When I was younger and wrote stories centered around the women in my life, most times, my mom, grandmothers, aunts, or cousins were the focal point. And although as a child, I wouldn’t have pegged them as such, they were and are incredibly strong women.
My maternal grandmother raised six children to adulthood, pretty much as a single parent. It’s true they didn’t have much, especially since she steered away from jobs that took her out of the home and away from her children. Instead, she supported them by accepting tasks that she could complete while at home. As a result, all her children grew into strong, competent, and caring members of society. My paternal grandmother buried four of her seven children, two as infants and two as young adults. Yet I remember the time I spent at her house as a child to be filled with love and laughter. It wasn’t until I was an adult myself that I understood the weight of the emotional burden she bore.
And my own mother, who was diagnosed with a cardiac condition as a child and underwent open heart surgery during a time when most patients didn’t survive the surgery, proved to be the strongest of them all. Not only did she survive the surgery twice, but she lived into her seventies. Until the last few years of her life, we nicknamed her the energizer bunny.
It should come as no surprise then that all my female characters in my stories have one thing in common: they are all incredibly strong, emotionally as well as physically. But herein lies the rub: is there a scenario when they come off as too strong and by default, not a character that is easily relatable?
In Yellow River Pledge, Dr. Jordan Chamberlain is the pinnacle of strong. As a physician, she is accustomed to compartmentalizing her emotions, especially given her line of work as a coroner. And when life throws her obstacle after obstacle to overcome, her strength is put to the test.
Developing Jordan’s character was especially tough because she endures so much through the evolution of the story, and some of her coping mechanisms leave the reader with the impression that she’s a cold fish. It isn’t until Jordan comes full circle with her own fears and insecurities does she realize that she holds the power over her happiness in her hands and she can’t put that ownness on anyone else. Should a promise last forever, the book questions? Jordan would say yes, it should, and I would agree with her.
Similarly, in Sanctuary Road, writer Dayna Myles suffers the ultimate betrayal. past and presen.t She seeks to start over and rebuild her life in the small hometown she grew up in. Every small town has a secret, and as Dayna begins to unravel those buried deep within her town and her family, the secrets begin to unravel both her lives, past and present. If I had to designate a theme for this story, it would be about second chances. Sometimes it’s easier to sit back and let the opportunity pass you by. It takes every ounce of resolve you have to reach out and grab what you want even if it’s passed you by once already.
Like Jordan, it was challenging to keep Dayna’s character from seeming insensitive and at times, almost frigid. In fact, the first editor I used didn’t like the character; he said she wasn’t likable. I had to rewrite several sections to soften her up a bit, and although I was defensive at first, I thought the rewrite painted her in a strong, yet vulnerable way. She was one of my favorite characters to write. I especially enjoyed the interaction between her and Alex, her cousin. Alex is also very strong, but because of the subject matter, it was easier to reveal her softer side. I missed them both when the story was finished. They’d become such a big part of me and my life.
In Journeys, Caren Rivers spends her days manning a toll booth and interacting with the passengers in the cars that pass through. Caren is older than all my other main female characters. She’s middle-aged and seeking to adjust to being autonomous in a life that used to include her husband, son, and daughter. If you were to ask Caren, she’d probably tell you she’s just doing her job, but to the people who lives she touches every day, she is so much more. It’s true that sometimes you must come to end of a road to understand where the next one might lead. This is the case with Caren.
Are our encounters accidental or are our paths destined to intersect? That is the burning question for Journeys, and one I think we all beg to answer at one time in our lives or another. I think Caren’s strength is different from Jordan or Dayna’s in that both these women have carved out successful lives for themselves. One is a physician, and the other has had a successful writing career, but Caren is neither of those things. She’s probably making a little more than minimum wage and barely getting by, but you’d never know that from the way she conducts herself or interacts with the people in her life. Her strength truly is from within, and once you get to the end of the story, it’s very evident why.
When I think of Agent Devin McKenzie of The Town Time Forgot Series, it’s like thinking of a firstborn child with all the wonder and mystery that entails. Devin is the toughest of all my characters, yet at the same time, she is the most vulnerable. As the trilogy unfolds, she’s also the most sensitive. Being successful in a man’s world has left Devin with the inability to relate to a man in a way, that in her mind, makes her less powerful and competent. At times, she’s arrogant and bullheaded in her attempt to prove she doesn’t need anyone, especially a man. Her character was the most challenging one I’ve written to date as it was a constant struggle to soften her up and present a likeable character, one that readers would want to be invested in, especially since the story is so long. In Turbulence, she’s tough as nails all the time. By book two, Crossroads, the character, like the title, has undergone a transition into a wiser, softer, yet stronger woman. By the last book, Terminus, I think the readers can see Devin in an entirely new light. It’s a transition for everyone, including the readers. Devin McKenzie is my favorite character but don’t tell the others.
In Chimera, which will not be released until late July in 2019, Catherine Masters and Ryan Allen find themselves in the middle of a hospital conspiracy where patients’ lives, as well as their own, are put at risk. Both are competent and strong women who at first try to be silent and tow the company line, but as the story progresses and other lives are at risk, they discover they have no choice but to stand up and be counted, which for them turns out to compromise not only their jobs but their very lives. The theme for Chimera is how things are seldom as they seem. It’s about seeing through the smoke and mirrors and having the courage to say “no” when every else around you says “yes.” It’s about taking a stand against right versus wrong and being willing to risk everything to make that stand. That takes a special kind of strength all on its own.
There wasn’t much to “fix” as I worked on this story since I thought both characters had the right amount of sass and tears. These characters were fun to write, and I found myself having to refocus on the conspiracy of the story instead of the interaction between these friends. True, there was no Fox Mulder in any of my stories, but the Scully Effect was in full force. All my female leads exhibit larger than life superpowers and possess qualities more commonly associated with males, most notably, strength. I think I see a little of Scully in all my characters, each in different ways, but present nonetheless. They are, like Scully, walking an uncharted path with flashlight in hand, searching for the truth of it all against a narrow band of light and having faith that the truth, their truth, will prevail in the end.
Recommended Article: Lisa Colodny – The Town Time Forgot
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Weak men are threatened by women and feel a need to put them in a box and try to bully them in order to feel better about themselves and pacify their personal inadequacies. Secure men support and celebrate women. I love to read of strong women and explore the vastness of their experiences that make them the amazing creatures they become. It’s interesting to see all of the layers peeled back, to reveal the core that is so often hidden, and protected.
Thank you for your response, I see we are of similar minds. I’ve a certain kindred with all my characters and do believe they are layered as are we!