How much is too much when it comes to the main characters in the book you’re reading? We want the women to be smart, attractive and spunky. We want the men to be smart, attractive and brave. Every once in a while, the characters cross over into the land of there’s-no-way-that-could-happen.

I recently read a book I enjoyed. Bad guys were after the main characters. The main character supposedly broke his ankle, but kept running. He even climbed the side of a mountain to escape. I don’t know about you, but I’ve sprained my ankle, and I thought I was going to die. I could barely put weight on it, much less walk. There wasn’t a chance in hell I could have run in that condition.

There is always the chance that I am a wuss.

At five feet two inches tall, I’ve used my brain to solve far more problems than my non-existent brawn. When the female characters in books who are supposed to be about my size knock out a six-foot tall hulking muscle-bound guy, I roll my eyes. Unless the character hit the guy with a lead pipe, it’s not going to happen. As a writer, I’ve researched various forms of martial arts trying to find a discipline which would allow a small female to kick ass. I even spoke to a Mixed Martial Arts expert, who trains guys to cage fight, and asked if there was a discipline that would allow a small woman to take on a giant guy. His answer was, “There are styles of fighting designed for women, but rare is the woman who could knock out a guy with one punch if he saw her coming.”

My solution? Give my snarky, kick-ass woman psychic powers so she could blast larger people with her mind and knock them out. Problem solved.

I understand that you have to suspend disbelief when reading. Give me shape-shifting witches who fly on dust busters, and I’m good. Throw in Iron chefs who cook by day and hunt zombies by night, and I’m on board. Toss out men and women who scale mountains with broken bones and you’ve lost me.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever read?

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