Strong Protagonists

I can't think of one wimpy starring character I ever cared about, can you?

Protagonists need to be strong, willing to face all odds, dangers, and blows to their egos, families and themselves. Readers want a hero or heroine they can't help but root for.

Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker, Scarlet O'Hara. These are invincible characters we want to succeed.

Strong characters do something. They take risks. They are highly motivated. They determine their own outcomes. Fate has nothing to do with the achievement of their goals.

In my book “Laura’s Lost Love” the title character, Laura Windsor, wants more than anything to find the familial love she lost at age thirteen when her parents died. Ten years after her loss, she has decided to become a mother by taking in a girl from the orphan train. She thinks she’s got everything in order, and she’s ready to find love once again.

The hero of the novel, Gavin Maitland, then drops a bomb on her plans. He informs her the community of Heart Junction, South Dakota will allow only married couples to take in children from the orphan train.

His declaration will not deter our determined heroine. Contrary to what might happen in some romance novels, Laura does not go looking for a husband so she can adopt her little girl. She resolutely sets about finding a way around the laws she considers terribly old fashioned for the early Twentieth Century.




Falling in love with Gavin, doesn’t weaken her resolve to become little Angelina’s mother in her own way. Even having Angelina taken away from her after she is initially awarded temporary custody doesn’t deter her from meeting her goal.

If she has to break convention, hearts and even a few laws, Laura will let nothing stop her from becoming Angelina’s mother permanently.

Laura is a kick-butt heroine, in a sweet, otherwise very proper package.

Active, motivated, determined protagonists who are willing to risk everything to reach their goals are characters readers will never forget.

Fran Shaff, Award-Winning Author