Villian Therapy with Author Heather Kuehl

When I create a villain for a book, I do it as a form of therapy. I mean, how many times have you felt horrible for something negative a person has done to you? Whether it is a coworker, family member, or a friend, I use the feelings I get to create the perfect villain.

Some of my best villains have been created during times of stress. Why? Because it’s the ultimate “teach them a lesson.” My characters can have the snappy comebacks that I didn’t have and in the end show them the error of their ways in a deadly showdown. In the mean time, the person that made me feel insignificant won’t be any the wiser (well, until now that is).

Dreashae was created twice; once when I wrote the original draft of PROMISES TO KEEP over ten years ago and again when I rewrote it for National Novel Writing Month. She was a poor example of a bad guy in the original draft and now I know why; I didn’t have anyone to be angry at. No one ticked me off, no one did anything to make me want to do “writing therapy.” But in 2006, I had a lot to be stressed out and angry about. I had just gotten married five months before, and quickly discovered that my wonderful new husband knew nothing about keeping a budget. Mix that together with stress from work and voila! Dreashae was born. It was wonderful, creating the fight scenes between Dreashae and my heroine Starlette with real anger in my heart. And by the end of the book, I felt so much better. I no longer cared about any of my problems. I felt at peace.

All because I took my anger and channeled it into my writing. A fantastic healing process that didn’t cost a dime.


Buy PROMISES TO KEEP today at Amazon.com or on the Eternal Press website at http://eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781770650480

PROMISES TO KEEP summary:

Starlette is on a mission, and nothing will get in her way...

Starlette DeFore knows that her father is alive, even though her family buried him ten years ago. When a faerie confirms this she travels to Charleston, South Carolina to hunt down Sivad Night, the only person to have ever escaped from the hands of a power sorceress, the Dark Lady Dreashae. With help from a witch, Starlette travels into Verella a fantasy realm filled with dragons, centaurs, and magic. She is very close to finding her father, but first she must defeat Dreashae. Will Starlette, a mere mortal, have the strength needed to finish her quest and save her father?

Today I'm offering a free pdf of my ebook FADE TO BLACK.

About the book:

The story of when love, revenge, and the paranormal meet and clash.

Werewolf bounty hunter Sarah Vargas has only one goal in life; to kill the Were that attacked and changed her. However a slew of werecreature murders send Sarah and her partner, Jared Fontaine, on the mission of their lives, ending with a discovery about Jared’s past that might destroy them both.

Do you want to win a download of FADE TO BLACK? Just comment on this blog post. One random commenter will become the lucky winner! (contest ends April 5)


~HEATHER KUEHL

Discover a world where dragons roam the skies and vampires own the night…
Visit Heather Kuehl’s blog at http://heatherkuehl.blogspot.com/