Sonja Blue's DNA: Part 1

One question I've gotten a lot in the 23 years since Sunglasses After Dark was first published is "where did you get the idea for Sonja Blue?" Like all things, she evolved over time. She was essentially born from my dissatisfaction with the role models provided to me as a young girl. There were precious few smart, witty, competent, kick-ass  strong women on the pop culture scene in the 1960s. With the very obvious exception of Diana Rigg's Mrs. Emma Peel, on the British spy-adventure show THE AVENGERS.