Topic of the week

What qualifies as romance, does it have to be hearts and flowers?

Only dates the bad boys

Okay, I've totally not been pulling my weight around here. Granted my butt has been stuck in bed post-op, but still, I could have tried a little harder to do something more than nothing. However, this week's topic has taken a shine to my heart. Seriously.

I love me a bad boy.

When Hannibal Lecter exploded onto the scene in Silence of the Lambs I had shivers and not of fear. My friends were actually more freaked out by the freak sitting next to them than by the one on the screen I was so happy-bouncy in my chair in the theater. Yes, I squealed like a teen groupie at a Jonas Brother concert, and this was after reading the book first (a rare thing for those who know true book-fiends).

Over the years I've had love affairs (in my mind) with great villains of screen and literature, never the real deal. Why not the real thing? There is a fine line between genius and insanity, in fiction the line is delicately danced over, polished up and made to glow. In reality that shining veneer is ripped off and laid bare in such a way that every hard edge and angle is exposed so that only the true sociopath could cover themselves with enough hubris to emerge with a modicum of attraction for this ever inquisitive mouse.

But right now, I think the leading man for best bad guy has to be the brother of FBI Agent Aloyius Pendergast (created by the ever talented writers Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child) - Diogenes Dagrepont Bernoulli Pendergast. Hmmm....but then the lot of the Pendergast family had some nifty mass murderers in it aside from Diogenes. I think I related to him rather well because of the mismatched eyes and the brain damage coupled with high intelligence. Not a combination you come across every day, you know. This man doesn't strive to be understood, looked up to, or even accepted, he has a goal and a means to an end - his own psychopathy dipped in sociopathic tendencies stewed in vast quantities of knowledge and intellect. Regardless of looks, he's a hell of a package to a freak like me. Or is that kindred soul? Once upon a time it would have been a scary thought... as I get older, it doesn't even worry me, it just interests me all the more...

Favorite villian?

Since, I've already posted about my favorite villians, I'll give you a general idea of the sort of villian I like to create and /or read.  He or she must have these essential parts to catch my attention, regardless of genre or novel length.

• History- What made them the person they are? In tiny bits of information if you please.
• Depth - Bad guy or not they still need to breathe.
• General nastiness with purpose ie. Make the hero work for it, nobody wants a spineless villian.

I've seen good ones, bad ones and those that be "Geez put it back on the shelf." Make them strong, nasty and terrying and I'll be entertained. Have a great week y'all.

Beth

I, Zombie, and the Art of Indie Horror Movies

Last year, when a good friend of ours told us he was making a zombie film and needed extras to play the part, both myself and my husband jumped at the opportunity to be daubed in corpse paint.

A little bit of background: Both my husband and I are fans of zombie movies. Our idea of the ultimate in Friday evening entertainment is finding the trashiest B-grade horror film, especially if it features zombies, then vegging out at home.

My husband also has this, erm... quirk. He knows it freaks me out when he pretends to be a shambling undead corpse, and he chases me about the house, delighting in my screams of anguish.

So... on Saturday evening, Thomas and I willingly allowed a bunch of makeup artists to apply greasepaint and fake gore, then shambled about the location for that night's shooting, from midnight to about 3.30am.

There's something so liberating about wearing makeup, even if one is made up to look like the undead. It's almost as if one is able to draw on the persona of the character you are pretending to be. When the time came and the director shouted "Action!" Nerine didn't exist anymore. It was as if a fog shrouded my critical thinking and I was that bloodthirsty, gorey creature out for a good night's killing.

A lot of the time we stood around doing nothing, but there were those priceless moments when we were in full swing and, I can tell you this much, it was intensely liberating.

Afterward, the lead actress approached me to tell me that we were the best zombies she'd had the "pleasure" of working with during the shoot. She'd been genuinely afraid. This was echoed later when the director called to thank us for our time. He'd seen that Thomas and I were really good... zombies. (Errr, should I take that as a compliment?)

Thomas told me later this was one of the few times he didn't need to act.

Oh, my... (What have I married?)

But what I'd like to get at is when writing some creature or being that is totally alien, it is vital that an author shove aside those human thoughts and emotions, and really get into the creature's head.

Feel the beast, and the madness that lurks and itches just beneath the skin, and let it out when creating prose. This experience of being able to step outside one's self into a totally alien environment, if translated, will succeed in showing readers (or an audience) another world, and it will come across as authentic.

Of course it's all make-believe but hell, it's sometimes fun being scared.

A little epilogue... Thomas and I had nowhere to get cleaned up after the shoot. We had a 30km drive back to the far south peninsula and I was so relieved there were no road blocks set up. I had this horror of explaining to a police officer what was really going on behind the red corn syrup and greasepaint.

For anyone curious to know a little more about the indie horror movie that's currently being filmed in Cape Town, South Africa, go check out:
http://www.facebook.com/tos.php?api_key=80dc496b72d3303cfe50b67f9d95b256&next=http%3A%2F%2Fec2-79-125-29-165.eu-west-1.compute.amazonaws.com%2Fapps%2Fsuperlike_run%2F%3Fid%3D9%26fruid%3D1221306917%26_fb_fromhash%3D6f52d96414524e7b3d72ae00b5912769&v=1.0&canvas#/group.php?gid=383796100724&ref=ts

Favorite villain? Hard to pick just one....

As we close out the month of January—and our discussion on villains—we wondered who the "best" fictional villain was. Even after a month of mulling it over, I don't have an answer.

I like Professor Moriarty of Sherlock Holmes fame. He is a worthy opponent for the great detective. But I'm not sure he's my "favorite."

Who do you like? Who do you love to hate?

Blessings!

Nichole

Topic of the week

Who is your favorite fictional villain and why?

Meet Cerridwen, the hero of the novel

Cerridwen Lynn Baker is the protagonist of my novel Ghost Mountain and the sequel I'm currently working on. In fact, she will be the protagonist of an entire series. My villains, however, are a one-time character. They show up in one book, never to be seen again.

For me, therefore, Cerridwen is much more difficult to write. She must learn and grow from book to book. She has to have a consistent voice. She must be likable, otherwise who would read the books?

Cerridwen, who prefers to be called "Cerri," is like a friend to me, and that's a good thing. As the author, I need to know what Cerri likes and dislikes. Her favorite foods. Things she absolutely hates. Because my novels are written in first person, I really need to know everything there is to know about Cerri!

I can be a little more secretive about the villains in my work. I don't need to know quite as much about them. I don't need to know, for example, the name of his or her best friend in the third grade.

So what do I know about Cerri? Here is a list of 10 really important things about her (in no particular order).

1. She hates her name.
2. She's married with three kids.
3. Cerri loves her family and puts them above everything else in the world.
4. She is a freelance journalist and photographer.
5. Cerri's dad was in the military, so she grew up moving often.
6. She really just wants to be "normal" and doesn't want anything to do with the wise woman ways of her mother.
7. As much as she doesn't want to admit it, she's pretty good at reading Tarot cards.
8. Cerri sees much of the world as "black or white," "good or evil," and wants to make the world a better place.
9. She has a short temper and can get frustrated easily.
10. She truly judges people on their actions, and not their appearance.

There you have it. Some of the important things about my main character. Enjoy her!

Blessings!

Nichole