Today we have guest author Debra Webb visiting with us. Debra knows about romantic suspense, she’s written over fifty novels. She’s done everything from door to door sales to working for NASA to being a best selling author. Her books combine just the right balance between suspense and romance. As you know, I very much enjoyed Debra’s latest release FIND ME.
Investigative reporter Sarah Newton debunks supernatural myths, and forces the truth to light whether people want to hear it or not. Now, with a popular teenager found tortured and murdered—and another girl missing—Sarah’s out to prove it’s not the work of an ancient curse, but a cold blooded killer. She’ll expose one Maine village’s darkest secrets …while keeping the truth about her own past hidden from view.
As Youngstown’s newest councilman, Kale Conner’s unofficial job is to minimize the bad publicity from Sarah’s stories and, if possible, to keep her in line. But with time running out, and his own family at stake, Kale’s finding his neighbors’ terrible deeds might be too deadly to sweep under the rug…and he and Sarah are headed toward a heated endgame with only one shocking way out…
Bad Girls: Double Standard or No? by Debra Webb
My momma firmly believed that good girls always, always behaved like a lady. They didn’t show too much cleavage, didn’t swear, and certainly didn’t have hot, sweaty sex unless they were married—or at least engaged. I remember the first time she heard me swear. I was 
deep in a phone conversation and just didn’t think. I was in my mother’s house—she missed nothing. If it was said or done under her roof, she knew about it. The woman had eyes in the back of her head. And ears attuned to the slightest vibration within her realm. “Deb, that language is not necessary. Good girls don’t talk like that!”
She was right, of course. She always was. So I didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, didn’t swear (within her realm) and certainly didn’t have sex until I was married. Needless to say, I made up for lost time after that. Two kids and thirty-four years later, I have to admit having said some of those same things to my daughters.
So, as I polished my latest release, FIND ME, I had to wonder why a good girl like me would write such a pushy, I-will-have-hot-sweaty-sex-if-I-want-to broad like Sarah Newton. Sarah makes her own choices, dives headfirst into life and doesn’t regret. She is damned (sorry, mom) determined to get the job done and she doesn’t rightly care who she has to walk over to do it. Bottom line, she swears, has been known to smoke and drink, and if you don’t like it, you can kiss her—well, you know. But deep down she’s full of passion and compassion for others and life in general. She’s not only a good girl, she’s a hero. She just has a very gritty, rugged way of showing it. What’s wrong with that?
What’s wrong with that is…quite possibly because she’s a girl. If she were a guy, she would be considered a rogue, a wounded hero who just needs the love of a good woman to tame the beast inside him. I remember when my mother discussed with her dearest friend the fact that her daughter (me) was determined to marry a certain young man (my darling husband). Her dear friend, my aunt, said, “Well, Edith, he’s just a little wild but that boy’ll make a fine husband when he’s settled down some.” Now, let me tell you, if the situation had been reversed and I had been the one sowing all those wild oats, my soon-to-be-husband’s momma would have locked him the basement until I was out of his system.
Things have changed a lot since my momma warned me about how bad girls behave, but has that changed? Is it really possible for a female character to be tough and edgy and not be considered unredeemable or unworthy or a bit@#? Do you think there’s a double standard? I would love to hear about your favorite “bad” girl heroines!
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cyclops8
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 4:55 am:
Hi Debra,
Congrats on the new release. I do think it’s possible for a female to be hard and edgy wouldn’t being bitchy. It’s important that while the heroine is tough, she is still a likable and sympathetic character. It’s hard to root for a heroine if you can’t stand her. I thought Annette from “Faceless” was a great bad girl heroine. Annette does what she must to survive and though much of it is criminal and immoral, she does have redeeming qualities.
Marisa
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 5:36 am:
Hi Debra – welcome and thanks for being here with us. I think Sarah in FIND ME is the perfect bad girl heroine. She is tough, smart, independent, just a bit quirky and she gets the job done. So yes, I think you can have a female character be a bad girl and still be the heroine. Bad girl heroines are not as prevalent in fiction as men being the bad boy – we do love our bad boys. But more and more, especially with urban fantasy, we’re getting our bad girl heroines and I’m loving them. Some that come to mind are Cat in One Foot in the Grave and Raina Bowen in Driven – to name a few.
You had me laughing at your story about the first time your mother heard you swear. My mother also had ears and eyes in the back of her head. Until I was 16 I thought she also had the power of telepathy. She ALWAYS knew when I was doing something I shouldn’t.
janeybooks
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 8:39 am:
Hi Debra
I’m glad to see more bad girls as heroines these days. Not that I don’t appreciate the bad boys, but I like living vicariously through the heroine who can smoke, drink, swear, save herself, the hero and the day.
Kati
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 8:57 am:
Hi Debra, welcome! And congrats on your new release!
I guess I’m on the fence about bad girls. I don’t mind a kickass woman, I really don’t. But I want her to have a soft side, and I want her to be able to show her soft belly on occasion. For whatever reason, I tend to get really frustrated with heroines who just walk around being bitchy and smacking people around just because they can. I want to first be able to understand why they act that way (and “because I can” isn’t necessarily an acceptable answer for me) and second, be able to see them fall for a guy who is a match for them personality wise and brings out their tenderness.
Eve Dallas is, IMO, the very best of the kickass heroines ever written. She’s foul mouthed, foul tempered, WILL kick your ass and yet, she has a soft spot for her guy (who WOULDN’T??) and her friends and loved ones.
Debra Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 10:02 am:
Hey Cyclops8! I’m glad you could relate to Annette. She was a tough heroine to write since she, indeed, behaved badly. But as you say, she had her reasons!
Debra Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 10:04 am:
Thanks, Marisa! Sarah was a delight to write. I think actually being in Maine for the winter and getting to know the people and place made FIND ME fly from my fingertips.
Debra Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 10:07 am:
Kati, you’re so right. She can’t be “all” hard all the time. I think that’s the case with bad boys too. They have to have that vulnerable side though it may be hidden under many layers. That’s the case with Sarah Newton in FIND ME. She’s tough as nails but there’s a vulnerability about her that when it shines through makes her a true hero!
Debra Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 10:09 am:
Janey, yes ma’am! I think it’s important not to write all the female characters so similarly. As women, we’re all different. I love finding those “differences” as a character evolves in the story.
cj lyons
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 10:32 am:
Hey Debra! I love multi-faceted characters who have their strengths and weaknesses–just like me. So I enjoy “bad” girls and “bad” boys, as long as they have redeeming qualities and act like heroes. Show me how to overcome those weaknesses, draw me in, make me care and as a reader, I’m sooooo there!
I think that’s one of the reasons I love your books–the characters feel real as opposed to perfectly-perfect people who I’d never know or meet in real life.
Perfect is perfectly boring in my book!
Maria Lokken
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 11:21 am:
Hi Debra – I think you did an amazing job with Annette in “Faceless”. At first I thought, what the heck!? But I totally got into it, the idea that a woman could be ‘bad’ and still be a character I rooted for.
I think Jeaniene Frost creates a very edgy heroine in her Halfway to the Grave series.
Do I think there’s a double standard? Yes, absolutely. I think people can ‘buy’ into a male character being a bad ass, and doing all manner of despicable things much easier then they can a female character. As I mentioned – Annette in ‘Faceless’ initially threw me for a loop – but I got right into it and thought – “Hey, this is different, this is real’.
PJ
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 11:54 am:
Hi Debra! Welcome to RNTV! I haven’t read your books yet but I can see I’ll have to change that. They sound terrific!
I definitely think there’s a double standard, in books and life. As others have said, give me a heroine who *lives* life, is multi-dimensional, has a “kick-ass” side and a warmer, more vulnerable side. I want my heroines (and heroes) to have layers. Nothing bores me faster than perfect surface characters with no flaws.
As someone who is new to your books where you recommend I begin?
Debra Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 11:59 am:
Hey, CJ! Thanks! You, too, have a fabulous way of creating “real” characters! Your medical thrillers are awesome!
Debra Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 12:01 pm:
Maria, thank you so much. It does feel as if bad boys are far more acceptable than bad girls. I say, as long as they’re well done, both are great! Thanks for the reading recommendation. I’ll look for Jeaniene Frost’s book.
Debra Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 12:04 pm:
PJ, great to hear from you! Traceless was my first St. Martin’s Press release. Then there was Nameless and Faceless. Nameless gives you the true “bad boy” while in Faceless you get the “bad girl”. But why not start with my newest release, FIND ME! My family and I moved to the southern coast of Maine during the dead of winter for this story. We had a great time (the snow was really different for this Alabama girl). Thanks for saying hello!
Maureen
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 12:05 pm:
One of the reasons I love, love, love! your books is the female heroines – those strong, confident, independent female characters. They don’t need a man to complete them but they are open (eventually) to the possibility of happily ever after. If they happen to have a little “x” rated adventure along the way who cam blame them!
Maureen
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 12:06 pm:
. . . and nobody writes X rated adventure better than you!
Natalie
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 12:24 pm:
Hey Debra, I’m with Maureen, I love your female heroines. They really have a sense of self that is unshakeable. And I’m all about the unshakeable save yourself heroine. I’m also a huge fan of the In Death Series, so I’d have to agree with Kati, Eve is another bad girl doing all the right things. That’s what I loved about Sarah in Find Me, no matter what happens, she’s going to find the truth. I love her tenacity and her ability to stand up in the face of everyone questioning her and not believeing in her.
I say, Yeah! More bad girls, More kick ass heroines. It’s about time.
Peggy Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 12:28 pm:
Hi Deb,
Your characters are absolutely phenomenal – tough, bad, edgy, smart, passionate, compassionate, vulnerable. I don’t know any writer today who does “bad girl” as well as you. One thing I find so remarkable about your characters is that they are NOT fictional couterparts of you. I think it’s very important that your fans know that. Good lord. You’re a big softy. Tender-hearted and generous, compassionate and loyal, always ready to ‘mother’ a friend in need. Is there a double standard? Unfortunately, yes. I think that’s changing, but slowly. In the meantime, continue to plunge head-first into dark, forbidden territory with your amazing stories.
Holly
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 12:43 pm:
Hi Debra
I’m so glad a “good girl” like you wrote a “pushy, I-will-have-hot-sweaty-sex-if-I-want-to broad like Sarah Newton”. Ok, that scene in the car between her and Kale? HAWT! I loved Find Me. I especially loved Sarah. She was smart, feisty, edgy and independent.
I have to say, that I didn’t have an issue with Sarah being a bad girl. I just thought, “well here’s a heroine who is NOT going to run away from the murderer in high heels, trip, fall and get caught”. I loved that about her. I’ve spent a lot of years and read a lot of books about the tough guy with the vulnerable soul. And it’s great to read heroines who are just as tough and who also have a certain vulnerability.
Sunny
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 1:00 pm:
Hi Debra,
I say there aren’t enough heroines who are bad girls. I think there still is a double standard. But in the last 3 years or so there are so many great bad girls on tv and in the movies and I’m enjoying reading books like yours where the heroine doesn’t apologize for who and what she is. There is a fine line you walk between making her an out right bitch and unreddemable and making her an edgy, self assured, smart women with issues. Sure glad I don’t have to write them. But I do love to read them.
Debra Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 1:55 pm:
Why thank you, Maureen! Glad you stopped by!
Debra Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 1:57 pm:
Thanks so much, Natalie! If I can pass one thing on to my daughters it’s that unshakable sense of self. I want my girls to be full of compassion and PASSION but to never doubt their self-worth!
Debra Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 1:59 pm:
Peggy! You gave away my best kept secret!!! Just kidding, you’re a sweetie and thank you for all the fine compliments!
Debra Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 2:01 pm:
Holly, thank you so much. I loved the scene in the car. I got stuck in that same cemetery doing my research. Point to self: Never take a big four-wheel drive vehicle into a narrow cemetery road when the snow is banked up more than four feet. YOU CANNOT TURN AROUND!
Debra Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 2:02 pm:
Sunny, I think you summed it up perfectly. This is real life we’re living and our heroines need to be reflective of that. There’s a place in our stories for all kinds of wonderful ladies and fabulous gents!
Maria Lokken
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 2:33 pm:
You were stuck in a cemetery doing your research? What happened??? I’m picturing you in your car in the dead of night, in the freezing cold, with a full moon, with no way out of the cemetery….
Josie
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 4:15 pm:
Hi Debra
Just popping in to say I’m a big fan of yours. Just got Find Me and can’t wait to read it. Two of my favorite characters have been Annette and Emily so I’m looking forward to reading all about Sarah. She sounds like a woman after my own heart. I love a heroine who is strong and takes names.
Debra Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 5:22 pm:
Maria, that’s pretty much it. I had to slowly back out the way I came in. It was dark by the time I realized it would be a problem so that made it far worse. Not an easy task. But I had great fun researching this book. I looked at a lot of wonderful old houses and inns and fabulous cemeteries. It was COLD!
Debra Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 5:23 pm:
Josie, I hope you enjoy Sarah’s story. I love New York so I made that her home. Drop me an email after you read the book!
Marisa
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 6:13 pm:
My goodness Debra – what great lengths you go to for research. But it paid off because you really made Youngstown Maine come alive for me.
And I agree with Holly about the scene in the car! YIKES – you really gave Sarah all the control. I loved how Kale just sort of followed her lead for most of the book.
I think one of my favorite scenes is when she’s in the bed and breakfast talking on the phone to her shrink – she really came alive for me there.
Debra Webb
on Jan 19th, 2009
@ 7:46 pm:
Thanks again, Marisa. The characters made this story so very easy to write.
scene girls
on Jun 11th, 2009
@ 4:33 pm:
Hah! That really made me laugh – thanks!