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Wow, thanks! That information is very useful to me. That book sounds good, too--will add that to the list of historical romances from the other night.

While we're on this topic, let me toss this out to see what insights you or others may have into this. How would you define your ideal of a female protagonist? To explain why I ask, let me describe how I'm looking at it:

I see two extremes in many female characters that I'm trying to find the happy medium between. On one extreme is the damsel in distress who serves no other role in the story than to provide a pretext for the hero to rescue her (an example would be the way Lois Lane was often handled in early Superman stories). On the other extreme is what I'll describe as female characters who are so in rebellion against traditional concepts of femininity that they often take on the same negative traits as antihero type of male characters (here I'm thinking of any of a number of recent female characters who are basically female action heroes that are good at martial arts and shooting things but have little character depth apart from a bad attitude). In my novel I'm trying to develop a heroine who is both feminine in a traditional sense yet also an independently-developed character that is interesting in her own right apart from her relationships to the male characters. What do I have to do to achieve this?--and what should I avoid? I'd especially appreciate any female insight into this. I'd also be interested in what male readers would like to see in female characters, if any guys care to comment on this.

Well, then!

It's kinda late for me to get into this one, but some thoughts ...

In my experience, very, very few women in real life or in print represent the extremes you describe. Even the old Lois was smart enough to pinpoint and confront the villian Superman eventually had to round up; and the modern bad-girls --- Sydney Bristow in Alias, Trinity in the Matrix movies, Storm and Phoenix/Dark Phoenix/Marvel Girl/Jean Grey and all the modern comic-book chickies --- still have feminine characteristics (though Trinity is perhaps the most masculinized of them all).

I constantly fight my heroine's masculine "creep" --- she's good with a gun, she loves using her swords and knives, she's revolutionized her field of endeavor, she can be an analytical automaton. So she also has a tender heart she hides from a cruel world, she loves to cook, she's amazed that the hero loves her despite her physical and emotional flaws, she has a little pet that has, at times, been her only friend.

My hero is a superior warrior with a sidearm, or with a steel blade, or in the cockpit of his space fighter. He's cranky, and tempermental, and always gives the impression of being about ready to boil over at any moment. He has a mother he adores who's not at all sane, a sister he adores who's the biggest social snob on thirteen planets, and a best friend who's pulling away from him for no reason he can determine ... and he's quite an accomplished artist.

Make 'em people. Look at what Heinlein did with Deety, or with Friday, or with Star in Glory Road.

I have an interview tomorrow, so I have to go to bed. I'll get back to you on this ... it's a topic I have interest in, as you can see.

What do I have to do to achieve this?--

"Think of a man... and take away reason and accountability"...

Just kidding.

But seriously though, real women are complex and full of surprises. They can be a frail damsel on the surface but a crisis reveals her true strength. And vice versa.

I know a gal who's career Army. She's built like a man, stands like a man, is rude, crude, abrupt, physically intimidating. She is every negative stereotype you might have about NCOs. But she's a soldier, and given the appropriate opportunity she wouldn't think twice about killing an enemy. And yet, I know this gal through my quilt group. She quilts, crochets and knits. She loves bright colors, 1930's-era pastels and lace. She makes dolls (and talks to them while she's at it). Oh and she loves manicures. Complex! And I love her to pieces.