With The Chronicle of the Three Trilogy complete and a couple new projects (The Wolf Queen and The Wayward) in the works I got to thinking about the similar themes and imagery that keep recurring in my writing. Let's talk about it, shall we?
There's always a little bit of sass. I mean, it isn't all TCO3 level but it's there. I like sass. I enjoy a little humor and sarcasm to break up the tension. (Trust me, in The Wayward you're gonna need it.)
There's always a battle between light and darkness. Sometimes it's in your face. In The Wolf Queen it's quite literal. But sometimes it's a little more under the surface. I think The Wayward will be this way. TCO3 was a nice mix of both.
There's always someone who is chosen for a purpose. (Blame Buffy if you want.) I know it's a trope. I know it's cliche. I. Don't. Care. I like the idea of being chosen. I think we are all chosen for a purpose and sometimes reading about someone figuring this out is inspiring.
There's always a strong female lead who kicks butt and takes names...usually with a sword.
I'm never going to write a sweet little contemporary romance (sorry mom). It's not that I don't enjoy them. I like a good Hallmark story as much as the next girl. But I think life is grittier. While some of us read to escape, and I even write some of the fantastical things that I do because I love getting lost in imagination and leaving reality behind for a little bit, life requires that we carry a sword. (Not a literal one, that could get you into trouble at airport security and grocery store checkout lines.)
I like the idea of a girl with a sword. I like a girl who isn't perfect, who makes mistakes and is still learning, but who fights, and fights hard for what she thinks is right.
The world has dragons to slay. The world has evil trying to destroy us. The world is sinister at times. We don't need to fear it. And we won't if we know how to fight it.
So, my stories have girls with swords slicing through demons and dragons. My stories have girls who rise up out of the ashes of pain and grief and tell the darkness where it can stick it. My stories have girls who defend those who can't defend themselves. My stories have girls who don't give up when it gets hard or scary. My stories have girls with swords who look evil in the face and say, "you wanna go, let's go...but know that at the end of this fight there will be blood but it won't be mine."
My stories have girls like that because I want to be a girl like that. Who's with me?
* Sometimes the girl has a gun or axe, but the thought process here still holds true. So, don't @ me when you read other books and it's not an actual sword. But saying weapon wasn't as poetic. You get it, right?
** Shout out to my friend Fawn for giving me the title to this blog.
If you want to know more about the message behind The Chronicle of the Three Trilogy straight from my heart, click here.