WICKED WEDNESDAY
How great to have Randy Overbeck back on Discover... Now I'm not calling Randy wicked, but he sure knows how to write about it. Take it away, Randy...
As a writer
and a reader, I’ve always been fascinated by how much we are all drawn to the
“wicked”. In TV news and on newspaper headlines, the dominant saying is “If it
bleeds, it leads.”
On
Social Media posts, those who get the most traction are often the ones
depicting horrible events. Earlier this month, the demented gunman who shot up
a Louisville bank and killed six livestreamed the event, no doubt because he
thought people would be drawn to the horror of it all.
I believe most of us are surrounded
by far too much
real life “wickedness”—a twenty-something using an AK-15
to shoot up a bunch of six-year-olds in a Texas school, a politician accepting
millions of dollars in bribes for an energy vote in Ohio, misinformed protestors
looting and
beating up cops defending the US Capitol,
the
faceless scammers bilking unsuspecting seniors out of what
little money they
have, the deluded
Tennessee racist murdering black worshippers in church, or podcasts about
psychopaths who victimize and murder unsuspecting victims or even the
successful South Carolina lawyer who killed his wife and son after embezzling
millions of dollars from his clients. The list of real life wickedness goes on
and on. Either there is more real wickedness today or it is splayed more in our
faces today, which amounts to the same effect.
Real life wickedness is
inescapable.
When
readers open the pages of their favorite books—or turn on their e-reader—they
are certainly looking for a hero or heroine to root for, for the good guys to
win.
But I believe most
readers are also seeking fictional wicked characters who can be vanquished. The
scheming real estate mogul who murdered his competition, the serial killer who
gets off on the thrill of watching others die, the monster, vampire, werewolf
who preys on the
helpless,
the
desperate murderer who kills his wife/partner/friend to keep his secret from
getting out—all of these fictional antagonists who embody wickedness also draw
readers into our books. Of course, without antagonists, there would be no
conflict and without conflict there would be little story. But I believe it is
more than that. A great many readers
find reassurance in the stories where the wicked get their just reward, where
justice prevails with more predictability and regularity than in the real world.
I’m one of them.
In my
Haunted
Shores Mysteries series, I take as great a care selecting and crafting my
antagonists, those embodying wickedness as I do with my heroes. For some of
these villains, their wickedness is obvious, for others it is hidden, much like
in the real world.
In
Scarlet
at Crystal River, the murder under investigation is particularly
heinous—the execution of two helpless, immigrant children. So for this tale, I
chose my antagonists with extreme caution. And, most important, readers are
satisfied when the bad guys in my narrative end up behind bars where they
deserve.
“The characters are well drawn. Darrell and
Erin make an attractive pair. The bad guys are very bad indeed and the plot is
engrossing. It’s an enjoyable read with protagonists who are easy to root for
and it ends in a very satisfying way. Highly recommended”.—Amazon Reviewer
But, with each of the entries in my
series I try to go one step further. My protagonist Darrell does manage to
bring the fictional wicked bad guys to justice but he also learns that
the murder of these two young Latino children is tied to a much larger and very
real evil he never dreamt of. The murdering of the five- and six-year-olds turn
out to be only a small indication of the broader abuse and victimization of
immigrant migrant workers by the entire system. My hope is that readers will
get what they seek—an escape into a world where good triumphs and evil is
vanquished—but they also can see the connection of the fictional evil to the
very real wickedness spoiling into the real world. I hope readers’ escape into
the suspense of my books provides them with an awareness and unexpected insight
into one corner of real world wickedness. And, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (and others) said, “All it
takes for wickedness to prosper is for good men to do nothing.” My hope is that
my novels, in addition to being engaging reads, make it a little harder for
good men and women to do nothing about evil.
Dr. Randy Overbeck is a best-selling author of the
award-winning series, The Haunted Shores Mysteries, each a cold case murder
mystery wrapped in ghost story served with a side romance, set in a beautiful
resort location. He is the host of a new podcast, “Great Stories about Great
Storytellers,” which reveals the unusual backstories of famous authors,
directors and poets. He is also a speaker in much demand, sharing his
multi-media presentations, “Thanks Still Go Bump in the Night” and “A Few
Favorite Haunts” with audiences all over the country. More info about his
novels, programs and podcast can be found at his website
www.authorrandyoverbeck.com .
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorrandyoverbeck
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OverbeckRandy/media
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorrandyoverbeck/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/randy-overbeck
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Randy-Overbeck/e/B07QQHW7DM?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1658371317&sr=8-1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4825632.Randy_Overbeck
Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1924616/10983135
Purchase/Book Links
AMAZON
BARNES AND NOBLE
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57841458-scarlet-at-crystal-river?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=RTpsYLU6mO&rank=3
BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/books/scarlet-at-crystal-river-by-randy-overbeck
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Thanks so much for hosting me. I had fun dropping in. Randy Overbeck
ReplyDeleteThanks for guesting.
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