In the midst of a multi-author blog hop:
#ShiningLightOnOurLadies
where I highlighted my leading lady
Nefret, from Khamsin, The Devil Wind of The Nile,
I started thinking about some of the Bad
Boys in my novels.
What fascinates us so about them? What makes us even
root for them? More often than not, they aren’t the main protagonist but his
nemesis.
It keeps happening to me. These sideliners weasel
themselves into the action when I simply needed someone for a scene. Then,
later on—holla!--there they are again, sprouting up like a weed.
Of course, Ebu
al-Saqqara, the vile vizier in Khamsin
is – well, vile without redemption. I didn’t like him one bit.
However, I did take to
Saad, King Aha’s royal steward (see him, on the left, all humble and servile) until
he turned on me and my sweet girl, the Princess Nefret.
I was so mad I wanted to kill him. Oh, yeah…
I was so mad I wanted to kill him. Oh, yeah…
Five-thousand years later, there is the ubiquitous
Edward, the dapper conman—destined
for a mere dalliance with Naunet in Sirocco, Storm over Land and Sea.Suddenly, he turns kidnapper and an accomplice to murder. Still, I couldn't quite bring myself to killing him off, so he remains my leading lady’s nemesis throughout the series.
He was one charming devil. While I don’t like him any longer, his ability to “go with the flow” still astounds me.
-- A small history of him in Edward,
Con Extraordinaire, is free for the next five days; just saying … http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009BQZ1JY
And then, there is Vergil, Jonathan’s seemingly dimwitted guard on the M/S Bucanero in
After the Cataclysm.
After the Cataclysm.
To my surprise (!),
Vergil turns out to be a wily modern-day pirate who’s also rather handy with a handheld rocket launcher in
The Crystal Curse.
I wonder what mischief he’ll be up to in Book 5?
Take a guess...
The subject of Bad Boys begs the question (perhaps evoking long-buried memories?): Why are real women drawn to them?
Nope, not going there...
Nope, not going there...
