This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Norm Harris will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Fierce females can be found easily in the movies. The Marvel series alone has many of the badass ladies. And not to forget Wonder Woman. Over the top ladies, the characters in our stories do not have to be extraordinary to be authoritative, credible, or notable.
It may be easier for me, a man, to write fierce women because I add male traits to their fiber. I cannot see the world as a woman does, so I rely on editors to put my ladies in the proper light. I will list each character from my four books Spider Green Mystery Thriller Series, with a bio. It may help to understand how this was done. Keep in mind that all of these characters are military females. A male-dominated career choice.
Faydra Green is a Navy lawyer, a JAG, of Judge Advocate General. Her central conflict is that her dad was President of the United States. Fay wonders if any of her achievements were of her own making or if those doors opened to her because of her celbrity status? She proves to be not only intelligent but fearless as well. The female version of James Bond or Clancy’s Jack Ryan. Not superhuman like a superhero, but the no surrender desire is there.
JP is Faydra’s half-sister. Her half ethnicity is native American. J.P. is smart, she is witty, but she has low self-esteem. It is up to her sister to hold up J.P.’s sense of self-worth. Faydra knows it, and the reader can see it as well. J.P. is tall, a kickboxer, and would like to be a fighter pilot.
Irishka is fierce simply because she is a Russian espionage agent.
Yet, when I asked the editor which her favorite character was, she said Irishka is the most interesting in her opinion. Irishka is a no-nonsense woman who will do what she has to do, including assassination, if it serves to realize her goal.
Katrinka is Irishka’s twenty-three-year-old softer protege. She is a spy who began her career out of necessity at age thirteen. This in itself served to shape Katrinka’s mental and physical fortitude.
Azrael is a twenty-three-year-old Latino from East LA. And she is a Marine. By nature, Marines are exemplary of mental and physical strength.
When I place these fierce women into their respective scenes they have what is required to accomplish goals that the average man, or woman, would have difficult if not impossilbe to complete.
All fierce women have to be qualified in the storyline you have set up for them to be believable. For example, Faydra is put in a scene where she must scuba dive on a dangerous op with a SEAL team. As a set up earlier in the story, the reader is told of her passion for scuba diving, so when it comes time for her to dive with the SEALs, we know she has the skill. Still, she must find the courage to complete the mission.
As I write these scenes, I recall what may well be the single greatest and fierce strength in any female animal. The mother protecting her young. Find that fierceness and then place it into the heart of your powerful female character. If you have read your female-centered scene and if she brings a tear to your eye or if you feel proud of her accomplishment, you have created the character you set out to create.
As a guide, I recommend studying Faydra, who you will find in all four books. J.P. in books one and two. Irishka and Katrinka in books three and four. Or Azrael, the Marine, whose soul is taken by Azrael, the Angel of Death, in book four. I assure you these are fierce women who all have a feminine side.
Navy SEALs, with the help of a former president’s daughter, hijack the Russian Guided Missile Cruiser Moskva to stop a North Korean missile crisis.
Navy JAG lawyer Faydra ‘Spider’ Green is the daughter of former President William Green. His power and influence plagues her every move and she contemplate if her achievements are from her own merits or his. Faydra is both nervous and eager as she undertakes her first homicide investigation —the brutal murder of a Navy SEAL. Faydra discovers the accused man, a Special Ops Marine war hero, may be innocent thanks to her astonishing deductive capabilities. The Navy is using her as a pawn in an intricate cover-up. Will Faydra play along or leak the cover-up?
Seasoned Navy Sea Captain Egan Fletcher struggles to balance his Navy career with raising a son alone after his wife died eight years ago. When the Navy purposefully pairs him with Faydra, the two embark on an adrenaline-laced adventure. The top-secret mission will propel them halfway around the world in an attempt to avert a catastrophic act of biological warfare.
Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Puget Sound and the mystique of Asia, Faydra is a paradox: one minute she is pure as the driven snow and the next minute she thrusts herself into harm’s way, ignorant of the consequences. Determined to complete her mission at any cost, she defies logic and throws herself into dangerous situations. Will she succeed where everyone else has failed?
Fruit of the Poisonous Tree is book one in the riveting Spider Green Mystery Thriller series. If you enjoy razor-sharp dialogue, strong-willed characters, suspense, twists, and high-octane action, you’ll want to start reading this fast-paced adventure today.
Faydra “Spider” Green is a spirited Navy lawyer who wants nothing more than to do the right thing and see justice done. After reconciling with her father, former President William Green, Fay is asked to investigate the mysterious disappearance of Alvin Joe, a retired admiral. He has vanished – seemingly into thin air – from his Florida home, along with secret files for a top-secret military weapon. Alongside her bubbly, quick-witted sister and a handsome, affable Sheriff, Fay sets out to track down Joe. But she soon finds herself embroiled in a deeper and far more sinister plot involving an unscrupulous corporation, the mafia, and a truly evil man who has his sights set on destroying her.
Faydra “Spider” Green has had a storied career as a Navy lawyer, all while juggling being the daughter of a former U.S. President. She has successfully navigated complex diplomatic situations, pulse-pounding legal investigations, and dangerous military missions, managing each time to save the day. But now, Fay finds herself faced with a task unlike anything she has ever tackled before: fierce mafioso Roman Justine, the man who had nearly cost Fay her life, has seemingly returned from the dead. Now, Justine, hellbent on revenge, poses a threat to Fay and national security. Fay will have to go to extraordinary lengths to stop him, even tampering with the bounds of time and space.
Katrinka Lavrova is a young Russian espionage agent discovered by Russian Navy Captain Lavrov at the age of nineteen. Katrinka worked as both a spy and a sparrow since age thirteen to support her aged parents. Lavrov rescues the woman and becomes her guardian. Captain Lavrov introduces Katrinka to Fay. Fay asks Katrinka to help her steal the top-secret plans from Roman Justine’s office safe. Fay grows fond of Kat and offers her a fresh start in the United States. Katrinka dares to hope for a better life by accepting Fay’s offer.
Navy lawyer and former First Daughter Faydra (Fay) Green is no longer quite so haunted by the dark events of her recent past and is hoping for some well-deserved rest. But her world is once again turned upside down when a shocking secret about her adopted daughter, Katrinka (Kat), is revealed. But before Fay can help Kat make any decisions about her future, Kat is captured and thrown into an Egyptian prison. She manages to escape but must flee to safety across Europe, trying to stay one step ahead of several mysterious pursuers. Soon, Fay and Kat discover they are being chased by more than ordinary forces – Azrael, the Angel of Death, has taken a puzzling interest in their situation and a dangerous demon appears to be stalking Kat’s every move. It will take all of Fay’s strength and ingenuity to meet these and other challenges looming ahead of her, while Kat must ask herself what she truly wants out of life.
“The killer? But consider this,” Fay said. “Paul was a valuable piece of Navy property. A million-dollar investment. when you stop to consider all of the training those SEALs go through.”
“I see what ya mean, ma’am. It would be expensive to replace him. To kill him would be costly.”
“There would have to be a very compelling reason for someone to want to execute him,” Fay said. “An argument between Paul and Simon is not a compelling reason, given the circumstances. Otherwise, Simon would be in big trouble with whomever he reports to. And yet he doesn’t seem to be.”
“Yet, Sergeant Linn has a Get Out of Jail Free card,” Pearce said.
“Yes. The Navy knows why and how Paul died.”
“Sanctioned?”
“More than likely.”
“But why, ma’am, was Paul killed in such a demonstrative way? I mean, you’d think someone would just tag him and bag him and throw him in the trunk of a car. Takes him to a wreckin’ yard and then turns him and the car into scrap metal. Kind of like they did to Jimmy Hoffa.”
Fay wondered where Pearce came up with some of her facts. She felt tempted to ask but decided it would be better to just let it go for the time being. “I wondered about that too,” she continued. “Unless someone wanted to draw a certain amount of attention to his death. To set an example for others to see.”
“Like leavin’ a trail?”
“Accountants call it an audit trail. Paul was a man who lived his life in the shadows, a ‘shadow warrior,’ Towsley called him. But the way he died placed him center stage and in the spotlight.”
“I see what ya mean.”
“I do know my meeting with Andrew Lawrence the other night at the Pollywog was not an accident,” Fay said. “And I would have never interviewed Wu and De Vinsone unless someone allowed it to happen.”
“Admiral May?”
Fay nodded. “I did some checking on Admiral Brandon May, by the way.”
“And?”
“Nada. There are several Admirals named May. When I tried to access their records, all were classified. And no one was named Brandon May.”
“No surprise.” Pearce pondered for a moment and then said, “Interestin’.”
“Even more interesting, I did locate a V. B. May. A flag assigned to the Pentagon. His present assignment is classified, but his biography says he was, at one time, a Terminator.”
“NCIS!?” Pearce’s eyes widened in surprise. “You gotta be kiddin’!”
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/780557.Norm_Harris
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Norman-A.-Harris/e/B002BOH4R0
Fruit of the Poisonous Tree: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09L56XS21/
Arid Sea: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09N8QWTF5/
Deception Pass: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09Q1XVRNR/
The Girl Who Knew Death: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09SVF6XVJ
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ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the author's guest post and books' details, this sounds like an excellent series and I am looking forward to reading all of the stories
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DeleteThank you for the outstanding blog of my Spider Green Series, Judith! Have a pleasant day!
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ReplyDeleteHi, nice to see you again, Stormy! Thanks for keeping up with the tour.
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