Introduce yourself!

[Werner]

Hi, I'm Werner, the moderator of the Action Heroine Fans group (which has been mentioned on one of the other threads). I'm a pretty much life-long fan of strong, brave heroines in all media who can fight, no matter what weapons they use, though until the last few years I haven't read or viewed much in this vein (it was sort of a guilty pleasure I didn't indulge much :-) ). So now that I've recognized it as nothing to be ashamed about, I have a lot of catching up to do! Though I'm just now officially joining this group, I've been following it ever since Mike and Thad joined back in November.

[Keeper of Sorrows and Shadows]

Hi, I'm Hugh. I'm an action adventure fan and, ever since I had a daughter (now 7) I've been on the look out for books, stories, Movies and TV shows featuring capable female heroines, the more realistic the better. There are tons of books with male heroes for my son (now 5) and I know where to point him, but finding a good, fun, even if unbelievable story where my daughter (who already voices a negative opinion when the movie isn't about a girl, or doesn't have a girl in it (in a major role) is a lot harder than I had thought.

And of course, I am always interested in a fun adventure and action story, regardless of what gender or beasty the main character is.

[Werner]

Hugh, great to have you with us; welcome!

Barb and I raised three girls (no boys), so I can relate to the quest for good female role models on TV and the big screen for them --not necessarily fighting types, but strong, decent women with courage and moral convictions. (My oldest --who's a green belt in karate-- was as big a La Femme Nikita fan as I was.)

[Seeley]

I am Seeley James and, like Hugh, have two daughters (16 & 40 (the latter being a long story)) who complain about thrillers being a male dominated club. They hated Twilight because she never did anything on her own; they hated Hunger Games because she couldn't pick a boyfriend; etc. They wanted a decisive female who killed only as a last resort.

I've long enjoyed Kinsey Milhone, Stephanie Plum, Eve Dallas, Vanessa Munroe, and other heroine stories, but especially like Zoe Sharp's series about heroine Charlie Fox. And I really appreciate a heroine who CAN make up her mind and doesn't rely on a guy to save her.

Looking forward to this group!

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Thanks Werner for invite!!
Rick here..love thrillers..love all books for that matter!

[Werner]

A warm welcome to Rick, Seeley, and to everyone else who's recently joined, but just haven't introduced yourselves. We're having a bit of a growth spurt, and that's exciting!

[Alex]

Hi Seeley James,

I will have to check out the Zoe Sharp series...have never heard of it before.

Your daughters' input on Twilight and Hunger Games is interesting. I've got twin 15-yr daughters. One is still stuck in 'Disney' mode and the other isn't much into action movies yet-she likes romance. This is much to my dismay because it makes it hard to enjoy a movie with them, since I've always been an action/thriller lover from a young age.

[Jim]

Hi, all. I think I've seen most of you around, but just in case not, I'm Jim. Thanks for the invite, Werner.

[Werner]

My pleasure, Jim; glad to have you with us!

[Sythe]

Holla! I'm DK and am sick and tired of sniveling damsel in distress type. Fierce ladies toting guns are my thing. Looking forward to be a part of the group.

[Werner]

Welcome to the group, DK; glad you've joined us. We're not very large; but thanks to the magic of the Internet, we now have members on five different continents!

[Graeme]

I, Curmudgeon wrote: "Hi, I'm Hugh. I'm an action adventure fan and, ever since I had a daughter (now 7) I've been on the look out for books, stories, Movies and TV shows featuring capable female heroines, the more rea..."

Do you include comics/graphic novels as well?

[Werner]

Glad to have you join us, Graeme; welcome!

If you're the author of any graphic novels featuring a gun-toting heroine (or can recommend any) you can definitely post about those here. I'm not a big reader of graphic novels myself (though I've got Femme Noir Volume 1: The Dark City Diaries on my to-read shelf), but quite a few Goodreaders are.

[♕ Suƶie ♘]

Hello everyone, I am excited to find this group. I am new to goodreads. As a chapter leader of the largest women's shooting league in the nation, I work with strong, talented, gun-toting women on a regular basis. On the outside, they don't always look like the movie-stars in described in most books; however, on the inside, these women are definitely real life beautiful heroines.

Thank you for letting me part of this group. I dab in writing short stories for stress relief, and I always have a strong feminine character in them. I am inspired to read everyone's posts already.

[Werner]

Suzie, welcome to our group; glad you found us! I'm an admirer of strong, courageous and self-reliant women in real life as well as fiction (and have the privilege to be married to one), so I'd say your women's shooting league sounds like a great group; kudos!

Have you ever thought about posting any of your short stories on your page here on Goodreads? (You've sort of whetted my curiosity about them. :-) )

[♕ Suƶie ♘]

No but thank you. I wouldn't want to bore everyone. :)

Is there a place to read short stories people write here on goodreads? If so, where do I find it?

Thanks for having me in the group.

[Werner]

You're welcome, Suzie; thanks for joining!

To answer your question, no, there's no one single page on Goodreads that links to everybody's writings that they've posted here. But if someone has posted a short story, essay, flash fiction, etc. (of course, not everybody has!), there's a section on his/her page with that link(s). You have to scroll to find it, and it's positioned differently for regular members and for those who are Goodreads authors. Hope that helps!

[Werner]

Welcome to our group, J.B.; glad to have you with us! If any of your writing is published and in the Goodreads database, be sure you add it to our bookshelf. (Your heroines sound like just the sort of gals members of our group would be interested in reading about!)

[Werner]

Great! Thanks, J.B.

[♕ Suƶie ♘]

Hello JB, welcome to the group!

[Robin]

Hi all, looks like it's been a while since someone posted on this thread. Anyway just like to say hi.

[Werner]

Hi, Robin; welcome to our group! Yes, it's been awhile since anyone said hello on this thread; we're a slow-growing group. (That's probably partly because we have a low profile; not a lot of Goodreaders know the group exists. If you have any friends who appreciate gun-toting heroines, invite them to check us out!) We're glad you found us, anyway, and hope you'll make yourself right at home here.

[David]

I'm a recent addition to the group as well. Looking forward to some recommendations as well as shamelessly promoting my own work...but I'll do that another time. :) Here's to strong female protagonists!

[Werner]

David, glad to have you join us; welcome! Make yourself right at home here, and check out our discussion threads (we have one that's devoted to recommendations, and check out our bookshelves for ideas as well). And we also have a thread where author members can promote their work (and aren't expected to feel a bit of shame about it! :-)).

David wrote: "Here's to strong female protagonists!" I'll drink to that! (Okay, I'm a teetotaler, but you can drink toasts with soft drinks. :-) )

[Thad]

Welcome, David; glad you accepted my invitation to join!

[Bran]

Hello all! I am a part of the Action Heroine Fans group and thought it would be fun to be a part of this more focused group as well. I actually found it because David Wittlinger was kind enough to mention my novel Coyote in another thread. Thanks, David!

Like everyone here I enjoy reading tough female characters, and am glad to see books and movies opening up to a bigger variety of parts for women to play.

[Werner]

Bran, it's great that you've found us; welcome to the group! Just now, I added your to our group bookshelf.

[David]

Werner, I think you might like this one. ;)

[Werner]

David, on your recommendation, I just signed up for the giveaway!

[Greg]

Hello My Name is Greg,
I am an author ( www.gregwagnerbooks.com ) and an avid reader.
This is such an exciting genre of literature I'm so glad to see a separate group dedicated to it.
I look forward to hearing about new GAG books to read.
Wow! It's great to see some of the Action Heroine Fans group members here too.
Good Reading!

[D.E.]

Hello, I'm Dale.

I am an author of books with strong gun-toting female characters and am hoping to find out what readers of this genre like in the way of heroines. This is not meant as self-promotion but rather as full disclosure of my motives for joining this group. I simply want to give readers what they like to read.

I was raised in a household run by my mother and aunt after my father passed away when I was 11 years old so self protection and defense of children was always a factor in my life. This chore was shared by everyone.

When my sister moved back in with her three daughters self-defense with firearms became even more important. Most of the women in my life still carry firearms on a regular basis so writing in this genre becomes second nature.

I have joined the Action Heroine Fans group also. I am glad to see there are some of us out here that like gun-toting females!

[Thad]

Greg and Dale, a warm welcome to you both, and best wishes for success with your writing! We hope you'll both be active members here.

Greg, my apologies for being so slow in welcoming you! I admit I've been very remiss in my moderator duties here (which the Goodreads management unexpectedly appointed me to when a vacancy arose). I'm not very active here on Goodreads in my Thad Brown persona, which limits my moderator role (I don't talk much about my own reading, for instance); and I confess that I haven't checked on the group page as often as I should.

I've just now stepped down from the moderator role, and handed it off to our former moderator, Werner, who's rejoined our group earlier today. I think this step is what the group needs right now.

[Werner]

I've introduced myself here before; so I'll just say that I'm back to stay, and won't throw in the towel this time. I'd left the group some time ago, because I had gotten the impression that I was the only person who ever posted or took any interest in it. But I've come to feel that wasn't the right response to the inactivity of the group, and that having once taken on the responsibility of a moderator, it was my duty to stay with it and continue to do what I could to breathe some life into the group. I apologize to the membership, and will try to make up for my dereliction with constancy in the future!

[D.E.]

Werner,

Thank you for taking over the role of moderator again. It is a time consuming post and I appreciate you devoting your efforts to it.

I will look at the bookshelf, and it may take me a while for me to read the chosen book because time is at a premium as it is with everyone, but I will try to read a Guns and Girls book ASAP. It may help stimulate this group.

[Werner]

You're welcome, D.E., and I appreciate your enthusiasm!

D.E. wrote: "I will look at the bookshelf, and it may take me a while for me to read the chosen book because time is at a premium as it is with everyone,"

Actually, our bookshelf is just a collection of books that fit our group's interest, which different members have written or read at various times, and added to the shelf to make others aware of them. Some groups use the "currently reading" shelf to highlight a book for a group common read; but in this group, we've never done a read like that. (The Action Heroine Fans group did an annual common read for a few years, the last one being in 2016, and has a more ad hoc one coming up in March --long story!-- but probably won't do any more after that one, either.)