Eryn LaPlant: Strong heroines all the way

Interesting that for two days in a row, we have authors whose romances are set during the Vietnam era. Yesterday, it was Laurie Kellogg with The Memory of You. Today, we have Eryn LaPlant talking about the strong heroines who inspired her reporter heroine in her debut novel, Beneath the Wall.

Eryn: At age 8, I was introduced to the world of strong females the day my mother rented the movie Gone With the Wind. I was entranced by Scarlett O'Hara, not only for her beauty, but for her strength as well. Beneath her whiny and manipulative exterior was the strong surge of a soul not willing to let anything beat her down, including the poverty and hunger of war. I wanted to be her. Coincidentally enough, I already shared Scarlett's Irish and French heritage, but I wanted her courage and fervor, too.

Growing up I did my best to be my own strong woman. I helped my sonless father fix cars, mow the lawn and rebuild the roof, and I rarely showed signs of weakness. Sure, I was still human and cried when I was sad, longed for love when I was lonely and even went through bursts of extreme anxiety, but none of that crushed my spirit. Be it from the characters I emulated or watching my own family full of strong women (like my grandmother who survived lung cancer, breast cancer, being made a widow and out-living all of her siblings), I learned how to fight my inner demons. Whatever I went through, I came out of the circumstance determined to use the experiences to make me a better person.

As I began to read for recreation, I found I put down the romance novels where the girl was nothing more than an advancement for the male's plot (which usually involved getting her into bed). Instead I followed characters like Dougless Montgomery and Samantha Elliott from Jude Deveraux's A Knight in Shining Armor and Sweet Liar, Bashea from M.J. Schiller's Taken by Storm, Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games series, and Kit MacKlenna in The Ruby Brooch by Katherine Logan Lowry. All were strong, beautiful women who were placed in the lowest place they could possibly be, but pulled themselves out of their wreckage. Sure, there were men who came along for the ride with whom they fell in love, but ultimately it was their pluck and fortitude that got them through.

When stories came creeping into my own head, I knew I had to reflect who I was and whom I respected, and Julianne Parker in Beneath the Wall was born. Julianne is a feisty, flame-haired reporter during 1966, who was tired of hearing about war stories from the other side of the world. She wanted to be in the thick of the Vietnam battles, supporting the troops on their side. Unfortunately, when she arrived the men saw her as nothing but the female she was. She needed to rise above their chauvinistic attitudes and prove that she was more than worthy to become part of their camp. I won't give away the whole story, but with the help of a supportive sergeant, Julianne carved her path through the vicious battles of Vietnam.

My goal in my career as a writer is to always bring my readers proud women who can stand on their own two feet with or without a man behind them. Sure, the guy will be there and will be strong himself, because I love romance — but you'll never find the woe-is-me damsel in distress in my books.

Here's the blurb for Beneath the Wall:

Hidden beneath the wall, a journal.

With the answers to everything.

First a mystery guest shows up at the funeral for Jesse Parker's

mother, Julianne. Then a hidden box reveals papers that claim Jesse's brothers were adopted. All it takes is one more surprise discovery for the real truth of Julianne's life to be brought to light.

Hidden from Julianne's children is a journal containing the deeply personal story of her time as a combat war journalist in Vietnam. Mixed among her tale of the bombardment of war and harsh reality of being the only female amongst Camp Dakota's troop of Marines, is the history of Julianne's relationship with Sergeant Mack Roberts, the son of a WWII sailor and Japanese woman. Both Mack and Julianne are outsiders in a sense—bound together by love, and torn apart by war.

Yet the secrets that follow in the pages of his mother's journal show far more than an average love story as Jesse learns how twisted fates can become, and how a selfless attempt to give him and his siblings the most normal lives possible will turn everything they've ever believed about themselves on end.

To find out more about Eryn and her book, you can visit her website. You can also connect with her on Facebook and Twitter (@erynalicia).