21 Responses to “Heeeeeeere’s… Bettie Sharpe!”

1. Ann Aguirre Posted: Jan 15th, 2008 at 6:13 am

   1 I love a bad girl heroine. Too often, however, we get a watered down, milquetoast version of bad. Oooh, she called someone a bitch. (Big deal.) Because there’s such expectation on the heroine (I would say female readers are much tougher on the heroine than the hero), we get less variation here. I mean, for the longest time, the heroine wasn’t even allowed to be sexually liberated. She had to be a dewy-eyed virgin who gets her first orgasm from the hero. Any deviation from this theme meant the heroine was a slut, a soiled woman. We’re moving away from this, thankfully, but we still don’t see a lot of ruthless, ice-cold heroines. I can enjoy a lot of traits in a heroine, if it’s done well. But that’s the key.

2. catie Posted: Jan 15th, 2008 at 6:58 am

   2 The bad-er the better, i.m.h.o. You go wit’ yo bad self Bettie girl! I’d like to see more heroines who enjoy/revel in their sexuality. It seems so many Romanceland female protagonists are either virgins, have little experience with sex, or haven’t had a decent lay until they meet their hero. Pardon my language but WTF?! I realize the sex between a h/h must be different from what they’ve experienced with previous lovers, but can’t we see a few ladies who embrace and celebrate their sexuality the same way men have for centuries? I’d also like to see more femmes who don’t shun, nor fear their dark sides, but revel in their sharp edges and bad-ass selves. I know I do.

3. bettie Posted: Jan 15th, 2008 at 7:49 am

   3 we still don’t see a lot of ruthless, ice-cold heroines. Hi Ann! Ice cold is tough to do in a protagonist for the purely logistical problem that a character who feels no remorse or regret lacks the sort of angsty, internal conflict we writers adore. That said, I’m very fond of the idea of ice-cold characters confronting unfamiliar emotions like regret, affection and love. I’d like to see more heroines who enjoy/revel in their sexuality…I realize the sex between a h/h must be different from what they’ve experienced with previous lovers… I’m with you, Catie. All that’s needed to make sex between the h/h “different” from what they’ve experienced before is love. That’s the name of the game. It’s what the book’s about. Why should the heroine have to be a virgin, or the victim of an unsatisfying sex life, when all that’s needed to make her relationship with the hero different from anything she’s experienced is L-O-V-E? I think it’s much more romantic for an experienced woman who knows herself and her needs to fall for a man because they are great for each other than it is for an unexperienced woman to go all dewy-eyed over the first guy to rock her socks.

4. heather (errantdreams) Posted: Jan 15th, 2008 at 8:23 am

   4 Well if Ember is your version of a bad-girl heroine, then sign me up! She’s my favorite romance heroine ever. [Erm, don’t enter me in the contest, as I already went and got Thief!]

5. Sarai Posted: Jan 15th, 2008 at 9:06 am

   5 I love the heroine that looks sweet and innocent until a crisis happens and she puts on the pants. Or even better for me is the heroine who doesn’t know she is one and is fighting as hard as she can to survive and save those she loves. I also loves the heroines that don’t apoligize for being who they are. Yeah I stick dolls with pins so that the person feels pain, so what he shouldn’t have hurt me or mine. yeah I like those kindz of heroines too!!! I just can’t stand the TSTL ones or the so sweet you want to shoot yourself to get out of her presence ones. YUCK!

6. Hotflashes Posted: Jan 15th, 2008 at 10:13 am

   6 Okay, since your comment has nothing to do with kickass or feisty heroines, then it will depend on what you mean by “bad” or moral ambiguity. I need to like my heroine to enjoy the story.

7. Bonnie Dee Posted: Jan 15th, 2008 at 10:32 am

   7 See, this is where I feel romance writing formula can be stifling. I don’t have a problem with a character being bad-tempered, annoying, morally ambiguous or even downright bad. In one of my stories (releasing at Loose Id in September) I wanted the girl to be a real snotty rich girl with few redeeming qualities, ala Paris Hilton. I threw in some reasons for her being spoiled and showed that she wants to be better but no one takes her seriously or gives her a chance to grow up and be a woman. But the editorial staff was having none of it. “She needs to be more sympathetic or the readers won’t accept this character.” I had to go back and stitch in a few generous or altruistic moments early on so she didn’t come across quite so spoiled. When I wanted to write Cordelia circa early Buffy, I had to write Cordelia, mid-Angel. Smart-mouthed and self-involved but with a streak of likeability. That’s the way it is in romanceland.

8. Carrie Lofty Posted: Jan 15th, 2008 at 11:23 am

   8 I talked with an agent when I was selling WaSW. Poor thing. She thought Meg was so mean. I love Meg coz Meg is so mean. Said agent and I didn’t see eye to eye…. And yeah, take my name outta the hat. I already bought Thief.

9. Ann Aguirre Posted: Jan 15th, 2008 at 11:37 am

   9 I need to amend — I don’t want my name in the drawing either. Bought, read, lurved. I’m gonna post a review-ee thing tomorrow.

10. Lorelie Posted: Jan 15th, 2008 at 1:22 pm

    10 I don’t have a problem with a character being bad-tempered, annoying, morally ambiguous or even downright bad. Bad tempered? Not a problem. Annoying? Annoying to who? Me? Not reading. To the hero, at first, ’til she grows on him? Lurve that. Morally ambiguous? I need her to at least have her *own* morals that she follows, even if she never calls them such and even if they don’t match up with society as a whole. Downright bad? Honestly, I’m not sure how I’d like that. It would probably depend greatly on the skill of the author. I can’t think of anything I’ve read where the heroine would qualify. Anyone got any recomendations? You know, I’m pickier than I thought I was.

11. Tumperkin Posted: Jan 15th, 2008 at 2:36 pm

    11 Heroines are just as important as heroes. My favourite ‘bad’ heroine is Bab from An Infamous Army. Gloriously spoiled and slutty. Fabulous in a crisis. I blame Jane Eyre for this good heroine/bad hero cliche. Like the heroine has to be the hero’s moral compass or something. Boo. Count me out of the prize too. I have purchased LATITN

12. Shannon C. Posted: Jan 15th, 2008 at 5:31 pm

    12 I’ve always liked reading about more liberated and sexual women in my romances and there still aren’t enough of them out there. But I agree with Lorrelie above. I don’t want any of my sympathetic protagonists to be bad for the sake of badness, because then I don’t sympathize with them.

13. bettie Posted: Jan 15th, 2008 at 7:00 pm

    13 Sorry, I just got back from the workday from hell. I’m compressing responses I should have been typing all day into one mamajama comment. Downright bad? Honestly, I’m not sure how I’d like that. It’s interesting what people think bad means. I tend to think of it as a rather mild word. We call our dogs bad and our children bad. We talk about bad fats and bad news and bad weather but in every instance, there is always a worse word we can use to describe something worse than merely bad: evil, amoral, tragic, irredeemable, devastating. …it will depend on what you mean by “bad” or moral ambiguity. I need to like my heroine to enjoy the story. As stated in my manifesto–er–post, I don’t like bad for the sake of bad. But everyone does bad things. Sometimes, good things we do for good reasons have bad consequences for other people. And as for moral ambiguity, I mean that a heroine’s actions could be good or bad depending on who’s looking at them. For example, Ember. She breaks the law, but she has her own moral code. Every “bad” action she takes occurs for what seems to her a “good” reason. Characters who love her would think of her as a good person because she is fierce in defending those she loves. But by the end of the tale, there are any number of people in her world who have just cause to hate her. when I was selling WaSW. Poor thing. She thought Meg was so mean. Carrie, admit it, you mentioned WaSW just to torture me didn’t you? (I have to wait a year–a whole year!–to read Carrie’s book.) The auto-reminder set on my calendar, you wicked woman. What more do you want from me? When I wanted to write Cordelia circa early Buffy, I had to write Cordelia, mid-Angel. Aww, Bonnie, I loved Cordelia circa early Buffy. Of course, I also adored her transition into a slightly more caring person–and I appreciated that she was never completely niced up (at least, not before I gave up watching Angel. In the Buffy episode in which she was terribly injured physically after the emotional wound of seeing Willow and Xander kiss, my heart went out to her and I realized, “I don’t just find this character amusing, I actually feel for her.” I was in awe of Buffy’s writers because they made me sympathize with and care about a character I hadn’t even known I liked. Speaking of TV, another character I really like(d) was Veronica Mars. She was a do-gooder who loved her friends and family fiercely, but she was also dishonest, suspicious, plagued by guilt, angry, jaded, occasionally spiteful, and frequently hamstrung by her own trust issues. I’m sure there are any number of other characters on that show who would have characterized Veronica as “bad”. And perhaps the only reason we, the viewers thought of her as “good” was because the story was told from her perspective, instead of someone else’s. I really love characters like that. I wish there were more of them–male and female.

14. deemer Posted: Jan 15th, 2008 at 9:26 pm

    14 I like smart, intelligent, tough women. I’m not sure if I love them bad, but I like them not to be dewy eyed virgins, either. What bothers me is that even in some romances when the heroine has had some prior sexual experience, she always has to apologize for them in some way. “Oh, I thought I was in love with him”, or something similar. One of my favorite “heroines” is actually in a chick lit novel. “The Big Love” by Sarah Dunn.

15. Kimberly Posted: Jan 16th, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    15 I’d like to see, not just in romance, but in fiction in general, more geek heroines. You know, brainy, tech savvy, handy with the gadgets. . .and a bit of obsession with pop culture or social awkwardness would suit me fine as well. It seems like there aren’t too many geek heroes yet (are they not sexy? I totally go for the brainy types) and since it seems like only recently people have admitted there are female geeks, it’s not surprising that you don’t find many of them as heroines. But I’d like to see that change. As far as bad girls, I enjoy reading about them, as long as they have a method to their madness. Hired assassins, Robin Hood types, hookers, rebels with or without a cause, I’m fine with all of them, but I don’t think I could handle someone who was simply sadistic for no good reason (and I can be pretty generous in defining a “good reason”). The way I see it, a “good girl” is what I get to play in real life, so fiction gives me a chance to play out my bad girl fantasies (which aren’t sadistic and violent, I guess). Fun topic!

16. Lorelie Posted: Jan 16th, 2008 at 5:15 pm

    16 It’s interesting what people think bad means. I tend to think of it as a rather mild word. We call our dogs bad and our children bad. Nuh-uh. You don’t get to do this. *g* lol You used words like wickedness, sociopathy, and criminal[ly] psychotic to define what you mean by a “bad” girl. Did you mean those words? If so, hold your ground! And in that case, I’ll stand by my statement that it would depend on the skill of the author. If you don’t mean ‘em, we’re talking about a type of woman I think is showing up more often. Pretty kick ass, has sex ’cause she likes it, etc. The girl next door I always wanted to be. She’s been in urban fantasy and erotica to begin with and I think she’s leaking over into straight romance as well.

17. Nadja Posted: Jan 16th, 2008 at 9:33 pm

    17 Boy, I haven’t read a “straight” romance in a long time. I like urban romances, because the men and women seem to have more of an edge. Of course, the stakes are generally higher, too. It’s difficult to remain doe-eyed in the face of so much danger, I guess Not finding the kind of heroine I liked/could identify with is what got me started reading gay novels. Two hunky men for the price of one and no wimpy chicks in sight; I loved/love it. While I really like the tough-as-nails women, I’m with Kimberly and wouldn’t mind a geeky heroine for a change. (“I’d like to see, not just in romance, but in fiction in general, more geek heroines. You know, brainy, tech savvy, handy with the gadgets. . .and a bit of obsession with pop culture or social awkwardness would suit me fine as well.”)

18. bettie Posted: Jan 17th, 2008 at 12:03 am

    18 My favourite ‘bad’ heroine is Bab from An Infamous Army. Gloriously spoiled and slutty. Fabulous in a crisis. Ooh, Tumperkin. I just went and read the synopsis of an infamous army. It’s been years and years since I read Heyer. I should return read what I missed. more geek heroines. Ooh, amen, Kimberly! I can’t think of a single book with a truly geeky heroine. Any recommendations? Nuh-uh. You don’t get to do this. *g* lol. I do too get to do it! ::stamps foot & pouts:: Really! ::sniffle:: Hey, why is everyone laughing? I do think “bad” is basically mild, but stretchy. It’s why I chose to use the term “bad” instead of “wicked” in the post title (Was going to do “In Praise of Wicked Women”). “Bad” is a word that can be used without insulting the person to whom you apply it, and it can be taken to mean “tough” or, if this is the 1980s, “cool”. All the other words like “wicked,” and “sociopathic,” came with qualifiers for the simple fact that I don’t like characters who are bad for no reason. And in my book, anything that implies a character is naturally bad = bad for no reason. I didn’t qualify “criminal” or “psychotic” ’cause then I really would be up hypocrite creek without a paddle instead of just motoring against the current, as I am now Arden from Like a Thief is psychotic–as I imagine anyone would have to be to kill people for a living. And since I didn’t want to cop out and be all, “but she only kills bad people” I had to make her psychotic. Ok, “had to” is misleading. I saw that train of plot on the tracks, packed my bags and hoped aboard with a first class ticket.

19. chirpXL Posted: Jan 17th, 2008 at 8:42 pm

    19 I would love to see more “bad” as long as they’re smart, too. Not just spoiled and ditzy. If a heroine is psychotic, I hope she finds a good therapist with a big needle to help her control her murderous urges. : )

20. Kimberly Posted: Jan 17th, 2008 at 11:52 pm

    20 Well, the first geek heroine that comes to mind is the title character in Wen Spencer’s Tinker, which is urban fantasy, I guess. Set in the near future, it takes place in part of Pittsburgh which has passed through a gate into Elfland, and the heroine is an 18-year-old tech genius who has yet to have her first date. I think fans of futuristic and paranormal romance might enjoy it, as there is a sexy elflord in it and lots of steamy scenes

21. Amie Stuart Posted: Jan 20th, 2008 at 11:38 am

    21 I dont mind bad as long as she’s interesting (and for God sakes don’t TELL ME she’s bad SHOW ME) and frankly LOVE morally ambiguous characters.