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.
Add
it on Goodreads! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21912639-white-hellebore
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:
I agree--the bad guys *should* be memorable! New follower here from IWSG :)
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!
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.
Here's to a great launch. And I love villains. None better than the Devil in Faust. And he sings good, too.
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?
My husband is the zombie lover. Me? I am more a vampire person, like Angel or Spike, from "Buffy".
Fascinating pointers on Villains!
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!
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 has made the internet hot! Congrats again to her.
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?
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