They are the characters everyone usually hates in a book.

I often use them as a catalyst for the conflict. They are my seedy characters and tend to make your skin crawl (or at least I think and hope so).

In The Surrender of a Lady, my villain is actually an all around nice kind of guy. Yes, he has a harem full of slaves, and he keeps his pretty birds leashed inside their palace prison, but he cares for them in his own way. Still, he is a villain.

Before I went into my rewrite for The Seduction of his Wife (actually long before that), I knew I needed to feature my villain more than I previously had. I was avoiding writing more scenes with him. I dreaded thinking about him. Gooseflesh prickles on my arms whenever I conjure him up in my head (probably because I know him better than everyone else).

When writing, I like to get right into my characters head and portray them as I see them through their eyes (hey, I’m a writer, I’m allowed to be strange). I did NOT want to do this with Waverly. Pardon my French but, he scared the shit out of me.

You want to know why? Simple answer really. He was crazy! His mind so far gone from his abuse of drugs that he’s stark raving mad. Crazy as a cat strung out on a bag full of catnip. The devil in sheepskin is Waverly to a tee.

One of my crit partners suggested I do some scenes from his point-of-view when I was stuck on how to up the ante in the conflict department. I was quick to scream… ARE YOU CRAZY? Waverly is a lunatic, I am NOT going into his head. He scares me. I know he’s not real, but when you are writing a book the characters kind of come to life. Hell, I dream about my characters! I couldn’t imagine dreaming about Waverly. I get the shivers just thinking about him.

I don't know how some writers go into the bad guys point of view. I envy them their ability (on second thought, maybe not). There was no way I could tell a scene from Waverly's POV. I liked keeping him out of my head. I like to think it was safer and easier to stay sane that way.

For writers and readers--what are some of the creepiest villains you've read in romance? What made them creepy? For the other writers out there--how do you deal with villains in your writing? Do you dive right into their head? See them from a safe distance (in another character's pov), or avoid them altogether?

CONGRATS TO THE WINNER!

Please send your info HERE

jedisakora


The winner was generated by random.org

I consider myself a prepared pantser. I don't outline, I don't make note cards, and I don't generally have much of a clue as to where my story will go. But I do know my characters and where their romance takes place. If those two elements are strong in my mind, then inspiration surely follows.

For example, in writing SCOUNDREL'S KISS, I knew only two things going in: the heroine would be an opium addict and the hero would be a warrior monk. Their main conflict revolved around Gavriel's promise to get her well. She was lost, yes, but also playful and very clever. He was in charge, but his low self-esteem is buried within the body of a trained killer.

I love seeing how two people fit together and meet one another's needs. That, to me, is inspiration. Playing with the possibilities could send me into happy smiles all day. Once I carve out those unique dove tails, the plot can be whatever I want. My brain goes into overload and, well, weird stuff falls out.

This is the moment when I grab the nearest pen or keyboard. I brainstorm. Every. Possible. Idea. And oh my, some of them are utter crap. I imagined Ada dressing up as a dancing girl from a harem to rescue a secondary character. I thought of burning half of the Spanish countryside in a drought-fueled fire. I even pictured a genuine love triangle.

But in between ideas that never came to pass, I found a few gems: a runaway girl, a villainous monk, a chess match, a daring love scene by a river, a wedding night in prison, and trial by combat. All of those came to pass, and they're why I'm never scared of writer's block. If I get stuck, I simply consult my Big List of Possibilities. There awaits all of the ideas that sparked my imagination when I was first became enamored of an idea.

Looking over them again charges me up. Oh, I think, that's why I wanted to write this hideous, dull, good-for-nothing story! Believe me, long about page 100 or 200 or 300—whenever it is that I get bogged down—any little jolt of excitement, even something as simple as remembering when it was once fresh and beautiful, is just the thing to get me going again. And in the case of SCOUNDREL'S KISS, a book I adore, the results were well worth the struggle!

(Note: If this method doesn't get me going, then my "being stuck" is just fear and procrastination, in which case it doesn't do a damn bit of good. That's when I have a mocha and take a few hours off!)

Commenters will be entered into a draw for a copy of Carrie Lofty's Scoundrel's Kiss.

CONGRATS TO THE WINNERS!

Please send your info HERE

RKCharron

And

Armenia


Winners were generated by random.org

I don’t believe in love at first sight. I do believe in lust at first sight. I do believe that people will do many silly, insipid, romantic, and crazy things for the latter. And I do believe that people will lay their heart and sometimes lives on the line for the former.

This is all a very roundabout way to explain my love of the ‘in love with my brother’s best friend ‘or ‘in love with my sister’s best friend’ plotline. My characters are not meeting for the first time and experiencing these overwhelming feelings for each other. Yes, I believe lust is a very strong emotion, and that some of us confuse, at the beginning, lust for love. But a good romance for me has to convince me that the feelings the characters feel are REAL not some imitation of the real thing.

Being infatuated with your brother’s handsome and charming best friend is almost inevitable for any young girl. He’s older. He’s usually very kind to you. He may come by your house frequently. You get a glimpse into his life that you don’t with your own male counterparts. Did I mention he’s gorgeous? J The thing about this plotline is that a reader can easily see it happening to them and that what entices them every time even if they’ve read it time and time before, as each author will apply their own fresh twist on this very tried and true storyline.

So the story starts with a familiarity between the characters, and the change of feelings from infatuation to full-blown love has either already occurred or will occur right before your eyes. And it seems natural. The things the hero or heroine will do for the want and love of the other doesn’t appear as far-fetched as if they’d met the week or even month before. Years have passed and still their feelings persist. Lust alone doesn’t last that long. It can disappear as quickly as it begins. So if the hero or heroine’s feelings were based on lust, those feelings wouldn’t have endured the passing of time. And in romance novels, as we know, love endures.

And then of course there is the forbidden aspect of that relationship, which makes conflict inevitable. Brothers don’t usually think any of their friends are good enough for their sisters. These are men who hang out together, get rowdy together, drink together, and talk women together. Good gracious no, not the likes of you for my saintly sister! Who doesn’t love a good conflict with so much at stake, (long held friendships, family relationships, honor) and your best friend impeding the progress of a relationship with the woman you want so badly? As a reader, this set-up has always worked for me, and as a writer it was the plotline that called out to me to tackle first. And I’m so glad it did because that in essence is my debut, SINFUL SURRENDER.

What about you, what is your favourite plotline? The one that will ALWAYS pique your interest?

All commenters will be entered into a draw for one of two copies of Beverley's book, SINFUL SURRENDER!