WOMEN I FIND FASCINATING, by Kathryne Kennedy

Our theme for this month is fascinating women, and at first I considered talking about some fascinating women from history, since I use historical backdrops in my books. Ladies like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the first woman’s rights activist. Or Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor. Or Madame C.J. Walker, the first female self-made millionaire. Although these women made the history books, the truth is, I meet fascinating women every day.

And I don’t always meet them in person.

If you’ve read our CasaBlog for any length of time, you’ll know many of the women I’m talking about. Read back through the posts, and you’ll find women brave enough to share their private lives with you, whether it’s about their triumphs or hardships, personal or professional. Women that I’ve never met in person…although I hope to do so one day.

I’ve been fascinated by the women I’ve met in my writing career, from agents to editors to reviewers and of course, other authors—authors who continue to write and pursue their dream with enormous obstacles in their way. I’ve been privileged to have them share their stories with me, and I am always amazed by how strong they are.

I think I admire the women in my family the most, but that’s only because I know them more intimately. My mother’s strength when faced with so many losses. My sisters, who juggle jobs and kids but are always there when you need them. My nieces; one who just went to South Korea and the other who sat in a hospital for weeks when her first child was born with a tear in his lung.

And then there are the women I meet only briefly. Through friends, or as a clerk in a department store, or serving me my restaurant meals, or readers at a book signing, or through reader mail I receive. I often find out a bit of their personal story, and it’s always fascinating.

So I would like to pay homage in this post to the unsung heroines, who struggle every day against sometimes overwhelming obstacles, whose stories may not make the history books, but who I find absolutely fascinating. Bravo, for everything you do. A little bit of each one of you goes into every heroine in my books.

My Magical Best,

Kathryne