Monday, April 21, 2014

Creating Villains - A Guest Post and Book Release From Nicole Zoltack!

Today is release day for Nicole Zoltack and White Hellebore! She's stopping by really quick for a guest post on Creating Villains.

I find villains to be more intriguing characters than heroes, if the villain is created properly. So how does one make a villain everyone loves?

First, villains should not be just evil, just like heroes shouldn't be only good. Real life comes in shades of gray, so should villains.

Second, villains need to have backstory, too. They are villains for a reason. Remember, villains think they are the heroes in their stories. Make us understand where they are coming from, even if we don't agree with their methods.

Third, villains should be memorable. They're more than killing machines with witty one-liners. They have a mission, a quest, a goal. They may be single-minded, but we need to understand their inner workings to be truly terrified by them.

What villain is your favorite and why?



After destroying Skull Krusher, Nicholas Adams thinks Falledge is safe and becomes a security guard at the museum, watching a valuable statue. Unfortunately, the Egyptian statue houses the soul of a scorned witch, biding her time to have her revenge on the descendants of her cheating lover.

Kiya the witch isn't the only new foe in town as the drug that created Skull Krusher has now transformed a scientist into yet another monster, forcing Nicholas to don his Black Hellebore mask again and save Falledge.

Nicholas has no help this time as Kiya gains possession of his love Julianna's body and brings the soul of Justina, Nicholas's high school sweetheart and Julianna's twin, with her. Despite himself, Nicholas is torn between the sisters. If he can't stop the fiends from taking over the world and destroying humankind, he'd never be able to find lasting, true love.


Find it on Amazon.



Nicole Zoltack loves to write in many genres, especially romance, whether fantasy, paranormal, or regency. When she’s not writing about knights, superheroes, or zombies, she loves to spend time with her loving husband and three energetic young boys. She enjoys riding horses (pretending they’re unicorns, of course!) and going to the PA Renaissance Faire, dressed in garb. She’ll also read anything she can get her hands on. Her current favorite TV show is The Walking Dead. To learn more about Nicole and her writing, visit http://NicoleZoltack.blogspot.com.


Thanks for stopping by, Nicole, and good luck with White Hellebore's release!

11 comments:

randi lee said...

I agree--the bad guys *should* be memorable! New follower here from IWSG :)

Karen Lange said...

Congrats to Nicole! I like this breakdown on villains. I agree too, they do need to be memorable. Thanks to both of you for sharing the post!

A Beer for the Shower said...

Agreed on all points, especially that they can't just be pure evil. There's nothing I hate more than the Snidely Whiplash-type villain who's absolutely evil for no discernible reason and wants nothing more than to destroy the world and murder everyone in it... just because.

cleemckenzie said...

Here's to a great launch. And I love villains. None better than the Devil in Faust. And he sings good, too.

Crystal Collier said...

I completely agree. Villains should be complex and even lovable on a level. I love Damon's character on the Vampire Diaries, but my favorite villain is Bellezza. (Yes, she's from my own stories.) *shrugs* So I'm a little biased. It's natural, right?

Susan Kane said...

My husband is the zombie lover. Me? I am more a vampire person, like Angel or Spike, from "Buffy".

SpacerGuy said...

Fascinating pointers on Villains!

Nicole Zoltack said...

Thanks for having me!

Yep, Randi!

Thanks, Karen! :)

Yes, there has to be a reason for the evil they do.

Thanks, Lee!

Completely natural, Crystal! I'm always so tempted to say Black Hellebore when asked my favorite hero. And I love Damon!

Susan, I like both zombies and vampires. :)

Thanks, Spacer Guy!

Nicole Zoltack said...

Thanks for having me!

Yep, Randi!

Thanks, Karen! :)

Yes, there has to be a reason for the evil they do.

Thanks, Lee!

Completely natural, Crystal! I'm always so tempted to say Black Hellebore when asked my favorite hero. And I love Damon!

Susan, I like both zombies and vampires. :)

Thanks, Spacer Guy!

cleemckenzie said...

Nicole has made the internet hot! Congrats again to her.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Randi, I agree, too. Glad to have you here!

Karen, it was a great breakdown, wasn't it?

B&B, that definitely makes for a dull villain.

Lee, I have yet to see anything other than the bits they put in Tombstone.

Crystal, you should love your villain! Or at least I think so. And yes, I love the villains like Damon.

Susan, I'm not big on zombies, either. Though I've read some good ones lately.

Spacer, thanks for coming by!

Lee, oh good, was she everywhere?