Villains--from Rebecca York

Okay, I'm playing with color. I can barely read this against the white background. I assume it's going to look great against the black.

Ann, I am also fascinated with villains. I love creating dark evil people who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. So what does that say about me? I hope they're an outlet for the dark impulses that everyone has to keep in check to function in society.

I have more room to develop complex villains in my Berkley single titles than in my Intrigues. I like to give my villains a reason for their current behavior. Because they suffered in their childhoods, their motivation is understandable. In CRIMSON MOON, my 100th book, my bad guy's parents sent him to an upper-class prep school where he didn't fit in. He suffered at the hands of the bigger boys and also his classmates. Then he started figuring out ways to get even. And he continued the pattern into his later life. Of course,a miserable childhood is not an excuse for their immoral actions. I'm currently writing an Intrigue, NIGHT TERRORS, where the villain is a 500-year-old vampire--which has given him lots of room to develop his self-serving personality. The book's due in July, so I assume it will be out in April next year.

Rebecca York