LGBT Day 8 : It’s Oh-So-Good Being Bad by SA McAuley (Incl. Giveaway)

 

I’ve been thinking about evil a lot lately.

While part of this obsession can be blamed on the work-in-progress status of the fourth book in The Borders War series, the seemingly never-ending battle of good vs evil is a theme I personally love to read about.

Especially when it comes to the really, really bad dudes.

Most of us can conjure a list pretty easily of the villains in literature and movies who have impacted us the most. When I was kid, that list was a terrifying mix of Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, the Red Bull from The Last Unicorn, and ET (friendly alien my ass, I still cringe when I run across that movie on TV).

Yep, you’re free to laugh now about that third one. But let me attempt to sway you.

The widely accepted and most used definition of a villain is a character who is evil and advances the storyline of the plot through some type of hellish terror.Maleficent and the Red Bull fit this first definition pretty soundly.

But the second, less used, definition of a villain is a character who causes harm, trouble, or damage. Sounds rather innocuous when compared to that first one, right? But, this second idea brings up a whole host of new ways to explore villainhood in fiction.

And believe me, from the number of times ET has made an appearance in my
nightmares, he fits the whole harm, trouble AND damage persona in an eerie and frightening way. It’s all in the way we perceive the characters we read about every day.

While the widely accepted definition of a villain is a fun archetype and guarantees as showdown of some kind proving the worth of the hero, it’s the lesser talked about role of villains that proves more interesting. When we expand our thoughts on what makes a great villain, suddenly a whole new world of dangerous deviousness is opened up.

So in celebration of non-traditional evildoers in LGBT lit, here are two of my favorite villains from m/m novels:

Director Con Dreyfuss (the PsyCop series by Jordan Castillo Price) – The enigmatic and sometimes hippy-ish Director of the Federal Psychic Monitoring Program (or FPMP). Does he take lives or save them? Does he really care about Vic or is he just using him? Is he the cause of all the harm/trouble/damage that seems to follow him or a victim of it? Is he a villain or isn’t he? It’s this guessing game that makes him the most intriguing side character in the PsyCop books.

Tor (Bareback by Chris Owen) – Tor is not only one-half of the main character couple in this western romance, he’s also a character very few people will ever forget after reading this heart-rending story. Talk to someone, anyone, who has read Bareback and you’re sure to get one of two reactions to his name: curse-laden profanity and a rant bordering on violence, or a resigned sigh of acceptance, sadness and forgiveness. I tend to fall into the former category. Either way, though, Tor is one of the most divisive characters in all of m/m romance. Hands down.

Who are your favorite villains? Comment below to win an ebook from my back catalogue!! xx

About Sam:

I sleep little, read a lot. Happiest in a foreign country. Twitchy when not mentally in motion. My name is Sam, not Sammy, definitely not Samantha. I’m a pretty dark/cynical/jaded person, but I hide that darkness well behind my obsession(s) for shiny objects. I’m the macabre wrapped in irresistible bubble wrap and a glittery pink bow, I suppose.

Website |tumblr | Facebook |Twitter |Email | Authorgraph |Goodreads|Amazon

Sam is gifting an eBook from her backlist to one lucky commenter. You must comment to enter. She is also adding a signed copy of her paperback Tread Marks & Trademarks to our grandprize giveaway. (Thanks Sam)

For the Grand Prize Giveaway, I (Nix) will be giving away ten of my top LGBT books. These books will be gifted via All Romance as the books are available to readers on all the types of eReaders (you just need to sign up for a free account to access the books and you can send them directly). If you have any of the books and you win the prize, speak to me and I’ll see what else I can do.

The books are (and there are substitutions available for people who have copies)…

• With a Kiss by Kim Dare (MM)
• Hot Head by Damien Suede (MM)
• By the Book by Scarlett Parrish (MM)
• The Dom With a Safeword by Cari Silverwood (FFM)
• Starfish and Coffee by Kele Moon (MM)
• How Sweet it is – Melissa Brayden (FF)
• Fatal Shadows – Josh Lanyon (MM)
• Faith and Fidelity – Tere Michaels (MM)
• How to Love – Kelly Jamieson (FMM)
• Cut and Run – Abigail Roux (MM)

Recently added

• Paperback Tread Marks & Trademarks by SA McAuley

a Rafflecopter giveaway