  and even manages to face a full grown bear.  She is very independent minded and fiercely protective of her family.

6. Hermione Granger (Harry Potter)

Hermione may be a bit of a supporting character, but she is vitally important.  She has a superb intellect and remembers almost anything she reads.  In fact, her brains saves Harry and Ron many times.  Without her, Harry never would have been able to defeat Voldemort—Shh don’t say his name! 

Besides be highly intelligent, Hermione is courageous and loyal to her friends.  She faces many dangers that would make the average person quake.  Many times she faces Deatheaters in her efforts to help defeat You Know Who.  She helps Harry break into Gringots to get a horcrux and shows an incredible amount of bravery during the battle at Hogworts.

7.  Princess Leia (Star Wars) 

Though a princess, Leia is anything but dainty.  She fights the empire and defies Darth Vader.  She holds her own during phaser fights.  When tortured for information about the rebels, she manages to not reveal anything.  Leia even helps plan the battle against the Death Star.  When Han Solo is taken prisoner, Leia tries to save him.  And she plays a pivotal role in the battle on Endor as the rebels try to defeat the Empire once and for all.  Besides, who else could befriend a bunch of teddy bears and convince them to join forces against Vader and the Emperor?

8.  Emma (Once Upon A Time)

Though completely unaware of her parentage, Emma stumbles upon Storybrook where she gets caught up in a world of story book characters.  Though skeptical, she stay because of her son Henry.  He is convinced that every one is a character from fairy tales.  Emma soon discovers that there is more going on than what it seems and that Henry’s life might be in danger.

She becomes the sheriff of Storybrook and challenges the evil Regina each day.  At the end of season one, Emma battles a dragon just to retrieve some potion that might save Henry from certain death.  Wow!

9. Starbuck (Battlestar Galatica)

Starbuck is someone you do not want to make angry.  She is an excellent pilot.  Though her language can be crude, she smokes cigars, gambles, and if you anger her she will beat you to a pulp, Starbuck has a gentler side.  She is fiercely loyal to those she loves despite her defiance towards authority.  She hates cylons and will stop at nothing to kill any who get in her way or threatens those she loves.  And she risks everything just to help the last survivors of humanity find the mythical planet of Earth.

10. Amborese (Legends Lost: Amborese) 

Now what kind of author would I be if I didn’t like my own characters?

Amborese starts out as a bit timid, but after being forced to flee from home she learns to find courage.  Thrust into a world she knows nothing about, she discovers that she is the lost heir to throne and must reclaim it.  However, someone else wants it as well.  Pursued by strange and dark creatures and with danger at every turn, Amborese is forced to shed her timidity and become the leader she is meant to be.

New Dystopian Trilogy Release

"Imagine living in a world where everything you do is controlled."  This is the premis to my latest bok; the first in a trilogy. Below is an excerpt from my novel with a link to where you can find more information.

    "    Dana dumped the open suitcase on the bed and piled clothes inside it.  She and her sister, Lina, raced through the room cramming what they could into the medium sized, brown grip. 

“Hurry!” their father yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

Banging resounded downstairs as gloved fists pounded the front door.

Dana snapped the suitcase closed and handed it to her sister.  Just as they reached the door to the hallway, uniformed officers burst into their room knocking her to the floor.  The suitcase flew across the space crashing into the far wall, opening, and spilling its contents.

An iron fist gripped Dana’s forearm and scanned the chip implanted in it.  Another scanned Lina’s.  Her,” he said pointing to Dana’s sister.

Armed men seized Lina and dragged her out of the room amidst the screams and shouts of the family.  Dana lunged for her sister.  One of the officers thrust her aside.  She banged her head on the table and collapsed to the floor unconscious, as her sister kicked and screamed.    " 

The  book is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.  

http://ezrd.me/r/?rd=082ECMdysamz 

Mellow Summers Business Card

Once Upon A Castle

Synopsis:

Uncle Toby had said that there would be castles to explore, with ghosts and things. This helps to cheer up the glum twelve-year old Lovell twins, Tom and Mary, leaving their schools and loving parents to be evacuated to wild Northumbria during World War II. Then the adventure begins.

They live with their Aunt Victoria and Uncle Leslie, meet the loveable ‘Mrs M’, a strange dog called ‘Scamp’ and, worst, the terrible private tutor, Miss Urquart, from whom they run away to find a mysterious castle seen through an old telescope.

Now they are drawn into bizarre supernatural events of a time-warp between the war itself and ancient warfare. They encounter dark forces, as the story twists and turns, and are even rescued by the Royal Navy. Yet, this is only the beginning of more unexpected tragedies before the twins begin to escape from it all. 

About The Author:

Alan S. Blood worked in the British Civil Service, Advertising and journalism (edited three publications) before qualifying as a Teacher from the University of Reading, England. He enjoyed a long, distinguished career in the Teaching Profession, in both Primary and Secondary levels of education, in several parts of the UK - which eventually led to Senior Management. His main subject area was English and, at one time, he was Head of English and Drama. Throughout, he gained considerable knowledge of literature that children and adolescents enjoy.

Alan now devotes his time to writing novels, plays, screenplays and poetry. He won top award in the ‘Hastings International Poetry Festival’ (2003) with his controversial ‘litter’ poem ‘CONTRITE CAN CANNOT’. The paranormal genre features in much of his prose work.

‘ONCE UPON A CASTLE’ is a ghost story written for young people (but also enjoyed by adults) set in World War 11. It concerns both a real and a phantom castle based upon Alan’s experience of strange castles on the wild Northumbrian coast of England on cold, dark wintry afternoon.

Alan Blood has widely travelled the world and undertook research in Chile where some of his supernatural crime thriller ‘CRY OF THE MACHI A Suffolk Murder Mystery’ is set. He was previously a Cotswold Morris Dancer and the novel is a conflict between the forces of good and evil linking a Chilean ‘Machi’ and ‘organised crime’ to murders in a Suffolk Morris Men side.

Alan enjoys wildlife photography in the Welsh countryside, painting and scraperboard engraving. He lives in a Victorian (1873) house below the Cambrian Mountains of Mid-Wales.

What Critics Are Saying About

“Once Upon a Castle”

"Once Upon a Castle transports children to England in 1939 and weaves facts into a ghost story revolving around a mysterious castle beautifully. I immediately fell in love with the story as I read and realized that the writer had not watered down his choice of words for the intended audience. The vocabulary is rich and descriptive, pulling you in.

I wish I could have given the story five stars, but I felt the story was underdeveloped in the end, leaving out details and it ended too hastily. I feel that with a little more explanation of the ghost story itself it would be perfect. Perhaps even knowing there was sequel that continues the children's escapades and ties up the unanswered questions would suffice.

From a child's perspective, my 9-year-old son completed chapter one grinning from ear to ear after I assigned it to him for daily homeschool reading. He then informed me that he couldn't wait to read more.

Notes for Homeschoolers & Parents: The word "damn" is used twice within the text, many locations are noted throughout the text providing an excellent opportunity to map them after reading each chapter. There is more than an adequate amount of vocabulary words for your child throughout the text. I would suggest pre-reading and choosing words to discuss with your child before each chapter. I personally highlighted each word in Kindle ahead of time for my son to review while reading and asked him to highlight any others that he was unsure of.

*I received a copy of Once Upon a Castle from the LibraryThing Member Giveaway program. Opinions are 100% my own.”

~~Paisley Palmer

OMG, A CUL8R Time Travel Adventure

There's an app for that?

Apparently, when it comes to time travel there is an app for it.   OMG is a fun mystery involving Kelly and her friends.  Kelly has recently lost her parents and has moved to Florida to live with her aunt. There she meets Scott, a tech nerd, and Austin, a jock but nut smart too.  She also meet Zoey, a cheerleader who is a bit rude at first but changes as the story progresses.

Kelly and Scott discover a spirit box created by Thomas Edison himself while cleaning Kelly's aunt's garage. They decide to turn it on and hear the voice of a girl named Wendy who died in 1966. After telling their friends about it, Scott develops a way to travel back in time using cell phones.  So they do in order to learn what really happened to Wendy and help her.

OMG is a fun and easy read.  I got so involved in the story that I forgot about all of my other tasks that I wanted to get done. It is easy to follow and I love that I don't have to think too much.  IT also draws you. Though a mystery, it is different from others in that they contact spirits and then travel back in time to help.

I would say that this book is well worth the read and for $2.99 it's not a bad price.