Celebrating Kick Ass YA Heroines
As a contributing author with the Melange Books publishing company, I am beyond proud that Melange division Fire and Ice is celebrating their Kick Ass Heroines throughout April! This event will offer book releases, sales, blog hops, parties, discussions, events, and other fine examples of authors kicking ass.
This project was the brainchild of YA author Libby Heily.
“ KickAssGirlsofYA has its genesis in the real world. I did a talk at a Friends of the Library meeting for a tiny county in Virginia and we spent a good amount of time discussing the need for strong female characters in young adult fiction. The librarian who’d invited me to the event wrote me later and said she’d had a wonderful talk with her daughter that night about females in YA fiction and about how her daughter sees herself in real life,” she explained. “That really warmed my heart. I attended the women’s march this January and between the two events, I felt inspired. I contacted Caroline (Andrus, Melange executive) at F&I. We have so many books that feature strong female characters, I really wanted to do an event that promoted those characters and the need for strong females in YA in general.”
Heily’s release “Welcome to Sortilege Falls” features a prime example of exactly this brand of empowered heroine.
“In my book, Grape Merriweather is the MC. She comes from a school where she is popular and is considered beautiful, and then she moves to a town overrun by models,” she explained. “Grape has to learn how to be the awkward kid who isn’t immediately adored for her looks. Throughout the book, she stands up for herself when she’s bullied and stands up for her friends. She risks her own safety to do the right thing. There is also a scene where a boy displays stalkerish behavior and Grape tells him that it will not fly in no uncertain terms (she takes a whack at him with a lawn chair). I don’t think strength comes from never being afraid or worrying, I think it comes from doing the right thing in spite of your own fears and worries.”
Also featured during this event will be the YA release Taming Tigers by Daisy White.
“Talia is Cinderella with a gun, hell bent on escaping a refugee camp and tracking down a murderer,” explained White. “Sometimes you only have yourself to rely on, and when that happens thank your lucky stars you are a girl!”
White is proud to be a part of the Kick Ass Heroines program.
“I love #kickassgirlsofya because it is a genuine team effort,” she said. “It’s great to hook up with the other fab authors who create butt kicking heroines of all types!”
Christina Hoag’s book “Girl on the Brink” is another featured read in the Fire and Ice celebration.
“My heroine is Chloe Quinn. Chloe, 17, is an aspiring news reporter who falls for the wrong guy in a whirlwind summer romance. As Kieran increasingly shows his abusive nature, Chloe decides she must break up with him, but in revenge Kieran files a false police complaint against her,” Hoag explained. “Chloe uses her smarts and her investigative reporting skills she learned from her summer internship to expose Kieran’s lies and manipulation.”
Hoag supports the sisterhood concept behind the Kick Ass Girls of Fire and Ice.
“Publishing is an extremely tough business these days. I think authors banding together to mutually promote their works is the way to go because then we all benefit from each other’s audiences, and benefit our publisher as well,” she said.
Mary Victoria Johnson presents “The Ashes and the Sparks” as a part of Fire and Ice’s tribute to kick ass heroines.
“Living in a harsh environment, Jorun must be both mentally and physically strong. Despite a tendency to cave in to her friends, the arrival of a new society forces her to stand up for herself and become truly kickass!” said Johnson. “Looking back through fiction in previous decades, it’s amazing how many female characters serve no purpose other than a ‘prize’ or love interest for the main hero. This event celebrates heroines who are fleshed out and kickass in their own right, and that is something I am proud to support!”
You can find out more at www.fireandiceya.com/kickassgirls
Love what you read? Want to follow us closer to get all the latest Legendary Women news? Then sign up for our monthly newsletter and also our Medium collection. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.
