Let’s talk about villains. Typically, a villain is used as a foil against which the main character of the book is measured. He (or she) may also be used to shift plot events in ways that help move the plot along.

We all love a real, down-and-dirty, thoroughly hatable bad guy. My problem is that I don’t think any bad guy is all bad. I guess it’s the sociologist in me knowing that there are reasons why people do what they do. I’m not condoning evil, mind you. I’m simply saying that since no child is born bad, bad behavior often comes from the world into which that child is born – i.e., socio-environmental factors.

Consider some of the villains I’ve created. There was J.D. Maxwell in More Than Friends, who behaved badly because that was the only thing that gave him a sense of control in his life. There was Dennis Raphael in A Woman's Place, who was raised to think of man as the dominant family bread-winner and had absolutely no idea what to do with his bruised ego when his wife’s business success eclipsed his. There is Family Tree's Eaton Clarke, bred to take pride in the purity of his ancestry and, truly, knowing nothing at all in life but being a Clarke.

And then there’s John St. George, villain extraordinaire from Facets. John is as close to a bona fide bad guy as I’ve created. He does despicable things to others, in part because he’s so desperate for love that, when he can’t find it, he punishes those who have. Crushed by the forces of good, John is a sad character by the end of the book.

Do people like John, J.D. Maxwell, and Dennis Raphael have a shot at redemption? By all means, because that’s my view of the world. Take Tom Gates, the protagonist in Three Wishes. Tom was a lawyer-turned-bestselling-novelist, who bought into his own hype so fully that he became too important to bother with those who needed him most. He hit rock bottom, avoided by friend and foe alike. Enter Bree Miller. In her inimitably off-beat way, she offered Tom a chance of redemption. Of all the books I’ve written, I’d most like to revisit Tom again and see how he’s doing these many years later.

The bottom line here? Most of my bad guys have the potential to be good guys. They just need a helping hand sometimes. Again, art imitates life.

Or is it the other way around?

Posted by Barbara Delinsky at 06:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I have a convertible. It is eleven years old, and we’ve taken good care of it, so it remains in mint condition. As with so many convertibles, the visibility out the back window is marginal, so I only drive mine with the top down. My very favorite season to do this is spring, after a long winter inside, when the air is starting to warm and the sun to gain strength. I’ve been known to drive with the top down on a cool but sunny April day with the heat blasting.

Okay. So there I am on the road, driving around with the top down and a sense of freedom second to none, and I come to a four-way stop. Here in Massachusetts, we have a lot of these now, and I like them. First come, first served. You stop, then proceed in the order in which you reached the stop sign. On occasion, it’s questionable as to who got there first. When I’m driving the convertible, feeling relaxed and benevolent, I usually gesture for the other driver to go ahead, which he always does. Does he wave? Or nod? Or even smile his thanks? Not usually.

Same with when I’m turning off a main road toward, say, the drive-thru at McDonald's for my trusty medium Diet Coke, no ice. If a person is waiting to exit, I wave them on before I turn. Same with most any turn I make when I’m in laid-back mode. I'll confess that when I’m in the convertible, it’s partly self-defense. I’m smaller than most cars and am not about to pick a fight. But I also drive an SUV and many, many times will wave someone on before me. Do they acknowledge this? Rarely.

I do acknowledge another driver’s politeness. If I’m coming from a side street and someone motions me forward onto the main road, I make a point to wave or smile or, at the very least, nod vigorously. This makes me feel really good, like I’m contributing to a civility that we seem to have lost. When I let people go ahead of me on the road, it makes me feel polite and generous. It actually makes me feel more in control.

I’ve often thought that what we need in our high-tech cars is a mechanism whereby we can press a button and light a sign saying, “Thank you,” or “You go first,” or even “What’s your rush, bub?”

Coincidentally, I was in the middle of writing this blog when I paused to watch the Mid-Day News and saw that the Pope has issued a Ten Commandments of Driving. Now there’s an idea, too. Give it some thought.

Posted by Barbara Delinsky at 01:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)