BLOG TOUR: The Legend of the Light Keeper by Kelly Hall - Guest Post + GIVEAWAY!

About the Book

Author: Kelly Hall
Title: The Legend of the Light Keeper
Series: The Light Keeper Series
Publication Date: March 25, 2015
Publisher: Booktrope

Synopsis: After a hurricane destroys her home, Lily Jordan is ready for life to get back to normal. That would be easy if her mother’s recent engagement hadn’t landed her in a house along Southeast Texas’ most haunted ghost road.

The secluded scenic road is steeped in rich history and legends, but when Lily is given an old diary on her birthday, will she find that those legends hold more for her future than she’s bargained for?

With the help of new friends, Hunter and Owen, and forbidden love, Talon, will she uncover dark secrets from the past and find the key to her own gifts?

Is it fate or circumstance that brought her to her new home?

Normal gives way to the paranormal in book one of the Light Keeper series where mystery and suspense will keep you guessing until the very last page.

  

AMAZON | B&N

About the Author 

Kelly Hall was born and raised in Southeast Texas, and lives in a small town just a stone’s throw from the ghost road where her Light Keeper series is based. When she’s not busy writing, or spending time with her husband and two sons, this self-proclaimed creative junkie dabbles in many different forms of art, including cake decorating and mixed media.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Creating Strong Females That Readers Will Admire

When I set out to write my book, I knew that my main character, Lily Jordan, needed to be strong. I wanted her to be a little independent, at least as independent as a 16 year old girl can be, but I also needed to leave her room to grow. 

I’d read many harsh comments about weak female leads in YA books that I knew if I was going to write my own, I needed to give her a backbone and not make her just another damsel in distress. 

I could have went the route where Lily is a tough girl, strong-minded, stubborn, and completely content without needing any help from any of the other characters, but quite honestly, how boring is that? As a writer, if I don’t make Lily a little vulnerable where she needs some assistance, there would be no room for her to grow and no need for the other characters. I chose to make Lily a strong girl, but that’s just it, she’s a girl. She’s young, impressionable, in a new place, meeting new people, and then there’s this whole ghost thing too. It would be a little silly if Lily started out kicking butts and taking names without the need for anyone. She’d come across as cold, shallow, and probably a little egotistical if she didn’t need anyone else for anything. 

I wanted people to admire, respect, and desire her enough to actually follow her through the adventure or heck, maybe even want to be her.  I wanted her relatable. If you allow your female protagonist to be over-bearing and treat her male counterparts as weak minded and useless, then what is there to endear the reader to your characters? Writing and creating characters is a balancing act. We are all flawed. I’ve always liked to consider us perfectly imperfect people. Give your character some strength but remember without the weaknesses there is nothing to strengthen. Does she need to be a bubble-head that cares only about her boyfriend’s good looks and muscles? No, but make something about her endearing and common enough that she seems real and give her room to grow and progress along with the plot. You’ll create a character that people will admire.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Huge thanks to Kelly for stopping by, and for taking the time to write about creating strong female characters!

Who is a strong character (of any gender) that you admire? Let us know in the comments!


--Ashley & Paul

This tour was organized by Good Tales Book Tours.