What is Missing in Today's Thriller Heroines?

From Katniss Everdeen to Lisbeth Salander to Anastasia Steele, books are filled with more multi-faceted, complex women than ever before. Yet even while we celebrate these female protagonists, there remains a shortage of leadership role models in literature. Action heroines are either troubled sexy loners, or they’re calling the shots in alternative realities like Snow White and the Huntsman or Hunger Games. What's missing in today’s most popular genre, thrillers, is a real-world woman leader who’s as tough in the boardroom as she is on the battlefield.

The Character 

Pia Sabel represents a new kind of role model. She’s a former soccer star who leads a security company that triumphs over corrupt businessmen and murderous criminals. Her strong personality, will-to-win attitude, decisive leadership, and relentless work ethic separate her from other protagonists. 

Plus, she can kick some butt when needed. 

Pia Sabel is the heroine of a new series of thriller novels. The first book is finished, a second outlined, and a third visualized. In each, Pia faces challenges from virtually all sides. Rising above the fray, she uses her cleverness to solve mysteries and her athleticism to beat the bad guys. 
Above all, Pia Sabel stories are fun reads. 

The Book 

In the first book, The Geneva Decision, Pia Sabel takes the helm of Sabel Security only to see her client murdered and an attempt made on her life—on her first day. Her professional soccer career taught her agility and endurance. Her amateur boxing career taught her how to duck. She knows how to handle a gun. Now all she has to do is figure out how to track down a modern pirate ring and expose a money laundering conspiracy before her employees resign en masse. From Geneva’s Jet d’Eau to the jungles of Cameroon and the streets of Vienna, Pia Sabel and her team take on high society and low-life criminals alike.

This Project 

Today, virtually all debut authors are published without the support of the “Big 6” traditional publishers. There are plenty of financial reasons for publishers to wait while a new author and character either thrives or fails in the marketplace. Formula characters and retread plots offer less risk. 

For this reason I am going to release the first Pia Sabel novel independently and am turning to the Kickstarter community to ensure this series has high production values. Backing this project will guarantee a final book with finished product quality (editing, design, cover art, and marketing) that will rival that of a traditional publisher. The Editorial Department, a firm serving the literary community for over thirty years, has already provided some valuable services. 

With over 1,000 new authors going online at Amazon every month, the biggest challenge is to be heard above the din. Any funds raised above the goal will go toward further development, advertising, and marketing. 

Your backing will change the next generation of women in fiction.

What Can You Do? 

If you want to be part of the group bringing a new kind of heroine into the world, back the project. The goal we set is the minimum hard cost for professional production. Every dollar above that goal will help with more comprehensive editing, proofreading, and artwork. The biggest expense for any project is advertising and publicity, letting people know the book exists. Advertising costs can spiral to twenty times our goal. To help get the word out and lower those required costs, telling your friends about the project, Pia Sabel, and The Geneva Decision will help even more. 

Whether you pledge $5 or $5,000, spread the word to other readers and recommenders. Here are just a few ways you can let others know about this project: 

• Email your friends asking them to check out this Kickstarter page or the website: SeeleyJames.com. You might write, “I’m backing this project. Want to join me?”
• Share this Kickstarter page on Goodreads, your Facebook wall or Twitter
• Share/repost the promotional video above
• LIKE us on Facebook at: Facebook.com/PiaSabel

Any additional questions or comments, contact me!

Thank you for your consideration! 

CREDITS:

Video by Amelia Montooth

Kickstarter consultation by Beth Jusino

Artwork by Pete Garceau

Editing by Peter Gelfan.