My Villains Skip the Doomsday Device

I'm kicking today's musings off with the aftermath photo of a great victory against an evil villain: my demon kitty overlord wrestled into a Halloween costume. 

Seriously though, I love a good villain. Not the cackling, world-ending kind who monologues at you while a doomsday device hums in the background. I mean the kind who gets under your skin and stays there. The kind you can't stop thinking about. Let me explain.

The Gold Standard

IMHO, the best villain redemption arc ever is Zuko's in Avatar: The Last Airbender. This angsty, angry, teen fire lord could so easily have been a one-note character and instead gets some of the most depth, nuance, and growth that I've ever enjoyed.

Sometimes, though, I want a villain to stay villainous. Even so, the greatest ones aren't flat out evil. They are complex individuals with fears, dreams, and flaws. Two of the best for me (albeit very different) are Keyser Söze in The Usual Suspects and Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones.

Enter the Rabbi

In my Nava Katz series books, her nemesis, Rabbi Mandelbaum, may not be as evil as, say, Thanos (although he does instigate turmoil on a rather global scale), but his villainy is personal to her.

That's what made him so fascinating for me. A rabbi is not your typical villain, and he really does believe he's making the world a better place. It's just that his world has no (or a limited) place for women.

Which was exactly why I wanted to write him—his worldview was personal to me as well, because I've encountered rabbis like that. At my father's funeral, for one, where the Hasidic rabbi wouldn't even speak or make eye contact with me. He only addressed my brother. It was ridiculous.

(I also know some amazing and kind rabbis, so this wasn't some general indictment on my part.)

Take It Personally

No matter who my big bad in any series is, I prefer them to have a personal connection to my main character and not just be threatening all humanity while twirling their mustachio. It adds that extra layer for me that makes them interesting.

Give me a villain with a grudge, a conviction, and a very specific reason your heroine ruins his day. The ones who only want to end the world can take a number.

Come meet all my villains at deborahwildebooks.com or your favorite online book retailer.