nikisavageauthor

[nikisavageauthor]

Book Review

Splendid story! I have read the four previous books of the Clifton Chronicles, and this fifth book did not disappoint. It was superbly written, riveting and well crafted. I kept turning pages well into the early hours of the morning, which to me is always a sign that I’m loving every minute of the story. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series. See the book at…

[nikisavageauthor]

Smashwords Read an Ebook week

Happy Read an Ebook Week! To help you find a book to celebrate, you can find my entire collection at a promotional price at @Smashwords from March 5-11. Find my books and many more at https://www.smashwords.com/ebookweek #ebookweek23 #Smashwords Hi to all, Just a short note regarding my books. I am no longer exclusively publishing with Amazon. My books are now available at all retailers, and…

[nikisavageauthor]

Writing again

Tarzan getting comfortable He’s determined to sleep on my keyboard. So, just a quick post to say I’m back in the saddle, and after three years have resumed writing. For those of you who have followed my trials and tribulations, I’m saddened to report that both my parents have passed away. My mother in October 2022 and my father in December 2022. Yes, ultimately it all ended rather abruptly when…

[nikisavageauthor]

Merlin in Love

Hi there everyone. As I promised in my comments just a few months ago, I’m announcing the release of my new book, Merlin in Love. It is available at Amazon as an ebook or as a paperback. (The link I’ve posted here is for the Amazon US store. I’m still busy setting up the universal link to take everyone to the correct store for their country.)

I have a cat called Merlin, a beautiful big black…

[nikisavageauthor]

Kitties Everywhere It's rather a chilly day in Johannesburg today. Lots of rain and electric storms. Perfect weather to brew a cup of hot chocolate and get to writing.

[nikisavageauthor]

Blackstone Resurrection is available.  Hi everyone. Apologies for writing this post on my phone, so I’ll keep it short. I’m in hospital at the moment after undergoing a second thyroid operation on Tuesday.

[nikisavageauthor]

Sounds like my female character Marcelle ticks at least a few of these boxes.

20 things I want more of in fiction: strong female characters

To quote TheMarySue.com, strong female characters are rarely strong and rarely characters. Strong Female Characters™ are leather-clad, emotionless, “independent,” defined by their relationships to men, and often have a tragic backstory (often involving abuse at the hands of men). More often than not, they are portrayed to be just as powerful or even more so than male protagonists, but in the end are relegated to fighting the secondary villain(ess). 

So here is my list of 20 things I want to see in strong female characters. 

Strong female characters who are girly: Not “feminine,” girly. They don’t wear tight leather bodysuits, they wear pink dresses and curl their hair and are excited when Sephora comes out with a new blush product. 

Strong female characters who are funny: I mean, come on. I can count on one hand the number of strong female characters who could be comedians. 

Strong female characters who support other women: Don’t make them hate the girls who have sex or wear makeup. Don’t support the idea that femininity is weak. 

Strong female characters who are not traditionally attractive: Make them fat. Give them acne. Maybe they have bushy eyebrows. Who knows? 

Strong female characters who fall in love and remain strong: If she can lift a truck at the beginning of the story, getting the man will not change that. Being strong is not undesirable. 

Strong female characters who are not physically strong: Why do they need to lift a car to be strong? Women can be mentally and emotionally strong too. Example: A WWII nurse who has to deal with recent amputees and vets with PTSD. Do you know how much strength that would require? 

Strong female characters who are tomboys/manly: Be cautious with this one. There is a whole list of harmful tropes surrounding this idea. For more information, see TV Tropes’ Tomboy page.

Strong female characters who don’t use long-range weapons: Let them be the smasher for once. I want to see them throw punches. 

Strong female characters who become stronger on their own accord: Have them want to do more, and train to become better or strive to learn more. BUT (and this is a big but) don’t make them do it because they were abused. Don’t. 

Strong female characters who are LGBT*QIA: Enough said. 

Strong female characters who are POC: See above. 

Strong female characters who are older and not hardened by war: give me an prankster grandma or a general who is known as “mom.”  

Strong female characters who have feelings: Please stop making them emotionless or merely snarky/sarcastic. I mean, have you ever met anyone who was only sarcastic and nothing else? People like that don’t exist. 

Strong female characters who are strong because of women: Maybe their moms taught them how to fight. Maybe they were inspired by a warrior queen. Stop giving them five older brothers. Seriously. 

Strong female characters who aren’t lone warriors: Give them a badass crew (bonus points if they’re all women) whom she considers her friends. Real people have friends. 

Strong female characters who have a family: They need at least one family member that they love and want to protect. Stop making them estranged from their parents or orphans. 

Strong female characters who cry: Please, let them have feelings. 

Strong female characters who aren’t defined by men: Don’t give them emotion only when they fall for the male protag. Don’t make their backstory all about when they were abused by a man. Don’t give them mentors who are all men. Don’t attribute her abilities to men. 

Strong female characters who don’t define men: Stop having her strength be the measure that the male protagonist must surpass. Stop having her death give motivation to the male characters. This must end. 

Strong female characters who weren’t abused: Having rape/abuse as a motivation is a disgusting cliche. Stop it. Just don’t. 

Read more about strong female characters:

Geekfeminism

The Mary Sue

TV Tropes

Huffington Post

[nikisavageauthor]

Blackstone Resurrection

Blackstone Resurrection: Four Chapter Teaser

Hi everyone. I have news regarding the release of the third book of the Blackstone Trilogy. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I’ve had to push back the release date to the end of April, or possibly even later than that. I will make a more specific announcement closer to the time, but I want to reassure all of you that I remain committed to finishing  Blackstone Resurrection as soon as I…

[nikisavageauthor]

Final Notes on the Crossfire Trilogy

Final Notes on the Crossfire Trilogy

A little while ago, while feeling nostalgic for my favorite characters, I reread the Crossfire Trilogy and also the Driftwood Trilogy, and an interesting thought occurred to me. Is the Driftwood Trilogy really a spinoff of the Crossfire Trilogy, or is it just a continuation of the story, with the prequel, in the form of Crossfire: Driftwood thrown in somewhere in the middle. And I wondered to…

[nikisavageauthor]

The Driftwood Trilogy is complete!

The Driftwood Trilogy is complete!

And what a relief, I have to say. I’m looking forward to a few days of rest and relaxation, and then it’s back to work to finish the Blackstone Trilogy. So without further delay, Crossfire: Broken is available at Smashwords and Amazon. I will be adding the Itunes,  Barnes & Noble, and Kobo links as they become available. Thank you to all the readers who came to this blog to chat to me and chase…

[nikisavageauthor]

So cute. 😘

Gray cat smooth AF

✚follow LOLFACTORY on tumblr [this funny picture via lolsnaps] ♥ buy cool hoodies & sweats♥

[nikisavageauthor]

Paris Roubaix 2016. Two great champions, Fabian Cancellara and Peter Sagan (front) in the same shot. Fabian is one of the few riders who is confident enough to work with Peter. Credit Bettini Photo

[nikisavageauthor]

Ain’t love grand. These two cats, Bugsy (ginger) and Rosie (black) are completely besotted with each other. Didn’t grow up together, only met as adults. Both were feral cats from areas far apart. Yet the first time they met it was love at first sight. So cute to see them together.

[nikisavageauthor]

The blank page is yours. Cast aside worries over art and criticism. Imagine a land without rules. Imagine that nobody has ever told you that you cannot or should not do this thing. Those people were wrong. Forget those voices. Because, for real? It’s an empty field and you’ve got the keys to a freaking Ferrari. It’s a blank page and you’ve got all the letters and words you need. Rev the engine and take the ride. Paint with all the colors the condiments at your table allow. Crack open your chest and plop your heart onto the page. Right now: just write.

— Chuck Wendig, on the freedom writing provides. (via lettersandlight)

[nikisavageauthor]

I like this.

found this on the bathroom stall at school