| I was in the middle of writing His Little Lapis when Maggie Ryan was in production with Rescuing Ruby Red, the second book in The Red Petticoat Series. I'd read her first book, but I wanted to push on and finish my book before I read her second one. As it turned out, that was a mistake!
When I turned my book in, Maggie wrote to say, "Uh oh." It seemed great minds think alike. She and I had a very similar trope/scene in each of our books! Both of us had a disgruntled customer kidnap our heroines and carry them off, hanging ignominiously face down over a horse, to a cave!
Of course, since Maggie's book was already in production, it was my job to re-write. At first I sulked a bit over having to change a scene I liked, but as I reached deeper, I realized I was making the book better. I think in the end, my villain came out more believable than the first way I'd written him. I softened Ernie Friedrichson. (SPOILER ALERT) Instead of mean and rapey, I made him more of an opportunist--finding Louise knocked out on the side of the road and carrying her back to his shack in all delusional hopefulness that she'd stay as his wife. While perhaps not as gut-clenching, I think it made for a more realistic story line.
It made me think about the "bad guy" in general. Ideally, I think the villain should be sympathetic, too. We should understand their motivation. Think of Loki, Thor's brother. He is definitely an attractive villain--one you can understand, one you wish would see the light. I hope someday I can write villains (and heroes) that well.
Side note: As someone who writes about domination, the line with the bad guy sometimes gets blurry. Should I be turned on by his misogyny? Certainly not, but...oh yeah, I am. :)
How about you-- any villains who have turned you on? Or villains you love to hate? Hit reply and let me know...
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