Geekerella Blog Tour: Ashley Poston's Favorite Kick-Ass Heroines!

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Publisher: Quirk Books

Pub Date: April 4th 2017
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. But when she disappears at midnight, will he ever be able to find her again?

Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.

Ashley Poston's fangirl heart has taken her everywhere from the houses of Hollywood screenwriters to the stages of music festivals to geeky conventions (in cosplay, of course). She lives in South Carolina, where she hangs around the internet tweeting at @AshPoston. 

Follow Ashley: Website | Twitter | FB | Instagram | Pinterest | Tumblr | YouTube

Sometimes, the kick-ass heroine isn’t the one holding the smoking pistol. Don’t get me wrong—pistol-wielding gals get stuff done. But if Hermione taught me anything, it’s that you can kick ass with brains as well as brawn.

In Geekerella, I wanted Elle to look up to one of those kick-ass heroines, so took the parts of kick-ass heroines I adore and crumbled them up to make a heroine who is a little good, a little bad, and one-hundred and ten percent can kick your ass.

So here are my top ten inspirations for Starfield’s Princess Amara—

1. Fem!Sheppard from Mass Effect. She’s a gosh darn war hero, who rises up out of the literal grave to come back and kick some serious Reaper butt. And that is what a hero does. They never give up.

2. Zoe Washburn from Firefly. Basically favorite space cowboy—ever. She’s a true leader without needing intimidation to win her arguments. She’s comfortable in her skin, and she’s in love with her husband (LEAF ON THE WIND) without it being her defining characteristic.

3. Sophie Hatter from Howl’s Moving Castle. Sophie has a special place in my heart. She’s resourceful, witty, and has a gift for elevating other people when she, herself, doesn’t realize how important her own self-worth is to everyone around her.

4. Nyx from Rosamund Hodge’s Cruel Beauty. I can write sonnets about how much I love Hodge’s reinvention of Beauty from Beauty and the Beast. Where Disney made Belle a witty bookworm, Hodge crafted Nyx as daring and stalwart—and dare I say it: unlikeable—with a single thread of curiosity that shines brighter than the darkness that traps her. Basically, Nyx is A+ material.

5. Hermione from Harry Potter. After all, she’s the brightest witch of her age, and without her, Harry would’ve been dead since book one. Voldemort should’ve never underestimated the power of a mudblood.

6. Artemis from Greek Mythology. She kills a man for spying on her in the bath, ‘nuff said.

7. Uhura from Star Trek. Without Uhura, Captain Kirk—in both the original and the reboot—would be so, so dead. Uhura showed me that you can be great at your job, and demand the respect you deserve.

8. Nimona from Nimona. I’m not sure if I’m in love with Nimona, or if I want to be Nimona. The jury’s still out.

9. Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars. I was a little late jumping into the Star Wars universe (Trekkie for life, here), but once in I lost myself in the badassery of one Togruta female.

10. Lila Bard from Darker Shade. I am also in love with Lila, but I’d also never be caught in the same room with her because she’d rob me blind.

What are some of your favorite kick-ass heroines?

Brittany: Thank you so much for this awesome and fun guest post, Ashley! :D

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