How Much Wicked is Enough? by Randy Overbeck #WickedWednesday
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 writerand 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 itbleeds, it leads.” OnSocial Media posts, those who get the most traction are often the onesdepicting horrible events. Earlier this month, the demented gunman who shot upa Louisville bank and killed six livestreamed the event, no doubt because hethought people would be drawn to the horror of it all.
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I believe most of us are surroundedby far too much real life “wickedness”—a twenty-something using an AK-15to shoot up a bunch of six-year-olds in a Texas school, a politician acceptingmillions of dollars in bribes for an energy vote in Ohio, misinformed protestorslooting andbeating up cops defending the US Capitol, thefaceless scammers bilking unsuspecting seniors out of what
little money theyhave, the deludedTennessee racist murdering black worshippers in church, or podcasts aboutpsychopaths who victimize and murder unsuspecting victims or even thesuccessful South Carolina lawyer who killed his wife and son after embezzlingmillions of dollars from his clients. The list of real life wickedness goes onand on. Either there is more real wickedness today or it is splayed more in ourfaces today, which amounts to the same effect. Real life wickedness isinescapable.
Whenreaders open the pages of their favorite books—or turn on their e-reader—theyare certainly looking for a hero or heroine to root for, for the good guys towin. But I believe mostreaders are also seeking fictional wicked characters who can be vanquished. Thescheming real estate mogul who murdered his competition, the serial killer whogets off on the thrill of watching others die, the monster, vampire, werewolfwho preys on the
helpless, thedesperate murderer who kills his wife/partner/friend to keep his secret fromgetting out—all of these fictional antagonists who embody wickedness also drawreaders into our books. Of course, without antagonists, there would be noconflict and without conflict there would be little story. But I believe it ismore than that. A great many readersfind reassurance in the stories where the wicked get their just reward, wherejustice prevails with more predictability and regularity than in the real world.I’m one of them.
In my HauntedShores Mysteries series, I take as great a care selecting and crafting myantagonists, those embodying wickedness as I do with my heroes. For some ofthese villains, their wickedness is obvious, for others it is hidden, much likein the real world. In Scarletat Crystal River, the murder under investigation is particularlyheinous—the execution of two helpless, immigrant children. So for this tale, Ichose my antagonists with extreme caution. And, most important, readers aresatisfied when the bad guys in my narrative end up behind bars where theydeserve. “The characters are well drawn. Darrell andErin make an attractive pair. The bad guys are very bad indeed and the plot isengrossing. It’s an enjoyable read with protagonists who are easy to root forand it ends in a very satisfying way. Highly recommended”.—Amazon Reviewer
But, with each of the entries in myseries I try to go one step further. My protagonist Darrell does manage tobring the fictional wicked bad guys to justice but he also learns thatthe murder of these two young Latino children is tied to a much larger and veryreal evil he never dreamt of. The murdering of the five- and six-year-olds turnout to be only a small indication of the broader abuse and victimization ofimmigrant migrant workers by the entire system. My hope is that readers willget what they seek—an escape into a world where good triumphs and evil isvanquished—but they also can see the connection of the fictional evil to thevery real wickedness spoiling into the real world. I hope readers’ escape intothe suspense of my books provides them with an awareness and unexpected insightinto one corner of real world wickedness. And, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (and others) said, “All ittakes for wickedness to prosper is for good men to do nothing.” My hope is thatmy novels, in addition to being engaging reads, make it a little harder forgood men and women to do nothing about evil.
Dr. Randy Overbeck is a best-selling author of theaward-winning series, The Haunted Shores Mysteries, each a cold case murdermystery wrapped in ghost story served with a side romance, set in a beautifulresort location. He is the host of a new podcast, “Great Stories about GreatStorytellers,” which reveals the unusual backstories of famous authors,directors and poets. He is also a speaker in much demand, sharing hismulti-media presentations, “Thanks Still Go Bump in the Night” and “A FewFavorite Haunts” with audiences all over the country. More info about hisnovels, 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
BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/books/scarlet-at-crystal-river-by-randy-overbeck
