The Aspiring Bard

My blogging world has, recently, been quite preoccupied with the hot topic of gender roles in fiction (link list of specific blog posts below). Specifically, what a 'strong' female character is supposed to look like. In an unusual fit of bandwagon-jumping, I decided to pitch in with my thoughts...mostly because this is a topic that I have thought (and, frankly, wrestled) with for a couple of years now. "I do not fear. God is with me. It was for this that I was born."-Joan of Arc You see, I'm a very, very fortunate girl. I grew up around a bunch of truly amazing men who encouraged me, valued me, and always challenged me to think a little bit bigger, be a little bit better. I also grew up around a bunch of very smart, very well spoken women who were mentally, emotionally, and physically strong, who managed to be tough and beautiful and feminine all at the same time, who probably could have achieved just about whatever they wanted to achieve in life, and d...

It has just occurred to me that God of Wind and Fire has come a long way from its original purpose as a fun, swashbuckling frolic of a break from my 'serious writing'. I've already got a blood feud, a battle, and slavery...and I'm only on chapter 12. My main concern now is how to handle these very real but also fairly dark themes in a way that won't cause unnecessary trauma to potential readers. I have no wish to wallow about in darkness, but I have realized that, especially in the context of this book, it is necessary to be honest about what darkness does to people, both on individual and societal levels. We can't get properly excited about Light until we have some idea of the depths of the darkness from which the Light sets us free. That being said, I'm very excited to finally be getting to the place in God of Wind and Fire where I can begin writing the story of one of the book's agents of Light. The people walking in darkness have seen a gre...