Fantasy and Female Empowerment
From the earliest drafts of my novel, A Shiver of Snow and Sky, the backbone of the plot has been the protagonist, Ósa, setting off alone on a dangerous journey to save her people. From time to time, someone would ask something along the lines of but would a girl really travel alone? Shouldn’t that guy go with her? That line of questioning bothered me from the first time I heard it, because it felt as though it was born more from our own society than the one in the book. My short answer to that question is this: no, that guy should not go with her. He did not need to go with her. Ósa’s friend Ivar is an important character in the story, but it was not his story, and it never was.
At its heart, A Shiver of Snow and Sky is about three women: Ósa, her mother, and the Goddess. The relationship between those three women, and the ways in which their stories interact, are at the centre of the book, and I wanted that to be evident. Ósa does come from a patriarchal society, but one that, by the end of the book, might be in a state of change. The way I saw it, Ósa was raised on the same island as “the boys,” she learned the same survival skills as “the boys,” she heard the same stories as “the boys.” Why, then, would she need to be accompanied by a man, who knows exactly the same things as her? It made no sense, and because of the nature of the plot, their stories had to diverge. I couldn’t change it to ensure that she had a bodyguard throughout the story, because people found it unrealistic that a girl could make a journey on her own. Trust me, if you haven’t read it yet, that is far from the least believable part of the book.
I can’t speak to how other writers feel, but after fantasy was once historically dominated largely by male writers and male protagonists—don’t get me wrong, I love Frodo Baggins and Jon Snow as much as the next person—I have greatly enjoyed the rise of female-led fantasy. I have read Ella Enchanted at least four times, and I have a mile-long list of female-centric fantasy that I’ll be getting to once I finish this round of edits on the book I’m writing.
A large part of A Shiver of Snow and Sky is about no one believing in Ósa, and how she's always been guilted for the death of her mother. In light of that, I wanted her undertaking to mean even more, to be something huge in her life that no one thought possible. And I would try even harder to highlight Ósa’s ability to do something by herself, to not be tied to the supposed safety net cast by a man. While the village society in which Ósa has grown up feels very male-dominated, there are contrasts to this throughout the book, from Ósa’s journey alone, to the fact that the people in Skane worship a goddess, not a god.
Books are something that have the ability to leave a lasting impression on the world, a lingering echo with themes often relevant to the times in which they were written. In my case, while I didn’t set out to write a book that focused on female empowerment, I simply wanted to tell a story about a girl who no one believed in, but who had the power to do great things. Because it’s 2017, and I see it happening everywhere. I see women directing more movies, writing more books, winning more prizes, and I’m loving every minute of it. I want to add to that, to show that being a girl is good enough, and more than enough. And while the circumstances in which Ósa finds herself might not be relevant to the everyday person, I hope that the themes of taking control and empowering oneself can transcend the barriers of fantasy and fiction and inspire someone who reads the book in today’s world.
About the Book:
Title: A Shiver of Snow and Sky
Author: Lisa Lueddecke
Expected publication: October 5th 2017 by Scholastic Children's Books
Red, red, the lights glow red
Beware the danger up ahead…
On the frozen island of Skane, the sky speaks. Beautiful lights appear on clear nights, and their colours have meaning: Green means all is well, and the Goddess is happy. Blue means a snow storm is on the way.
And then there’s red. Red is rare. A warning.
Seventeen years ago, the sky turned red just as Ósa was born, unleashing a plague that claimed the lives of hundreds of villagers, including her own mother. This time, when the night sky once again bleeds crimson, she must discover how to stop the onslaught before so many lives are lost again.
ABOUT LISA LUEDDECKE:
Lisa Lueddecke was born into an Air Force family, giving her a love for travel, and has spent her life moving between four countries and five US states. She currently resides in England, is one of five sisters, and is a former publishing intern and book blogger turned writer.
A Shiver of Snow and Sky is her début novel.
@LisaLueddecke www.lisalueddecke.com
Lisa Lueddecke was born into an Air Force family, giving her a love for travel, and has spent her life moving between four countries and five US states. She currently resides in England, is one of five sisters, and is a former publishing intern and book blogger turned writer.
A Shiver of Snow and Sky is her début novel.
@LisaLueddecke www.lisalueddecke.com
