From the Backlist - Streetwise Heroines

 

Arcane's Vi - Framed Poster

 
Welcome to another post in the Supernatural Underground Backlist Series. Today's feature is from the wonderful Helen Lowe who is currently bringing us insights and highlights of Heroines as she reflects on them and her Wall of Night Series.

We thought it would be fun to take a peak at her thoughts over a decade ago! 

This post come from February 2014 and offers an astute perspective on what makes  heroines streetwise. 

Let us know your favorite savvy heroine in the comments and be sure to follow Helen's new series on Heroines and WALL.

Good reading...

 

 

 

Streetwise Heroines

by Helen Lowe

Sookie Stackhouse

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I don't think we could have paranormal urban fantasy without the streetwise heroine – but of course that begs the question as to what makes a heroine "streetwise?"

For starters, even if she's not actually from the wrong side of the tracks, I think she has to be able to operate on that turf.

Mercy Thompson

A true streetwise heroine also has to be able to check the box for all three of the big S's: strong, savvy, and sassy.

'Sexy' may make a fourth in here, too, but I don't think it's actually required in the job description...What's the jargon: 'desirable but not essential', he-he.

Maybe just a little bit badass, as well. But with a heart that's in the right place, even if it's in a "tough love" kind of way...

Chess Putnam

Naturally, I have a line up of favorite streetwise heroines from my bookshelf: Sookie Stackhouse and Mercy Thompson are obvious choices, but Stacia Kane's Chess Putnam is also up there.

And if I go beyond paranormal urban stories, there's Tamora Pierce's Beka Cooper, Midori Synder's Jobber, and Kristin Cashore's Katsa. 

 

Continue reading ... 

 

 

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About Helen Lowe 

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.
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Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

 

From the Backlist: Writing Resolutions for the New Year

"Now What?" by Yaoyao Ma Van As

 

Welcome to the last post of 2025 where we highlight an insightful look at ways writers, and readers, can make a great start to 2026. 

Writing Resolutions for the New Year by T Frohock

Enjoy this addition of From the Backlist, and have a safe and wonderful celebration!

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Writing Resolutions for the New Year

by T. Frohock

 

Or the new month, or the new day, I'm pretty flexible about resolutions as a whole, because we all tend to slip off the wagon from time to time. However, there is nothing like having an outline of sorts for the year ahead ... or the month, or the day ...

You get the idea. Anyway, here are some of my plans for writing in 2016:

A Business Plan. My business plan will consist of more than eating collards on New Year's Day and hoping that means I will make a lot of money in the coming year. I will actually sit down and make dollar signs followed by actual figures as to how much I can afford to spend on promotional activities. I will analyze my writing, the markets I want to reach, and my readership. I will have a clear idea of the types of books I intend to write along with realistic timetables as to how long it will take me to produce each work.

Read More Books. I will read more books both in my genre and outside my genre. I want to read fiction and non-fiction, because reading broadens my skillset by constantly exposing me to new ideas. While I definitely read for enjoyment, I also read in order to study other authors' works for story structure and techniques that might improve my own writing.

Pace Myself Better. This is actually part of my business plan, too, but I wanted to list it separately, because self care is important. I pushed myself a little too hard in 2015. Keep in mind that I work a full-time job in addition to writing. Realistically, it takes me about five months to complete a 30,000 word novella. What I didn't account for in 2015 was a month of edits on a previous novella along with a month of promo on the opposite side. In 2016, I will be accounting for those extra two months. I also know that I can produce about 30,000 words of good fiction in a five month period (in addition to blog posts and other stories), so that I can better assess how long it will take me to write a novel. Add in reading, those little ups and downs of life, and family, and seven months for a finished novella is actually more realistic.

Take More Risks. Continue reading...

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T. Frohock has turned a love of history and dark fantasy into tales of deliciously creepy fiction. A real-life cyborg, T. has a cochlear implant, meaning she can turn you on or off with the flick of a switch. Make of that what you will. She currently lives in North Carolina, where she has long been accused of telling stories, which is a southern colloquialism for lying.

Check out her latest releases HERE!

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Thanks for dropping by! Can't wait to see you all back in 2026!

 

 

 

From the Backlist: Tis the Witching Hour

Warm Bodies - Love with an Emo Zombie  - Salon

Welcome to the Back-list! Today we are featuring Amanda Arista's 2013 post, focusing on the one thing that can send shivers straight up the spine. 

Fear is such a powerful sensation, don't you think? ... so tell us, do you have this one?

Read Amanda's full post HERE! 

Tis the witching hour: The one irrational fear of Amanda Arista

by Amanda Arista

 

As you know, we are a blog dedicated to the sexy things that go bump in the night. So it really shouldn't surprise you that most of us aren't really afraid of the dark. We have demons, vampires, werewolves, and fey running through our heads most of the time. And those are the good guys. Each year, I take months to plan what scary little devil I'm going to be for Halloween.

With this new series that I am still working on, I've discovered that it takes a lot to scare me. If you've read the blog before, I grew up on a steady diet of serial killers and exorcism movies growing up. I'll take a good haunting any day. Doesn't phase me much.

Even it comes to the real world, I'm pretty much the same. No fear of flying. Heights don't bother me. I'm the girl who picks up the bugs in the office and takes them outside. I used to be squeamish around needles, but working in a hospital for eight years got me over that. I love deep water, have no problem with pitch black rooms, and don't mind being in a big crowd.

However, Hollywood has finally revealed to me what I am afraid of:

LARGE HORDES OF FAST-MOVING ZOMBIES

At least I can say it outloud now. 

 

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About Amanda Arista:

Amanda is the author of the Diaries of an Urban Panther series and The Merci Lanard Files. She is represented by Kimberly Brower of Brower Literary Management.

Along with her BA in English & Psychology and her MA in Education, Amanda is a graduate of the SMU The Writer’s Path and taught other aspiring authors for six years in the program. She has delivered lectures at several writer conferences and loves discussing craft, character, and structure. 

 

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Thanks for dropping by! We hope you have a spine tingling Witching Hour. 

 

 

From the Backlist: What I Need to Write

 

Image from DiviantArt - Lazy Reading by snatti89

It is time again to delve into our Supernatural Underground backlist-of-awesome and find a post you'll enjoy rereading (or re-reading if you've been in our community for a while!)

This time, we're featuring Terri Garey reflecting on what she needs to write. We hope it resonates with you. Enjoy!

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013

What I Need to Write

 by Terri Garey

 

We're talking about "writing touchstones" this month in the Underground, and you've already seen that different writers need different things in order to stir their creativity:  Helen Lowe needs to write freely and loosely in longhand, Amanda Arista uses visual images, while Jocelyn Drake and Pamela Palmer use music to put them into a writing frame of mind.

What I need to write is pretty simple; I need to READ.  There is nothing I love more than a great story, well-told.  Reading has taught me so much about writing.  It's taught me what works in a story and what doesn't, from simple things like the fact that if I, as a reader, don't care about the characters, then I'm not going to care for the story, and more complex things like pacing, plot development, conflict and resolution.

I've been an avid reader since grade school, and I have never, ever stopped.  I read while I'm on the treadmill.  I read while I eat my lunch.  I read while I'm on a plane.  I read while I'm at the beach, or in a waiting room, or at the hair salon.  I read, read, read, and then I take the lessons I've learned from that reading and I try to craft a few great stories, well-told, of my very own, for others to enjoy.  Basically, if I'm not writing, gardening, exercising or sleeping, I'm reading!

In the last three weeks, I've read nine books...

Read the full post here! 

 

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We would love to hear what you are reading right now, in the comments.

 

From the Back-List: Confused about Genre?

 

Reading and Writing Different Types of Books

 

Today we share a back-list post from March 2013 from our very own Merrie Destefano, award-winning artist and author of multiple, intriguing genres.

Read the entire post Confused About What Genre You are Writing? and let us know what you think of these many subcategories of Speculative Fiction.

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“What genre is this book?” 

 

This is a question that authors ask themselves frequently while writing. Agents ask it when considering representation. Editors ask it when acquiring. Marketing departments ask it while trying to promote the book. Bookstore staff members ask it when trying to categorize the book and when speaking to customers. Readers ask it before buying the book and when telling their friends about the book.

Phew.

The problem is, when you’re writing speculative fiction, all the boundaries seem to blur until you feel like you’re cross-eyed. To give you a brief example, when I wrote my first novel, Afterlife, I saw it as science fiction. When my editor acquired it, however, she asked for a few changes -- not many -- and the book was then marketed as an urban fantasy. To me, that book will always be sci-fi. But to many readers, it’s urban fantasy.

My current novel, Fathom, probably falls into the category of paranormal romance. But to me, it’s fantasy. I never saw the paranormal romance elements when I was writing the book. They’re probably there, but to me it was like a math equation:

Overarching coming of age theme + legendary creatures + mythological elements = FANTASY.

But then, I’m just the writer. Writers don’t usually get to decide what category their novels fall into. They just write the best book they can and try not to worry about things like markets or categories or the dreaded Latest Hot Topic.

So, just for fun, I put together a little Cheat Sheet for helping to define what category the book you’re currently reading might fall into. Now, these are just suggestions, not hard, fast rules. Here goes...

CATEGORIES OVERVIEW:

FANTASY: May take place in another world and often contains magic or supernatural elements. Does not contain scientific themes (otherwise, it would be science fiction.) Usually has a battle of good versus evil. May or may not have romance.
Books: The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones.

HORROR: Can contains supernatural themes; meant to scare, startle or terrify. Sometimes rooted in folklore. May have vampires, werewolves, etc. Also may have a gothic tone. Sometimes written very beautifully, despite horrific subject matter.
Books: The Shining, Dracula, The Haunting.

PARANORMAL ROMANCE: May blend elements of science fiction, fantasy and horror. Takes place in our world, but often has otherworldly creatures, like vampires, ghosts, shape shifters, etc. A sub-category of fantasy and/or a sub-category of romance that contains experiences outside the normal or supernatural aspects.
Books: Highlander, Twilight, The Vampire Diaries. Read More...

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We would love to hear about your favorite genres. Meet us in the comments!