Published: March 27th, 2014
Description:
What are Nora and Tomik to do? They’ve been transported 400 years back in history, and have no clue how to get back home. The members of the Royal Court refuse to let them leave – everyone believes that the children are wizards, come to save their struggling empire.
Well, not quite everyone. The wicked chamberlain wants to toss the children into the castle’s deepest dungeon. The crazed, witch-hunting duke is starting to look at them funny. But worst of all is the emperor’s prized alchemist. He just wants them dead – and has a bag full of sinister tricks to make it happen.
It looks like the only way out of this predicament is to save the empire, after all. But how? Nora will have to come up with some magic of her own, and fast – for his next trick, the scheming alchemist is planning to make the children disappear… forever!
GUEST POST
Nothing’s More Fun Than Writing Villains!
Let’s face it; few things are better than a good villain. Readers need someone to hate, to fear, but at the same time to admire – someone to create conflict.[1] For the writer, the villain is an even better prize: first, you craft a character with deliciously wicked qualities; then, you build him or her up until he seems invincible, teetering on the brink of victory; and finally, BOOM! You get to decide what kind of an ending the rascal deserves, and slap him in the face with it (or reward him with it, as the case may be).
One of the main reasons why Secrets of the Alchemist was fun to write was that it has not just one, but two delectably devious villains. Each is unique in his own way, yet each equally villainous. Creating them and chronicling their evil schemes was a lot of fun.
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According to Wikipedia,
this is what
a villain looks like
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The Chamberlain: Philip Lang prefers to work behind the scenes. What he suggests to the emperor before breakfast usually becomes the law of the land. Although Lang seldom takes the lead, his invisible hand is unavoidable as he manipulates the members of the Royal Court to get him what he wants – most of all, money!
Of course, every villain has his or her own personality. Here are a few of the common themes that I’ve noticed make good villains fun:
1. We all need someone to hate: The villain must spark some negative emotion in the reader. He doesn’t have to strangle a kitten on the first page (although it can’t hurt!), but the villain must generally strive for goals that we find objectionable.
He is also generally unscrupulous. There’s no time to waste on morality in pursuing his goals. Not to harp on the kitten analogy, but if there’s one in the villain’s way, it’s probably going to get it! These two attributes alone may be what distinguishes the villain from the hero, because...
2. The villain must be in some way admirable, possibly even likeable: Just because the villain sparks negative emotion doesn’t mean that she cannot also spark positive feelings. In order to be an effective counterpart to the hero, the villain must at the very least be capable, cunning and determined. As both a reader and a writer, I often find myself rooting for the villain at times. It’s not until the villain has really shown her powers that one can see how daunting it will be to defeat her.
3. The villain must show humanity: Maybe not in a comic book, but in general we need to see some of the villain’s weaknesses, some humanity to make him a realistic character. There may be a sad underlying reason why he has chosen his repulsive goals and methods. We might even find ourselves sympathizing with him a bit… just not too much!
4. The villain’s triumphs build suspense: During the course of the novel, the villain must employ his powers to successfully achieve several objectives on the way to reaching his ultimate goal. This builds up conflict and suspense. At some point in the book, things need to be looking very dire for our hero. That, perhaps, is the point at which we stop rooting for the villain.
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| This is what a REAL villain looks like! |
With all of the above having been said, it’s hard to believe just how many different types of villains there are out there. I guess it’s a testament to the ingenuity of all of us writers that we keep coming up with new stuff!
My favorite villain of all time? Hands down – Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. She’s got the complete package, in an incredibly understated but horrifying way! Who’s your favorite villain?
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[1] I should note here that I am referring to novels where the villain is known. The commentary here does not apply to mystery or suspense stories, where the villain may not be known until the end. In such cases, the build-up of villainous characteristics is quite different, remaining veiled in mystery.
It was at an early age that J.L. Burger discovered the secret to traveling in time. Since then, he has scoured the universe, searching for the deepest mystical knowledge, sowing discord and trouble along the way. He was most recently sighted in ancient Troy, making tasteless jokes about the hole through which the Greeks exited the rear of the Trojan Horse. His most horrific stunt of all, however, was grossly overcooking s’mores in his microwave last summer. Unfortunately, there are some mysteries that are not meant to be solved…
When not traveling in time and space, he resides in New Jersey with his lovely wife, two mostly-charming daughters, and two mostly-smelly dogs. He spends his summers in Europe, inspecting the most recent advances in medieval torture devices.
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