Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Tuesday Guest Post: Danica Avet


I have a secret: I love bad boys. What? You’re not shocked? Okay, so I don’t think I’ve ever made my adoration of the bad boy a secret. How could I? They’re just so…bad and dangerous!

When I started writing the Veil series, I needed a bad guy and I just knew for sure he was Malachi Cromwell. Then as I got to know Malachi through Ruby: Uncut and on the Loose, I realized he wasn’t a bad guy. Okay, well he is, but he’s a redeemable bad guy. I fell a little in love with him because he was charming, witty, and smexy. What’s not to love? Sure, he’s a top general in an evil army, but he has a reason for his profession!

Oops, doth the writer protest too much?

Maybe I am, but I can’t help it. In Succubus-in-Waiting, the second book of the series, he shows that he’s not the bad guy I thought he was in the first book. I found myself oddly interested in what made him the way he was and where he would end up. It can’t be easy to go from being one of the most hated men in the Veil to trying to redeem yourself and that’s where I sprang upon the idea for his love story.

He’s had some tough breaks. I’m going to try not to give too many clues about his past so you can explore them yourselves, but trust me; he has his reasons for what he’s done. The most important part about his story is he’s trying to change his ways and earn the respect of his family and the other Veilerians. That isn’t easy; not when you’ve been the boogeyman of the Veil for centuries.

Malachi started the series out as a villain and ended up a lovable, honorable hero. Yes, I’m still in love with him. My sister is, too. I have to admire him. Other than the people who consider him family, he’s distrusted by everyone on both sides of the good and evil fence. The Veilerians are scared of him and what he might do. The Eturians (the faction of the Veil that wants to take over the human world) want him dead for betraying them. He’s caught between a rock and a hard place and he handles it with grace.

At least until his heroine comes along. Did I mention she’s an assassin given the task of killing him in the most gruesome manner possible? Yeah, this is when Malachi’s charm and yearning to redeem himself saved his cute butt. Our heroine, Noelani Fayard, has her work cut out for her because what Malachi wants, he gets. And he wants Lani. Even though he’s working on the whole redemption thing, he still has that streak of bad boy-itis and he’ll make sure Lani can’t resist him.

Now for the question I’m eager to learn…Who is your favorite anti-hero ever? Do you have more than one? Inquiring minds want to know and if you leave a comment, I’ll have a random drawing to pick a winner of a hand-painted Mardi Gras mask and a set of Romance Trading Cards (www.romancetradingcards.com) for the entire series.

You can Danica at these fine interweb locations:

It isn’t every day a fairy gets an assignment with only one outcome: her death. As an assassin with the Eturian army, Noelani “Shade” Fayard has killed more than her share of traitors, but for the first time in centuries, she hesitates to take out her target. The Halfling marked for death makes her wonder what life would be like if it weren’t for the blood staining her hands and soul. He makes her feel for the first time in centuries.
 
Malachi Cromwell, a former Eturian general, wants to reclaim his place in The Veil, not fall in lust or love. He knows better than to let his heart take the lead, especially when he discovers Lani was sent to kill him, just like she’d killed the very people who held his fate in their hands.
 
Can they overcome their distrust and bitter pasts to forge a future together?


14 comments:

Unknown said...

Love a good assassin's tale, maybe I'll check this out when it is released :).

Jillian said...

Sounds like another great story. The cover is awesome. Not sure I have a fav anti-hero but I do knkw I love a bad boy. My fav bad oy of film is Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham. No surprise there, I bet. LOL!

jeff7salter said...

Okay, I caught up with you.
Let's see ... my favorite anti-hero is probably the character Liam Devlin, created by Jack Higgins.
Devlin appears in several novels and Higgins changes his age and backstory a bit over this run. Initially Devlin was a cold-blooded IRA spy and assassin. In later stories, he develops more admirable traits.
I always found it fascinating that Higgins transformed Devlin instead of just writing a new character.
Evidently Higgins was doing what you are doing: listening to the characer's petitions.

Jillian said...

Dang- my fingers totally didn't cooperate with that comment. I DO know how to spell. oy vey.

Jillian said...

Jeff- I've never read Jack Higgins but the hero and villain in my historical coming out in July are named Liam and Devlin. I'm a bit creeped out! LOL!

Danica Avet said...

Hey y'all! Wow, lots of quick comments. I like it ;)

Festival8 - Lifestyles just came out last week. I hope you give it a try :)

Jillian - I already know about your Alan Rickman fetish ;) Tee-hee!

Jeff - I haven't read those books, but if Higgins had "feelings" for Devlin like I ended up developing for Malachi, I totally understand.

Susan Serigny said...

I don't have a favorite bad boy, but I do like when an author shows you both, or many, sides of a character. I love Malachi in Book 1 and 2, so I'm looking forward to this book!

Sondrae Bennett said...

Not sure I have a favorite anti-hero but they can be great fun to read about. I love to watch them redeemed themselves in a book.

Danica Avet said...

Susan - I promise he doesn't disappoint! ;)

Sondrae - It can be a very emotional journey, watching those bad boys strive to become "good" and I think that's half the fun.

PamelaTurner said...

Thanks so much, Danica, for posting on the blog today. And good luck to our commenters. I have one of Danica's Mardi Gras masks and it's awesome. :-)

Brinda said...

Fav anti-hero? It's a tie between Eric of the Sookie Stackhouse series and Jean-Claude of the Anita Blake series.

Danica Avet said...

Pamela - Thanks for having me! I can't wait to pick a winner :)

Brinda - Jean-Claude gives me shivers. He's so very...practical, isn't he?? Thanks for commenting!

PamelaTurner said...

Drum roll, please...

And the winner is: Brinda!

Congratulations!

(Note: I sent Danica's contact information to your website. Any questions, please email me at pamturner97@gmail.com .)

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