Romancing the Villain!
A very strange thing happened while writing Rowena Through the Wall… I appear to have fallen for my villain.
Yes, Thane is the hero, and Rowena is smitten with him, as she should be. 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.
(Cedric and the gang will appear in the sequel, Rowena and the Dark Lord, out in 2013.)
ROWENA THROUGH THE WALL (No. 2 on Amazon.ca bestseller list- fantasy,futuristic)
Do you like comic time travel?
Meet Rowena Revel!
“Is that a broadsword on your belt, or are you just glad to see me?”
When Rowena falls through her classroom wall into a medieval world, she doesn’t count on being kidnapped – not once, but twice, dammit. Unwanted husbands keep piling up; not only that, she has eighteen-year-old Kendra to look out for, and a war to prevent. Good thing she can go back through the wall when she needs to…or can she?
“Hot and Hilarious!” Midwest Book Review
Warning: This book is not a sweet romance. It is a sexy, funny, rollicking adventure with a spunky heroine and the medieval men of her dreams!
Rowena Through the Wall (Imajin Books) is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.uk, and European Amazon sites.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Rowena-Through-the-Wall-ebook/dp/B00557Z2QU
Follow Melodie’s comic blog at
http://funnygirlmelodie.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html
View trailer and read opening scene at
http://www.melodiecampbell.com/
Melodie Campbell got her start as a comedy writer, so it’s no surprise that editors have called her work ‘wacky’ and ‘laugh out loud funny.’ She has over 200 publications, six awards, and was a finalist for the 2012 Derringer (US) and Arthur Ellis (Can) awards. Melodie is the Executive Director of Crime Writers of Canada. Her third novel, THE GODDAUGHTER, is a comic mob caper.
Short Excerpt from Rowena Through the Wall: Chapter 16
“How did you do that?” Kendra gasped.
“Do what?”
“I just saw you walk right through that wall!”
“Oh that….” I said, brushing myself off. “Look sweetie, not to change the subject, but I don’t have a whole lot of time-”
“And who is that?”
Kendra gaped at Logan, who stood at least a foot taller than her. He, in turn, gazed down at her as if he had just discovered the meaning of life, the universe and everything that might possibly be in it.
“Damn,” I mumbled. “Kendra – Logan, Logan – Kendra. Now that we’re all introduced, I really have to hustle.”
Kendra’s eyes widened. “Is he for real?”
“Yes, yes, he’s real,” I said, lowering my voice. “ Kendra, I have to whip home for my vet bag. It would be easier without him along. Can you keep him here? I’ll only be 20 minutes.”
“Sure, but how?” She could hardly take her eyes off him.
“I don’t know…flirt with him or something. But don’t let him leave this classroom. Got it?”
She gulped. “Okay.”
I ran to the desk and grabbed my car keys. Just as I reached the exit, I heard Kendra say, “So…is that a broadsword on your belt or are you just glad to see me?”
I dunno, Cedric sounds a lot like this guy Dave that I know. But seriously, I do get what you’re saying – I think it’s left over from the teen years when the guy in the leather jacket who drove a motorcycle was the coolest. I do believe I married one of those.
And Cathy, I have no doubt you kept up with him! Since then, of course, you’ve ‘traded up’ Thanks for commenting!
Thank you for stopping by, Catherine, and thank you for being a guest, Melodie!