No… not in real life, silly… in that new novel I am writing… the one where we are taking the princesses back from the Disney Corporation… yeah, that one, the one that you can read as I write it by clicking the button up there on my top bar called: The Seven Kingdoms.

I have a very serious question to ask you.

So, if you remember back… assuming you actually read chapter one… there was that scene where the first princess in the story kicks her soon-to-be-husband right in the… passageway under the wall of the castle… because he got fresh with her.

The thing is… and this is sort of a crucial ‘thing’… but originally, I didn’t just have him be a jerk and then try to kiss her without asking permission. I originally wrote it that he groped her breasts.

Then I sent it to my older daughter.

She said that I went too far, that I couldn’t have the guy cop a feel in a book written primarily for young teen females… which, you might recall, is sort of my target audience because that is the challenge here, to write from a female perspective, using my years of experience as a house-daddy to two daughters, and to make strong, female characters that aren’t one-dimensional… that don’t need to be rescued, and that deal with real issues.

But I have been thinking about that scene. I think my first instincts were right for two reasons.

Firstly, it really sets up the bad guys as bad guys. Sneaking a quick kiss while being a complete ass-hat isn’t evil enough. You might even make the point that she overreacted, which puts a whole different spin on things.

On top of that, this book is supposed to deal with the real issues facing young women. This would certainly open up discussion on a topic of some importance.

I realize that it is a delicate and tricky subject. And this takes place like two pages into the book. But there is going to be violence later on, action and adventure and fighting. And the princess will be discussing not only romance but love and sex and body image and maybe even homosexuality. Maybe I need to move the age of my target readers up a little to keep this edgy.

So… what do you think?