Who's your favorite villain in fiction?

I think I've narrowed my favorites to Richard III from Shakespeare's play of the same name, and Milady de Winter from Dumas' Three Musketeers.

Oh, timeout from the villain subject to let you know I've finished writing Book 6 in the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series. Now, I'm in editing mode. -- Back to the villains.

I rambled about Richard III on my blog, so I'll discuss Milady here--and it's also a good excuse to include the back cover of PinUp Noir 2, because I'm talking about a blonde femme fatale.

We first see Milady in the company of the Duc de Rochefort--another great villain--as D'Artagnan makes his way to Paris in hopes of becoming a musketeer. Both Milady and Rochefort are damned souls pledged to Cardinal Richelieu. She's young, extremely beautiful, and possesses a bewitching voice. She's French--I think--but perfectly fluent in English.

Milady doesn't merely serve the Cardinal's interests, she pursues her own agenda as well. We discover that she was a criminal, branded with the fleur-de-lys, and was Athos' wife (who was captivated by her beauty and whom he hanged--unsuccessfully, of course--after discovering her true nature and past). She's manipulative, vain, and cunning. To twist some Eagles' lyrics you could say she was ruthless, you could say she was cruel. Her past is a trail of deception and misdeeds--about which she has no remorse. Her real name may be Anne de Breuil, or Charlotte Backson, or something else. She poisoned her English husband after he named her as his heir.

In the novel, when D'Artagnan reveals that he had tricked her into a midnight tryst, and also discovers her brand, she goes into a fury and resolves to kill him. In pursuit of her own ends as well as the Cardinal's, she steals the queen's diamond studs from Buckingham, kills a soldier or two in D'Artagnan's regiment with poisoned wine meant for D'Argtagnan, corrupts Felton and persuades him to kill Buckingham, and murders D'Artagnan's lover Constance.

Milady is finally hoist on her own petard when the carte blanche she had obtained from the Cardinal is taken by Athos and used against her to induce the executioner to kill her. Wait! We've rushed by the times when she's at her most bestest, most villainest zenith. Her corruption of Felton shows a soft and gentle touch at gradual manipulation in turning her jailer against his master. It's a long process which Dumas plays out artfully, and we watch with horror as the saintly Felton is taken in by Milady's corruption cloaked in purest piety--she's good. She's very good--and very evil.

Finally, the pages leading up to her death reveal her at her desperate best. The executioner, by delicious chance, is the same one who put the brand on her shoulder. D'Artagnan knows she has killed at least one of his fellow soldiers. He knows she killed his beloved Constance, and yet, inconceivably, her beauty and bewitching voice cause him--the young man with the fire, brains, and determination to match or exceed that of his companions--to falter and attempt to halt the proceedings. She finally has a brief encounter with a blade, over which she completely loses her head, and her body is dumped into the river (if I remember correctly). She is a villainess extraordinaire and goes down entangled in the villainous web she wove. That's a great story!--all without a single spinning back kick or lightning-fast samurai sword strike by the queen of villains.

I've probably missed many of her misdeeds, but you get the picture.

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I'm currently reading City of The Saints by D.J. Butler

A song I heard this week that made me pause, ponder, and reminisce: "Leader of the Band" by Dan Fogelberg. What do you think of it?

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Here's an interview I did back in 2020. Do I come across as a villain?

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Exciting Historical Fiction giveaway

Uncommon Fantasy giveaway

Action-packed Fantasy giveaway

Check out Steven M. Phillips Hunt from the Shadows, a free prequel novel to The Beast.

You may have noticed that I didn't mention the next paragraph of the collaborative story--no one submitted one--get me your best shot at the next paragraph.

I'm also itching to add some of you to the honor roll. Get those reviews posted.

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Honor Roll with special thanks to these subscribers:

Lois for her stunning review and heroic defense of The Shrinking Zone.

JBudd for reviews of Threading the Rude Eye, In Death Bedrenched, Power to Hurt, The Shrinking Zone, Clamorous Harbingers, Promise of Carnage and Flame, and Truth in Flames

Colleen for leaving ratings for several of my books on Amazon

Rob for leaving a review of Threading the Rude Eye

Michael for leaving reviews of Threading the Rude Eye, and The Shrinking Zone

Mayra for a review of Threading the Rude Eye

Gloria for a review of Threading the Rude Eye

ShannonC for a review of In Death Bedrenched

Jan for reviews of Threading the Rude Eye, Power to Hurt, Clamorous Harbingers, Promise of Carnage and Flame, In Death Bedrenched, The Shrinking Zone, Truth in Flames, Justice in Season, and Justice Resurgent.

Bonnie for a review of In Death Bedrenched.

PAR for a review of Threading the Rude Eye

-There are many other reviews of my books, of course, but I don't know whether those reviewers are also subscribers to this newsletter.