Hello, everyone, and welcome to Un:Bound and Ravenous Wednesday! When I was younger (how much younger, you ask? None of your business, I answer), I had a thing for bad boys. My first real crush, one that sent off my hormones and imagination into areas in which I had no real experience (okay, we're talking about sex here) was Christopher Lee, a British actor well known for his portrayal of Dracula in several classic Hammer Horror films. The role, however, that first captured my thirteen year old imagination, was Rochefort, D'artagnan's nemesis in Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers, and its sequel The Four Musketeers. Not for me the young and impetuous D'artagnan or the suave Aramis. No, I liked the bad guy. When Star Wars was released (I'm talking the first release in theaters, rug rats), I fell heavily into the Han Solo camp. A lot of my friends liked Luke because he had the whole young surfer thing going for him, but I liked the anti-hero. The guy who (until the end of the movie) was in it for himself. Dashing, charming, borderline sociopath. While I've grown up a bit since then and found an appreciation for charming nice guys, I still see the draw of those bad boys. And it's on this topic that today's guest, Dawn Jackson, expounds. So please pull up a comfy perch, have a drink and welcome Dawn Jackson back to Un:Bound!
Hi, my name is D.L. Jackson. I'm an author, daydreamer and world-building fanatic. I'm thrilled to be here and I'm even more excited to talk about one of my favorite subjects.
The bad boys of fiction.
The bad boys of fiction come in all shapes and sizes. Some we love, some we love to hate, but all add that something extra to a story that keeps you turning the pages. Sometimes they’re the hero, sometimes an anti-hero or villain and when they're well developed, they can bring a novel to a whole different level.
Here are a few of my favorite bad boys from fiction.
We’ll start with Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars. Anakin was a slave who was freed, separated from his mother as a child and taken to another world to train to become a Jedi Knight. He later engages in a forbidden romance and secretly marries the love of his life. When he returns home, he learns his mother has been kidnapped by raiders and sets off to locate her. When he finds her, he’s too late to save her. Anakin destroys the village where she was being held hostage, killing every man, woman and child.
Even after he destroys them, he carries the guilt of his mother’s death instead of any regret for butchering the village and innocents caught in his path. He carries this guilt forward and it plays out later when he learns another he loves, Padme, will die in childbirth. He does everything he can to save her. He gives himself over to the dark powers of the force, turns his back on his friends, betrays the Jedi and murders young children in the Jedi temple. In the end, the power to save her costs him the one thing he couldn’t bear to lose, Padme Amidala.
Young Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal rising is a classic socio-path the reader should have zero sympathy for. However, the way Thomas Harris writes Hannibal is brilliant and I found myself relating to Hannibal on a deeply emotional level. He’s a villain. He’s evil and yet you can’t help but sympathize with his plight.
Harris takes the reader through the metamorphosis of a young innocent to a monster. During the transition the reader can feel Hannibal's pain as he watches Nazi soldiers murder his mother and father and later murder and eat his baby sister. You see him as an orphan who is ostracized and as he grows into a troubled young man who moves in with his uncle and aunt. Later, when he finds those responsible for the deaths of his mother, father and sister, the reader understands the rage that drives him toward revenge.
Clyde Shelton. What can I say about Clyde? The recently released movie, Law Abiding Citizen, explores the dark side of a man who loses his family in a violent home invasion. Clyde is portrayed to be the victim, an innocent man caught up in a tragic situation, but that doesn't last for long.
When the law releases the man responsible for the deaths of Clyde Shelton’s wife and daughter by accepting a plea bargain, it triggers a chain of events that change our victim into an anti-hero. Clyde sets off on a mission not only to teach the men who killed his family a lesson, but to punish the legal system that failed him. We soon learn who Clyde is, how deep the darkness has seeped into his soul and how far a man will go for vengence. We see a once loving father and husband dismember a man while he’s alive, kill several people in car bombings and murder a judge with her own cell phone. We get a look inside the man who holds a city hostage with fear. Is he justified or wrong? Is any vigilante?
I could go on and on, but you get the picture. A well developed bad boy can make or break a story. They can be the hero, the villain or both. Regardless what role they play, they all have one thing in common. They have layers. So if you like bad-boys, hold on. I’ve got a bad boy for you.
Ian Saefa is an enforcer, a member of a corrupted legal system and a futuristic version of a bad cop. My goal when writing Slipping the Past, my urban fantasy erotic romance with Liquid Silver Books, was to give you a villain that was nearly as developed as the hero and heroine. Like the examples above, I wanted him to have layers. He doesn’t run around chuckling in a deep evil laugh, doing nefarious things just to do them. He has a method to his madness, a reason to be what he is.
That being said, I’ve included a few excerpts that feature Ian in his current incarnation and past lives. They peel back the layers and give you a deep glimpse into the mind of a serial killer and a man that so desperately loved a woman, he would kill for her, again and again.
Here you meet Ian in a past-life as Justinus in ancient Rome. Below is a view through the heroine's eyes.
Justinus eyed her from across the room. Handsome, powerful and wealthy, everything she should desire. He’d been a friend from childhood. They used to sneak out and ride together, play in the fields and they even learned about sex together. He’d been her first and at one time she thought herself in love with him. But lately he’d taken on a serious air, watching her with hunger, always questioning where she went and with whom.
“Where were you this night, Jocasta? I came by earlier.”
She shrugged and twisted a beaded bracelet on her wrist, a trinket Augustus purchased for her earlier. “Taking in the celebration.”
“Did you attend with someone?”
She glanced up and caught the look in his eyes. Fire. Lust. Her stomach fluttered. “Alone.”
“You shouldn’t go out unescorted. A beautiful woman could find herself in trouble. I might lose you to another lover.”
Jocasta laughed. “You tease me, Justinus. You’re not my lover.”
“I tease not. I’ve asked your father for permission to marry you. He has agreed that the arrangement would be quite satisfactory.”
“Marriage?” Jocasta’s heart thumped in her chest. She could do worse. She cared deeply for him, but regardless she could never love him, not like the Centurion with the amber eyes.
He rose from where he’d reclined and walked toward her. “I’ve loved you all my life.”
She tipped her head back and stared into his face. “You’re my closest friend and I love you as such, but not as intimately as you profess.”
“I hope it will become so much more.” He knelt before her, pulled a bundle wrapped in bright fabric from the folds of his military tunic and held out a jeweled collar. “I’ve had this brought this all the way from Egypt for you. I’ve heard Cleopatra wore something very similar. Here, take it, a small token of my affections.”
Jocasta glanced down at the beaded bracelet she wore and back at the lapis and gold collar. “It’s lovely.”
He reached forward. “Lift your hair.”
Jocasta shook her head. “I can’t take that. I’ve fallen in love with another.”
Justinus’s glared and a tick pulsed in his jaw. His black eyes looked darker, full of rage. “Who?”
“Does it matter?”
“Who?”
“His name is Augustus. He’s a Centurion.”
“Augustus?” Justinus’s eyes fell, a frown creased his face. Pain burned across his countenance.
“Justinus?” There was more there than he was saying. “Do you know him?”
“He’s my brother. Anyone but him. I can’t kill him, but I can’t let you go either. I could never let you go.”
Ouch. Jilted for his brother, but is that a reason to carry a grudge for centuries? In Ian's mind--it is. This sets into motion a series of events that put Jocelyn Miller in danger of losing her soul.
Let’s move forward several lifetimes to Ian’s final incarnation and again we find ourselves in Jocelyn Miller’s head. She's now homeless and on the run for past-life crimes. If she's caught she won't lose her life, she'll lose her soul.
Yeah, the source. There was no way anyone would believe her over Enforcer Saefa. He was the best of the best, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t crazy and he wasn’t wrong.
She’d heard stories of the reading of her warrant and of Ian’s visit to the hospital nursery from her mother. Saefa had been fourteen at the time and was considered a prodigy. They claimed he was one hundred percent accurate when reading and not once had he been proven wrong.
He’d walked from basinet to basinet, studying each child, listening as they cried. A man followed behind him, recording everything he’d said. He’d stop every now and then to nod at a baby. Murderer, rapist, drug addict, he listed crime after crime in a cold tone, unconcerned those he accused were but days old and helpless to defend themselves.
Most he passed without mention, but when he’d reached her, he’d stopped, stood in place and stared down for over twenty minutes. When he began to speak he’d looked at her mother and smiled. “Murderess.”
You learn several things here. For one, the past hasn’t been kind to Ian and he’s got it in for Jocelyn. Not only that, he’s got power. Scary power. What you don't see in the excerpt--he’s a reader, a genetically enhanced psychic referred to as a reaper for his ability to take souls, but more than that, Ian has a special gift he might be using to frame Jocelyn. Did he fake the warrant or did she commit the crimes? Is it Karma?
One last scene, twenty six years later. Here we have Jocelyn caught out alone at night and who of all people do you think she bumps into on a dark street?
The barking dog began to howl, long and painful cries. Jocelyn stopped and tipped her head to listen. Animals were sensitive to energies. Even someone not attuned to the sound would know something wasn’t right. A charge raced across her skin and she turned to peer into the darkness. A streetlight overhead began to buzz and pop. The light flickered and shadows danced across the sidewalk at her feet.
“Hello?” Jocelyn let go of her jacket. Her gaze swept the empty street. The darkness appeared empty. Something told her it wasn’t. Psychic senses or not, someone watched. She shifted her weight to the balls of her feet and braced. Two ways to flee, both into the dark. She could make a run for the room, but something told her she wouldn’t make it. That something had the hair on the back of her neck standing on end and that hadn’t happened since she’d last blacked out.
Reaper.
“Who’s out there?” Either she was sensing energy, or she was spooked by the howling dog. Since it took a lot to scare her, Jocelyn bet on the other.
“Jocelyn Miller.” The voice. Deep, familiar and not Gabriel.
S*!#. That would be the other one. She took two steps back and a gust blasted her from behind, lifting her hair from her shoulders. She whipped around and stared into the dark. Ice pelted her face and stung her cheeks.
She couldn’t see their aura. When he took her energy, Gabriel rendered her vulnerable to the Enforcers. Gone was her ability to see and sense them coming, an ability she could really use right now.
“Identify yourself.”
Somebody tsked. “And I thought we had something going.”
“Who are you?”
“Don’t you recognize my aura?” A man slid out of the shadows and pulled a staff from behind his back. She knew the face and the brand that scarred the side of his cheek and neck. She didn’t need to see his aura. The wind caught his charcoal hair and whipped the loose strands around his face. He stood there smoking in his boots. Two words described him. Lethal and sex. He was far from ugly, but if a girl played with him, she’d end up dead.
Jocelyn instinctively took a step back. Cloaked head to toe in black, Ian represented evil to its fullest potential, and could make the devil rejoice. “Psycho reaper.”
“Hello, love.” Ian stepped closer and spun his staff. No sparks like before, but she knew they were there. Every time she’d ever seen him, he was awash in angry red. “You’ve been a bad, bad girl, Ms. Miller.”
Um, so he's not a toad. Ian is charming, attractive and dangerous. A lethal combination and a bad boy with lots of layers.
So there you have it, a glimpse at the villain and the bad-boy of Slipping the Past. For more Ian Saefa, Enforcers and reapers, check out my novel, Slipping the Past, available at Liquid Silver Books. http://liquidsilverbooks.com. For a chance to win a copy, leave a comment on this post and I’ll draw the lucky winners name on***date*** and announce the winner.
A big thanks goes out to Dana for her hospitality and allowing me to ramble on her site. Thanks to all who stopped by to visit and I hope I can blog again with you in the future.
Best,
D.L. Jackson
Visit Dawn's Blog, Take it to the Stars
42 comments:
Welcome, everyone! The bar is open so please put in your orders and enjoy RR Wednesday!
Does this fall into the "chicks dig scars" catgory? ;)
Great article Dawn.
Dana - for some reason late nights are leaving me feeling hungover even if I don't drink so i'm sticking with water for a bit.
Hi, great idea to promote. I loved it. My favorite bad boys are Indiana Jones and Jack T. Colton from Romancing the Stone which was a great movie written according to the rules od The Writers Journey, a way of writing I try to adhere to and promote.
Janet
The Secret, the Shifter and Sex Slaves Shangai and Once Upon a Threesome
Do chicks want to be the ones who are able to tame the beasts? Or is it that girls just wanna have fun? Or are bad boys just hot, simple as that?
I believe the bad boys with whom we most sympathize are those (Han Solo, Indy Jones, even Clyde Shelton) are those still able to feel genuine emotion--even if it's expressed in extreme violence. You'll notice that both Indy and Han are also capable of empathy, which eventually turns their personalities around. Clyde may have lost this ability but he is still somewhat better than those who never had it to begin with.
Without empathy we have personalities such as Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich (who is described as possessing the "eyes of a cold fish"), or Rudolf Hoess, commandant of Auschwitz.
These guys are not merely unlikeable but actually repellant, for good reason. Unable to empathize with anyone, they are capable of killing people as if they were nothing but vermin.
I'll even champion Clyde over one of these unmentionables.
Hi Dana and Adele! Great to see you both again. I'll take an Irish coffee this morning please. LOL
Great post Dawn. You've given all of us much to think about.
You make good points, Dawn. I have to agree with Jack, though: Without that empathy there's only evil. A bad boy DOES possess that empathy, that ability to see beyond and resce the girl, save the day, reform to a degree.
It's really cold here this morning, so I'll just take tea and scones if you don't mind. Knowing how my days usually end up, I'll be needing a G&T sooner rather than later.
Wow, what a great conversation going so early in the day!
Irish Coffee for Jack, the finest crystal clear water from a mountaintop Austrian stream for Adele, and tea and scones for Isabel!
Janet, welcome to RR Wednesday! And Jack T. Colton is one of my absolute favorites... That movie makes me cry every single time, in the best possible way .
I absolutely agree that the ability to empathize, even if suppressed, is what makes a bad boy work for me. Rochefort... not sure how much empathy to ascribe to him, but damn, the man could swordfight.
If you recall the character in the original book, de Rochefort fights with D'Artagnan three more times, at last remarking "I am more your friend than your enemy for at any of these last engagements, I could have killed you on the spot".
Not complete empathy perhaps, De Rochefort was always for himself, but something is there which makes him more likeable than, say, Milady de Winter.
Jack, so very true! I saw the movies before I read the books and was very happy to find out ROchefort lived in the the books. Of course, they brought him back in the Return of the Musketeers (an interesting failure, as Dave would say), but dang me if he wasn't all browbeaten by Kim Cattrell's character... Ugh, she annoyed me.
OK so I know i'm not the only one who loves Alan Rickman as Sheriff of Nottingham. Yummy because he's evil.
Adele, he is awfully adorable in that movie and one of the only bright and shining spots in it.
Mr. Rickman is great at whatever he does! Severus Snape gets my vote: he;s not only portrayed as a villain, he's a reformed Death Eater playing double agent at the behest of Albus Dumbledore. He possess empathy, though it's nearly supressed in Harry Potter's case (for very good reasons). He at least remembers how Voldemort's previous ascension wounded him so extremely that he has never completely healed.
He's definitely a bad boy rather than evil. And in the end, is as much an unsung hero as anyone could be.
Good point re: Snape. Although I wouldn't wanna date him. :-)
Yep anyone else as snape would simply have been revolting, Rickman is somehow awesome too.
Just to let everyone know, I have some very exciting news and i've set it to post at 6am GMT tomorrow, so it may still be Weds for some of you. Apologies in advance, but I will burst if I have to hold it in any longer than that. ;p
Alan Rickman...yum. He was the only bright spot in that pathetic excuse for Robin Hood. (Anyone see the new one?) Then again, he was one of the few good things about Harry Potter, too.
And Rochefort, yeah he was great. I'm really happy to know he lives, even if I didn't read the book. (Might want to now actually!)
All of which go to show that you either have to be a great actor to pull it off or (in writing) add that emotion, even the backstory, to show more than evil. Voldemort is evil, Snape is bad boy. (Harry's just a whiner)
Adele, no worries! Can't wait to hear your news (world domination?) and those who still want to play on RR Wednesday can scroll down to the post. I'll put up the permalink.
Isabel, Harry IS a bit of a whiner, isn't he? I haven't see the new Robin Hood yet. Not a Russell Crowe fan... but I do like the swashbuckling. Kevin Costner was great in the part when he kept his mouth shut and just did the horseback riding, sword fighting and other action stuff. He just should never have spoken...
Sometimes whiners can still get the job done. Case in point: Jack Williamson penned a trilogy centered around three "Space Musketeers" (Otherwise known as "The John Star Series).
One of the three, a corpulant veteran nemed Giles Habibula is a constant whiner. When all three wind up in an alien prison, Habibula constantly whines about how hungry he is, how short life is, and then goes on to pick the lock and free them all.
Do not mock the whiners, especially when they are thinking.
Sometimes whiners can still get the job done. Case in point: Jack Williamson penned a trilogy centered around three "Space Musketeers" (Otherwise known as "The John Star Series).
One of the three, a corpulant veteran nemed Giles Habibula is a constant whiner. When all three wind up in an alien prison, Habibula constantly whines about how hungry he is, how short life is, and then goes on to pick the lock and free them all.
Do not mock the whiners, especially when they are thinking.
I just hate listening to the whiners. Luke Skywalker whined. One of the reasons I liked the cute smuggler... :-)
I agree! Luke was much too whiny. The scoundral!
Must be why I was so attracted to Firefly - love me some Mal and especially a dose of Jayne.
And Sawyer on Lost. Wow. Those eyes could slice stone.
Great in fiction, but I wouldn't want to date one.
Ooh, Mal!! LOVE Firefly. Jayne is a hoot, but Mal is definitely more my type. And... well.. okay, Spike from BUFFY. M, may I pour you a drink?
I forgot there was a Ravenous day here. I try to check the blogs I follow but it's not as easy to juggle as those clowns make it look.
Dawn, you bring up excellent points about bad boys (yuumm). I'll agree with everyone about the differences betwee just plain evil and say Han Solo or Jack T Colton or even Clyde Shelton in the sexy (could also be the actors, hmmm) badness realm.
Spike definitely fits the bad boy image. And he also becomes the unexpected hero whose sacrifice saves the day at the eleventh hour. (And who can say he WON'T return; Buffy sure did!)
Hi, Kristabel! May I offer you a tasty beverage?
The actors definitely make a difference between the type of bad boy we daydream about and the type that we just want to avoid...
Jack, Spike actually did come back in ANGEL. Funniest muppet episode ever...
I'm going to be going to the dentist for what I HOPE is the final appointment to deal with the drama of the broken tooth and crown. So in the meantime, the bar is OPEN!
I love a good antihero. A well designed bad boy definitely can make a story. Great post, Dawn!
Since I'm still wiping the sleep from my eyes, I'll have a coffee ... maybe I'll take the next one corretto. ;-)
Ooh, Lisa, just in time before I leave! One steaming hot coffee (organic beans from Chiapas)!
All good luck to you with the dentist. I must leave too in just a bit: We're going to see Rossini's Armida (Met Live HD broadcast). Great singing and spectacular stagework.
Enjoyed playing along today. See you all in two weeks.
Hope to see you before that at the Den, Dana.
Adele, loved being with you as well. Got an underground Temple to investigate locally. Supposed to be haunted. (Heheheheheh!!!)
Until next time...
Thanks, Dana! Good luck at your dentist appointment!!!
Hi Dawn:
I'll be back later with more to say when I'm not at work!
-K
Firefly i'd be in love with Mal but i'd end up with Jayne, beer and bad manners, it's inevitable. ;p
I have to confess. I'm a bit crazy over the bad guy, too. Love the ones you mention, especially Anakin. I was so glad to see the model for my Jonas cover looking so much like him!
Great post and excerpts!
I have to confess. I'm a bit crazy over the bad guy, too. Love the ones you mention, especially Anakin. I was so glad to see the model for my Jonas cover looking so much like him!
Great post and excerpts!
Hi,all! Finally out of work.
Firefly--Yeah, Jayne gets my vote there. Love the smart-ass flippant tude.
I was rooting for Clyde the whole movie, even after the DA shut the cell door on him. There's much to be said about a bad boy. Yes I agree they must have empathy--or they lose one of those elements that make them so appealing. Forget the Sherrif of Nottingham, I'm a Hood fan all the way and yes, he was a bad boy. Rob from the rich--give to the poor. Thumb your nose at authority and do you bad deed right under their noses.
Oh, Dana. What date you'd like to draw a name for the giveaway. It appears as ***date*** on the post.
LOL
Wasn't sure when my post was coming up when I sent it so I left it that way.
James Mason as Captain Nemo!
And Giles in Buffy when you found out about his past as "Ripper."
Riddick. In Pitch Black. Now there's a bad boy.
Lisa, good choices!
back from the dentist, now have my permanent crown, but with temporary cement. I have to go back in two weeks. Aieee!!!
Dawn, are we doing a giveaway? Dang me, I'd better go back and read the post again!!!
Having a lovely Brownstone pinot noir... very tasty. Anyone?
Ah! The last paragraph! We will draw in two days!
So glad I came back! Dawn,thanks for the post - I loved your examples and your book Slipping the Past sounds excellent! What a great idea for a novel.
I'm not sure they count as "bad boys" exactly, but Joss Whedon & Co. came up with some really interesting, layered villains during Buffy and Angel - The Mayor, the head of the evil Law firm Wolframm & Hart, and others...
-K
I'm so sorry I missed all the fun! Bad thing about travel is losing all track of time! Quick hello from London. Argh! I won't miss the next RR Wed.
Kilt, even if some of the characters you mention (the Mayor) are pretty much pure evil, they're also extremely likable... And Lindsey from W&H on ANGEL is definitely a bad boy!
Margery, so glad you could even stop by for a quick martini!! Have fun in London and thank you, everyone, for making yet another RR Wednesday so much fun!
Post a Comment