HUNGER GAMES Franchise Continues to Showcase Strong Female Character

Next week will see the release of the third installment of the Hunger Games movies, which feature strong female protagonist Katniss Everdeen leading the fight against a corrupt government. R.L. Akers feels that casting an empowered young woman as the lead character opens up a number of great opportunities from a storytelling perspective. "Right or wrong, our society has traditionally been patriarchal, and as a result, it's easy to fit a female protagonist into an underdog role-and audiences love underdogs."

R.L. Akers' new novel Prometheus Rebound tells of an alien threat that results in the creation of a new branch of U.S. military: the Orbital Defense Corps. Leading the fight-and this new branch of military-will be Kara Dunn, a young woman with no idea of the destiny she alone can fulfill. Akers shares that he had a great deal of fun writing Kara Dunn, because "she's a strong person who nevertheless deals with insecurity and doubt, all while making her way in a male-dominated arena. To the people around her, she truly is a staunch individual-but as the reader, you have the benefit of seeing inside her mind and identifying with all of the hopes and fears that she never shows to anyone else."

In Prometheus Rebound, R.L. Akers introduces a diverse cast of characters who band together from all walks of life to face the alien threat. Blending military thriller and science fiction (with an emphasis on the science), Akers produces a tale that is truly epic in scope. When the threat from outer space becomes known, the U.S. government is caught unprepared, and the military must adapt to an entirely new variety of warfare in just a few short months. Pilots and soldiers must be recruited, trained, and deployed to defensive installations in orbit above North America, and technology must take a giant leap forward as a new branch of U.S. military comes into being.

R.L. Akers has created an immersive story which takes place in our very own real world - alien crash landings in the shadows of rural England, secretive meetings in the bowels of Area 51's Groom Lake installation, clandestine spacecraft launches from undisclosed mobile facilities in the middle of the ocean, and vast space battles waged in orbit above. Prometheus Rebound and its sequel Prometheus Revealed comprise a single well-researched and believable story about humanity's real-world response to the threat of alien invasion - and readers can enhance their enjoyment of this story with Hollywood-style cinematic trailers, press kits, an interactive Orbital Defense Corps website, and even an ODC hotline.

Talk to R.L. Akers about:

His inspiration behind Prometheus Rebound and his decision to cast a female protagonist.
The opportunities that strong female leads create from a storytelling perspective.
His interest in seeing diversity in protagonists-not just in young adult fiction, but in adult fiction as well.

The importance of portraying the humanity in a story's protagonist, no matter the character's gender (as opposed to what audiences often see in one-dimensional male action heroes).

About the Author: Prometheus Rebound is R.L. Akers' first published novel. He is a software developer and author from Florida who fled hurricanes and humidity to reside in almost-heaven West Virginia. He earned his undergraduate degree in computer science and his master's in business administration.

BOOK: www.amazon.com/Prometheus-Rebound/dp/1492701432/
WEBSITE: www.rlakers.com
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/r.l.akers.storyteller