~Finding Redemption~

Posted by Candace Bowen Early on Jul 24, 2011 in Blog, Paranormal | 2 comments

Let’s face it — the majority of readers love to feel animosity against the villain in a story. The nemesis to the “perfect” hero or heroine, the antagonist doesn’t stand a fighting chance. After all, most people believe that good should always triumph over evil. The symbolism behind the hero or heroine often “winning” the day in the end tends to back up this theory.

When I have had my fill of writing romance, I tend to gravitate towards horror stories to shake things up a little. Since I became an author, I find it difficult to read current romance novels without comparing them to my own. Reading was my way to escape and turning it into a critique session has definitely taken some of the enjoyment out of my favorite genre.

Most of the horror stories I read end up having the villains meet gruesome ends. That is not to say that I disagree or that all of my characters experience happy-endings. As in life, there are some cases where an unwarranted second chance for the villain occurs. I do believe, however, that everyone has a right at a chance at redemption. I like to think that given a chance to make better decisions, some people who have done some very bad things may have reconsidered their actions. Naïve perhaps, but I have always been the glass is half-full kind of person.

Instead of just disposing of my villains, I give each one of them the opportunity to make the right choice. If they happen to meet an unsatisfying end, they have no one to blame but themselves. This approach to writing may sound unconventional, but if you have read even one of my past posts, you know where it is coming from.

As I have stated in the previous blogs, I model most of my characters after people I have become acquainted with, including the villains. Despite my personal belief on the matter, I cannot say there is not some small part of me that longs for retribution on occasion in the pages of a novel. I even have an image of a quote that makes me smile every time I read it. “Please do not annoy the writer. She may put you in a book and kill you.” After all, no one is perfect — not even my heroes or heroines.

Candace Bowen Early
July 21, 2011