Guest blog: Edie Ramer on strong heroines …

• Posted in About Books, Contests, Guest blogs, On Writing

Edie RamerToday, I’m please to welcome Edie Ramer to my blog. Edie is one of my author friends. She’s the author of Stardust Miracle, Dead People, and other books. Take it away, Edie:

STRONG HEROINES:

Garrison Keillor uses this phrase to describe the fictional town of Lake Wobegon: “Where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.”

Books with strong women and good-looking men are my favorites. (I take “above average” children for granted.) Though my first introduction to stories was fairy tales, where the average heroines are passive, I quickly graduated to Nancy Drew, devouring her mysteries. At the same time, I loved Wonder Women comic books. In my teens, I found great books filled with strong women, like Little Women, The Diary of Anne Frank, and Pride and Prejudice. I love a strong heroine and dislike whiny heroines.

Jennifer writes three series with strong heroines. Gin, the assassin heroine in her Elemental Assassin series also runs a barbeque restaurant. So she kills and cooks. I honestly think the cooking part might be harder for me. I’m sure my husband would agree. Her other heroines are strong in different ways. You won’t find a weak one in the bunch.

And the men … She does well by them, too. They are good looking. And usually they have a few dollars or more in their many bank accounts – which often makes a man look even more good looking.

Since my first published book, Cattitude, in which a cat changes bodies with a woman and thinks anything a human can do, she can do better, my heroines have been strong. That includes the woman in my Miracle Interrupted books. In Mo’s Heart, the fifth book, Rosa Fabrini is probably one of the emotionally strongest characters I’ve written – and it’s something the hero loves about her.

Mo's HeartHere’s a short excerpt from Mo’s Heart that takes place after she’s been forced to leave her home, and she’s temporarily staying in an apartment above the hero’s restaurant – right next to his.

All this ran through her mind in a second as Mo stopped beside her. “It’s not a palace.”

“I wouldn’t know what to do in a palace.”

“You’d be the queen. Anything you wanted.”

She laughed, surprised by his comment. Surprised that she had laughter in her. “I’d rather be a cook.”

“You are that. The best sous-chef in the village.”

There was a quiet moment between them, and a sense of peace sighed inside her as she looked at his serious face and knew he saw her as a strong woman, a woman who was temporarily down but not out. Never out. Not as long as she had breath.

She stood taller.

“The furniture is pretty ugly,” he said.

“I don’t know. The couch is the same color as your eyes.”

“Do me a favor?”

She looked at him. He never asked her for favors. “Of course.”

“Run downstairs and get my chef’s knife and bring it back up here.”

She laughed again and felt a shift inside her. Kind of like she imagined the earth felt when a boulder in a precarious spot moved. “Why?”

“So you can gouge my eyes out.”

 GIVEAWAY TIME:

CattitudeEdie is offering up digital copies of Cattitude and Miracle Pie to one winner. To enter, just leave a comment on this post talking about some heroines that you like.

The giveaway will be open through midnight, EST, Wednesday, April 17. The winner will be randomly selected and announced here on the blog on Friday, April 19.

ALL ABOUT EDIE:

Edie Ramer is funnier on the page than in real life. A multiple award-winning writer, she writes stories with heart, attitude, and magic. She lives in southeastern Wisconsin with her husband, dog and one important cat. She’s happy to do what she loves nearly every day.

MO’S HEART will be available online any day. For more information, visit edieramer.com and follow Edie on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. 

Thanks so much for being here today, Edie.

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15 Responses to “Guest blog: Edie Ramer on strong heroines …”

  2. Laurel says:

    Of course Gin tops my list of favorite strong heroines, but I also enjoy Cat from Jeaniene Frost’s Cat and Bones series and, for YA readers, Katniss from the Hunger Games. The first strong female character that I remember reading about was Lucy from the Chronicles of Narnia. She didn’t wait around to be rescued and was ready to fight in the battles with her brothers. She had the courage to stand by her beliefs even when everyone else didn’t believe in her.

  3. Edie Ramer says:

    Laurel, I didn’t read Hunger Games, but I loved Katniss in the movie. (And as a cat person, I love her name.) I remember Lucy in Narnia, too. I think the series is still popular today. If she’d been wimpy, I doubt anyone would care.

  4. 101StrangeAngel says:

    Just wanted to say hey Edie and that I can’t wait to read your new book. I still love Cattitude and go back to it when opportunity presents itself.
    I absolutely love your books Jennifer and Gin is one of my favorite heroines as well as Charley Davidson from First Grave On The Right, Yelena from Maria V. Snyders Poison Study series and Cat from Jeaniene Frost’s books. Gin is a big contender for my bookworm heart and I cant wait to read more adventures. Good luck on future novels the both of you!!!

    • Edie Ramer says:

      Strange, I’m so glad you loved Cattitude! There are kittens in Mo’s Hearts (though nothing like Belle in Cattitude), which is why I thought to give it away.

      I absolutely love all of Jennifer’s heroines. And I remember Yelena from Poison Study, too. 🙂

  5. Erin Lewy says:

    I think my favorite strong female character growing up was Meg Murry from the Wrinkle in Time books. I also enjoyed Nancy Drew, but Wrinkle in Time was my sweet spot growing up. I read those books over and over again (and am in fact rereading A Swiftly Tilting Planet (book 3) right now.

  6. JenM says:

    I love Belle – she’s got that Mistress of the Universe attitude, no matter what form she’s in. I think my favorite heroine is Mercy Thompson from Patricia Brigg’s series. I love her because she’s never the strongest person in the room, but she refuses to give up and always wins out just by sheer determination and smarts.

    • Edie Ramer says:

      Jen, I sometimes feel the same way as Mercy. lol I definitely have to read her stories. And I’m so glad you love Belle! I’d love to be just like her.

  7. Jennifer Estep says:

    Edie — Thanks for guest blogging. I really appreciate it.

    And thanks to everyone who mentioned Gin as one of their favorite heroines. That’s so nice of you guys to say, and those are some great characters/authors/books to be included with.

  8. Heather says:

    I love Gin. Tough but vulnerable. Maybe it’s the overachiever in me, but I definitely related to Hermione. I loved Elizabeth Bennet (but really what girl doesn’t?) and currently, especially in YA, I love all the heroines from Ally Carter’s books, because they are like modern Nancy Drews – all super smart. And one is name Kat. And really, classically, who is tougher than my beloved Jane Eyre?

  9. Maryam says:

    How hard is it to name a single favorite?

    Hermione comes to mind first as the bookish, teacher’s pet-yet-saves-the-life-of-the-hero-time-and-again type. 😉
    Lena, from the Delirium Series, is a great example of a girl growing into her own…easy to relate to.
    Laila from Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, who was resilient through the worst times a woman can go through.

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