The Favorite Heroines Giveaway Hop is organized by The Herd Hops and hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup.

What makes a heroine? There are all sorts of ways to be a heroine. There are warrior heroines and princess heroines (sometimes those two things are combined) but there are also plenty of other ways.

In fantasy there is always the option of the wizard/sorceress/enchantress heroine. You know, someone who can light lamps with the flick of her fingers – or set the entire world on fire.

Contemporary stories also provide different ways to be a heroine – women can save lives through medicine or crime-fighting (or fire-fighting). Or they can just be the heroine for their own families or neighborhoods.

When I first read The Lord of the Rings, I was in grade school. I remember being annoyed because there were no women on that epic quest. I wanted there to be someone I could identify with in that motley crew. At the time, I was particularly wishing for a female wizard, but I could be flexible about it.

It’s 40 years later, and I’m still pissed that there was no kick-ass warrior woman on that journey.

On the other hand, I think that Harry Potter (and Ron Weasley) would have died an ignominious death early in The Sorceror’s Stone without Hermione. And I know I’m not the only one who thinks that. (But why she ended up with Ron I’ll never understand.)

Jeffe Kennedy’s recent Twelve Kingdoms series features three different types of heroines – the oldest sister is the warrior princess, the middle sister is the magic practitioner, and the youngest sister becomes a goddess avatar. But they are all active heroines with agency. They also do a kick-ass job of showcasing the power of sisterhood.

I play videogames, and the Dragon Age series also contains a terrific group of different types of active and action heroines as well as allowing the player to choose the sex, race and job classification of their player/character hero or heroine. There is a scene early in Dragon Age: Inquisition where Cassandra, the warrior woman and Leliana, the spymistress, turn over the reins of power in a very public ceremony. When the player is female, the scene of two powerful women handing over those reins of power to a third equally powerful woman gives me chills every single time. (If you are curious, the sequence of events is captured in this Youtube vid)

And now it’s time for you to tell everyone who your favorite heroine (of any kind) is. Answer the question in the rafflecopter for your chance at either a $10 Gift Card or a book of your choice ($10 or under) from The Book Depository.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
There are plenty of other terrific prizes at the other stops on the hop. Check them out!