Heroes of Fantasy: Mr. January

Let’s start off 2014 with a bang, shall we? And who better to ring in the New Year than the Norse god of thunder?

Image Credit: Marvel Studios

Thor

As a mighty warrior of Asgard wielding the hammer Mjolnir, Thor has, well, quite a big ego. Our first glimpse of him in Marvel’s 2011 film is rabble-rousing a crowd and winking at the ladies as he prepares to ascend the Asgardian throne. Too bad a small infiltration of Frost Giants interrupts the festivities. Thor’s solution? Smash them all!

Thor does a lot of thinking with his hammer and fists in the beginning, but after being banished from Asgard to earth for his arrogance, he learns the value of selflessness and sacrifice. And when he is worthy to possess the power of the hammer once more, there’s no stopping him from becoming an avenger for the weak and innocent.

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Heroines of Fantasy: Miss December

It is time for our last Heroine feature! Wow, a whole year gone by. Don’t worry, I plan on continuing the monthly series in 2014 with a different fantasy focus. But for our finale, I’m bringing you my all-time favorite heroine (yes, with a little shameless self promotion). Since the series is coming to an end, I’m giving Lexa a grand farewell. I will miss writing about her.

Lexa from the Dreamwalker Saga

Lexa has lived the life of a soldier, being one of the elite warriors for Artasia. In addition, she has the rare ability to dreamwalk, to enter sleep and transcend from her mind into an otherworldly realm known as the dreamscape. There she fights monsters born of people’s darkest dreams.

Lexa started out being fully devoted to duty and loyalty to her country, believing that was all that mattered in life. Throughout the series, she meets people that challenge her convictions and teach her that there is more to live for, though some find it challenging to get past her gruff exterior. No one can accuse her of being delicate; in fact, her tongue can be almost as sharp as her sword. And when words fail, a good punch to the head always works.

Tough and independent, there is nothing Lexa won’t do to protect those she cares about. Even if it means pushing herself to the breaking point.

Dreamsnatcher

Lexa has spent the past five years training the princess of Teltania in dreamwalking, a mission that’s coming to a close. But raiders hounding Teltania’s coast are leaving victims in comas, and Lexa discovers they’ve been snatched out of their dreams into the dreamscape. What soon becomes a potential plague sends her on a desperate search for answers before she loses everything she cares about.

Dreamsnatcher is now on Amazon and B&N. And watch for the epic conclusion to the series, Dreamweaver, coming this month!

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Get caught up on the series with Dreamwalker, Dreamstealer, and Dream Assassin.

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Heroines of Fantasy: Miss November

November has arrived! I hope everyone had a fun Halloween. This month’s fantasy feature is a spooky follow-up to the holiday, and I chose her because I’ve been watching Ghost Whisperer lately. 😀

Image credit: CBS Television Studios

Melinda Gordon

Melinda (played by Jennifer Love Hewitt) has been able to see ghosts since she was a child. It’s a gift passed down in her family, and her grandmother taught her how to use it to help earthbound spirits resolve issues so they can cross over into the light. One thing I loved about the first season is Melinda doesn’t start off having to keep her gift a secret. She’s recently married to Jim Clancy, who knows all about her gift and supports her desire to help ghosts, though he sometimes wishes she didn’t have it because some spirits try to hurt her. Melinda’s best friend, Andrea, also knows about her gift and thinks it’s pretty cool.

Melinda is kind-hearted and really feels for the dead. Even at the risk of being laughed at or called a freak, she tries to bring peace to the ghosts’ loved ones. It’s not always easy, and sometimes those earthbound spirits in their confused state cause some scary shit. But with her husband and best friend by her side, she can face anything…even when dark spirits start to take an unhealthy interest in her soul…

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Anyone fans of Ghost Whisperer? I don’t normally like scary stuff, and a few episodes creeped me out, but more often the stories brought tears to my eyes. It’s a very moving series I’d recommend checking out.

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Heroines of Fantasy: Miss October

Wow, how the year is going by. It’s Fall! For this month’s fantasy feature, I’ve chosen one of my own characters, Nita Young, in honor of Earth Tones being a winner in the 2013 Best Indie Book Awards! I am incredibly honored and blessed by all your support.

 Nita Young

Nita is an earth elemental. She lives in Yakutat, Alaska where she works as the town’s veterinarian. Her job is to take care of the animals and land, but she also enjoys helping human patients at the health clinic. She has two Husky dogs, Puck and Lakota, and enjoys pottery in her spare time. She could use her earth wielding to make sculptures, but prefers to use the wheel and tools. As she would say, “otherwise it’s just elemental magic, not art.”

While her powers are primarily used for stewardship, Nita’s got some kick-ass fight moves. Since she can wield any form of earth to her bidding, she can make vines coil and slither like snakes, and pull a wall of dirt into the air as a shield. And she can talk to earth animals. Who doesn’t want a pack of wolves running in as backup?

And Nita needs it too. In Earth Tones she’s faced with a mythological creature summoned up to attack residents of her town. Murder by mauling. Not only that, but throw in a newly-made werewolf and a deadly pathogen, and our heroine’s got her hands full.

Lastly, as a Finalist I got to write up my dream interview for Venture Galleries’s blog. And I chose to be interviewed by Iron Man. Check it out. I had a ball writing it, lol.

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Heroines of Fantasy: Miss September

This month we’re paying tribute to an ordinary woman playing in an extraordinary league: Agent Natasha Romanoff from The Avengers movie.

Photo credit: Marvel Studios

Also known as Black Widow, Natasha is an ex-Russian spy/assassin, now working as an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. Unlike the superheroes on the Avengers team, Natasha doesn’t have any super powers. Just moxie, kick-ass fight moves, and guns. She goes head-to-head with Loki in a mind game and wins, not to mention she beats up her fair share of invading Chitauri aliens.

While she appears tough and aloof on the surface, Natasha has a softer, vulnerable side around Hawkeye. She tells Loki at one point that Hawkeye saved her from being killed and gave her a chance at redemption. Now she fights with the good guys, even if they are a motley team of superheroes.

Scarlett Johansson is scheduled to resume her role as Black Widow in the second Captain America movie (2014) and the second Avengers film (2015). I, for one, can’t wait!

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I also have exciting news: Earth Tones is a Finalist in the 2013 Best Indie Book Awards! I am so honored that the book made it into the Top 5 for Fantasy. From here the judges will take the month of September to determine the winner, but I feel like one already. Here’s to a great, kick-ass month! *clink*

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Heroines of Fantasy: Miss August

Welcome to our monthly feature of kick-ass fantasy heroines. This month, in honor of the movie release, we’ll be taking a look at Clary Fray from Cassandra Clare’s bestselling YA series, The Mortal Instruments. The movie adaptation of the first book, City of Bones, releases August 21. (Anyone excited?)

Photo credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment

Clary Fray

Clary is a fifteen-year-old girl who witnesses a murder at a night club. Yet she’s the only one who can see the victim and the teenage perpetrators. Clary has the Sight, which means she can see the supernatural hiding among us. She also happens to be the child of two Shadowhunters, a race of humans who fight demons. When her mother is attacked by a demon, Clary finds herself thrown into a world she was born into, but that her mother hid her from all these years. She meets Jace Wayland, a Shadowhunter boy and the two fall in love. (Bad news when they both find out they share the same absent father. Oops.)

Clary is a tough girl, driven to confront the strange and terrifying world of the Shadowhunters in order to save her mom from a magical coma. She’s an artist with a talent for drawing, an ability that manifests itself supernaturally when she is able to invent magical runes by drawing them. She battles her growing love for Jace as the two also fight their biological father, Valentine, a traitor to the Shadowhunters and bent on destruction. No high school drama here, just bloody fights to the death against demons risen from hell.

The Mortal Instruments and the spin-off, The Infernal Devices, are stupendous series I recommend to everyone.

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Quick note to those following the Supernatural Sleuth series. I apologize for having two weeks between postings, but last week I was writing the conclusion after the votes, and this week was the first Monday of August, which demanded a Heroine of Fantasy post. Fret not, I will be posting the conclusion to Paige’s adventure next week.

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Heroines of Fantasy: Miss July

Wow, June went by fast and it’s time for our next Heroine of Fantasy in this 12-month series here on the blog. It’s also time we pay another tribute to a pop culture icon: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Buffy Summers

Played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, Buffy Summers is one of the top kick-ass chicks of all time. In each generation there is a chosen one, a girl destined with the supernatural strength to slay vampires. Buffy, however, would prefer to be a normal teenager. After getting kicked out of her last high school for burning down the gym (it was vampires, I tell you!), she moves to Sunnydale to begin a new life. Unfortunately, her new high school is even worse than the last, as it sits on top of a Hellmouth.

Buffy tries her best to do normal things–try out for the cheerleading squad, make new friends, go clubbing. Alas, evil lurks around every corner. Her job description says she’s to slay vampires, but plenty of other nightly nasties come out of the woodwork for Buffy to deal with. And while she’s the one with superhuman strength and training, she’s also got some best buds, Xander and Willow, intent on helping her out.

Not only that, but she meets the dark, handsome, and mysteriously brooding Angel. Vampires aren’t supposed to have souls, but he does, and falling in love with the undead is a seriously bad idea. (Like, really bad when you get to Season Two.)

Buffy tries her best to balance school, friends, potential boyfriend of the night, and slaying evil. It’s not an easy gig. But she does it with some wicked fight moves and a lot of heart. And now I’m in the mood to rent the series…

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Heroines of Fantasy: Miss June

Welcome to our sixth installment of this series where I feature kick-ass heroines from the fantasy genre. This month I have a slightly different type of heroine for you. Meet Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle. (For the sake of this post, I’ll be referring to the movie, as the movie and book take completely different plot turns.)

Sophie

Sophie is a hat maker. She’s 18, but has taken over her father’s shop so her younger sister can be free to do what she wants. Sophie is responsible, hard working, and plucky when she has a mind to be. She also has very low self-esteem. In fact, she thinks she’s so ugly, that not even the dreaded wizard Howl would deign to eat her heart.

At this point you might be exchanging wary glances with each other. Sophie is our heroine? This mouse of a girl who lives a boring life while her sister goes out and has all the fun? Well now, the story gets better. Or worse, for Sophie.

The wicked Witch of the Waste comes to visit Sophie’s shop, and in a rare moment of Sophie showing some of that pluck, she shows the sleazy witch the door. Oops, don’t piss off a mean old witch. Sophie is then cursed and transformed into an old woman. Horrified, she quickly leaves town and heads into the wild. It’s a slow journey, as her bones creak and she gets tired easily.

You’re still wondering why I picked her as our monthly heroine? Okay, here’s the deal. Sophie may not be a vampire or demon slaying chick who wields swords or guns, but she’s got brains. She finds the wizard Howl’s castle and makes a pact with the fire demon inside to help break each other’s curses. And when Howl shows up wanting to know who she is, she claims she’s the new cleaning lady.

Even in an old woman’s body, Sophie still battles traps by the Witch of the Waste, evil sorcerers, and encroaching war. But here’s what I think truly makes her a heroine worthy of our feature—sometimes the hardest obstacle to overcome is ourselves. Sophie may not think she has much to offer the world or anyone, but in the end, she doesn’t need to be saved by a dashing hero. She can save herself. And him. 😉

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Heroines of Fantasy: Miss May

May is such a sweet sounding month, but I do not have a sweet heroine for you today. For this month’s Heroine of Fantasy feature, we’re heading back into the book world to meet Jeaniene Frost’s Cat of the Night Huntress series.

 Cat Crawfield

Due to her mother being raped by a vampire and getting pregnant, Cat is both half-human and half-vampire, which gives her the unique strength to combat these evil undead creatures. Every night she goes out hunting, hoping to find her father and kill him so maybe her mother can stop living in fear.

One night, she tries to lure and kill Bones, a vampiric bounty hunter that’s on to her. He imprisons her in a cave for days until he convinces her that the two of them would make a pretty good team. Of course, romance isn’t far off.

Cat is very young in the first book, so it’s no surprise that she can be immature. Throughout the series she does grow up some. She serves on a secret military team hunting vampires for a while, and delves deeper into the vampire world with Bones (I’m not going to go into detail and give anything away, but it’s a wild ride). Cat is stubborn, tough, and not afraid to take risks—she’s basically been using herself as vampire bait since she was sixteen.

She also has a hot temper, as does her lover, Bones, which makes for some very fiery spats—and fiery make-up sessions. Caution to those who may not like the racy so much: Frost is very graphic in her descriptions. But if you’re comfortable skipping over the sex scenes, the rest of the story is a lot of fun and very imaginative.

Cat is a badass girl we can all admire. Be it monstrous vampires, ghouls, or ghosts, she’ll take them all on. She is, after all, half dead herself.

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Heroines of Fantasy: Miss April

Well, based on interest from last month’s installment of this series, and that April is the fourth month of the year, I’m going to go ahead and give the fourth Charmed sister her own feature. Here she is.

Paige Matthews

We’re introduced to Paige in Season Four of Charmed. The Power of Three had been broken at the end of Season Three (not saying how), and, naturally, the only way to fix it was to discover a half-sister the Halliwell’s had never known about. Paige is the daughter of mother witch Patty and her whitelighter, Sam (tragic love story that coincidentally mirrors Piper’s own situation…). Paige was given up for adoption because if the Powers That Be ever found out a witch and whitelighter had gotten together, there would be trouble. Unfortunately, Paige’s adoptive parents were killed in a car accident when she was in high school, in which she miraculously survived.

When we meet Paige, she’s working at Social Services as an assistant, though she’s trying to climb the ranks to actual social worker. She has no idea she has magical powers until she meets her half-sisters. Because Paige is a whitelighter, her magic manifests itself a little differently. She can “orb,” which is basically a glowing lights version of “Beam me up, Scotty.” And when she tries to telepathically move things, they end up orbing too.

“I’ll take that crossbow.”

Paige is the youngest sister, and since she grew up an only child, she struggles to fit into the family dynamic the other Charmed Ones are used to having. Paige is independent and stubborn, and it takes her a while to learn to work as a team with her new sisters. She also struggles to find her own identity outside of running to the beck and call of her family and fighting demons. She tries many things in order to find her place in the world, including being a full-time witch (during which time a potion explosion turns her hair carrot orange red for a season), various temp jobs, and even teaching at magic school.

Like Phoebe, Paige loves being a witch, but it still sometimes gets in the way of romantic relationships. She even falls in love with a male witch at one point who has an unhealthy addiction to magic. Trying to keep her beau from casting spells while she’s running around doing it all day isn’t the best for a healthy relationship…

So with her, the Power of Three lives on and these kick-ass witches continue to fight evil, find love, and look good doing it.

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