The winner is ……. CatS! I’ve emailed you privately CatS. You’ve won a copy of Invitation to Scandal.
I’m talking about villains – those characters we love to hate. There are villains and then there are villains. For instance, you would have to call both Salvatore brothers (Vampire Dairies) villains, they are in fact killers. But Damon in particular captures my heart. He’s so torn. He never wanted to be a vampire. Stefan turned him against his will, and yet, of the two brothers, he became the most evil. He tries hard to be good and to win Elena’s heart, yet falls at every turn, only to redeem himself and repeat the cycle.
Then there are truly evil villains with no redeeming characteristics at all, such as Darken Rahl from Legends of the 
Seeker. He is simply about power, money and greed. He doesn’t care who he has to hurt, kill, or destroy to achieve his aim of ruling the world. He’s totally unlikeable, in fact, very easy to hate. You are rooting for him to get his comeuppance and are right there with the Seeker shoving the blade through his dark heart.
I must admit I’m partial to both types of villains (if the story is done well). Let’s face it; most of us ladies love the bad
boy. The man we can still see a glimmer of good in if only we could love him he might reform. However, I do love a story where it starts with a man very evil, like Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) in the Gladiator. He was creepy, a bit disturbed and evil to his core. I loved watching him get beaten.
My villain in INVITATION TO SCANDAL (May 2012) is truly evil. You don’t learn his identity until near the end of the story, and I did that so it would be more fun and interesting for the reader. I always find hidden evil is far more interesting in any story, be it a movie, TV program or book! I love being able to try and follow clues or hints from the writer as to who the baddie might be and I’m extra happy when I’m surprised.
Then again, sometimes I like knowing who the villain is from the start so I can take satisfaction from watching him be destroyed. Rufus Swell’s character in A Knight’s T
ale, was like that for me. I loved watching him get beaten at the end. Having seen how he treated everyone from the beginning made me really want him to lose.
In Invitation to Scandal, I don’t promise to surprise you, but I hope you are at least unsure of the villain’s identity for most of the book. Drop me a line and let me know at which chapter you guessed who the spy in Invitation to Scandal is.
Today I’m giving away a copy of Invitation to Scandal. Tell me who you think is the sexiest villain (male or female) and which villain you’d like to personally redeem. I pick Damon Salvatore. I’ll draw the winner on Sunday 3 June and its open internationally.
PLUS – don’t forget my Invitation to Romance blog tour is still on. You still have a chance to collect all the clues and win a $200 Gift Card from Amazon or B&N, as well as a collection of 30 signed books from various historical romance authors. Visit my website www.bronwenevans.com for more details.
