The Author’s Kingdom is a series of articles, where the Author explains his perception of Heirs to the Kingdom. It is written to cover the festive season of Christmas 2016.

Women who Inspire Other Women.

For this particular article in this Author’s Kingdom series I have made the decision to write about something which for some time has been on my mind, and does directly include heirs to the kingdom, as well as many other authors and their work.

There are times when I read the media posts from within the book industry and I feel confused, especially when it comes to the roles of female characters within literature. It appears to be a bit of a modern day phenomenon as the media suggests there are just not enough female role models and heroines within today’s books. So this also leads me to question, should every writer being doing their bit inspire young women, I mean would it not be a far better example to be inspired by a real life living heroine?

Now I am not one to judge, but I find my own experience of books and writing to show quite a different story, just to name but a few, I would instantly suggest Lyra from the Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pulman, Hermione and I may add Molly and Ginny Weasley from the Harry Potter stories most certainly come to mind, in fact I would say just from the Harry Potter stories alone there is great deal for young women to admire, even dare I say Bellatrix, who although on the side of evil, she is most certainly a women who has no problems getting the job done.

I have thought often on this subject, and I do wonder at times (Being a male writer) what it is exactly that young women want from a leading character? I cannot claim to be that aware, although from my own point of view, and from personal experience, I have always noted the qualities of grit and determination within the females characters I have read in the past, and many I have met in real life, and I think that has played a naturally important role in the characters of Heirs to the Kingdom.

As most writers do today, we often get asked about our work and the people we create, and I always get asked who is the central most important character within my story, and to be really honest, it is not that easy a question to answer.

Ok so the Lord of Loxley is possibly the central figure within the books, after all he is the one who leads the fight to defend the Woodland Peoples, but the answer is really just not that simple. For instance how can I point at Robbie without also including Runestone, or Jade, or Jett for that matter? Would my hero be doing as well as he is if it was not for the bravery of Sapphire who threw herself into a fast flowing river, risking her own life in Book Two? Although, would he also be doing as well if it was not for the power of violet that is wielded by Runestone? Would his home be as safe as it is, if it was not for the grim determination of the quiet and at times isolated Treen? I mean after all she was the one who filled the shoes of Scarlet and stood alone on her platform directing the battle with great skill, her only aide being the shy and nervous young Claire the flag girl, who stood beside her as the arrows of the enemy rained out of the sky at them.

Like all readers, I too have my heroines from books, and I hope in a way it shows in the books I write. I am particularly fond of Scout from To kill a mocking bird, I admire her grit and stubborn determination, and what about Josella from Day of the Triffids? She more than shows the courage and strength of women in a classic piece of literature from the late 1950’s. I also think Luna Lovegood is an extraordinary character in the Harry Potter tales, so okay she did not wield an axe and batter a troll, but she exhibited a quiet determination that I feel should inspire any young woman of today, personally I feel there was not enough of her in the books. I also will add, sorry but in my mind Ginny Weasley would not have sat idly by while Harry faced so much danger, I honestly feel that in the last book, Ginny should have been at his side, she was without doubt one of the bravest members of Dumbledore’s Army, I really feel she should have had a much more active role in the final part of the story. 

When it comes to bravery, Lyra as stated above shows immense bravery as she avoids the evil grip of her mother and fights to find and re-join her father, I mean wow the girl confronts an armoured bear face to face to negotiate for a fair fight for her friend Iroek, tell me that shows no courage? All of these have served in one form or another to influence the way I see women in books, and therefore have had a dramatic impact on HTTK.

Can women fight? Hell yes they can, I have seen some pretty scary stuff in my own life from the smallest of women, where do you think Jett and Blades come from? Jett Amber is possibly one of the most aggressive characters of HTTK, not only is she trained by a very formidable women (Her mother Scarlet) Jett although only slender, has the aggression, skill and coolness of mind to out fight any of the Specialists. Remember Ivor Walters? Jett was overcome with the grief at the loss of her sister and mother, she had not slept, and yet when faced with the man who plotted their deaths, she dug deep within herself to overcome her fear and fought him to his death, not unlike I may add, Eowyn as she defended her father’s crushed body on the fields before Gondor in Lord of the rings. Need more well lest we forget Blades, for she prances like a deadly cat, armed with her two swords as she twists and weaves through her enemy with cold and deadly surgical precision?

I really cannot understand why the critics think there is a lack of role models for women, maybe they  want less aggressive women, but even there I would say there is no small amount, want true grit and stamina, enter Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice? She is no fighter with a weapon, but hell what a women of intellect and words, she single handily stood against every aspect of the social convention of her time to state her terms and live as she fully intended. I would add that if you look to what is possibly one of the most compelling modern classics, Game of Thrones; there is no shortage by far of immensely powerful women, Cersei Lannister being my first choice. Is there anything that women will not overcome, and hell what about Arya Stark or her sister Sansa, look what they have endured, which has to be a real beacon to the will power and determination of any women?

So where is this lack of female role models?

Maybe the critics are reading the wrong books, I know from my daily reading of most of the industry publications there is no shortage of female writers, and I personally feel there is definitely no lack of strong female characters, I love nothing more than to read of women equalling the efforts of men. Personally I really enjoying reading and writing both sexes as they work together and interact as equals, something I feel is very well represented in my own work. My own work currently has a readership of 52% women and 48% of men, I talk to my readers regularly to gauge their opinions, and to date have found both sexes fully enjoy my work equally as much, so I have to conclude that to date I have served my purpose and done my bit to promote true equality.

I must admit that when I am actually writing, these sort of issues do not come to mind, I can honestly say that after writing seven books, I have never once sat down to sort out the diversity of everything. I simply write what feels natural, and I actually do believe that it is the only the way a writer should put the words on paper. We all get bashed from time to time, and I have certainly had my fair share of comments aimed at me for my writing, but I still feel that once a writer has created a character, they must allow that particular character to evolve naturally. In my own case, I feel they have, and luckily both sexes have had their fair share of praise and glory.

I realise we now live in a society of political correctness, and yes we should all encourage a fair and tolerant range of views and characterisations, but I also think that left alone to their own devices writers will always naturally show the whole range of diversity within their own work. Never forget that for a serious writer; watching the world is something we pretty much do all the time. Every experience and observation is food for our work, and so I feel if you sit back and look at the massive amount of diversity across all of literature past and present, everything and everyone is given a voice and a platform within all the given works. Maybe we just need to see the bigger picture, especially the critics, after all, we all choose to read what appeals, and so it is within the best interests of all writers to write what is appealing.

Having considered this issue, I feel I have to ask what I feel is an important question. Do the critics who express this lack of female heroines, say so due to a lack of female lead characters or just a lack of inspiring female characters in general? I must admit at this point I would look at Harry Potter, possibly one of the most influential books of or our current time, and yes Hermoine is a lead character, but are Ginny or Luna? They are without doubt some of the most important characters in that story, and they certainly are in my opinion inspiring characters for any young women, but they are somewhat of background characters. I could say the same of many own characters, although I have across the series brought my ladies to the fore to be featured in one specific book or another from the series, they are by and large background characters, albeit Runestone, who is without doubt a lead character sharing the lime light with her counterpart Robbie.

I am not convinced that an influential character has to be the lead, in which case todays critics need to re-evaluate their stance, this is only my own opinion I understand that, but I feel it holds some validity. Jade Opal in my own stories is possibly one of the four most important characters of Heirs to the Kingdom, she is in all the books in a prominent position beside her sister Runestone, and I must admit is still the most popular of all my female characters, but she is not the lead of the books. Many of the female fans I speak to identify with Jade, which I feel speaks volumes of my point and the character, although I would love my female readers to let me know if they agree.

Having looked at this issue I must admit maybe I have shown a little complacency, because I suddenly find that I may be amiss in my approach to selling HTTK. I admit I have always put the books out there and allowed those who felt it would be something they may enjoy to choose; maybe I should be applying more marketing to young female readers? It is certainly something that up until now I have not considered, maybe it is time.