Wednesday, February 24, 2016

REPEATING MY LOVE FOR THE VILLAIN by Brenda Whiteside


It's been one of those weeks. If you're an author and a blogger that means you really got caught up in the personal drama of life and got no writing accomplished. This is my normal day to post on The Roses and as I'm heading out the door for some doctor appointments, I remembered. If you haven't read this post before, then yay, it's new for you. If you have, I'm sorry. This post was previously posted on my blog Discover Yourself.

Everyone loves a hero! He's willing to put himself in the line of danger; he'll do anything to keep his lady safe and always knows the perfect thing to say.

But let’s not overlook the villain. Personally, I love the bad guy…or woman. Without the villain, the hero doesn’t look nearly as good. Without the villain, you wouldn’t have someone to hate and route against.

The reason I love villains is because they’re so much fun to write. They can be ugly or gorgeous, short or tall, male or female, educated or ignorant, young or old. I’ve used just about all the varieties.

In my first contemporary romance,
Sleeping with the Lights On, I had a villain. This book couldn’t technically be called romantic suspense…there was just too much humor. The redheaded, voluptuous, Amazon of a woman made a great villain. She stalked and threatened poor Sandra to distraction. The reader really isn’t sure of what wickedness she is capable. This villain has very few words and intimidates with actions. There’s a real surprise ending in Sleeping with the Lights On, so enough said.

My romantic suspense Love and Murder Series, is rich with an assortment of villains. Book one in the series has a host of nasty characters; money grubbing step aunt, idiot
Book One
step cousin, jealous woman, deceitful historical museum curator, and the elderly but handsome and wicked professor. One of these characters is the truly evil villain…love does drive some people to craziness.

Book Two
Book two in the Love and Murder Series, Southwest of Love and Murder, has a villain that is both stupid and cunning at the same time. You won’t wonder for long who the villain is, but you will be biting nails on who he’s offing next. I will say, he uses colorful language and his bizarre thought process is intriguing. Love gone crazy in a wicked way.

A Legacy of Love and Murder, book three, will release worldwide on March 30,
Book Three
2016. I think I’ve upped the ante on villainous antics with these badies. I certainly do not want to give away the villain right now. As with most of my books, because they’re suspense not mystery, you won’t be hung up too long on who the villain is. But let’s keep the secret until you read. I will shoot out a couple of words: sexy, neo-Nazi, and pure wickedness.

Ah, villains…you gotta love them!

Find all of Brenda's books and her villains here: Brenda's Amazon Page

10 comments:

Margo Hoornstra said...

Villains are sometimes the most fun to write. I had an anti hero in my first series for The Wild Rose Press. Definitely a man my hero and heroine loved to hate.

Jannine Gallant said...

I love writing villains. And writing in their POV adds a deeper dimension that can be really creepy. But I generally try to keep just who the bad guy is a secret until the end. Not always easy since you have to keep a group of potentials in play throughout the book. Sounds like you've written some real gems, Brenda!

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

First things first...I hope the doctor's appointment went well. This is our week for doctor visits, too. They're so time consuming. I enjoy a well-written villain. I can't always do it. Mine are simply whackos.

Rolynn Anderson said...

Hope your visit to the Doc went well, Brenda. Good points about villains. In the novel I'm writing now, I'm trying to keep the guy hazy so even I am surprised about what kind of a fellow he is. I do love being a pantser, because I (like the reader) don't see 'it' coming :-)"

Brenda Whiteside said...

Doc visits went okay. Keeping the villain hidden is hard, I assume. Although I haven't actually tried that. I get a kick out of being in the bad guys head. Thanks, all!

Leah St. James said...

I love villains--reading and writing them. Fun post, Brenda! Glad your visits with the doc went okay.

Diane Burton said...

Villains can be scary or appealing. I like the ones who get their come-uppance. Glad the doctor visit went okay.

Brenda Whiteside said...

Thanks, Leah and Diane.

Andre Michael Pietroschek said...

I think that instead of some more shameless self-advertising disguised as comment I'll focus on the quintessential:

What really counts is that YOU have found the way which works for you! Congratulations.

Among my personal wisdom is the conviction that saints and monsters, both, are too far-gone from normalcy to allow normal people to cope with. We all can at least imagine heroic moments or a villainous streak. But most of us would suffer and die from attempting to live-up to such 24/7...

Brenda Whiteside said...

Thanks for weighing in, Andre. I hadn't thought about the scope of true saints and monsters. So different but so removed from normal. You have a point!