What's expected of us by family and society, may not exactly be what we want for ourselves. Our next heroine, Brigit, shows us there is uncertainty in forging your own path--but also great discovery. Fantasy author Kylie Quillinan talks about strong-minded girls and the main character from her novel, MUSE.
Author Interview: Kylie Quillinan
Tell us about your book in the
Daughters of Destiny box set. Who is the heroine, and what is she like?
Brigit is supposed to follow in
her mother’s footsteps and become a wise woman (a healer). But she wants a life
of danger and adventure rather than charms and cures. When she refuses a demand
from one of the fey, she is transformed into a dog in punishment and suddenly
finds herself in the middle of an adventure that is nothing like she imagined.
Lost, injured, and alone, she eventually encounters a bard on a quest. Brigit
and the bard team up to complete his quest together. Brigit is strong-minded,
although this is often misinterpreted as being stubborn.
What went into creating her, and
how does she interact with the other characters around her?
I’ve often been accused of
stubbornness, so I guess there’s a little (a lot?) of me in Brigit. When Brigit
is turned into a dog (Bramble), people act differently around her than they
would if they knew she was really a woman. The bard, Diarmuid, gets very
nervous around women and ends up making a fool of himself. When he speaks to
Bramble, though, he doesn’t relate to her as a woman, so he lets his guard down
and shows her who he really is.
Do you believe it’s easier to
write a female main character rather than a male one? Why?
For me, yes, although I know a lot
of writers would disagree. Muse also has a male main character and this is the
first time I’ve written from the point of view of a male. From the very first
time I started thinking about this book, I knew it had to have both a male and
a female main character. However, I find it easier to get into the mind and
voice of a female character, especially if they happen to be stubborn and a bit
prickly like Brigit.
What would you define as a “strong
heroine”?
Someone who is confident in her
own knowledge and opinions. Someone with the ability to act when it’s necessary
but who is also able to acknowledge when she is wrong. Someone who goes out and
chases her dream, regardless of what other people say, whether it’s that she
shouldn’t or she can’t.
I enjoy exploring time periods when women didn’t have a
lot of agency of their own. When society’s expectation is that a woman will
marry (usually to a man chosen by her father) and have babies, it takes a
strong woman to make something else of her life. I like writing about women who
aren’t interested in meeting society’s expectation of what they should be like.
Name some of your personal female
heroes (real or fictional).
Elizabeth Bennet in Jane Austen’s
Pride and Prejudice. Tory Alexander in Traci Harding’s The Ancient Future. Sorcha in Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest.
Where can readers find out more
about you? Give us the details!
Readers can sign up to my mailing
list through my website at www.kyliequillinan.com.
I send a newsletter once a month, which usually includes a brief update of my
current work-in-progress and sometimes a cute photo of one of my dogs.
