When KG asked me to write about my favorite women in science
fiction my first reaction was total panic. You see, I’m all about the hero and
I don’t connect with most female characters. I guess because I’m not the
stereotypical woman in any way and never dealt with common issues most women
deal with. It’s almost easier to write about the women SF characters I don’t
like, because the list is long.
So I started thinking, told my sister about my panic, and
finally figured something out enough to write about.
My first favorite woman in SF is Aeryn Sun from Farscape,
played by the awesome Claudia Black. There’s been a ton of stuff written about
the gender reversal in this show, about all the themes, about how Aeryn has to
learn to process her emotions and stop being a super-soldier all the time.
That’s not what makes her awesome to me. What makes her
awesome is the development of the romance between her and John Crichton, the
main character. It’s slow, beautifully done, and SO believable. Her growth as a
character is incredible to watch.
My family watches quite a bit of BBC America, being Whovians
and all, and enjoying a lot of British dramas. When they started promoing their
original series Orphan Black we decided to check it out. Wow! We all love it.
There’s nothing all that original about it from a plot
standpoint. Cloning experiment to measure nature versus nurture outcomes. It’s
the characters and the acting that make it a standout. The main character is
Sarah Manning. She’s also a clone. She plays ALL the clones. Each one is
different and unique, with a completely different life.
Sarah’s been in a lot of trouble and made a lot of bad
choices in her life. Another clone, Allison, is a soccer mom with an attitude
and wound up so tight you could bounce a quarter on her. Cosima is the science
geek and loves Jamaican music. Helena is the crazy one, raised by a group of
religious extremists and she’s very attached to Sarah. And when I say Helena is
crazy, I mean she’s CRAZY. She has her own little twisted theme song that
relays how messed up she is. These four make the core group of clones and
they’re trying to figure out what’s going on and why they were created.
Watching their relationships unfold is the biggest part of
the show’s appeal. Sarah starts out impersonating another one of the clones who
was a cop and committed suicide right in front of Sarah. That’s not giving
anything away, either, because it’s the opening scene of the first episode.
I also enjoy watching Kira Nerys develop on Star Trek: Deep
Space Nine. She has a lot of depth as a character, and has a lot of issues to
work out.
You’re probably
noticing a theme by now. I’m all about the characters, both as a viewer
and a writer. My characters come first, usually the hero, and I have to create
the perfect heroine for him. Which is always a challenge for me. I’m most
comfortable in the hero’s POV, and that’s what you’ll find in A’yen’s Legacy.
Each book belongs to the hero, and it’s his story I’m telling.
Thanks so much for having me, KG! Keep reading, folks,
there’s a question for you at the bottom, along with all the buy links for the
book. It’s on Goodreads too, so you can add it to your TBR shelf.
Bio: Rachel Leigh Smith writes romance for the hero
lover. She lives in central Louisiana with her family and a half-crazed calico.
When not writing, which isn’t often, she’s hanging with her family, doing
counted cross-stitch, or yakking about life, the universe, and everything with
her besties. There may also be Netflix binging . . .
She blogs sporadically at www.rachelleighsmith.com, can be
found on Twitter @rachelleighgeek, and hangs out on Facebook, www.facebook.com/rachelleighsmithauthor.
You can sign up for her newsletter here.
Buy Links:
Blurb:
They've taken everything from him. Except his name.
The Loks Mé have been slaves for so long,
freedom is a distant myth A'yen Mesu no longer believes. A year in holding,
because of his master's murder, has sucked the life from him. Archaeologist
Farran Hart buys him to protect her on an expedition to the Rim, the last
unexplored quadrant.
Farran believes the Loks Mé once lived on the
Rim and is determined to prove it. And win A'yen's trust. But she's a breeder's
daughter and can't be trusted.
Hidden rooms, information caches and messages
from a long-dead king change A'yen's mind about her importance. When she's
threatened he offers himself in exchange, and lands on the Breeder's
Association's radar. The truth must be told. Even if it costs him his heart.
Question for readers: Who is your
favorite romance hero?
1 comments:
Thanks so much for having me, Kristina!
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