Damsels in Distress?

How about Damsels who can't be bothered with Distress?

Death before Whining! 

This started out as a spark off Tom Knighton's post at According to Hoyt the other day. He wrote: "I don’t recall exactly who, but one of the better known authors of our genre once claimed that all people like me wanted in our books was, “Manly men doing manly things in manly ways.” Obviously, this was a snide way to say that I and people like me have no interest in female characters." 

Huh... LOL... ROFLOL!!!

Oh, now that I can breathe again (and need to sweep the floor. Ugh, dog hair!). I've known for a while that certain people have their noses so far in the air that it hinders their ability to see where they are going. Since it also seems to impede their ability to read, I have no fear that they will find this list and be scandalized. You see, I asked a question right after sharing Tom's post. I asked it in two places that would be considered the 'heart of darkness' by those who claim we are misogynists. The Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance, and of course, Sarah's Diner ('cause they think she's a white Mormon male. I rest my case about where their noses are). What follows is a partial list of the day's long conversation that was generated, mostly people who were enthusiastically sharing their favorites and recommending more. This isn't something that took effort on my part, folks, I didn't have to poke or prod. I stole the tagline from Baen, from their guidelines for the Fantasy Contest, because it amused me. It seems to have sparked a reaction from the people I was asking, too. 

If this list isn't enough for you, head over to the original post for something like 500+ comments, many recommending more good books. I'd pull them out, but frankly, like many of the women on this list, I haven't got time. Places to go, things to do... The list is presented to you in no particular order. It is by no means complete. Please feel free to make other suggestions (or highlight some of these) in the comments. One thing folks around here do, we don't tell people not to read something because it's not 'rightthink' or it was written by a wrong person. We say 'hey that was good! and you might like this one, too!' 

You will note I have not discriminated. Male or female, the author's gender, sex, or pigmentation matters not at all. These are characters who inspire their readers, we don't care about the author. The story is the point. 

Hopefully this will give you some strong women who aren't afraid to take names and get the job done, without whining and resting on their laurels simply because they were born female. Women to Ride the River with. 

To read the whole list, check out Mad Genius Club today...