Our Round Robin Blog Hop is celebrating, if that’s the right word, its one hundredth posting with a really challenging subject: Have any of your villainous characters reached redemption for their actions? If you were going to do this (or have done it), how would (did) you go about it?
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My first reaction to this topic was, “I don’t have any villains I want to or have redeemed.” Mostly because the stories I’ve written have heroes and heroines who are struggling to conquer their personal demons rather than fighting the “bad guy” or some other villainous entity. But as I was getting ready to bow out, I realized I am currently in the final edits for a book with a character who actually was the source of my hero’s problems and, the reason my hero spent a year in prison for a crime he did not commit.
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As I thought about this character, Gino Rossi, I realized there were reasons I might want to find a way to redeem him going forward. Although this book ends with him taking the fall for the crimes he committed and managed to get blamed on my hero, that might not have to be the end of his story.
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Why would I want to redeem him, you ask? He got Mac convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, got him tossed from the job he loved and ruined his reputation. So why would I want to redeem Gino? Well, for most of this book, Mac considers Gino to be his friend. They grew up together, learned to fly and shared a passion for the job they both loved piloting sight-seeing tours over their scenic shoreline and historic home-town. Mac is seriously saddened to discover his friend’s connection to his own troubles.
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So who is Gino Rossi? He’s not an evil psychopath. He isn’t into hurting people or killing animals. He isn’t willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top no matter who gets squashed along the way. He just isn’t your average villain everyone expects to hate. My hero still sees the good in him even after the role Gino played in Mac’s troubles is finally revealed; even after a very desperate Gino tries to cause Mac’s plane to crash.
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With that in mind, how would I rehabilitate Gino? I’m currently working on the next book in this series and this topic has given me a whole new avenue of possibilities to explore in that plot. While Mac is no longer the main character, he’s still on the 
scene along with another newer friend who is the hero of this next book. Lucas Trevlyn had been a decent kid and a good soldier who’d gone astray after returning from war, gotten into trouble and ended up doing time. Lucas felt like he had nothing left to live for and was ready to end his life when an off-duty cop happened along and talked him out of it. This cop helped Lucas see a future for himself, believed in him and encouraged him to believe in himself, and Lucas got his life squared away. Now he’s the manager of a second chance house for men who are where he once was. Basically decent guys who managed to find themselves on the wrong side of the law due to a variety of poor choices and mistakes who are now trying to put their lives back together.
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Now I ask myself, ‘what if Mac and Lucas, together were able to convince Gino he was worth both their friendship and a second chance to get his life right?’ While not being a determined villain, Gino has always taken the easy way out of situations and up to now, never owned up to his own failings. Willing to sacrifice his only friend to save himself from a morass of his own making, Gino isn’t a very heroic or likeable character. Are these character flaws that can’t be redeemed? I’m convinced it would be an interesting challenge to see if I can turn Gino from an unfortunate, misdirected character into someone my readers would want to cheer for.
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Like any other failing in human nature, Gino will have to want to change. He’ll have to sink pretty low and realize change is his only 
option. Mac and Lucas can be there to help, but Gino is going to have to do the heavy lifting to make himself into a hero any reader can want to follow and celebrate his success. Since, until this blog post, this was never a book I had intended to write, I don’t know if or how Gino might redeem himself, but I’m certainly going to enjoy finding out and look forward to the challenge.
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Want to see how some of my fellow blog hoppers have redeemed some of their characters? Check them out at:
Diane Bator
Judith Copek
Connie Vines
A.J. Maguire
Dr. Bob Rich
Robin Courtright
Our Round Robin Blog Hop is celebrating, if that’s the right word, its one hundredth posting with a really challenging subject: 
My first reaction to this topic was, “I don’t have any villains I want to or have redeemed.” Mostly because the stories I’ve written have heroes and heroines who are struggling to conquer their personal demons rather than fighting the “bad guy” or some other villainous entity. But as I was getting ready to bow out, I realized I am currently in the final edits for a book with a character who actually was the source of my hero’s problems and, the reason my hero spent a year in prison for a crime he did not commit. 
XX
Why would I want to redeem him, you ask? He got Mac convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, got him tossed from the job he loved and ruined his reputation. So why would I want to redeem Gino? Well, for most of this book, Mac considers Gino to be his friend. They grew up together, learned to fly and shared a passion for the job they both loved piloting sight-seeing tours over their scenic shoreline and historic home-town. Mac is seriously saddened to discover his friend’s connection to his own troubles.
So who is Gino Rossi? He’s not an evil psychopath. He isn’t into hurting people or killing animals. He isn’t willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top no matter who gets squashed along the way. He just isn’t your average villain everyone expects to hate. My hero still sees the good in him even after the role Gino played in Mac’s troubles is finally revealed; even after a very desperate Gino tries to cause Mac’s plane to crash. 
scene along with another newer friend who is the hero of this next book. Lucas Trevlyn had been a decent kid and a good soldier who’d gone astray after returning from war, gotten into trouble and ended up doing time. Lucas felt like he had nothing left to live for and was ready to end his life when an off-duty cop happened along and talked him out of it. This cop helped Lucas see a future for himself, believed in him and encouraged him to believe in himself, and Lucas got his life squared away. Now he’s the manager of a second chance house for men who are where he once was. Basically decent guys who managed to find themselves on the wrong side of the law due to a variety of poor choices and mistakes who are now trying to put their lives back together. 
Now I ask myself, ‘what if Mac and Lucas, together were able to convince Gino he was worth both their friendship and a second chance to get his life right?’ While not being a determined villain, Gino has always taken the easy way out of situations and up to now, never owned up to his own failings. Willing to sacrifice his only friend to save himself from a morass of his own making, Gino isn’t a very heroic or likeable character. Are these character flaws that can’t be redeemed? I’m convinced it would be an interesting challenge to see if I can turn Gino from an unfortunate, misdirected character into someone my readers would want to cheer for. 
option. Mac and Lucas can be there to help, but Gino is going to have to do the heavy lifting to make himself into a hero any reader can want to follow and celebrate his success. Since, until this blog post, this was never a book I had intended to write, I don’t know if or how Gino might redeem himself, but I’m certainly going to enjoy finding out and look forward to the challenge. 
