I was recently asked to talk about heroes and how they evolve
in my writing. Here’s some of the questions posed to me. They aren’t easy to
answer.
Heroes, Heroines,
Villains. Which are your favorite to write?
I like it when good wins
out over evil, so I tend to embrace heroes and heroines. I can sympathize with
the villain, even understand their impulses, but in the end, I want the victory
to go those with purer hearts.
That said, I am not a
fan of what I call the hero at all costs. The person who disobeys the rules
because they are morally above them, the champion who charges in because they
know best, the defender who goes to the ends of the earth to solve an injustice
and to the detriment of their friends and family. Excess does not appeal to me.
Heroes. How do you find
them? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the man you want every
reader to love? Do they come before the plot or after you have the idea for the
story?
For me, heroes (and in the case of a few short stories
anti-heroes) do not have the same origin story. Riel Brava, the main
character in Hung Out to Die, started with a bath. I’m a big believer in bubbles,
candles, scrubs, essential oils, and music with birds chirping in the
background. One night immersed in a lavender cloud I realized it was time to
begin writing my mystery. Get off the pot kind of thing. That led me to a
litany of possible characters and crimes. Through the mist Riel emerged. Not
fully formed but outlined enough that I wrote down my ideas before I even
moisturized.
My second book, Conflagration!,
was a different book and a different process. The book is a historical mystery
and follows the trial of an enslaved Black women accused of arson in Montreal
in 1734. This book is part of BWL’s Canadian Historical Mysteries series. I
discovered the level of detail in court transcripts and the timelines set by
the trial process meant I had a detailed blueprint for the book before I even
began. My fictional character, court reporter Philippe Archambeau, had to fit
into this world.
Heroines. How do you find
them? Do pictures, real life or imagination create the woman you want the
reader to root for? Do they appear before the plot or after you have the idea
for the story?
I have just finished the
second of two new books that feature three main characters, all women – my
first heroines. They meet at a yoga studio and the crime unravels mid-downward
dog. Like all my characters, these women started as ideas and blurry images.
They became more well-defined – and more real – as the stories unfolded. I am
always amazed at the unexpected direction characters take me in. I am acutely
aware at times that I am not in control of the writing.
Villains or villainesses
or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They
can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal. How do
you choose one? How do you make them human?
Three-dimensional characters are important.
They’re more challenging to write, but they are also more realistic. I usually
start with motive. If I can understand why someone would commit this crime or
act in this way, then I can begin to understand the person I want the character
to be.
What is your latest
release? Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain?
My newest book is a historical mystery, Conflagration!
It’s set in 1734 and follows the trial of Marie-Joseph
Angélique, an enslaved Black woman accused of burning down Montreal’s entire
merchants’ quarter – 45 homes and one convent-hospital. My main character is a
court clerk assigned to follow the trial and ensure no stone is left unturned
in the search for evidence.
Heroes and villains are
often on the same spectrum. I’m not sure there are any clear demarcations in my
latest book, except perhaps for the system of justice itself.
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