Lisa Paitz Spindler, Danger Gal

Broadsheet blogger Judy Berman today came out to being a geek.

I recently had to admit something to myself: I am, it turns out, a geek. I finally came to terms with it earlier this week, after drinks with female friends. We had been catching up and talking shop when someone mentioned Buffy the Vampire Slayer. All of a sudden, we were all shouting over one another, recounting our favorite episodes and most loved and hated characters.

Despite the fact that Berman used a very cool Kevin Smith quote,* I spent a good few minutes trying to ferret out why her post left me feeling disaffected. Shouldn’t I be glad that more and more women are owning up to their geek interests? (yeah) Shouldn’t I be ecstatic that there’s a much larger female presence at geek venues like Comic Con? (hell yeah) So what’s my problem?

I re-read the post a few times and kept coming back to an angle that initally flew right under the radar:

One friend floated the idea that the show includes just about every kind of guy a girl geek could possibly be attracted to.

To each her own, obviously, but this is not why I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I love that show for these reasons: Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, Tara, Fred, Darla, Drusilla.

Buffy can kick arse six ways to Sunday, Willow has the power of the universe at her fingertips, Cordelia has more self-confidence in her pinky finger than most women will ever have, Tara lived a life of authenticity, Fred has one of the biggest brains on the planet, and Darla told the world to suck on its outdated idea of “good little girls.” But Berman and her gal pals would far rather talk about how dreamy Angel, Spike, Riley, and Xander are.

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In two separate blog posts today I’ve read attributions of vampire Romance somehow beginning with TWILIGHT’s Edward.

Shattersnipe offers some very good insight in “Why Paranormal Romance Is No Fad,” but also seems to be unaware that vampire Romances existed pre-Edward (emphasis mine):

“Which brings me to the current trend in paranormal romance and urban fantasy, and that particular proliferation of vampires….Urban fantasy, apart from anything else, has always been the gateway drug of make-believe…The fact that Harry Potter and Edward Cullen have helped move this phenomenon from screen to page seems overdue, and not in the least bit faddish…the current boom in paranormal romance feels like the response of a market which has hitherto existed, but remained largely untapped, populated by the kind of intelligent, imaginative women who might shy away from picking up a Harlequin romance novel, but who still – often without realising it – have been hankering for a little bit of literary lust.Ironically, it’s taken a surge in YA fantasy for this to become apparent, assuming the legions of grown women lining up to buy Twilight are anything to go by.”

Then at IO9 Lauren Davis quotes a Publisher’s Weekly article in a post about angels being the new black:

After a seemingly endless run of books trying to capitalize on the success of Twilight, young adult publishers are experiencing a touch of vampire fatigue.

Christine Feehan’s Carpathian series has been at the forefront of the vampire Romance trend as well has been J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood. Feehan’s DARK PRINCE and Ward’s DARK LOVER were published in 2005 — the same year as TWILIGHT’s release.

While certainly the TWILIGHT phenomenon has been a boon to Paranormal Romance, it’s worth noting that Linda Lael Miller’s vampire series started with FOREVER AND THE NIGHT in 1995, ten years before Edward Cullen was a glimmer in Stephanie Meyer’s word processor.

Team Tremayne. RAH!

I saw these guys perform on Saturday and they were amazing. If the embed above doesn’t function, click here to watch the video at You Tube.

This week’s Danger Gal Friday profile goes to Trixie as played by Christina Ricci in the re-imagining of the Speed Racer cartoon in the recent-ish movie. Last year, before the movie was release, I pegged Trixie as a Danger Gal Maybe with a wait-and-see episode. Well, thanks to Netflix, I finally saw Speed Racer and I have to say that I like the updating of this character. I would love to see a movie with a female character like Speed as the main character, but I’m always optimistic when female characters are updated with more dimension.

In the cartoon, Trixie did little more than yell “Speed!” and moan a lot, so I appreciate how they developed the character in the movie, actually portraying as an active character with interests outside of her love for Speed Racer. Rebecca Murray mentions that Trixie is “an outgoing young woman who’s equally unafraid of dressing girlie and kicking a little butt” and quotes Ricci as saying:

“Trixie is Speed’s childhood sweetheart. He’s his best friend and confidant; his partner in crime. In some ways, she’s the feminist ideal model. She’s as girly as she wants to be, she’s into her hair and outfits and makeup … she has a special outfit for each activity, but at the same time she’s into all the things the boys are. She’s never judged or given the irritating title of ‘tomboy’ and that’s important for young women. Young women tend to watch the reaction of men around older women and they see if someone’s judged, positively or negatively, in too strong a way. Young women shy away from making those kinds of decisions.”

At the Tribeca Film Festival, Ricci has actually considered her character Trixie from a feminist point of view and said:

“It was really fun. It’s fun to play someone who’s a little bit cartoonish. They dressed me up like a doll, but then they let me go and fight people and race cars and fly a helicopter so it was fun…It was really fun and it was something that I loved because that really is the sort of ultimate feminist thing where you can be as girlie as you want to be, but you’re still as capable and as able to do everything that the boys can do. But I still want more.”

Trixie evidently isn’t just the girlfriend of Speed Racer, but an important member of the Racer family’s racing team. Speed clearly respects her abilities. We get to see Trixie coming to Speed’s rescue, racing Taejo Togokahn’s car, repairing engines, and flying a helicopter among other things.

As a side note, one character did have to strip down to skivvies in this movie — and for once it wasn’t a woman. Nope, this time it was Matthew Fox as Racer X. Never in my girlish crush did I ever expect to see Racer X in his boxers and all the while fighting a ninja!

First Trixie flying, racing, and rebuilding engines. Then Racer X in his boxers. Can I watch the movie again?

My most recent review for SFSignal is now available on superheroine saga BLACK AND WHITE by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge.

REVIEW SUMMARY: This complex story explores the good and evil in all of us, even superheroes. The characters in Black and White are relatable and flawed despite their extra-human status. I enjoyed this new take on superheroes with the two main characters being female and best friends – and of course later archenemies. Without taking itself too seriously, this Justice League-meets-Harry Potter novel offers some valuable insights into the nature of being human.

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My latest post is up at the Writers At Play blog and today I’m talking about the nature of heroines in Paranormal Romances, specifically how rare they are. Once in a while a blog post or comment takes on a life of its own. A while back I responded to a comment by Diana Peterfreund on the Dear Author post “My Paranormal Malaise”:

Diana Peterfreund said:

The other day, I heard someone refer to the pararom/UF market as the “vampire boyfriend” genre. Which is really interesting and not necessarily inaccurate because so many stories seem to be able to be described as “girl falls in love with [insert paranormal creature here.]”

An apt description, and partly why I’m much more interested these days in SFR rather than Paranormal. Why is it the paranormal character is so often the hero and not the heroine?

Love Romance Passion responded with the a very enlightening post “6 Reasons Why the Paranormal Character is Always Male” and The Galaxy Express responded with “The Romance Heroine is Not a Side Dish.”

Read more…

Writing is hard. Getting a book published can take years of perseverance. Nuggets of positive feedback always help a writer keep going and I’m no different.

Recently, I’ve had some fantastic comments on the first eight chapters of THE KINSHIP from other Authonomy users and I’m so very grateful. I can only hope I find an editor and/or agent soon who feels the same way about my story as these people do. I hope they don’t mind me noting their comments here.

But first, here’s a short synopsis of the book, of which you can read the first eight chapter on Authonomy:

Kinship spy JANA RANDALL is yearning for a mission to redeem herself and her career after the suspicious death of her partner. When she’s captured on a black ops mission to distant Ico, Jana is forced to share her mind with the memories of a long-dead queen and redemption seems beyond her grasp.

Once escaped, Jana finds herself thrown between a far-reaching conspiracy to reclaim a lost golden age and a bid to control a narcotic that could enslave or liberate the Iconnu. Randall must team up with religious leader BRANNON BAYNE to seize command of a particulate matter shield before the planet’s periodic variable star flares.

A dynastic invading group, a drugs and arms cartel, and a secret cabal all struggle with the Iconnu to control the bloodstar plant, whose super anti-oxidant properties affect all life on Ico at the molecular level and whose life-cycle is tied closely to the solar flare.

THE KINSHIP tells the story of a spy’s redeeming mission, a revered leader’s desperate journey, and a warring planet’s only hope.

Authonomy Reviews of THE KINSHP

“Slick sci-fi elegantly done. . .fantastic writing and a story worthy of the big screen.” — Andrew J Morgan

“This is superior sci-fi. Well crafted, deeply imagined, beautifully told. A polished piece.
The contrast between Jana and Rodrik’s lives and those of Eshana and Brannon set the scene for a conflict of epic proportions. The old story of struggling for power, for peace, for a world you believe in, is about to be told anew, in a fresh and exciting way. Gripping stuff…Definitely one to watch, this.” — Cas Peace

“This is a fascinating idea, Lisa! I love the premise and how the story is unfolding, Jena and Rodrik are interesting characters! I’ll be back to comment when I’ve finished the partial – just want to let you know I’m giving this a spin on my shelf to help your rank!” — Melanie M

“Your story caught my attention because I was searching the site for a good spy story. Did not realize it was science fiction, nevertheless I enjoyed reading The Kinship. I think you are a gifted author with a great imagination, creating imaginary places and paying particular attention to background detail and character development. You make your story and your characters come alive in the “mind’s eye” imagination of the reader. Well worth a read.” –Jennifer C. Braun

“[M]ost enjoyable – you have alot going on in this chapter – you do have a very imaginative mind – and some mix of the Matrix to boot – this is real good – I was just going to read the first chapter but then I could not stop reading – write more please so I can read more.” — William Y

“This is so weird. It’s like The Matrix meets Mists of Avalon. I like it. It’s very original (I find alternate places / sci-fi worlds always fascinating that someone could think them up in the first place) – lovely stuff.” –Poppet

“Interesting premise and I really like the feeling of authenticity. You have created great tension. It is also very intelligent with great dialogue.” –Christauna Asay

“Well, this is a keeper. The dialogue is awesome; the world you’ve constructed seems real. It has history, depth, breadth and texture but at no time seems contrived. . .I like the characters, not just because they’re interesting but because I actually like them. Fun stuff.” –Geoff Thorne