I finally pinpointed the common denominator for all my novels. At least most of them. I've been writing Science-fiction, romance, even medieval stories, and now I have a contemporary suspense. So what gives?
It came after looking at my most recent book covers. Most of them feature a fearsome girl with a gun. I already adopted Romance with a Kick as my tag line, referring to my kick-butt heroines. But when I realized all my girls had guns (or their period equivalent, some have swords, too) I had an epiphany. That was the elusive link between all my seemingly unrelated novels in different genres. They all featured strong heroines, often in uniform, carrying a lethal weapon, preferably a gun. Sometimes the gun is a high tech laser gun, or a pulveriser, but it's always a deadly weapon.
Of course, girls with guns have a difficult time finding the right mate, and that's where my romantic plot gets challenged. What kind of man is strong enough to tame a girl with a gun? Or smart enough to love her without being competitive?
I guess that's an issue I have been confronting all my life, as a strong woman myself. I call myself a daredevil, am a Martial Arts black belt, skydive, go down the rapids in rafts, without blinking an eye. And I guess we write about what we know, so that's the kind of women I like to write.
So, sue me.
The damsel in distress has come a long way, and strong heroines are here to stay.
Halleluya! Long live girls with guns.
Vijaya Schartz
Award-winning sci-fi,
Girls with Guns, Romance with a Kick
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