D.M. Raver's Blog, page 6

A Collection of Strong Female Characters in Classic and Modern Books

 "Eowyn and The Nazgul" by Ted Nasmith (website)

Whether it is Eowyn from The Lord of the Rings or Emma from Madame Bovary, there is a world of literature with strong female characters! Fantasy Island Book Publishing wants to celebrate some famous female characters in literature and highlight some of the female characters from our fabulous authors.

Daenerys Targaryen from A Game of Thronesby George R. R. Martin The young, exiled daughter of an old king. At the beginning of Game of Thrones she is abused by her brother, Viserys. When she is forced to marry Khal Drogo at first it seems like another dominate relationship. But as the story progresses, Daenerys proves she has the strength within herself to retake the Iron Throne.
Ayla from  the Clan of the Cave Bear Seriesby Jean M Auel Ayla is a cro-magnon cave woman born roughly  30,000 years ago. She lost her parents in an earthquake at the age of 5  and was adopted by a clan of neanderthals. Ayla rebels against some of  their core beliefs (specifically by learning how to hunt  even though it is something that is traditionally only done by males),  which ultimately gets her banished from the clan. Ayla then has to roam  the wild steppes and find a new place to call home. Along the way she  raises a horse, a lion cub and a wolf, meets a remarkable man called  Jondolar and becomes a medicine woman against all the odds.
Jane Eyre from Jane Eyreby Charlotte Bronte Jane is independent, brainy and has full control of her destiny despite a secret childhood condition. She is unyielding of the bad fortune and triumphant in the end after reunited with her true love.
Helva from The Ship Who Sangby Anne McCaffrey Helva was born so deformed that she couldn't survive, but her parents opted to have her become a shell person, permanently enclosed in a life support capsule which enabled her to live independently. She opted to become the living "brain" of a scout ship, and became famous, not only for her courage and cleverness, but for her amazing singing voice.
Lessa, Rider of Rammoth from DragonFlightby Anne McCaffrey Lessa started out as the rightful holder to the once proud Ruatha hold, but renounces her birthright to impress a new queen dragon in the only remaining Weyr on Pern. When Threadfall begins again, one Weyr of dragons isn't enough, and Lessa travels between time back 400 years to bring the five missing Weyrs forward in time.
Polgara the Sorceress from The Belgariad / The Malloreonby David and Leigh Eddings Polgara is  about five or six centuries old though she looks like she's in her late thirties.  She has long black hair with a silver streak in it. Polgara is a disciple of Aldur and is the aunt of the main character Belgarion. Polgara  is  beautiful, intelligent and  scarily maternal. She can make King and High Priests bow to her with the  raise of an eyebrow and is warm and gentle to those she loves.
Dagny Tagart from Atlas Shruggedby Ayn Rand Dagny Tagart in the "Atlas Shrugged" is an industrialist, a  business woman and a true protector of her family rialroad business.  Since she was thirteen years old, she devoted all her time to the family  business. Eventually she became the VP of the company even though  she was the most qualified to be the head of the business. But she can't  due to the fact she was a woman. Yet she didn't get discouraged by  that. She marched on with the role of VP and became the woman in charge.
Sevy from Thief and Shades of Warby Sarah-Jane Lehoux [image error] Sevy has survived the mean streets of Eloria  since being orphaned by a pirate raid. Described by her friends as a  brat and by her enemies as a bitch, trouble seems to follow her wherever  she goes. She currently makes a living as a thief and mercenary, but  isn't above a little assassination work. She can be a hero or a villain  depending on her mood.
Miranda from The Rys Chroniclesby Tracy Falbe
Miranda's no princess or shy virgin, but she will  learn how  to seize power. When  the Atrophane invade her home, Miranda chooses to flee with her  children into a dangerous Wilderness where she encounters the rys. She  aligns herself with Shan and aids him greatly in his appeals to his  allies. Miranda's history as an abused slave sometimes makes it  difficult for her to accept the strict patriarchy of the western  societies. Having escaped slavery, she will not yield her freedoms or  withhold her opinions.

Angel and Haiwee from Troubleshooters: The Longest Joke Ever Toldby Ian Healy Angel is an assassin down on her luck, to the point where she's working for free, taking down people she dislikes personally. Haiwee is formerly the world's greatest hacker before years of sensory-enhancing drug use spoiled her reflexes. Desperate for money and both wanted for crimes (Angel killed a powerful corporate middle-manager and Haiwee cracked iChip encryption to allow a massive delivery of spam), they team up for a search-and-retrieve mission that could make or break them.
Eagle Tryggvesson from Project: Dragonslayers by K. Rowe Eagle's a Norwegian immigrant, Lt. Col in the Air Force, which fights  her way into getting funding for a special forces unit- in which she  doesn't have quite all the training for! She must rely on her leadership  skills to whip the delinquents which are dumped upon her into shape.  They try and test her, but ultimately she gets them turned around into a  functioning team.  They grow to trust her and give their loyalty to  her, putting their lives on the line for her.
Kathy Alford from Tree Soldierby Janet Oakley Kathy is a young woman  who wants to be in the Forest Service in 1935, but only men are allowed.  She can pack horses in the North Cascades, buck up logs and knows her  woods as good as any man. Saves the life of the hero when he gets  hypothermia.  They didn't have a name for it back then.
Samantha Kraven (Simekra) from The Spellbound Oneby Matthew Ashworth The character's name is Samantha Kraven (nickname: Simekra)....  She is a half human and half elf (born of human father and elf mother),  aged 19 (though becomes 20 at the end of book 1). She is an intraverted  character, very persistent and very brave. She trained herself how to  fight so that she could avenge the death of her parents (they were  killed by a warlord). Later however once she makes some friends along  her journey she realises revenge is not something to live life for, but  friendship. She along with her friends become sort of a team and they  all are tied to a big plot, a struggle between the deities who utilise  mortals to do either good or bad things. Her weapon is a long sword, but  later she learns some fire magic too. She always wears white, because  she thinks it's a sign of purity and goodness.
Her flaws. She can be very hotheaded and even brutal at times, often letting her anger and distress to take the best of her.
Neeta Lyffe from Neeta Lyffe: Zombie Exterminator by Karina Fabian Neeta is an exterminator with an  unusual sideline:  zombie extermination.  Owner of Lyffe-Undeath  Exterminations of Long Beach, she'd just as soon spray for ants as  decapitate the shambling dead, but that's never stopped her f...rom  swinging her chainsaw when lives are at stake.  After a lawyer sues her  for "letting" a flaming zombie set his retractable awning on fire, she  agrees to host a reality TV show to train up apprentice exterminators.   Taking on animated rotting meat's nothing compared to bickering  apprentices and drama-happy directors.
Dee from Masters & Renegades #2: Casualties of War by Chantal Boudreau (coming soon) Dee doesn't get recruited by the Templars until the end of Casualties of War.  She is still just a teenager in that novel  and ends up in the middle of a horrible life-or-death mess when she is  shipped off to a Renegade magic academy by her older sister.  She is still a very strong  character, mentally and physically, but inexperienced.
Grainne from Grainne the Red Girlby Ralph E. Laitres (coming soon)  Grainne the red girl. She is a Connacht-born who  was brutally raped by high-nobles from northern Ulster. Her desire for  revenge made her accept the aid of the phantom-queen the Morrigan, but  there was a price to be paid for this aid. She needed to kill King  Conchobar's champion; Fergus mac Roich.


 

And now for strong female characters from FIBP books!







Sofie from Sofia's Story: Shattered Seeds by Clu Gallagher [image error] Sofie is  a woman who was born in Germany and eventually fled with her children  to protect herself and them. The Third Reich was pulling her husband  into it's evil empire and making life untenable for the family. She lost  her children in a bombing as they hid in the countryside. Eventually,  she found her way to the United States and built an adoption empire to  save the children of the world who are impacted by war.
Mary Cooke from Terpsby Elainne Gannon [image error] Interpreting for the Deaf is Mary's dream,  but no matter how hard she works, she is not as talented as her husband  Driscoll, who is the only hearing member of a Deaf family. Mary has to  have enough drive for the two of them during the first few years of  their marriage. After practically having raised herself, now Mary feels  compelled raise her husband, trying various tactics to get him to grow  up and find his way in the world without being blatantly manipulative  throughout the process.        
Nena Moore from Belovedby Patty Sarro [image error] Nena Moore is a focused young lady from the wrong  neighborhood.  Despite feeling insecure and cheated out of a normal  childhood with her alcoholic and loose mother, she manages to receive a  college scholarship to Paris France.  There, through the eyes of a  beautiful and familiar stranger, she discovers that beauty and love had  always existed for and within her.
Miriam Pearson from The Night Watchman Expressby Alison DeLuca [image error] Miriam is a girl of twelve who loves to write. She teams up with her governess, Mana, a woman of color who is intelligent and a little magic as well. They both face dark characters, underground factories, human experiments, and imprisonment on THE NIGHT WATCHMAN EXPRESS.
Emeline Hart from Emeline and the Mutantsby Rachel Tsoumbakos [image error] The main character of Emeline and the Mutants is Emeline Hart, a twenty something woman who has had to deal with the loss of her entire family via mutations and then through murder. Emeline can hunt and shoot a gun. She is sassy and will only wear red toenail polish!
Carla Mainston from Whatever Became of the Squishiesby Claire Chilton [image error] Carla Mainston is a fifteen year old girl and the black sheep of the colony she lives on - different skin colour, attitude and motivations from everyone else. She tends to spend her time with people from the criminal underworld as they seem to like her and if something explosive happens, she always finds herself in the middle of it. Here's her profile page: http://www.wbots.co.uk/carla.html - No one knows why she is different, and someone is watching her - meanwhile the other kids in her colony are all getting sick and she's in the middle of it all. Carla's a bad girl, but she doesn't mean to be, but things just seem to happen when she's around...
Lady Mags from The Last Good Knightby Connie J. Jasperson [image error] Lady Mags is Julian Lackland's love interest in The Last Good Knight. She is a very strong woman, who will never give up the sword and be a proper Earl's daughter as she should be. Instead, she runs away from her father's house, and joins the Rowdies. She does what ever it takes to get a job done, and often says that 'There is no such thing as a fair fight, only winners and losers.' Mags mortally hates to lose!
Cytolene ap Neelie ef Timpani from Don't Feed the Fairiesby Eileen Gormley [image error] Cytolene ap Neelie ef Timpani is the 63rd daughter in a family of 200. When an accident to her wing renders her unsuitable for marriage, she decides to go to Earth and make her fortune farming those succulent humans instead.But that didn't didn't work too well. How could she have guessed that humans only give birth to one live young at a time and it takes years for them to be worth eating?When her mother goes home to Eris without her, Cytolene finds herself adopting a human pet (who thinks he's her boyfriend) and a lost Erisian baby as well.
Tigris from The King of Egyptby J. J. Makins [image error] Raised a warrior, Tigris, crowned Nitiqreti, is the first female pharaoh. With a beauty that can bring men to their knees and a power that gets her respect from armies, she is prepared to take on any enemy. When a self-proclaimed king threatens to conquer her throne, Tigris is ready to declare war. However, even this female warrior could never be ready for what is about to unfold...
Persephone Cambell from Losing Beautyby Johanna Garth [image error] Persephone Campbell has spent her entire life  trying to avoid the dark secrets that people feel compelled to tell her.   Except now, Haden the lord of the Underworld wants to make her his  immortal queen.  Her journey  from this world and into the next causes her to face the truth about  what lies inside of her and teaches her to rely on the strength she's  spent a lifetime avoiding in order to gain her freedom.          Kate Fitzgerald from Ednor Scardensby Kathleen Barker [image error] All that Kate Fitzgerald ever wanted  was a normal life.  What she got was a father who died before she was  born, a spaced-out mother, a parish priest turned predator, two brothers  at each other's throat  in a battle for her affections, and a grandmother who could read her  like a book.  People wanted something from her at every turn, but what  they got was the one thing that Kate could control.


Mirim, Keira, and Shenella from The Children of the Elementi 
by Ceri Clark
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Mirim  who is the oldest, has lived alone in the mysterious Citadel on Eleria  for years. She is charged with finding the others when and if the High  King becomes active.
Keira was adopted by Irish Gypsies on Earth. She has the power of nature and is a caring person.
Shenella  is the betrothed of Aras, the Magi Emporer. Her parents were murdered  and she can trust no-one. She has to navigate court politics while  learning about her true destiny.



From books coming soon to Fantasy Island Book Publishing:

Malia Corsair from The Time Weaverby Thomas A. Knight Malia is one of few female warriors in the Findoor Army, but despite being treated differently because she is a woman, she excels in both her martialand magical training. When a crisis afflicts the Kingdom of Findoor, TheKing and The Arch-Magus turn to Malia to carry out a special mission torescue and return with a man believed to have the power to avert a war thatis brewing between Findoor and a powerful exiled warlord.
Jasmine from Last Kiss in Tiananmen Squareby Lisa Zhang WhartonJasmine, the heroin in the historical novel "Last Kiss in Tiananmen  Square", grew up in a family of domestic violence and abuse. She was  able to separate herself from this and concentrate on her college study  and the TOFEL exam so she could go to America.  She joined the Democracy  movement in order to vent her frustration.  During the movement, she  became a full fledged student leader and in the end sacrificed her life  for this noble cause.

New Tab: Reader's Favorite Quotes from Brother, Betrayed

A collection of favorite quotes from readers of Brother, Betrayed. To have your quote featured here, send your name and the quote to danielle.raver (at) yahoo (dot) com.




Pame Albacete's favorite quoteFrom Chapter 18 of Brother, Betrayed "Disgrace": "On my honor as a son of the king, a prince of Arnith, I swear that Denire, Knight of Arnith, never fell from his duty. I pledge my life that if he is to be found guilty, then so must I." There were gasps throughout the hall. "I beg for a lesser sentence, if he must be punished for dissatisfying the king. To protect his honor, I swear to face the same punishment he will." 












Alison DeLuca's favorite quoteFrom Chapter 26 of Brother, Betrayed "Syah's Vigil": Syah paused before continuing, studying the weathered soldier before him closely. "How could you do it? How could you follow orders with the knowledge that they will lead you to certain death?"
"When the moment comes, a true soldier does not think of his own life. He thinks of his comrades, of loyalty and the glory of battle."



Connie J. Jasperson's favorite quoteFrom Chapter 32 of Brother, Betrayed "Protection":"… No Arnithan will ever speak of your courage, no bard will ever sing of your deeds. For no one but the enemy will survive. Therefore we will give them a battle so horrible that they will never speak of it. Today I ask you to join me out of vengeance. Let their memories of us be so terrible that they will never dare to sing of their victory for fear that they will wake our ghosts! Follow me," the king proclaimed as he discarded cumbersome armor and shield, "into our enemies nightmares where we will never sleep!"


Terese Logsdon's favorite quoteFrom Chapter 40 of Brother, Betrayed "Torture":"How could he think I would threaten Arnith? I did what he sentenced me to; I'm an exile. What more does he have to take from me!" 

Father's Day Gift Suggestion: Kindle or Nook Ebook

I would like to take the time to recommend a friend's book, The Land of Nod, The Artifact, by Gary Hoover. Gary is a very funny guy, and is a relaxed, kind, and supportive fellow writer at Fantasy Island Book Publishing. His book is about a boy who risks everything in order to save his father.

Here is a brief description and a link:

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Jeff Browning is a teenage boy who, following the mysterious disappearance of his father (a brilliant physicist), finds a portal in his father's office that transports him to another dimension.

The dimension is populated by fantastic and dangerous creatures and also an advanced society of humans. That society, while very different from those on earth, is oddly similar, in some ways, to the society in which Jeff grew up.

As Jeff looks for clues regarding what may have happened to his father, he is accused by some of being a spy while thought by others to be a prophesized figure . . . who may be the key to victory in a developing war.




Here is a link to Gary's Facebook page where he frequently chats with readers and holds giveaways.

Gary Hoover on Facebook

Happy reading! Give a shout out if you enjoyed it!

Social Media for Authors Pt. 3: Facebook for Beginning Authors

A peak at Rachel Tsoumbakos' blog post for the traveling blog series "Social Media for Authors" For the first two parts visit:

Part One: A New Star in the Twitterverse
Part Two: Facebook Fan Page Fanatic

As an author, Facebook can be an important tool. So many people use this social network now that people just as often ask if you have a Facebook page as they ask for your website or blog address. And there is now so many ways in which as author can promote their books with this tool.
So what can you do with your Facebook account?

Facebook under your author name
This may be different to your actual name, and sometimes this is better. While, at first, it may be pretty awesome to have people friend requesting you because you are an author, sometimes you may not want to share everything with strangers. There is an option to categorize everyone into different groups and then prioritize what these groups can and can't see on your Facebook page. Now that you have a Facebook account, it will be invaluable to announce to....

For the complete version visit Rachel Tsoumbakos' Blog


Rachel is a friend and a fellow author at Fantasy Island Book Publishing. I highly recommend her book, Emeline and the Mutants to fans of post-apocalyptic style stories.

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Book Trailer for Brother Betrayed: A dark, epic fantasy novel

Here is the trailer I created for Brother, Betrayed



It was an adventure in itself to create this video. I've been trying for weeks to find a program for Linux that was simple but with photo effects like Windows Movie Maker. The programs I found were just too complicated. So I stuck with what I knew.

I started to write a summary to include on the text slides but I decided to use quotes from the book instead.

Win a e-book copy of Brother Betrayed and a $5 Amazon gift card!

Welcome readers and fans! I am hosting my first give-away contest in celebration of summer and the coming print release of Brother, Betrayed.

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There are four ways to enter:

(1) Post the link to my book on your Twitter 
"http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Betraye... mention me (twitter @danielleraver)

(2) Post the link to my book on your Facebook account 
"http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Betraye..." then post on my FB fan page that you shared my link

(3) Add my book to your "To Read" shelf on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11151252-brother-betrayed

(4) Ask me a writing-related question on any of these social venues:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Danielle-Raver-Author/196223033727746

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/DanielleRaver

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4799229.Danielle_Raver

or Author Central: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/profile

Each entrant will be assigned a number and one winner will be picked. You can enter up to four times, one time for each of the four ways to enter. Good luck!

Social Networking for Authors Part Two: Facebook Fan Page Fanatic

This is the second part of the traveling blog "Social Media for Authors". For the first part "A New Star in the Twitter Universe", visit best selling YA author Alison DeLuca's blog A Fresh Pot of Tea.


As I neared the publication of my book Brother, Betrayed, I found myself frequently posting on my personal Facebook page announcements about my book. I imagined that family, friends, and coworkers  were interested in my posts, but I did not want to become a monotone link-poster. Also, the sketches and art work I posted about my book were lost in a sea of baby pictures and personal status updates. When I discovered that ordinary people can set up a fan page on Facebook, like the Imagination Movers or Stephen King have, I became determined to create one. It would be my hub for all my information dispensing. Facebook fan pages allow acquaintances to show their interest and enthusiasm for a project by "liking" it. Another bonus is that posts aren't devoured on a page as they are in a person's feed or wall.

Interested in creating your own? I first will discuss how to set up an author and a book fan page (I would recommend picking one or the other to start off with).

NOTE: If you are deciding whether to start off with an author fan page or a book fan page first, consider this: If you are considering discussing your writing in general with your fans, or multiple pieces of literature, then create an author fan page. If you believe you will only be focusing on one book, the create the book page first. You can create an many fan pages as you desire, but maintaining many pages may become tedious.

Then I will give a brief explanation on how to show off your page and suggest it to friends. To end, I will explain how to add a like box to a web page or blog.


Create an author page

How to: Once you have a Facebook account you can create an author fan page. On the left of the Facebook screen are icons for "Ads" "Apps" "Requests" and "Pages" (note: if you don't see "Pages" listed, click "More"). Select Pages, and on the top right click the button "Create a Page". For an author page, select the button "Artist, Band, or Public Figure".


Create pages for your book(s)

How to: same  as creating an author fan page, although you will select "Book" as the page type instead of the picture of a person, select the "Product" and click "Book".
Setting up your page is simple. Follow the step by step guide for adding your personal information and a photo. Afterwards, you can post status updates, links, photos, and videos exactly as you do for a personal page.

Tip: Don't just advertise, tell about yourself and your work as a writer
Tip: You can use notes to give excerpts from your book and other documents you'd like to share
Example: Here's mine (it is an Author Fan Page)

Suggest the link to friends (Using the icon on the right after you set up your page) and share your link with others to get them to "like" it.

NOTE: if you make new Facebook friends, this is a great way to get people to visit your page that may be unaware that you have one. When friends visit the message center or view individual posts then an icon will come up on the right of the Facebook screen that says "Danielle suggests that you check out their page". Very non-invasive. As the previous explanation implies, you can suggest your page to new people even after you made your initial suggestions. Friends who you have already sent a request to will be in grey.
Tip: Did you notice that some of your Facebook acquaintances have yet to become fans of your page, yet you know they are very enthusiastic about your work? You can try sending them a private message with a link to your page. I would suggest against posting the link to their wall, because that is considered poor cyber-etiquette on Facebook.


Share special events on your personal feed

How to: Occasionally I still want to share some announcements on my personal feed so the Facebook acquaintances of mine that have not "liked" my page can see them. Also, posts by pages usually won't show up on friends' "News Feed" because pages aren't interacted with as much as people. Simply click "Share" next to "Like" after you post something to your page (or to post it in a group or send as a message).


If you have a blog or website, you can also add a "Like Me On Facebook" box

How to: This is a bit more complicated. I'll walk you through it step by step. Click "Edit Page" on the top right of your fan page screen. Select "Resources", "Use Social Plug-ins", then select "Like Box". Here's a tricky part, you need to copy and paste the url to your FB page to the field at the top. Then set you specifications, like your background color (black or white), and set your width. I personally prefer for the feed and the faces of your page to show, so visitors can click "like", see what you have recently posted, and see the fans of your page without ever navigating away from your web page or blog.
NOTE: You may need to play around with the dimensions in order for your "Like" box to fit correctly on a sidebar on a blog or website. Simply return to the edit page section of your fan page and create a new like box.



 "Just a Thought": you don't have to be the administrator of a page to create a "Like" box for it. If you copy any Facebook fan page's url, then you can use it under the Facebook Developer's section. This means that if you have a cause that you wish to support, such as the American Red Cross, or a favorite band or product you would like to showcase, you can create a "like" box for their page as well.

Thank you for visiting! I'll be happy to answer any questions you have about Facebook Pages, and check yours out once you make one, just post a link!

Danielle Raver

Author of Brother, Betrayed now available on Nook and Kindle

Guest post from bestselling author Alison DeLuca: social media for authors part one

A friend and fellow author Alison DeLuca is launching Fantasy Island Book Publishing's blog series: Social Media for Authors. Her post is the fisrt part of this traveling series Pt. 1: A New Star in the Twitterverse. Here is a taste:

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When I finished my book,  agents and publishers never called or rang the doorbell. Once I was live on Amazon, the throngs of people clamoring to shell out three clams for my book also failed to materialize. I had to go and get them, one at a time.
One of the main tools I use to do that is Twitter. It's a great resource for writers - in fact, I would hazard a guess that a lot of tweeps out there are writers.
When I started marketing, I had 17 followers. I now have close to 700, three months later. If you are starting off from scratch,  I suggest you use your writer's name as your twitter username, or your name + author if it's not available. Go to Twitter .com and build a profile. Be certain to upload a nice photo – one that looks good humored or that has a bit of sass to it.
Include a short bio that  mentions what your connection is to writing, as well as a link to your blogspot (more on that later.) The next step is to get a whole boatload of followers.
I built a following by participating in #WW or #WriterWednesday, and #FF or  #FollowFriday. If you put some of your followers'  names in a tweet and add those hashtags, they will do the same for  you. They'll know you have done that because they will click on the @Mentions, which will bring up all the tweets with their names in them.
At a certain point the following will just start building on its own, especially if you take the time to say thank you to every new follower...
For the complete interview see Alison's blog Fresh Pot of Tea

And be sure to check our her bestselling Young Adult book:
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The Night Watchman Express 

Rapture: That is a Great Label for the End of the World

The man from Mars stopped eating bars and eating cars and now he only eats guitars.

Did I lose you? Here's a bit of Blondie enculturement:


So other than "rapture" meaning the end of the world, it can also mean a feeling of joy or delight, ecstasy. I think I like that definition better.


"Rapture" by Henry John Stock (from artmagick.com)


Sounds like an interesting short story or novel. If you were to write/read a novel titled "Rapture" what would you want it to be about?

I'm Being Featured on Freeland and Fiction

Check out my interview on Freelance and Fiction by following the link:


Author POV: Danielle Raver 05/16/2011   Danielle Raver is our special guest today. Her fantasy novel, Brother, Betrayed, features one of my favorite character types: the anti-hero! I've always found anti-heroes to be far more interesting than straight up good guys. They have a darkness inside – maybe it's just a touch, maybe it's a bucketload – that really opens up the potential for drama. A good guy might refuse to take part in shady dealings. An anti-hero wouldn't think twice until it was over, and then he would have to deal with not only the consequences of his actions, but possibly guilt, as well. The more complicated the protagonist's emotions, the more involved readers will be! (for more of the interview click here)