Uhh....women are more interest to me than men....LOL
Also, one of my early inspirations for writing was a female student who was complaining about there being a lack of good women heroines in books, and it got me thinking.
I first intended on writing a Fritz Leiber style book, but it started to take on a bit of epic fantasy feel. But my main character is definitely not a "good" person. Still, the stories lack that down-and-out grittiness of the sword and sorcery genre, and I'm thinking of a new book/series, something a lot darker.
I really liked writing a book about a woman, as the issues that could arise from being a woman warrior make for good material.
For instance, if women are inherently weaker than men, due to a smaller body, then what sort of sword/armour and tactics should they use? If the story is set in the high middle ages, and longswords and broadswords are the norm, then what would she choose to use? A longsword is too long and heavy, and would give the advantage to a longsword-wielding opponent who was stronger. On the other hand, broadswords let opponents get too close, as do falchions, and letting an opponent get close is a bad idea if he is stronger than you. So in the end, with extensive help from my friends at myarmoury.com, I came up with a long hand-a-half sword, which is lighter than a longsword but nearly as long, and has much more reach than a broadsword. She relies on skill and speed to overcome opponents with longer weapons, and the reach of her own blade to over come those with shorter.
Also there is pregnancy. She gets pregnant in the sixth book, which is a bad thing in a sword-wielding, butt-kicking fantasy heroine.
One of the biggest challenges had been to write about sexuality without making it too cheesy or obviously from a man's perspective. This is when it's good to have a long-suffering wife, who is unafraid to call me a pig.
Also, there's interesting bits like a woman's pain resistance, which is far higher than men's in some cases, and their faster reaction times.
So on the whole, it was interesting, but challenging.
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