Sunday, July 13, 2014

To Kill or Not To Kill?

I'm just now finishing the last installment of the Dragon Stone Trilogy, Dragon's Fury and I find myself in a predicament with the antagonist who has been continually causing havoc throughout all three books. It was suggested to me that it would be too easy to just kill him off and I should consider other options for his demise.

One suggestion was to make him a servant to those whom he had caused the most trouble to. But that seemed a little trite and not the most effective way to show his punishment. Would he feel remorse because he had to serve his enemies? I doubt it. He needs to experience fear, which was something he never did feel all through the trilogy. Being arrogant and hateful, he never expected to lose.

Perhaps it will end in a face down with the dragons who are crying out for revenge. They desire that he face the Crown of Mar and stand before the Queen to receive his sentence. But would it be a cop out to have him escape? After three installments, I think everyone is ready to see him get his due.

To find out what happens to the evil sorcerer in Dragon's Fury, you'll have to wait until September 1st when it will be available on Smashwords and Amazon. Be prepared for a twist in his fate and not just a straight execution.



Dragon’s Fury

Somewhere in another timeline, Sebastian escaped from Kai, a magnificent dragon whose lifetime spans longer than most. Now Kai is trapped in the Valley of the Dragons after Sebastian set his magical barrier on top of its mountains. Kai roars fire and thrashes his wings against Sebastian’s devious spell. The seers proclaim that another young dragon and its rider will soon come to break the spell and release Kai from his imprisonment. He will finally be free! But Kai will not rest until Sebastian pays for his treacherous crimes against the entire kingdom. And so he waits until the day of reckoning; the day Sebastian will stand before the Crown of Mar.


8 comments:

  1. Looking forward to it. My birthday in September so this will be a treat.

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  2. Hi, Karen. It will be interesting to see what direction you choose to take with the antagonist.

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  3. I'm working through the fate of my protagonists and the bad guys in the last book of my fantasy trilogy too. I don't want to disappoint my readers.

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    1. Susan: Thank you for pointing out the important fact that it's the reader who is important. Not disappointing them should be first.

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  4. I've read many things about endings and the most important thing is that the reader find it satisfying. Other than that make list of all possibles and chose the one that would shock, delight and fit the ending.

    Good luck. I'm sure it will be great. :-)

    Anna from Shout with Emaginette

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  5. I love the act of redemption in a villain. We see it in George RR Martin's work. I think it really works. For a really bad character to suffer through discovery of--and accepting how horrible they are is a truly rewarding experience for me as a reader. :-) If the villain is hideously bad, at least a small contrite scene is almost necessary. Otherwise, a villain is flat. Throw in a conscience and some remorse, and multiple dimensions pop right out. It's still nice to see them get their just deserts. ;-)

    Karen, best wishes on the upcoming release! Much success to you. :-)

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