This month, we three Quills posed a question for our individual consideration. Specifically, what do we think of the matter of violence by or against women as a method of adding authenticity to our stories?

Robin Lythgoe, author of As the Crow Flies, is up first.



Fantasy and sci-fi--No, fiction authors (at least those I know) write to entertain. We write about people. People, both men and women, are often violent, cruel, abusive, and criminally selfish. Our world has a long history of them, from Cain to Bashar-al Assad, from Jezebel to Griselda Blanco. Fictional worlds are rife with them as well . . .

Read more at http://robinlythgoe.blogspot.com/2015....

Kristie Kiessling, author of Sanguis Dei, has something to add.



My colleagues have made an important distinction that readers used to know without being told. Has that changed? Maybe. In a world where people often have a hard time distinguishing between fantasy and reality, we may need a "DISCLAIMER: ...

Read more at http://kristiekiessling.blogspot.com/....

Finally, I have some thoughts. My comments are directed in particular to the issue of violence against women in fantasy stories.



The world has changed dramatically, even since I was a child, with regard to the place of women in our society and the options open to them. I’ve experienced the changes and benefitted from them. Still, I recognize that these changes occurred largely in the “western” world, that portion historically influenced by a Judeo-Christian ethic. Women in many other places have not been as fortunate as have I. In some cases, they live in what might be called “medieval” times. This is an important issue, as many fantasies are played out in medieval-type worlds. Accordingly, I expect that the manner in which women are treated in those stories might well differ from the world in which I live today. Even so, fantasy stories are set in make-believe worlds. Those worlds can be whatever the authors want them to be . . .

Read more at http://www.oathtaker.com/patricias-bl....

Thank you for joining us!