What is it about the appeal of Bad
Boys? A strange thing happened while
writing Rowena and the Dark Lord… I appear to have fallen for my
villain.
Yes, Thane is the hero, and Rowena is
smitten with him. But
her literary creator has become more and more enamoured with bad boy Cedric –
the villain of the piece. Cedric is
determined to have Rowena to himself, and he will stop at nothing to get her,
including selling his soul to Lucifer.
Cedric messes with the black arts.
Cedric can mess with me anytime.
How the heck did this happen? I set out to write a funny and sexy
adventure, with good guys, bad guys and spunky heroines. Love that Rowena. She’s everything I would like to be. Clever,
beautiful, sexy… a bit daring, but with a strong moral compass. Thane is a terrific match for her; strong,
smart, loyal, handsome, and the King to boot.
Arch enemy of Cedric of course.
I wanted to make the story rich with
characters, so I worked hard to make my villain three-dimensional. He has thoughts, moods, desires just like
anyone else. And maybe even some good
traits. It’s hard not to be moved by a
guy who will risk his life for you. In
fact, it is Cedric - not the hero - who
rescues Rowena from a particularly nasty band of medieval brigands…
Something about that Cedric pulls me. He’s not as good-looking as Thane. He probably isn’t as smart. His morals are
questionable – maybe nonexistent. But he
is cunning. He is dynamic. He is never, ever boring.
Cedric is the typical bad boy.
What it is about men who don’t fit the
typical hero mode, but ‘bother’ us, somehow? That’s how Rowena puts it. “I didn’t like his looks – they bothered
me.” I’ll say they did. Rowena was rocked to the core! You see, I know that feeling. I’ve felt it myself…
Cedric has long red-gold hair. His eyes are green, and they have an eerie
glow when he uses magic. He’s tall, broad and thoroughly masculine, with bands
of muscles on his arms. And he draws her
like a moth to fire…
Exciting, that’s the word. The bad boys in our past made us feel like we
were alive. Living on the edge has its
attractions.
So Thane may be the ideal man for Rowena,
and for many women. But Cedric will
always be there, in the back of her mind, tempting…promising something that
will take her beyond the ordinary, something delicious, enticing…
Damn, that’s attractive. I can’t kill him off. In fact, he’s the star
of book 2, ROWENA AND THE DARK LORD.
Melodie Campbell has over 200 publications and
has been published in almost every genre.
She has won nine awards for fiction.
Buy Links:
Book
1, Rowena Through the Wall
Book
2, Rowena and the Dark Lord
http://www.amazon.com/Rowena-Dark-Lord-Lands-ebook/dp/B00CIZZS70
Perhaps the attraction of the "bad boy" is doing something naughty that feels so good. The outcome may not be favorable but the risk is certainly worthy it. :) Great post!!
ReplyDeleteAh Sheri...I think in Cedric, I put in every trait from every bad boy I ever dated So bad for me. And yet...
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting and sharing!
Yep, I think the appeal of a bad boy is the excitement. I personally love a good bad boys, lol. And Cedric is definitely a very good bad boy.
ReplyDeleteLaff! Brenda, you make me smile. An older man once told me that the key to mindblowing sex is the excitement that leads up to it. Maybe it's the risk...
ReplyDeleteOh wait. This is a family column. oops