There is no shortage of tough ladies in the WWAC Archives, whether they are fictional, staffers, or industry professionals. Last April, WWAC spotlighted a few and through these spotlights we hope these tough ladies will gain a few more fans. Enjoy!
A Modern Day Indiana Jane: Charish’s Owl and the Japanese Circus, April 1, 2015,
Owl and the Japanese Circus is the start of a brand new urban fantasy adventure series by debut author Kristi Charish. It’s about a young
woman named Alix Hiboux a.k.a Owl. Alix is a former student of archaeology who now “acquires” antiquities for private collectors for the right price. She’s tough, resourceful, a little hot headed, and possibly in over her head with the variety of supernatural creatures she’s working for.
I was able to speak to Kristi about writing a character like Alix, her inspiration, and her experience jumping into the publishing world for the first time.
Hi Kristi! Thanks for agreeing to take part in this interview.
Thanks for having me!
You’ve said that you like adventure-heavy stories featuring strong, savvy female protagonists. Tell us a little bit about your protagonist Owl. How does she fit that description?
Owl (a.k.a. Alix Hiboux) is an ex-archaeology grad student who had her career scuttled by the International Archaeology Association for stumbling into the supernatural. Instead of taking this lying down (or blindly following the traditional heroes path of battling corruption—Alix isn’t that kind of hero), she takes a slightly more “give the world the bird” attitude and becomes an antiquities thief for hire, swearing off supernatural forever. Needless to say that jinxes everything.
Alix has her strengths; she’s loyal to her friends and cat, Captain, is resourceful, unwilling to conform to expectations she feels are unfair, and is unwavering to the point of pig-headedness in her convictions. She also has some serious faults; she’s un-trusting to the point of paranoia, has a severely remedial filter, and acting before thinking is the game plan. Even though she’s damaged, she still tries her best to do the right thing—though her version of right and everyone else’s don’t always mesh. And that to me is a strong female protagonist. READ MORE
WWAC Warriors: Momma Said Knock You Out, April 1, 2015,
Warriors, I really, really wanted to open this follow-up post with a triumphant I WON!!, and we could all celebrate our various accomplishments with a round of metaphorical champagne and dim sum.
(Yeah, my cravings got pretty eclectic in the last week.)
But I didn’t win.
Technically, I didn’t lose, either. When the referee gathered all us fighters and coaches together — and you better believe that was one cramped, sweaty, adrenaline-laced room — he told us that there would be no judges. Unless there was a knockout, each fight would end in a draw. Both fighters’ hands would be raised: no winner, no loser. It was the first time any of us had ever heard of such a thing, and I have to admit, it was a relief — but I’m getting ahead of myself. That wasn’t the first thing that happened.
For me, as with so many other fighters, the most stressful part of the whole ordeal wasn’t actually stepping in the ring: it was stepping on the scale. Most fight cards will have fighters weigh in the night before, which might seem counterintuitive until you realize that most fighters will have starved and dehydrated themselves completely for the previous 24-48 hours in order to make weight. Really, it’s incredible how some fighters manipulate the water levels in their body to make weight: I read that Anderson Silva cuts as much as thirty pounds of water weight the week before a fight.
So you can see why a night-before weigh-in is handy: you get twenty-four hours to refuel and re-hydrate. Even with the cushion of a day, there’s no denying that weight cuts can and will affect your performance: you might be sluggish, easily tired, or weaker than usual. READ MORE
Rebecca Mock on Artists’ Rights and Diplo Offering “Credit,” April 2, 2015,
Back in February, Diplo used an original GIF by illustrator Rebecca Mock as background art in promoting his music. Staff writer Jo Fu wrote about the incident and his misogynistic response to the fallout. Here, she speaks with Mock about how artists can protect themselves and their work.
Several detractors have tied this theft to your sharing your work online. But as a digital artist with animated material, it seems like the best way to promote yourself and your efforts. How did you protect yourself against this and other instances of theft?
There are several steps one can take to protect work online. Signing and tagging your own work is a way to lead people who stumble upon it back to you. You can also use Creative Commons to license your work to potential sharers and hold them accountable if they don’t follow your guidelines, or file for an official copyright—for a price. Even if you do none of these things (I don’t for all of my work, but I should), you still hold the copyright to work you create under US law. If someone used your work without your permission, you have every right to call them out, tell them to stop, and demand compensation—and take legal action if they don’t comply.I think people should be more mindful of where they pull internet images from—the first step, before using a graphic that’s not yours, should be tracking down its origin and asking for permission to use it.Will those processes change considering Diplo and his fans’ response?
I don’t think the legal structures of my industry will change—when the rules are followed, they work. In the future I will be more adamant about making sure people are honoring my requests for proper tagging, credit, and compensation. I was unsure at times what my rights actually meant I could do, or how to take action, and now I’m much more clear. READ MORE
The original art Diplo used as background for promotional material.
