Strong Heroines

It's been so long since I blogged. I often have things brewing, but by the time I'm finished all my tasks for the day, I'm too tired to blog.

So, count your blessings that I'm blogging again. Or maybe not. 👩

Today, I want to talk about strong heroines.

I've just finished writing a book. It's been such a wonderful journey. And thanks to my beta readers, it's looking so much better than it did when I finished my first draft. I've sent it off to two publishers. Although my heroine isn't one of those super-outgoing, career-obsessed women (she's rather more nurturing), she's a strong woman. She knows what she wants in life and love - a man who treasures and respects her. She won't settle for less just because she's desperate to have a relationship in her life.

Due to doing quite a bit of internal work in healing from my divorce, my radars are quite in-tune with anything that screams co-dependency in a romantic novel. I cringe when I read about women who feel like their life has now found meaning and they're finally truly happy and fulfilled because they've fallen in love. Now all their problems are solved and finally they're complete. I admit, I used to write stories and heroines like that. But now it makes me cringe.

Because, no man can make us happy. A man can add to our happiness, but in the end, true happiness is something that comes from inside our being. Whatever way, we have to learn to find it through our faith, our attitude toward life, or through things that we're passionate about. Because face it, no man is immortal and sometimes relationships do end.

And the best way to attract a man is to be happy in ourselves. Well, the right man. If we're unhappy in ourselves, we're going to attract a man who is co-dependent just like we are. And that's a recipe for disaster.

Thankfully, most modern romances have strong heroines who believe in themselves and aren't desperate for a man to fill the empty spot inside of them. Instead love finds them and enhances their lives. Romance fiction has a way of speaking to women today, to show them who they can be. It's often a trendsetter and a pioneer of breakthroughs in feminism. Hooray for romance novels!

What type of strong heroines do you enjoy reading?