March is Women’s History Month. So, for this Music Monday, I thought I would share more about my stronger female characters. This time we’re still in the Red Letters world, which is generally Women’s Fiction anyway.

Along with a song that best describes these women, we’ll see a little of why they might be worth remembering. (As always, songs are just for character moods, I don’t own anything there)

First up, our Female Main Character, Tweety. She’s worthy of leading a book, a bar business, and overcomes self doubt from past experiences day after day. She does it with a smile and a friendly way that puts everyone at ease on meeting her. Patrons come back because she remembers them, and treats everyone with the same safe space even in a crowd way.

Fiercely loyal to her friends, she even has this confident air now, that makes her believable and trustworthy. She gives off flirty controlled boss energy, but still has naive moments, and can actually be an unreliable narrator, especially when she tells the stories she’s known for…

The Donnas – Play My Game

Where ever there is a Tweety, there is usually a Malta…

Because you can’t get nicknamed double trouble girls alone, you need a bestie, a partner in crime.

Malta was in the bar business long before Tweety, but she doesn’t have the same motivations Tweety does. If Tweety is straight laced and hostess like, Malta is more of a comedy character. Sometimes it’s on accident, sometimes it’s because Malta is both blunt and feisty wrapped in that Cockney accent. She’s a bit more daring than Tweety is, but not so wild that you can’t make friends with her. Except dancing. When you have your own force of nature like Malta does, dancing is a combat sport in a corset. And you know Malta has hidden strength, because not just anyone can catch the attention of a surly Scot and try to tame that, let alone dare to try to lift the kilt…

Malta’s shenanigans are both blessings and curses, depending on who’s involved. Her first known one gave Tweety her bar name. Another emboldened Tweety to do something to one of the musicians. It wasn’t a dare per say, but it was all the encouragement Tweety needed, especially since Malta went around embellishing the story of the first meeting to include snogging when Tweety emphatically denies that part happening.

Living Lore and Legends gets twisted like that. Even Sly tends to wear a pin that hints at legendary myths happening in this bar space…

Suzi Quatro – The Wild One

If Tweety and Malta are the core Double Trouble, Durunta, often called Runt or Runta, makes it a Triple Trouble combination. She’s not very bold, her style is style. We meet Runta when she’s working in a clothing store, with dreams of being a designer. Runta is actually Tweety’s very first attempt at getting patrons for the bar she worked at. Tweety needed to buy some clothes, and they hit it off pretty quickly because Runta knew everything Tweety didn’t know about style and dressing and it’s fair to say that Runta created the Tweety appearance for the brand that Tweety is in the bar.

Some people are known for their dance skills, others their social skills. Tweety uses Runta’s fashions as armor or invitation. Runta used Tweety as a living model too, and really took off after a Halloween where the girls went as pin ups. Of course, Tweety and the others stole the show, but Runta held her own, even grabbing a little bit of a confident spotlight with the drummer.

At least that went much better than the time a flustered Runta spilled some tidbits to Tweety’s crush. In her defense, men of few words are so hard to read and can make anyone nervous.

But, for Runta, fashion and friendship is everything.

Fergie – Labels or Love

This next one doesn’t start out as one of the Triple Troubles, renamed Triple Threat when she does become included. Bebe starts off as a quiet bouncer, and you see her save Tweety, even if you don’t know it’s her. It takes some time, and one especially shocking event around a stuffed animal, before Bebe truly becomes herself.

And Bebe is the most unpredictable of them all.

If Tweety is the goody two shoes, Bebe is full of wicked pranks and ideas. The kind of gal that the best birthday present her friends find is a mechanical bull. The kind of gal that doesn’t know personal boundaries, and occasionally pants people. Often times taking a sharpie to number the person as well, keeping an order to her list of pranks. Bebe and Nira together make a weirdly complimentary couple, and they both like to tease Tweety mercilessly.

The first time they embarrassed Tweety was when they were behind the bar, and Bebe started flinging clothes. The reaction Tweety gave, with just enough of that edge of Tweety’s patience limits? That became the new side game for Bebe. Teasing Tweety until the woman blushed. It was even more rewarding if Tweety was with her fella and Bebe could embarrass or encourage them both at the same time. Especially if Bebe didn’t have to do much more than make some noises.

P!nk – Trouble

But, if the teasing each other wasn’t bad enough, the Triple Threat is worse. Those are those kinds of party nights you can’t remember and can’t forget either. Trying to share the story without actually being there is impossible because no one would believe you without seeing it.

If 80% of the time Tweety and Malta temper Bebe down, those occasions where one or both let go and take on Bebe’s energy? Those are the kind of nights where Tweety hopes that the least of the charges would be indecent exposure. But when Bebe is into frosting and hand cuffs, Malta feels inclined to flirt and out drink the lads on her side of the room, and Tweety gets in a mood to be less than proper?

Pretty sure that’s how birthday body shots started as a tradition for the dual birthday of Bebe and Tweety…

As a group, these four women have accomplished a lot. A clothing empire. A bar business that helps the community. Being memorable for good and bad reasons. They are great friends, and balance each other out. The female friendships are just as much core of the Red Letters series as the love stories are.

Slice of life to me means real life, relatable people, slightly extreme situations that aren’t impossible. You are going to have characters you gravitate towards, who become your favorite the longer you read. Overall, these ladies wouldn’t be half as noteworthy if it wasn’t for the way they inspire and support each other. So, for the final song of the post, I chose a version of a group song for them.

Fifth Harmony – Me & My Girls

One could say I have been inspired, not only by the strong women I wrote, but my own history. In an effort to be more like the women I write about, I hope to have a few more updates on this site before the next Music Monday teasing our April fools sorts. If I manage to pull everything off, it won’t just be a soft relaunch of my return on this site, but a return to the social media ways I had prior to my great shutdown that took way too many years to crawl out of.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, that last song may have made Malta remind Tweety about a mentioned sleepover that didn’t happen the way Tweety said, and there might be more legends to write or rewrite…