Of Paranormal Heroines
Posted by: Lisa Paitz SpindlerFiled under: Romance Genre, Lethal Fab Lisa — September 9, 2009 @ 11:37 am
Once in a while a blog post or comment takes on a life of its own. A while back I responded to a comment by Diana Peterfreund on the Dear Author post “My Paranormal Malaise”:
Diana Peterfreund said:
The other day, I heard someone refer to the pararom/UF market as the “vampire boyfriend” genre. Which is really interesting and not necessarily inaccurate because so many stories seem to be able to be described as “girl falls in love with [insert paranormal creature here.]”
An apt description, and partly why I’m much more interested these days in SFR rather than Paranormal. Why is it the paranormal character is so often the hero and not the heroine?
Love Romance Passion responded with the a very enlightening post “6 Reasons Why the Paranormal Character is Always Male” and The Galaxy Express responded with “The Romance Heroine is Not a Side Dish.”
For the purposes of this conversation, I break down Paranormal Romance into three main types: (1) paranormal hero/human heroine, (2) paranormal heroine/human hero, and (3) paranormal heroine and hero. The “vampire boyfriend” type (number 1) seems to be quite popular, whether we’re talking about Team Edward or Angel or the Black Dagger Brotherhood. The “vampire boyfriend” type shows us a story through the “Female Gaze,” something quite blatant on all of those naked torso covers. We’re so used to experiencing stories through the viewpoint of a male character that this switch is remarkable and probably one of the elements that make these books so popular. Wikipedia defines The Gaze as “how the viewer gazes upon (views) the people presented and represented…[F]eminist theory developed The Gaze in describing the social power relations between women and men — how men gaze at women; how women gaze at themselves; how women gaze at other women; and the effects of these ways of seeing.”
My favorite type is number three, however, where both characters must navigate their powers in a relationship. We all read for different reasons and no matter what genre we prefer, one of those reasons is for escape. Some readers can more easily enjoy a story if the heroine is somewhat mundane because the leap between themselves and her is not so great. Me, on the other hand, I prefer a fantastical heroine. I said on Love Romance Passion:
I am average, why would I want to read about what I see in the mirror every day? I read for escape, for adventure. I do sometimes put myself in the heroine’s place, and when I do that I prefer to experience some hefty qualities I don’t possess in my real life — like commanding my own starship or being some kind of supernatural being.
If you’re at all familiar with my own Danger Gal Blog, then you probably already know that I’m just as much, if not more, interested in “alpha heroines” as I am “alpha heroes.” All of my heroines are fantastical: Jana, a nanotech-enhanced spy; Anya, who downloads people’s memories; Lara, a starship captain from another dimension; Auren, who can speak in song; Meredith, a psychic ghost hunter; and Jill, a vampire with a mid-life crisis. So the idea that the paranormal character is “always male” dared me to search for examples of types two and three. I put the word out on Twitter and Facebook for recommendations on stories with at least a paranormal heroine, preferably with a human hero.
I didn’t have far to look considering the Playground’s own Terri Garey has written three novels about Niki Styx, owner of the vintage shop Handbags and Gladrags and counselor to the dead who is involved with very human doc Joe Bascombe. Still, others graciously recommended the following paranormal heroines:
- Damali Richards in L.A. Banks’ Vampire Huntress Legend Series
- Half-Sidhe princess Leanna and witch Jenna from Immortals: The Reckonging
- Vampire Holly Spinnaker in Barbara Hancock’s Hunger as well as pyschics Maya Bonner in Captured and Tess in Wilderness all by Barbara Hancock
- Invisible woman Lusinda Havershaw in Trouble with Moonlight by Donna Macmeans
- Selkie Margred in Sea Witch by Virginia Kantra
- Demon slayer Lizzie Brow in The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox
Some of my favorite heroines are the Breedmates in Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed Series, especially Elise Chase and Renata. Less recent, I also loved Seraphim from Michele Hauf’s novel Seraphim as well as Roderica Delamor from Laura Kinsale’s Uncertain Magic.
How about you? Which type of Paranormal story do you prefer and why? What are some of your favorite paranormal heroines?
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September 9th, 2009 @ 11:54 am
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September 9th, 2009 @ 12:59 pm
Wow you have quite a list there. The only ones I’ve read so far are Terri’s. Loved them!! I hope this will be a trend moving forward. No good reason why the heroine’s can’t be the paranormal one, and kick-ass to boot!
September 9th, 2009 @ 1:24 pm
Obviously, I’m a big fan of Terri’s Nicki Styx series. I also love Donna’s Trouble With Moonlight (and her other books too!) and Virginia’s Children of the Sea series.
I tend to like light woo-woo: witches, fairies, gods/goddeses and ghosts etc. I love PC Cast’s Goddess books, especially Goddess of Spring. And I’ve got Linda Wisdom’s books lined up next! I also like Annette Blair’s witches. And love Nora’s Three Sisters trilogy and Key trilogy, as well as her series for SSE.
I know she’s not paranormal, but I do like Eve Dallas!
September 9th, 2009 @ 1:25 pm
Wow it looks like I am behind on my reading… that looks like a great list of books! I have enjoyed a few of them… I will have to look into the others.
September 9th, 2009 @ 2:10 pm
I’ve always loved the paranormal heroine. It wasn’t until I actually starting mailing HUNGER to editors that I realized the heroine as a vampire was not the easiest sell…especially when she wasn’t spending at least part of her time shopping for pretty shoes;> Holly is a vampire in the truest gothic sense of the word. No holds barred. Thankfully, my editor at Samhain was good with that! And even though he’s very human the hero of HUNGER turns out to be strong enough to be good with Holly too.
My psychic heroines were a little bit easier to sell. Perhaps because psychic abilities aren’t seen as alpha as fangs?
I have found the more a person reads in a certain genre the more willing and eager they’ll be to have the old stand bys shaken up a little.
Hopefully it will become easier to find a home for heroines with paranormal abilities!
September 9th, 2009 @ 2:15 pm
Anna– Great list. You just gave me an idea for next month’s post.
Colleen — I know the feeling! So many books, so little time.
Barbara — I was really struck by the description of Holly in Hunger’s synopsis: “Holly Spinnaker is a monster. Really. Fangs and all. Never mind the petite figure. Pay no attention to the once-bouncy blonde mane. When Jarvis Winters first encounters…_it_…he prepares to exterminate freak number one hundred thirty two without a flinch.”
This description doesn’t pull any punches and I love it. For my own sake, I can only hope vampire heroines are an easier sell these days.
September 9th, 2009 @ 3:58 pm
Aw, thanks, guys!
I deliberately chose a female heroine in Nicki Styx, and I deliberately chose to make her “paranormal powers” something she wasn’t born with, something she had to get used to. I was fascinated with the idea of taking a normal woman and putting her into paranormal situations that really forced her to grow as a character, if that makes any sense. 
Seraphim looks really good, and so does Uncertain Magic - I didn’t realize that Laura Kinsale had written anything paranormal! I’ll definitely have to go order those two from Amazon!
Yes, there’s something about Sci-Fi that calls for strong female role models, isn’t there? I think it’s because that’s how we envision the future - everyone equal, everyone strong.
Great post!
September 9th, 2009 @ 4:24 pm
Terri — Seraphim was great fantasy romance. Sera is very much like Joan of Arc in a fantasy novel and the hero has his own paranormal stuff going on. Kinsale’s Uncertain Magic came out eons ago, but they’ve since re-released. I think I have one with the original cover. I loved that book.
September 9th, 2009 @ 6:18 pm
I really enjoyed the Bombshell line that Silhouette put out a few years back. They had plenty of strong women. I particularly liked The Madonna key series. Great storyline and every book had a strong woman character. Wish they hadn’t dropped that line.
September 9th, 2009 @ 6:24 pm
I’ve not gotten into the paranormal or sci-fi genre much because I can’t wrap my imagination around it much. My WAP friends threatened my life if I didn’t watch at least the first three Star Wars. I haven’t watched Indiana Jones either. I know, I am wierd, but I can’t explain it. I did love Terri’s Nicki Styx story (I read the first one straight through without putting it down) and I did love CL Wilson’s Land of the Fading Light (hope that’s the right title Cheryl - I am terrible at titles). I also must say that by reading stories of my playmates has opened up a lot of new genres for me. I appreciate stretching my reading genres and know that one of these days I will also be loving your book, Lisa. You may have to explain it to me, but that’s okay I am trainable.
You should have seen my daughter’s friends talking me through one of the Hugh Jackman movies where they are unusual people with wierd skills. Can’t remember the title of that one either. It was strange to me.
Give me a Scot in a kilt and I can just sink into a pillow for hours and not move. What does that say for me….
September 9th, 2009 @ 9:12 pm
I like all three types, but the strong hero and strong heroine type is my preference. Two strong characters working together or at cross purposes adds more to the story. This works for all genres whether paranormal abilities are involved or not. I read most genres and have been reading a lot of paranormal titles lately. However, I agree with Paisley, give me a man in a kilt any day.
Janet Chapman’s Highlander series gives us the best of both worlds.
September 9th, 2009 @ 9:13 pm
Linda– I wish the Bombshell line continued too. I’ll see if I can track down those titles used if they’re no longer available. Thanks!
Paisley — I believe that Hugh Jackman movie was probably X-Men.
You read and write historicals, so you have your own kind of active imagination. It’s all good.
September 11th, 2009 @ 8:35 pm
What an insightful post, Lisa! Thanks as well for the linkage. Sorry I’m so late joining in. Seems like every time I sat down to respond to this post, something came up.
Anyway, I gravitate toward a couple where, as you stated so eloquently, both must navigate their powers in the relationship. While I haven’t read a paranormal romance in a while (and not one that fits that bill), I did enjoy Richelle Mead’s SUCCUBUS BLUES.
I think it’s because that’s how we envision the future - everyone equal, everyone strong.
Terri, *exactly*. While I can understand the appeal of reading about a hero who represents the dark, dangerous, and forbidden, I can’t help but notice when the heroine becomes a mere placeholder in the story. Not all paras are like that, of course, but from personal experience, SFR better fits my need for stories with the “everyone equal, everyone strong” dynamic.
September 18th, 2009 @ 12:55 pm
[…] of new TWILIGHT fans” she references. Last week over at Writers At Play in my post “Of Paranormal Heroines” I asked why there are so few truly paranormal heroines and noted that: The “vampire boyfriend” […]