Christine Feehan's Blog - Posts Tagged "heroines"
Grace Under Fire: Shadow Warrior’s Heroine
Grace Murphy is a resilient character and I enjoyed writing her story. She’s had a difficult start in life, in and out of foster care. She finally finds someone who is a brother to her, who cares about her, just to find that he is not who she thinks he is. He’s dangerous. And he’s jealous of anyone she gives her attention to, which makes her life very lonely.
She’s sold by that same foster brother to repay a debt. It’s here where our story starts and where Vittorio discovers that, not only is there a traitor to the Ferraro family, but the Saldi’s are up to something. Then, he discovers Grace and what her fate was to be.
Imagine waking up in the hospital to find that an infamous billionaire playboy is taking care of you and claiming to be your fiancé. You’re wounded and betrayed and know that wherever you are, whoever you’re with, danger follows you. It’s a vulnerable position to be in. Then some wildly sexy man wants to protect you and take care of you. What’s a girl to do, right?
I love that Grace holds up under pressure. So much of her life is changing and other people are trying to maneuver her, but even with so much confusion and danger in her life she holds true to herself.
Grace is a perfect fit for Vittorio. She knows when something is worth arguing for and when it’s not. She’s sweet and caring and has longed for a family. The mutual respect between Grace and Vittorio is one of the things I loved most about their relationship. They want to understand one another and find harmony in their life together.
I love that Grace has her own kind of power and is a heroine in her own right. She’s a perfect match for a Shadow Warrior.
The Woman in the Mirror: How we see ourselves in the heroines we read
It’s important to me that my heroines reflect a wide variety of women. Julija, from Dark Illusion, is more powerful than she knows. She thinks things about herself and about love that is filtered through some terrible life experiences. She was taught from an early age not to trust Carpathian males. So, when she meets Isai things don’t go smoothly.
I’ve had people ask me why I write heroines who sometimes fight becoming a lifemate. Let’s face it, if it all went easy there’d not be a lot to write about. There’s always conflict in new relationships and Carpathians have to deal with that like everyone else. Especially the men. Especially the ancient ones who know little of modern women.
In my real life I am a 3rd degree black belt and earned my instructor’s license to teach martial arts. I love martial arts, though I’m retired now, but I did that for 20 years. I taught special women’s classes. This was for battered, abused women. Some had had very horrible things done to them and they needed to fuel their courage. I say “fuel” and not “find” because all women have courage. Sometimes they just need to be reminded or lifted up. Learning self-defense can help with that.
So, I’ve met all kinds of women throughout my life. Some who are quiet, some who speak up and out and aren’t afraid to tell you what they think or how they feel. Some don’t want to be noticed, but prefer to stay in the background. Some want to fight anyone and everyone they feel needs it. Large women, petite women, every ethnicity, social background, walk of life, they all matter to me. I want all of them to have a happy ever after. Whatever that means to them.
When I started writing the Dark Series I wanted a woman who could accept an unusual man. Raven, from Dark Prince, was psychic and so she already knew there were unusual people in the world. She was one. As a couple Mikhail and Raven were a great example light and darkness. Raven is brilliant, confident and accepting. Mikhail lucked out!
Not all women are accepting. Gabrielle from Dark Promises certainly didn’t start out wanting her lifemate. Trixie (also from Dark Promises) tried to kill her future lifemate even as she admitted to herself that he’s hot.
Ivory Malinov fromDark Slayer is a formidable warrior. Emeline from Dark Legacy was timid and vulnerable in a way even though she certainly had courage.
Julija is a fighter. Unfortunately, her need to fight doesn’t always serve her well when it comes to love. She has courage. But, I love that she has a vulnerability at her core that helps us empathize with her and love her.
Of all of the Dark series heroines I’ve written, which do you feel you’re most like? Which one would you want to be most like?
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Lethal Women: Amaryllis and the GhostWalker Women
Some women are born warriors. Some become warriors. Without a doubt the GhostWalker series has a lot of very strong, courageous, intelligent women that I am proud of.
Did you know there are three types of female “GhostWalkers”? There are those who are soldiers and were physically enhanced just as their male counterparts were. Marigold “Mari” Smith is a sniper who was forced into Whitney’s breeding program. She started out as a soldier. So did Jaimie Fielding and Rhianna Bonds.
Some were orphans who Whitney did experiments on like Lily, Flame, Briony, Tansy, Zara, Shylah and even Violet.
Some were created in the laboratory like Bellisia, Pepper, Cayenne and others. They were genetically altered and had their DNA spliced from different animals or even insects.
These are just examples, each woman has her own story, but fits into one of these categories.
Regardless of where they came from or how they got into the program, each has her own set of abilities and is just as dangerous as any of the male GhostWalkers.
Amaryllis (Lethal Game) was one of Dr. Whitney’s orphan girls who he’d spliced a variety of DNA into. Her ability as a healer was unusual and a great gift and made her a target. She had to make some hard decisions in order to save herself. It took courage. It took stealth. She had to be self-reliant. All just to escape Whitney. Being around Malichai, loving him, put her in danger. She had to decide for herself if that danger was worth staying with him. Everything about being with Malichai was a push-and-pull. She needed him in a way, wanted him, felt a connection that was unlike anything she’d ever known. She felt cared for. But, she knew he was a dangerous man. Being around him put her in the crosshairs of Whitney’s men. Staying meant potentially being discovered and taken back to the lab. It was complicated right up until he needed her. And then, she knew what to do. I loved her for that.
The women of the GhostWalker program had varying levels of aggression. Some, like Zara (Covert Game), could kill, but really wanted to have a normal life, a family, and didn’t want to kill anyone. Her strength was in her intelligence and her loyalty. But, there was never any doubt that she could kill someone if she had to. And that she’d be willing.
Some women had no problem whatsoever taking someone out if they perceived them as a threat, like Bellisia (Power Game) or even Shylah (Toxic Game).
Which of our lethal heroines do you like best? Which one would you like to be if you could be a GhostWalker?
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Did you know there are three types of female “GhostWalkers”? There are those who are soldiers and were physically enhanced just as their male counterparts were. Marigold “Mari” Smith is a sniper who was forced into Whitney’s breeding program. She started out as a soldier. So did Jaimie Fielding and Rhianna Bonds.
Some were orphans who Whitney did experiments on like Lily, Flame, Briony, Tansy, Zara, Shylah and even Violet.
Some were created in the laboratory like Bellisia, Pepper, Cayenne and others. They were genetically altered and had their DNA spliced from different animals or even insects.
These are just examples, each woman has her own story, but fits into one of these categories.
Regardless of where they came from or how they got into the program, each has her own set of abilities and is just as dangerous as any of the male GhostWalkers.
Amaryllis (Lethal Game) was one of Dr. Whitney’s orphan girls who he’d spliced a variety of DNA into. Her ability as a healer was unusual and a great gift and made her a target. She had to make some hard decisions in order to save herself. It took courage. It took stealth. She had to be self-reliant. All just to escape Whitney. Being around Malichai, loving him, put her in danger. She had to decide for herself if that danger was worth staying with him. Everything about being with Malichai was a push-and-pull. She needed him in a way, wanted him, felt a connection that was unlike anything she’d ever known. She felt cared for. But, she knew he was a dangerous man. Being around him put her in the crosshairs of Whitney’s men. Staying meant potentially being discovered and taken back to the lab. It was complicated right up until he needed her. And then, she knew what to do. I loved her for that.
The women of the GhostWalker program had varying levels of aggression. Some, like Zara (Covert Game), could kill, but really wanted to have a normal life, a family, and didn’t want to kill anyone. Her strength was in her intelligence and her loyalty. But, there was never any doubt that she could kill someone if she had to. And that she’d be willing.
Some women had no problem whatsoever taking someone out if they perceived them as a threat, like Bellisia (Power Game) or even Shylah (Toxic Game).
Which of our lethal heroines do you like best? Which one would you like to be if you could be a GhostWalker?
My Official Website
Christine's Facebook
Christine Feehan Instagram
(Exclusives, Sneak Peeks, Discussions and more) - Exclusive Online Community
Be sure to shelve my books here on Goodreads! Thank you!
