Hey, all. Head editor Nicole Kimberling here.
As you know, Blind Eye Books is dedicated not only to queer publishing but to nurturing developing talent in aspiring writers, editors and publishing professionals. TK debuts on our site with her article, “Five Heroines Whose Strength Is Perseverance.”
Five Heroines Whose Strength Is Perseverance
By T.K. Huynh
I like a woman who does backflips and slings guns as much as the next person, but I like even more when they have a personality beyond their flashy Tae Kwon Do. Bonus points if they don’t die tragically for the express purpose of forwarding a man’s narrative (looking at you, Avengers). Sweet flips and gun tricks do not a strong female character make. So what does?
In the full spectrum of the human experience, I have to believe there’s more to being strong than physical prowess. Maybe I’m a little biased because I have a cane that’s very rarely used for swinging at people and more often a tool to keep the Jenga tower of my spine upright. But personally, strength is better defined (and much more interesting to read) as the ability to keep going—no matter the obstacle. The following list contains some of my favorite female characters who might not throw punch, but they wouldn’t let that stop them.
1. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Sunshine has everything I love in a novel: witty characters, terrifying magic, and a female protagonist who’s unapologetically strong. I use the term ‘unapologetically’ because I think a lot of writers soften their female character’s edges to make them more palatable. Male characters in general are afforded the privilege of being assholes and still likeable. Women should, too. That isn’t to say that that the female lead of Sunshine is an asshole, but she does have some sharp edges.
Rae “Sunshine” Seddon is a human who lives in a world where preternatural creatures and humans are at odds (but trying to live harmoniously). You wouldn’t know the trying-to-live-harmoniously part at the very beginning, however, because our heroine starts off with getting abducted by vampires. So she’s got to figure out a way to get out of her predicament before she becomes a tasty snack. The first thing she does is to, of course, take care of the vampire who’s supposed to eat her. You might be asking yourself if that’s a wise thing to do, but I assure you what Sunshine lacks in brawn, she makes up for tenfold in intelligence.
One of the things I appreciate about Sunshine and the main reason she’s on this list is that her best strength is just determination. Sunshine gets the shit kicked out of her…a lot…but she gets up again every time. She doesn’t have time to deal with her broken body or fears of impending death. No, all she’s got time for is kicking ass and taking on gangs of vampires.
2. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Moon Called is the first in Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series. It’s set in a larger urban fantasy world that she’s developed over other series, but this one focuses on Mercedes “Mercy” Thompson. She’s a walker, capable of shifting into a coyote. In a world of werewolves and fae, she’s one of many beings that hide amongst human society.
Her story starts with her hiring a lone, young werewolf at her garage. He’s obviously new the world of the supernatural and running from something in his past. Time reveals he’s accused of murder, but he doesn’t think he’s done it. Meanwhile, Mercy’s got to deal with a local werewolf pack that isn’t so keen on a newcomer in their territory.
One of the things I love most about Mercy is she’s the living embodiment of “take no shit, do no harm.” With a sharp tongue and an even sharper mind, she has a way of letting everyone know she can hold her own without being mean. Her strength lies in finesse. She knows the rules of the world she lives in and can bend them accordingly.
3. The Dust of 100 Dogs by AS King
Maybe you want someone strong in the traditional sense. Look no further than a bloodthirsty Irish pirate who loves robbery and murder almost as much as dismembering the English.
In the mid-1600s, Emer Morrisey was about run off with riches and the love of her life when she was murdered and cursed to live the life of 100 dogs. After doing her time as a hundred canid souls, she’s reborn as Saffron Adams, an American girl in the 1980s. But she’s got all her memories intact.
What I love most about Emer/Saffron is how unapologetically despicable she is. She’s foul-mouthed, cruel, and vindictive. It’s incredibly rare to see a female character like that, and King still manages to make Emer/Saffron likeable.
4. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Like most of us have at one point or another, I was looking for books about assassin nuns, and I came across Grave Mercy. The book follows Ismae Rienne, a girl from the late 1400s, whose mother failed to abort her in the womb. She bares a scar upon her from the attempt, marking her as touched by Death. A convent of nuns who bare similar marks takes her in and trains her to be Death’s handmaiden, an assassin. And she’s really good at it until she falls in love with one of her marks.
Ismae earned a place on this list for two reasons: her earnestness and fortitude. It’s rare that I encounter badass characters who are also incredibly sincere. Ismae may work for Death, but she wears her heart on her sleeve and approaches life with a kind of earnest warmth that’s rare outside of middle-grade fiction. At the same time, Ismae bears the spiritual weight of her actions with grace. Her emotions hold little bearing on what she actually does, and the most interesting parts of the book are the times when her emotions do guide her actions.
5. The Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke
I had to add The Assassin’s Curse to this list, if only because the opening scene shows our heroine riding away from her betrothed on a camel. Ananna of the Tanarau was born to a pirate family, and she was about to be married off to another pirate family when she thought better of it. Her dream has always been having a boat of her own, not being forever second-in-command. Unfortunately, her would-be groom’s family sends an assassin after her. In true Ananna fashion, she magically (albeit unintentionally) binds herself to the assassin, and they’ve got to figure out how to break their bond.
Ananna gets a spot on this list because she works really, really hard, even though she’s a dumbass. And I don’t mean she’s not smart. Her intelligence is quite good. She just lacks the wisdom to use it. Most, if not all, her problems are of her own making, and I respect the tenacity she has to just keep working at her issues until they stop being issues. Ananna is the human equivalent of using a bomb to get rid of a roach infestation. Sure, you don’t have to worry about the roaches now, but at what cost? Truly, her strength is her ability to beat her problems to death, even if it makes ten more problems.
T.K. Huynh is a writer of fantasy and queer fiction, as well as a concept artist. She graduated with a degree in biological anthropology from UC Santa Cruz at 19, specializing in ancient Central Asian biological histories. Her fiction has appeared in Piercing the Unknown: Short Stories and Excerpts into the Special World. In 2019 she won a mentorship at Blind Eye Books, where she is learning the ropes of indie publishing.
Find TK online on Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress, and Instagram.