This week’s Wednesday Weekly Blog Challenge sponsored by Long and Short Reviews had me stumped a bit. The question is: what villain I’d like to see redeemed and why. I’m used to writing bad-ass heroes and heroines and never have much sympathy at all for the villains. So, this question had me thinking pretty hard. I was surprised when I did come up with a few!

Doc Ock. (First of all, why the ‘k’? I mean, it’s short for octopus. Where is there a ‘k’ in octopus? I digress.) As far as I’m concerned, Doc Ock is a villain by sheer circumstance. Did he have any choice in the matter? I’m not so sure. Can anyone decide one day to do better? Sure! However, Doc Ock’s circumstances played against him from the beginning. He’s sort of the star of the self-fulfilling prophecy syndrome. He has a crappy childhood. His father was abusive. His mother basically blamed him for his father’s death. Then the horrible radiation leak accident happens, fusing him to his invention, the octopus arms. And he goes maniacal. I think if anyone deserves a chance to be redeemed it’s this guy. Maybe all he needs is a huge helping of lovin’.

Clyde Shelton portrayed by Gerard Butler in Law Abiding Citizen. It’s Gerard Butler. Isn’t that reason enough for redemption? Okay, more reason is needed. Yes, I concede he was a villain by societal standards and those defined by the law. He did kill a few dudes, violently I might add. But he was seeking justice the justice system seemed hell-bent on NOT delivering for the murder of his wife and daughter. I think not only does he deserve redemption but bonus points for creativity in torture methods.

Anakin Skywalker. His story simply slays you through and through. Gah! I’m sure fans of the franchise can relate. Used, abused, burned to a crisp, put back together, loses his wife…how much can even a villain take?

And that just about rounds out my list. I know it’s shorter than my normal posts, but this one was hard. Gravy!

Be sure to come back tomorrow. I have a new release dropping and there will be lots of fun and games to follow along with. I’ll have links to where you can find all the happenings. So excited for this one to be back out there!

Twenty-seven years, more than a dozen deployments, five kids…and one missing wife.

After twenty-seven years of marriage and service to his country, Gavin McIntyre returns from what he hopes will be his last deployment before either reaching the highest attainable enlisted rank in the Marine Corps or retiring. But what he returns to leaves him flat aback with a busted mast and broken rudder. His wife is a no show for the homecoming. Using the ages old adage of improvise, adapt, and overcome, he makes his way home only to discover, she hasn’t simply forgotten to pick him up from the bus, she’s gone. In her wake, Gavin finds his home set up boot camp style and a couple of twenties in the cookie jar, but any evidence he’s ever had a wife or five children with her is deplete.

Pregnant at sixteen and married to a marine in a less than romantic ceremony courtesy of the local Justice, Raylyn McIntyre has spent almost three decades playing the dutiful patriotic wife, catering to the whims of the military. She’s lost track of how many places she’s lived, how many deployments she’s endured, and how many tears she’s shed. But most of all, she’s lost track of herself. With a husband who’s so wrapped up in saving the world he can’t see he’s losing his family, Ray resorts to the one tactic he might understand…a full-frontal attack with extreme prejudice.

Nothing good ever comes easy, though, and just when her choice of battle plan seems to be working, tragedy befalls their family. As Ray and Gavin struggle to find center, they also struggle with the notion that forgiveness of self is often the only path to forgiveness of another, and that path is not only bumpy but filled with pitfalls.