Strong Women of the
Apocalypse
By
Rhiannon Frater
Almost a decade ago, I wrote an online serial called As The World Dies with two female
protagonists fighting to survive in a zombie-infested world. The reaction to
the initial installment was immediate. The majority was thrilled to see a
different sort of hero killing zombies, but a small minority was furious. One
of the naysayers mockingly called it “Thelma
and Louise meets the zombies.” I loved that phrase so much, I used it to
describe the story when I self-published it as a trilogy (The First Days, Fighting to
Survive, Siege). Later, a
reviewer updated the phrase to “Thelma
and Louise meets The Walking Dead”,
and that’s the tagline my publisher, Tor, decided to use when they reissued the
trilogy.
My main characters, Jenni and Katie, made such a huge splash
in As The World Dies because the
zombie genre at that time was filled with male heroes, and women (and children)
were expendable accessories to those heroes. Oftentimes, the gruesome death of
a female character was used as an emotional motivator for the male. Some
readers considered my online story with two female protagonists a bit
blasphemous. Others embraced Jenni and Katie wholeheartedly, relieved to
finally see women treated as capable human beings. The friendship between the
two women and how it empowers them throughout their adventures was very
different from the norm, but it was also something the readers loved. Despite
some of the barbed comments directed at me, I stuck to my figurative guns.
Now, nearly ten years later, I’m known for my female
protagonists, and it’s not so unusual for women to take lead roles in
zombie/post-apocalyptic fiction.
In my three latest releases (yes, I’ve been busy!), I’m
happy to say that I have some awesome female characters in the lead roles.
Jenni and Katie return in Deadly Night, a novelette set between The First Days and Fighting
to Survive. I wrote the story for my fans and because I miss the two women
so much. The As The World Dies
trilogy is complete, but I do have a side project called The Untold Tales where
I explore side stories within the same universe. Revisiting Jenni and Katie,
their friendship, and their battles in a world overrun with zombies was
incredibly emotional for me. At the crux of the new tale is how each woman
deals with the loss of loved ones and how important their friendship is to
their survival.
In The Mesmerized,
Minji Nordim, a tattoo artist from Austin, Texas, struggles to save her husband
and two small daughters from a terrible supernatural event that threatens to
destroy the world. Minji is a different sort of character for me, because she’s
a wife and a mother of a living family. In some of my other works, my main
characters were dealing with the loss of their families, but Minji is actively
fighting to save her own. Though she’s covered in tattoos, has dreadlocks, and
likes to kickbox, she’s still a mother willing to do whatever it takes to save
those she loves. It’s her maternal love that keeps her fighting until the end.
The Last Mission of
the Living has a very different setting and protagonist. Set in a
futuristic world, The Bastion is the last city of humanity. The extinction
event threatening the world was brought about by a virus that reanimated the
dead into rabid creatures who want to bite, infect, and spread the virus.
Vanguard Lindsey Rooney is brilliant hacker who always keeps abreast of the
inner workings of The Bastion at the top levels of government, but she has lost
a lot of loved ones and has a lonely existence. I absolutely loved her
character because she’s absolutely comfortable with who she is and she’s brave
in the face of things that would send most screaming. She’s also quite loyal,
and a relationship she forms with another soldier is an important part of the
story. Lindsey is a bit more of an action star than my other female
protagonists, but it’s her intelligence and cleverness that makes her such a
dynamic character.
Though female characters are often stereotyped into specific
roles in fiction, the reality is that women are just as diverse as males in
what makes them tick, inspires them, and motivates them. The one thing I do
love about writing female protagonists is breaking away from those tropes and
making my characters as realistic as possible. I believe that a relatable
heroine is an important part of writing an exciting fiction story that both men
and women can enjoy.
Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of over a dozen books, including the As the World Dies zombie trilogy (Tor), as well as independent works such as The Last Bastion of the Living (declared the #1 Zombie Release of 2012 by Explorations Fantasy Blog and the #1 Zombie Novel of the Decade by B&N Book Blog), and other horror novels. She was born and raised a Texan and presently lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and furry children (a.k.a pets). She loves scary movies, sci-fi and horror shows, playing video games, cooking, dyeing her hair weird colors, and shopping for Betsey Johnson purses and shoes.
You can find her online at:
Website: rhiannonfrater.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rhiannon.frater
Twitter: twitter.com/rhiannonfrater
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=340109912&trk=spm_pic
Google+: https://plus.google.com/113336058823746385572/posts
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Rhiannon-Frater/e/B0027DLFL6/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2310121.Rhiannon_Frater
Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/rhiannonfrater/
Email: rhiannonfrater at
gmail.com
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