Writing: Why I like beating up little girls (fictionally)

Why do I like having girls in my books get into major fights leaving them with broken bones? Two words: Cynthia Rothrock!

In the late 80s and early 90s one Kung-Fu star, both in Hong Kong and the US, was Cynthia Rothrock. She knew her stuff, 5 time Karate Camp and holder of six black belts. She was a true champ. I liked watching her in films, but I hated the films she was in.

Back then (in film) a guy couldn't get into a serious fight with a girl. Even if that girl was Cynthia Rothrock. In a lot of her films they would hire her and a male star to be the bad guy. This made a problem she couldn't fight the bad guy. So they would take the $20 left over in the budget to hire a smuck to be her side-kick that would take on the bad guy in the end.

So Cynthia Rothrock would take care of the incompetent minions having to act like she broke a sweat. Then the smuck would take on the main bad guy and the editors had to work to make it look real. Like Mel Gibson and Danny Glover taking on Jet-Li.

Rothrock had so much talent but she couldn't use it.

That's why in SHOWGIRLS AND ALIENS, coming out early next year, I have my girl, Nomi, being a badass taking on guys a hundred pounds heavier than her and aliens with 10 times human strength. In the process she gets beat up pretty badly and has a lot of bones broken. But she is the hero, she has friends to help but she's the badass leader.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the world is ready for a female to duke it out with the bad guy, suffer defeats like any hero before coming out on top.

I guess I'll see when it is released.

By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE