Wednesday, May 30, 2012

KICK BUTT HEROINES


In my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, my reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack pays homage to Stephanie Plum. They’re both Jersey girls, and as Anastasia finds herself mired deeper and deeper in caca, on several occasions she wonders, what would Stephanie do?

Personally, I thinks she’d be better off wondering, what would Fiona do? Not Shrek’s wife, although in the last movie Shrek's Fiona did let loose her inner kick-butt heroine. I'm talking about the other Fiona. Fiona Glenanne, the kick-butt love interest of Michael Westen in Burn Notice. Fiona is a former member of the IRA, a woman who cooks up explosives at her kitchen sink as easily as Anastasia scrambles an egg. Fiona is also a precision marksman (or markswoman) who is equally adept at picking locks, tracking down bad guys, and driving like the proverbial bat out of hell. You don’t want to mess with Fiona.

If Anastasia were more like Fiona, she’d have a lot less problems. Fiona wouldn’t put up with Ricardo the loan shark for more than five seconds. She also wouldn’t put up with all the family melodrama Anastasia deals with from her communist mother-in-law and her (supposedly) Russian princess Mama. Fiona believes in family, but she doesn’t believe in taking crap from anyone.

Most of all, Fiona doesn’t like being told what to do. Everyone is always telling Anastasia what to do.

Anastasia doesn’t get to watch much television, given her family and work schedule. However, I’m seriously thinking about sitting her down to watch a few episodes of Burn Notice. She might learn a thing or two that could help her deal with all that caca flying at her from every direction.



What about you? Do you have a favorite kick-butt heroine? Is it Katniss Everdeen or Lisbeth Salander? Or maybe it's the newly kick-butt version of Snow White from Snow White and the Huntsman? Then there's Merida, the heroine of the upcoming Brave. (Thank you, Pixar, for finally remembering the girls!)

Lois Winston writes the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries series. The first book, Assault With A Deadly Glue Gun, was a January 2011 release and received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist and has been nominated for a Book of the Year Award by ForeWords Reviews and is a finalist for a Daphne du Maurier Award. Death by Killer Mop Doll, the second book in the series, was released in January. Visit Lois at 
http://www.loiswinston.com and Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog, http://anastasiapollack.blogspot.com.

17 comments:

Kathleen Kaska said...

I love kick butt heroines. They do all the things I don't have the nerve to do.

Cynthia Cooke said...

I'm so excited for the new Snow White movie. I've been watching Once Upon A Time all season and I love how they've turned Snow White from a simpering wimp to a kick-butt heroine! Lisbeth is a little too damaged for me, so I'd definitely go with Catniss. Great post.

Unknown said...

Fun post. I tend to like women who kick butt in defense of themselves & others but don't go looking for a brawl. And I include linguistic butt kicking - the great comeback or put down that I would think of only in the car on the way home.
(I've actually always considered Disney's Cinderella to be more kickbutt than she's given credit for - she enlists the help of the critters and steps up when she needs to. I suspect the whipped that prince into shape while they happily ever aftered!).

Shannon Baker said...

I could use a dose of Katniss Everdeen. There are a few people in my life who need a close call with one of my well-placed arrows. Alas, I'll just lecture them in my head while I vacuum.

Diana Layne said...

I have always loved Mulan and the transformation she went through. Yes, I'm looking forward to the new Pixar and Snow White movie, yes, I love Katniss, and yes, I love Fiona. I also write kick-butt heroines. :)

Lois Winston said...

I agree with you, Kathleen. I wish I had the nerve to be kick-butt.

Cynthia, I gave up on Once Upon a Time after the first episode. I decided I was spending far too much time in front of the TV and couldn't afford to get involved in another show. Now that a few of my favorites have ended, maybe I'll give it another try.

Sheila, I'm the same way. The perfect rejoinder pops into my head three hours too late.

Shannon, you have time to vacuum? I'm impressed!

Diana, never saw Mulan. I'll have to put it on my movie list.

Jill Archer said...

Great post! My whole family is looking forward to Brave. I'm not sure I could choose between Katniss and Lisbeth. Both great characters. Haven't seen Burn Notice. May have to check it out!

Beth Groundwater said...

I like real-life heroine characters who start out a little wimpy and tentative, like me, then faced with a challenge, they step up to the plate and kick butt. So, Lois, your Anastasia is perfect for me. :)

Lois Winston said...

Jill, I'm looking forward to Brave, too.

Beth, sending you a huge cyber-hug from me and Anastasia!

Anonymous said...

Great blog post, Lois! It's important to women to kick-butt and still be considered a lady:)

GBPool said...

I like a "tough broad," especially when I think she can really do the things the author has her do. Some of the lighter novels do this tongue-in-cheek and I'll buy it for the sake of the story. But I think it's better when I really believe she can take care of herself. Usually that requires her using her head rather than sling a 300 pound man over her shoulder. When I was a P.I., I used my head and never got caught. I carried a knife, not a gun. Today, I'd pack heat, but that was then; this is now.

Lois Winston said...

Sandy Lo, that's why I love Fiona. She kicks butt so fashionably. ;-)

GBPool, I'll bet you have some stories you could tell!

Dru said...

oh I love Fiona and I can't wait for Burn Notice to return.

Lois Winston said...

Me too, Dru!

Kathy said...

For reading I go to Lt. Eve Dallas for kick butt heroine. I don't go to the movies so that's out. I can't think of any kick butt heroines on TV currently either. But I do remember Mrs. Peel in the original TV series The Avengers. I only get to watch two channels though because of the location of the TV and the converter box.
There is a movie with a kick butt heroine I can think of not a newer one but an older one. The Lord of the Rings had Eowyn she disguised herself and fought in the big battle with the men.

Lois Winston said...

Kathy, Emma Peel was definitely kick-butt!

LD Masterson said...

That's funny - three kick butt heroines came to mind as I read your post and by the time I got to the end of the comment list, I'd run into all three. Fiona Glenanne is definitely the top TV kick butt gal these days. I love her standard question, "Can't we just shoot them?" Lt. Eve Dallas is my favorite for reading. But Emma Peel will always be the greatest because she was the first.