RISKING IT ALL: A Chat with Kyle Morgan by JM Stewart

 Kyle was always the big brother Cecelia Anton never had, but suddenly her goofy best friend has become a sexy man she can’t keep her thoughts—or hands—off of. As their deep connection melts into uncontrollable desire, Ceci is willing to put it all on the line for a shot at true love. Only Kyle is keeping a terrible secret about Ceci’s past that could destroy not only their lifelong friendship but their happily-ever-after…

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Hi Kyle. Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Name, age, job, role in the story…

Name rank and serial number. Gotcha. *laughs* My name is Kyle Morgan, I’m a detective for the Puyallup Police Department. I’m thirty, and I’m the hero of this here story. *furrows his brow, trying his best to look intimidating* Go ahead. Make my day.

Ceci: *Rolls her eyes, but the corners of her mouth twitch* You do a terrible impression of Jackson’s Southern accent.

Kyle: *frowns at Ceci* That wasn’t Jackson. That was Clint Eastwood. Dirty Harry? Come on!

Ceci: *presses her lips and holds up her hands in surrender* Oh, my bad. I apologize. You do a terrible impression of Clint Eastwood, then. *giggles*

Kyle: *laughs. Leans over to nibble on Ceci’s neck* Admit it. You love it.

Ceci: *blushes. Turns to reviewer.* Next question, please.

How did you meet Cecelia?

Kyle: *sighs. Pulls himself from Ceci’s neck with reluctance. Winks at her.* We’ll finish that later. *looking to interviewer* I grew up with her. When I was in fourth…no, fifth grade, she moved in next door. I was ten and she was seven. There’s a river that runs behind our properties. I was down there one night after supper tossing stones into the water when she wandered down. Apparently, I scared her, because she looked at me like I was going to eat her. Took me a while to get her to talk to me.

5 Hints for a Successful Connected Set of Stories by Different Authors by Melinda Curtis CHRISTMAS, ACTUALLY #anthology

Have you ever wondered what writers consider when they put together connected stories?  Then today’s your lucky day!

1.    Decide upon a theme.  What connects these stories?  Will your stories be location driven?  Family driven?  Holiday driven?  For example, all stories in Christmas, Actually are set in Christmas Town, Maine.  The three stories feature three siblings.  It’s the holiday season. All stories are sweet (no explicit sex).

2.    Same note or different tune?  Will all the stories be light-hearted or all sexy?  Do the author voices blend together or complement each other?  For example, in Christmas, Actually there are three unique storytelling voices – from a more emotional read to a lighter touch.

3.    Brainstorming community traditions.  Every town, city, or suburb has a set of traditions, myths, and rites of passage.  These traditions will help tie the books together.  For example, in Christmas, Actually there is an annual holiday pageant that involves the entire town.  And if you kiss someone on Christmas Eve under the town square gazebo, there are wedding bells for you in the new year.

4.    A unique set of characters.  It sounds silly, but you should check in with your characters.  Unless one of your themes is cops, you probably don’t want every story to have one.  Nor do you want them to have the same first name.  And if your character shows up in someone else’s story, you don’t want their names to sound the same (Ted, Tad, etc.).

5.    Draft check-in.  If your character shows up in someone else’s story – even as a walk on – you need to review their dialogue and action to make sure it’s consistent with the way you’ve written the character.

 

With a little bit of prep and regular check-ins, you can pave the way to a worry-free, connected set of stories.  If you don’t…trust me.  What can go wrong, will go wrong.  Good luck!

The Christmas Date is the third novella in Christmas, Actually – three holiday stories about three siblings living in Christmas Town, where tradition has it that a kiss on Christmas Eve in the town square gazebo will lead to wedding bells in the new year!

Gina Vernay was in an accident as a child and has a scar down her right cheek.  Since then, Gina has always sat on the sidelines, lacking the self-confidence to shine.  Wanting what many of her friends have – love, a family – Gina signs up for an online dating account.  But her picture doesn’t show her scar.  And she’s always too busy running The Tea Cup in Christmas Town to meet anyone, much less a man to share a kiss under the mistletoe in the town’s gazebo.  But when one persistent on-line suitor arranges to meet her on Christmas Eve, Gina’s life turns upside down.

Excerpt from The Christmas Date:

In the wee hours of Christmas Eve morning, Gina stood at the edge of the town square and traced the deep, jagged scar that ran from her left temple to her jawline with the tip of a gloved finger, as if her touch could erase the past. The small ball of worry, the one that hadn’t let her sleep last night, expanded like bread dough in her chest, pressing against her lungs.

I should have told him.

Snow fell silently, blanketing the square and the balsam firs lining it. The trees, mistletoe gazebo and surrounding quaint old buildings were draped in holiday lights. The town square looked like a snow globe, beautifully pristine and peaceful. The wind swirled around her, stealing her worried breath.

Puzzling Through Writing with Sheryl R. Hayes #amwriting #UF

Imposter Syndrome

About a month ago, I posted about my first rejection. I made the comment that now I could call myself a real writer.  I had two friends reply to that post, pointing out that I was already a writer long before I was rejected.  I had fallen prey to something everyone struggles with at one time or another. 

Imposter Syndrome is the belief that your accomplishments are not valid, that you are a fraud that will be discovered at any moment.  Although many people have studied this syndrome, it is not an official diagnosis found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.  Some reports state that up to 70% of people feel that they are imposters at some point of their life. Physicist Albert Einstein wrote in a letter to Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, "The exaggerated esteem in which my lifework is held makes me very ill at ease. I feel compelled to think of myself as an involuntary swindler."

Puzzling Through Writing with Farah Evers #amwriting #Scifi

Hi Farah! Welcome to The Snarkology! It's wonderful having you as my guest in Puzzling Through Writing, which is a guest blog series especially for unpublished or soon to be publishered authors.

My Dark Drive

I started telling stories at the age of 4 or 5. My parents, on many occasions, wished they had earplugs, because it was pretty damn hard to shut me up. I was that baby who talked all day long, until I was out cold. When I wasn’t talking, I was a baby with a book in my hand. Wherever we traveled, I tugged at my mother’s arm to take me into the hotel bookstore and buy me a book. I didn’t need anyone to read to me, nor feed me the bottle. I read in restaurants, lobbies, on the table, under the table, under the bed, and every other nook I could think of, as long as my bottle was in my grip. But the rest of the time, I just frikkin’ talked. I regaled the family with fantastical stories about complex matters that truly puzzled them. One day, a famous Arab journalist who worked with dad called me a surrealist. He told my parents I would grow up to be a writer, like my dad, or an actor. He was right on both accounts.

I wrote my first short story at the age of 12, and weirdly enough, I still remember bits and pieces of it. I remember it was set in Alpha Centauri. I remember that because I was obsessed with my Child Craft Encyclopedia, and my favorites were the science volumes about the cosmos, evolution, and biology. The story revolved around a group of scientists who worked on a special laser based weapon, which they wanted to use against the government’s will. Come to think of it, I should probably rewrite that story.

I don’t know what happened to all my stories, but as I grew up, I was discouraged from pursuing any art form. Where I come from, we constantly lived in survival mode, and art was not something fruitful, in my family’s view. When I entered college, I chose something as close to art as possible, and that was Architecture. You can read more about how architecture fueled my love for Sci-Fi and vice versa.

But what drove me to write? Nothing noble.

New Release: Off The Grid by Karyn Good #RomanticSuspense #Giveaway

A committed doctor to Vancouver's inner city, nothing fazes Sophie Monroe—until a pregnant teenager shows up at her clinic on Christmas Eve requesting sanctuary and claiming the baby's father is one of the city's most influential businessmen. Sophie is in over her head and thankful when aid shows up in the form of an attorney who's a little too confident and a lot too sexy. 

Family Law expert Caleb Quinn just wants a date, a chance to prove he isn't the elitist jerk Sophie assumes. Helping deliver a baby is not what he has in mind. But before long protecting a traumatized teenager and her son become his first priority. Even if saving them pits him against the baby's father, a childhood friend. A man who will do anything to keep his dark side private.

But justice never comes cheap. Will doing the right thing cost Sophie and Caleb their reputations? Or their lives?

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There’s something about November that suggests we cuddle and snuggle while sipping hot chocolate. Or wine. Whatever works for you. I’m happy to be here today chatting about my favorite genre, romantic suspense.

Deceit, danger, and desire are three D’s I never get tired of as a writer or a reader. I love how the blend of anxiety and anticipation make for memorable plots and conflicts. But the best part is how the hero and heroine find their way to each other in the midst of chaos. In romantic suspense love and hope exist within the darkest of circumstances, are intensified by it. For me, that is the appeal.

WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? by Andrea Downing #western #TWRP #romance

The author is sponsoring an ebook giveaway of Dearest Darling, so please comment to enter. The winner will be chosen at random from comments.

The most common question I get asked as an author is, where do you get your ideas?   Sometimes I feel like saying, I wish I knew!  Characters creep into my subconscious and take over, then tell me their story like a movie running in my head.  Usually, several different things come together at once and the story takes shape.  This is certainly what happened with my latest western historical romance, Dearest Darling.

Sometime ago, I was re-visiting Grand Teton National Park and came upon the Cunningham Cabin.  It's in an area of the park most would consider desolate, an isolated spot looking out onto the Tetons across the high plains.  It struck me then that it would be a great place to set a story—a couple had lived there, braving the winters and raising cattle, even having a shoot-out on the property they owned.  But it was the isolation, the loneliness that struck me most of all.  At about the same time, my daughter's long-time boyfriend asked to be put into one of my books.  Since he is Colombian, his name wasn't quite right for a 19^th Century cowboy, so I adjusted it slightly to be Daniel Saunders instead of Daniel Saffon.  So then I had one 'lonely' cowboy living out by Kelly, Wyoming, at the base of the Tetons.  Next, The Wild Rose Press put out a call for its Love Letters series, and the first thing that popped into my mind was, what if the love letter goes to the wrong person?  And then, how does one address a love letter?  Surely it must be Dearest Darling?  But what if the heroine's name actually was Darling?  And so my heroine, Emily Darling was born.

My Kind of Heroine: My Daughter by Sydney Jane Baily #lovehistoricals #MFRWAuthor

I think I'm the last writer in this month’s themed Snarkology blog run about heroines. I'm honored to bring up the tail end. First, thanks to Melissa for hosting all of us this month and to the many writers from whom we’ve learned a lot about heroines.

Right now, my daughter is my heroine. She started college this past September at her number one choice for university, and then went right out and found a job a week or so after moving into her dorm. She intends to help pay for her tuition, and she has learned a new skill as a barista. Good grades, a good work ethic, and her eye on a promising future. What more could a proud mother ask for?

I also want to introduce you to my latest fictional heroine, Miss Josephine Holland, a self-made, independent lady. I tell her story in An Impassioned Redemption, which I dedicated to my daughter (though the similarities stop at the feisty personality and sharp intelligence). Jo is a partner in a successful saloon and bordello. She apologizes to no man for making money, especially for making it in a way that is frowned upon by more polite society and particularly by her own gender in the late 1880s.

#171130181 / gettyimages.com

My Kind of Heroine: The Heroine's Quest Suz DeMello #romance #MFRWAuthor @MFRW_ORG #strongwomen

When I started to write fiction, I really didn’t have any themes in mind. I just wanted a creative outlet and after I discovered romance writing, knew I’d found the artistic fulfillment I’d craved for decades.

I studied writing for years, formally in writing classes taken at a local community college, and then more casually, by reading many books on craft and attending innumerable writing seminars and workshops.

  

I was introduced to refined craft topics such as theme, symbolism and subtext, but was mystified at how to weave them artfully into my writing without being too highfalutin’ or obscure.

My Kind of Heroine: Spunky, Clever, Brave by Beth Barany #Giveaway #yafantasy #amreading

Beth is sponsoring an ebook giveaway so be sure to comment for a chance to win one of her published titles!

I like heroines who are spunky, kind, and know how to have fun. I like the clever ones too. I just finished reading fantasy novel The Fall of Ventaris, book two in the series, by Neil McGarry and Daniel Ravipinto, featuring Duchess of the Shallows, also the name of book one in the series. Duchess is clever, determined, and creative, and not afraid to take risks.

The heroines I admire come in several flavors. I like ordinary women who are gutsy and know what they want in their lives and go for it. Then during their ordinary life, they get surprised by love. They think they are so strong and tough, and can handle life by themselves. And they can, to an extent. But really, life is better together. Life is better with love. Yep, these are the kind of love stories I like to write. I have four of these romances in the form of sweet paranormal novellas in stand-alone books, yet are also a connected series. If you want to read them in order, here's the list:

1. Touchstone of Love (July 2013)
2. A Christmas Fling (December 2013)
3. Parisian Amour (May 2014)
4. A Labyrinth of Love and Roses (Sept 2014)

The list is here too: http://author.bethbarany.com/romance/.

My Kind of Heroine: Is Someone Who Isn’t Afraid To Help by Gemma Brocato #Romance #Giveaway

Before I began this post. I had to look up the meaning of the word hero, just to make sure I had it right. Because it is clear from this series that everyone’s definition is different. And they are all correct. According to Merriam-Webster, a hero is:

: a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities

: a person who is greatly admired

Reading that, what I wanted to tell you today crystalized in my mind like sugar on top of crème brulee when held to a torch.

I know sixteen women who collectively represent my heroines. See, I co-admin a Facebook page, Sizzle and Sass, with these ladies and have for over a year now. We came together as a group to help promote our author brands, and have a little fun. And we’ve accomplished this, without a doubt.

My Kind of Heroine: NOT a Super Model by J. Hughey #NewAdult #Romance @jillhughey

It's easy to make a hero notice the knock-out beauty standing in the room. Attention is effortlessly drawn to the firecracker that's all bang and smoke. How do you make him notice the slowly burning flame in the corner with enough heat to sustain him through his entire life? There's something about her, deeper than her skin and bigger than her boobs, to draw him in. She's the heroine I want and it's her story I want to read.

I like a heroine who is pretty darned average on the outside. I'm fine with a bit of softness at her waist and legs that DO quit at some length shorter than Barbie Doll's proportions. Or maybe she is athletic and flat-chested. After all, for every female body type, there is a man who prefers it, and it's more fun to read (and write) about those interesting people than the same stereotypical caricatures over and over and over.

As an author, I've written eight heroines so far, and I'd say only two would be called beautiful by a casual observer. The others are plump or too thin, or simply average, or even have a characteristic that is off-putting, like weirdly colored eyes. Often, they are aware of their "imperfections," making the hero's reassurances a beautiful part of a growing relationship based on more than animal lust. And he isn't perfect either.

My Kind of Heroine: Suffering Builds Character by Georgie Lee #Romance

Thank you Melissa for having me here today to discuss my kind of heroine.

I love to write strong women, but I also like to make them suffer through a few tragedies before they reach their happily ever after. Think of Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind and how much she had to struggle through during the ten long years of her story. However, unlike Scarlett O’Hara, my heroines overcome their challenges with their hearts still intact and become the kind of women Rhett Butler wouldn’t walk out on.

I have lots of ways to torture my heroines. Some of my favorite methods are poverty, dead parents, neglectful parents, dead husbands etc. You get the idea. Usually, it’s not just one tragedy they must deal with, but many spread out over their lifetime so that by the time they walk on stage in chapter one, they’re carrying a load a luggage, I’m talking Louis Vuitton steamer trunks.

No matter how I decide to torture my heroines, I always give them two things to help them deal with and overcome their troubles; heart and grit. For each leading lady, grit can be something different, from the courage to carry on after a nasty shock, to the sheer determination to succeed no matter what. My heroines aren’t the kind of women who sit down and give up when faced with disaster or setbacks. Instead, they figure out how to overcome them, and in the process, become stronger women.

My Kind of Heroine: Alpha all the way! by Fiona McGier #Romance #giveaway

The author is offering a copy of Only One Man Will Do (autographed paperback or an eBook download to one lucky commenter, so please leave a comment for a chance to win!

I don't write clingy heroines who are in trouble, needing to be rescued.  My heroines aren't waiting for a knight on a white horse to give them a reason to live. My heroines are independent women who are comfortable with themselves, and who enjoy their lives.  They work hard and play equally hard.  They've been known to enjoy recreational sex with a good-looking man, but they've never really been in-love.  They believe in it--they just haven't had the time to look for it.

In my most recent book, Only One Man Will Do, Alexandria Blackstone runs the marketing firm her father built from scratch. He's retired, but still sits on the board.  She's used to working with mostly men but gets frustrated when they think she can't do the job, when they'd never have questioned her father.

To relax on her time off, Alexandria is the queen of a motorcycle gang in Minneapolis. She hand-picked all of the men who ride with her, using more than her hands. She had a bit part in the previous book, For The Love of His Life, when she and her gang rode into a small town because she'd heard a famous action movie star was there and she wanted to score with him. She's convinced that monogamy is for suckers, and that women who fall in love end up like her mother, who was discarded by her father for a trophy wife. She's determined that won't ever be her fate. 

My Kind of Heroine: Role Models, Past and Present by Kryssie Fortune #Romance #Fantasy #Giveaway

Kryssie is offering an ebook of GIVING IT UP FOR THE GODS to one lucky commenter to be drawn at random. So leave a comment for a chance to win!

Historically, heroines have been eye candy. In 1740 Samuel Richardson set the bar low in his novel Pamela or Virtue Rewarded. The fifteen year old heroine is kidnapped and imprisoned by the so called hero. He attempts to seduce and rape her. Okay, we know he’s a low life, but poor Pamela fell in love with him. Maybe she was a masochist or something.  Not my kind of heroine.

Fifty years later and women were still victims. In Mysteries of Udolpho, Emily suffers for love—but she doesn’t escape her terrible situation until her secret admirer helps her. By then her true love has lost all his money—and he failed to rescue her. Obviously he hasn’t read the Hero Manual.  Finally this much put on woman develops a backbone, and takes control of her own finances.  A glimmer of hope for heroine, maybe.

Almost twenty years later,  a lively, likeable woman reared her head and took the world by storm. Thank goodness for Elizabeth Bennet and Jane Austin. Heroines had just moved up a gear.

Then the movies stepped in, and things went downhill fast. Pearl White starred in the Perils of Pauline, and gosh, did that woman suffer. (Through  twenty cliff hanger episodes to be exact.) Her evil guardian,  Mr. Koerner, must have been the inspiration for Dick Dastardly in Wacky Races – although I always preferred Mutley myself.

My Kind of Heroine: Our Idealized Selves by Melissa Fox @WildRosePress #PNR #Romance

Ah, the heroine. For me, heroes are easy. Easy to write, easy to read, easy to like. Heroines? Not entirely sure why, but I find heroines not quite so easy.

An ideal heroine is what we’d like to see in ourselves—self-confident, smart, independent and inviting a partner with those same qualities. Strong enough to be a little soft and vulnerable at times. The same as a hero, I think, but on occasion it’s difficult to depict those qualities in a heroine without her appearing bitchy (mean-spirited or nasty/hurtful to others), whiny, or worst of all, the dreaded TSTL. Character flaws are great, but the hard part is portraying them in such away they aren’t over the top, annoying, or give an impression an author might not necessarily intend. My biggest pet peeve is a heroine that comes across with a streak of bitchiness used in place of strong, independent character traits, like the two are one and the same. They aren’t. Conviction, opinion, and confidence don’t have to have a negative connotation and can be tempered with common decency and politesse, but showing that can be a challenge. A hero can be portrayed as an asshole in place of strength and confidence just as often as a heroine, but have we come to accept that as a double standard—it’s okay for a man to be an ass, but not a woman to be a bitch? Not sure, but I’d love to hear other thoughts and opinions on the subject.

My Kind of Heroine: Gets the Job Done by Sydney St. Claire #Giveaway #Eroticromance

My favorite kind of heroine is many things. She’s sassy, smart, strong and gets the job done. Like Jessie in my historical novel (written under Susan Edwards), White Wolf. She’s been told she can’t travel with her brothers to Oregon because the wagon master has a no women rule. Now Jessie will not allow anyone to split her family up. She devises a way to go and gives the wagon master grief all the way. She has Spirit.

In White Nights, Eirica has just lost her abusive husband. She has three young children and is pregnant with her fourth. Does she fall apart and let everyone take care of her? No, she’s a strong woman determined to make a new life for her and her children. She too has Spirit.

In Cinderella & Prince Dom, Jaimie has every reason to be bitter and to feel sorry for herself. She was accused of embezzling and fired after she blew the whistle. She’s innocent but she doesn’t wail and ask, ‘Why me’. She moves on. She too, has Spirit.

Lucy in Red & Her Big Bad Dom is full of sass. Her Spirit shines. Not only that, but she is one smart cookie and very strong in her personality. When she tells our poor hero no, she means no. She has these rules, her code to live by, and no matter how much she’s attracted to poor Graham, rules are rules. She’s got strength, maybe a bit misplaced but hey, that’s what makes Lucy such a fun and sassy heroine. And in the end, her Spirit allows her to see the humor and find a way to ditch those rules that no longer apply.

My Kind of Heroine: The Perfect Heroine? by Emma Kaye #Romance #Anthology

Thanks for having me here today, Melissa. It’s always a pleasure to visit The Snarkology.

Is there any such thing as the perfect heroine? Or is the concept of perfect like beauty—in the eye of the beholder?

When I started writing my first novel, my heroine was perfect. That lady could do anything. She was smart, beautiful, courageous—she could stowaway on a Regency era merchant ship, not shower for weeks, and come out smelling like a rose. Yikes, she was annoying.

That didn’t last. Thankfully, I came to my senses and she eventually became real to me. (Bathing was actually necessary when she wanted to get clean. She wanted to do the right thing, but doubted whether she was capable. Some of her actions were a bit hasty, but she did the best she could. She had to get past her insecurities in order to overcome the challenges her story threw her way.

My Kind of Heroine: Smart. Sassy. Strong. by Tameri Etherton #Fantasy #AmReading #EpicFantasy

Smart. Sassy. Strong. That’s MY kind of heroine!

I’d like to thank Melissa for having me here today. I’m a little passionate about my heroines and when I saw the call for guest bloggers, I was super excited. As a thank you to Melissa and her readers, I’d like to offer one lucky commenter the chance to win either a $10 Starbucks gift card, $10 Amazon gift card, or a special surprise, and some cool swag. If you’d like to be entered, please be sure to leave your email in the comments. The winner will be drawn at random on Sunday, Oct 12th and I’ll pop in on Monday to leave a comment with the winner’s name.

And now on to one of my favorite subjects: Kickass Heroines.

I love a good, strong, female lead. She can be flawed, broken, or even disenchanted, but she has to have a semblance of strength in her for me to want to go on a journey with her. If her idea of dealing with a situation is to hide in a room and cry, that’s all fine and well, but I’ll be moving on to the next story.

My Kind of Heroine: An interview with Joan Wilder by James DiBenedetto @jdibenedetto #DreamSeries

The first book of my Dream Series, DREAM STUDENT, takes place in 1989-90, and my heroine, Sara Barnes, is twenty-one years old.  She’d have been sixteen in 1984, when “Romancing the Stone” came out, and Sara would definitely have seen the movie, and she would have loved it.  But what would the movie’s heroine, world-renowned, best-selling romance author Joan Wilder, think of Sara and her story?  Let’s ask her!

J.J.: Hi, Joan!  Let’s get right to it.  Tell us what you thought about DREAM STUDENT, and Sara?

Joan Wilder: First off, I’m happy that she’s a fan of mine.  When she describes herself as a “world-class hopeless romantic,” she must have stolen that from one of my interviews. 

But aside from that, I have to say, I liked her.  I know what it’s like to be thrown into a situation that you’re simply not prepared for, and you have to sink or swim, so I absolutely felt for her and all the trouble she had once she started jumping into other people’s dreams.  I thought she handled herself really well.  I don’t know if I would have done half as well at her age.  And even knowing how difficult it was for her, I wouldn’t mind being able to do that myself.  If I knew what Jack Colton was thinking…never mind, we’re not talking about me, are we?

My Kind of Heroine: What makes a good heroine? by Dena Garson #PNR #Eroticromance

 

As I sat down to write this post, I thought about some of my favorite heroines. My original intent was to give you a list of my favorite heroine but I quickly realized what a large list that would be. So I decided to focus on what it was about those characters that I liked so well. Here’s a list of things those character have in common.

1.  Humor. A heroine should be able to laugh at herself and maybe even the hero (“with” the hero is probably better though). At a minimum, a heroine should be able to find the humor in life.

2.  Hopeful. Hope is a powerful thing. It gives you strength to go on even when all seems lost. A heroine should have a healthy dose of it or be in a position to give hope to others.

3.  Self-Sufficient. Romance is about two people coming together and falling in love. But that doesn’t mean one becomes dependent on the other. I prefer my heroines to get up and slay their own dragons instead of waiting on the prince to come along and save her.