Some writers get all the luck. Intisar Khanani has the luck of being given a magical name! Her name (pronounced just as it looks) is perfect for a fantasy writer. Intisar loves writing fantasy books with strong female leads. She had me at her name. Today she’s going to talk about mighty girls and I’m so here for this post!

You can read more about Intisar and her work here: http://booksbyintisar.com/

Look below this post for a prize!

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Writing Mighty Girls

Intisar Khanani

When I was a young teen, it was almost impossible to find stories in my chosen genre—fantasy—with strong female leads. When I stumbled across Tamora Pierce’s Alanna books, and Robin McKinley’s Damar books, it was like I had finally found stories that called to me. These were girls who stood up and fought for themselves, their people, and those they loved. I was over the moon, and continued to eat up stories of mighty girls as the years passed. I’m forty now, and YA fantasy is still my bread and jam: what I always come back to, and what I write.

But my conception of what makes a girl mighty has developed over the years, and in many ways departed from where it began. The idea of a girl being mighty because she excels in a man’s world by doing what a man would, only better, is one conception of mighty, and frankly, it’s needed. Absolutely women can kick butt as well as men, in pretty much any given sphere, whether it’s politics or sorcery or sword fighting (admittedly, if she’s of a smaller stature, the type of sword and her technique will differ).

The trouble is that we’re still playing by the male perspective; creating a valuation of “mighty” as excelling in a male-gendered conception of power. In such a world, being kind or compassionate or merciful are considered feminine and weak. And that does all of us a disservice, especially our young people. Why can’t you save the world, or yourself, through compassion? Through non-violent resistance and a nuanced understanding of mercy, rather than by the sword? Can’t both be considered mighty?

In my novel, Thorn, I have a young girl who must face both betrayal and a terrifyingly capable magical enemy without herself turning into a ninja or a sorceress. Instead, she must lean into her own personal strengths, and learn to carry the day through her courage, kindness, and intelligence. She is mighty, but not in the typical sense. And her story, I hope, will speak to all of us who can’t hope to win by turning into something we aren’t already.

As you go forward in your writing adventures, I urge you to consider writing mighty girls who are mighty in who they are—whatever that means for that particular character—gaining power and the ability to influence their story through the inherent might in being true to one’s best self. This is how we win each day, this is how we build better lives, this is how we change the world.

Let’s get writing!

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Follow Intisar:

Website: http://booksbyintisar.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BooksByIntisar

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/booksbyintisar/

Buy Intisar’s books:

Buy Thorn: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/thorn-intisar-khanani/1111104034?ean=9780062835703

For other links to Intisar’s Thorne and other books start here: http://booksbyintisar.com/books/

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Prize:

One lucky winner will get some website help from Dani Duck. I will review your current website and give you tips to make your site better. If you don’t have a website I’ll help you in setting one up! This includes a 1 hour zoom/email chat to set things up.*

To enter:

Comment below: Let Intisar know about your favorite fictional (or non-fictional) mighty girls! Or comment on anything she’s written about in this post.

Also let me know that you want this prize!

*Prize must be claimed within 30 days of it’s announcement and used within 6 months.

Queen of Physics

If you are looking for a fun non-fiction book as a Christmas gift look no further than “Queen of Physics”. Even if you think you want a fiction book this is the book for you! Queen of Physics is a realistic story that’s magical in it’s telling of the life of Wu Chien Shiung. The beautiful illustrations will have you going back and revisiting the lovely pages of this book. It’s written by Teresa Robeson and illustrated by Rebecca Huang.

Teresa Robeson is a friend that I’ve been talking to on social media for a while. She has written a ton of stories for magazines. She’s also likes sewing, crafting and baking. I love her posts on things she has baked, and seeing the wonderful food her husband has made. I’m so happy that she has a book that I can share with everyone! She also has a second book coming out soon called “Two Bicycles in Bejing”. You can pick up that book here: https://www.teresarobeson.com/two-bicycles-in-beijing.html

Story

“Queen of Physics: How Wu Chein Shiung Helped Unlock The Secrets of the Atom” starts with Wu Chien Shiung’s childhood. As a child she left her family to study far away from home. Chien Shiung loved all kinds of science, but physics is the one science she adored the most. This book helps us see the journey Chien Shiung went through to become a great scientist. Teresa shows Chien Shiung’s struggles throughout her life and succeeds though the odds are stacked against her.

What I love the most about this book is that it features a strong female that did a lot for the world while she was here. She had a huge impact the scientific world. She also was a large social influence and organized protests and strikes to help her country. Chien Shiung’s journey is wonderful for all children and shows them what they can achieve despite their gender or obstacles in life.

Art

The colors in this book are absolutely lovely. Rebecca Huang did a fantastic job. She uses mixed media to create her pictures. I wasn’t able to find any more information on how she created these illustrations. The textured paper made the story feel more like it was a page out of history. The character expressions were wonderful. I love Rebbeca’s use of white space throughout the book. The white space (or negative space) wasn’t always white, but the pages that were white were particularly striking.

Get The Book

Pick up Queen of Physics here: https://www.teresarobeson.com/queen-of-physics.html

Teresa Robeson’s Website: https://www.teresarobeson.com/

More about Queen of Physics: https://www.patriciamnewman.com/litlinks-connecting-nuclear-physics-to-language-arts-really/

Illustrator Rebecca Huang: http://www.rebeccamhuang.com/

Remember to ask your library to pick up a copy of this book. Also leave a good review for this book on Goodreads and Amazon!