From the time I started writing The Power of Two, I knew I was going to take slams for Cai's issue. (My characters always have issues. :-) I'd even braced myself for the hit, but I still wasn't prepared when it finally came. At least not from this particular site.
Maybe I'd been lulled into a false sense of security since none of the other reviewers mentioned it. In fact, lots and lots of people seemed to really like this book. That's why, when I read the review today, it just stunned me. The reviewer didn't like that Cai had self-esteem issues because this was supposed to be a series about "girl power." Since when did kick-ass mean a woman had zero insecurities?
It's really interesting because this reviewer hasn't been particularly enamored with any book in the series, but she's always sure the next one is going to be better. Then the next one comes out and she finds fault after fault.
I shouldn't take it so personally. I knew there would be people who would think Cai not believing herself attractive was a problem. I wrote it anyway because this is who Cai is. To not write it in would be to betray her and I would never, ever betray my characters. And let's be honest, do any of us know even a single woman who is 100% happy with her appearance? I sure as hell don't, so why should there be heroines who are?
Anyway, this has sapped all the life out of me and I don't feel like writing any more of my demon children. After all, it'll just be picked apart, if not for Mika thinking herself weak because she's half human, then for the amount of time spent on the sexual attraction between Mika and Conor.
