7 Tips to a Hero Coming from a Villain Family

Posted on June 4, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Alucard and Dracula

It might seem easy to have a hero come from a villainous family.  Yet, you might want to put some nuance in there to really make an impact.  What are some things to consider with this background?

  1. If you want to make the reveal as soon as the hero appears then you should establish the evil family beforehand.  Having him show up and bluntly say that he’s the black sheep of a dark lineage can reduce the impact.  The whole thing will come off as casual and rushed, especially if it’s early in the story.
  2. The hero doesn’t have to be an anti-hero.  It could be that they are the entire opposite of their family in an attempt to distance themselves completely.  For example, a hero who comes from a family of assassins may refuse to kill.  They won’t do it for any reason, which gives their family a way to try and corrupt them.  The point is that they don’t want to be associated with their evil lineage and might even be afraid of taking any action they would do.
  3. Tying into #2 is giving the hero a fear of falling into the abyss.  Coming from a family of villains means a person will worry that such darkness is in their nature.  It doesn’t matter if they have been raised to be a hero.  They can fear that a part of them is tainted simply by the blood in their veins.  So, they can be extra cautious about their actions as well as easily manipulated by their family.  A plot point that can be done here is a situation where they have to take action similar to their family’s crimes or risk letting someone die.
  4. Come up with a reason as to why the hero isn’t with the family both physically and morally.  It doesn’t really work to have them simply ‘not like it’, especially if they grew up in that darkness.  There are plenty of reasons why they turned even if it’s something selfish.  A non-family member they loved could have been killed for business, which had them realize their dark actions.  Another option is that there was a good-hearted family member who raised the hero instead of the others.
  5. While I said the hero doesn’t have to be an anti-hero, that’s still an option.  It would work really well with a hero who spent time as a villain.  They might not be able to get all of their darker impulses under control such as using violence to reach their goals or even manipulating others.  This a character who might still be dark, but not evil.  It would also mean that they could have violent intentions towards their family.
  6. A hero from a villainous family would most likely change their name to avoid the connection.  This isn’t only done out of shame.  They would be aware of their surname’s reputation, which would make it difficult to do good.  People who know of their lineage would automatically assume their are villains, which could lead to misunderstandings and being attacked.  It would be much more practical for them to keep it a secret unless they have a need for the reputation or can avoid its influence.
  7. Don’t forget to give some attention to the villainous family’s opinion on the hero.  Do they think the person is weak or even an enemy?  Could they want them back?  They might want to corrupt the hero not to bring them back to their side, but to prove a sense of moral ‘superiority’.  They are the other side of the coin with this story, so you need to give them some attention.
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Teaser Tuesday: Welcome Home

Posted on June 3, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Cover Art by Jason Pedersen

(An old excerpt from Legends of Windemere: Allure of the Gypsies)

The bakery at the entrance to Haven fills the air with the sweet aroma of fresh pastries. Aedyn can feel his mouth water as they pass the open door and he gets a peek at the young elven woman inside removing a tray of steaming cookies from the oven. A flower shop catches Nyx’s attention with its front yard covered in miniature willow trees. Nyx and Aedyn continue ogling the various stores and polished wood buildings until they come to a long building with a large oak behind it. The section of the structure that they come to first is a two-story wooden house with a hanging sign that lazily swings in the wind. A picture of three sparkling, emerald comets racing toward each other is emblazoned on the finely crafted sign. The rest of the structure is an abrupt change from the wooden house. It is a long, stone building with four chimneys that pump out a steady stream of white smoke. Nyx and Aedyn stop at the house section, but Nyx freezes with her fist an inch away from knocking on the door.

“What is wrong?” Aedyn asks with concern.

“I’m just a little nervous,” Nyx replies, her cheeks a little red. “I was never any good at meeting parents. I always come off as an unapproachable bitch.”

“You come off like that to everybody when you first meet them,” the priest points out.

“I’m just a strong personality,” Nyx snaps, her arms dropping to her side. “Why do I have to knock anyway? This is Luke’s house, so he should be the one to knock and introduce us to his parents.”

“I agree. Go knock on the door, Luke,” Aedyn sternly requests.

They turn around to find that Luke is nowhere to be seen. Nyx grits her teeth and angrily bangs her fist against the door. She freezes in nervous terror when she realizes what she’s done and the door begins to open. A short and slender woman pulls the door open with a delicate hand. Her eyes are a shimmering blue and reveal a youthful, energetic spirit that has not dimmed with age. A stream of bright, pristine blonde hair cascades over her shoulders and down to her waist. The woman’s face quickly melts into a warm smile when she sees the pair of half-elves on her doorstep.

“You two must be new to Haven. Are you lost?” the woman asks. She pushes some wrinkles out of her lavender silk shirt.

“No, ma’am, we were in the area and thought that we would stop by,” Nyx claims, looking around for any sign of Luke.

“Do I know you? You don’t look familiar,” states the woman.

“My name is Aedyn Karwyn and this is Nyx,” Aedyn politely says. “We are friends of Luke Callindor. He told us that this was his home.”

“Oh, you poor people. I am his mother, Vixen Callindor. I am very sorry for the trouble he has caused you. My son can be quite a handful,” Luke’s mom explains with a bright, but apologetic, smile. “Although, he’s been gone for a little over a year, so you won’t find him here. That is unless this is the area where he told you to meet him. If that is the case then he might be somewhere around town. Pardon my manners. Come in and relax.”

“Actually, we were here with your son and he disappeared on us while our backs were turned,” Nyx admits, unconcerned with any trouble she causes Luke.

“I’m so sorry that he did that to you. Both of you seem to be very nice people and he should know better than to cause trouble for others,” Vixen frets. She gently takes Nyx and Aedyn by their hands and both half-elves are surprised by her strong grip. “We should wait inside where there are chairs and refreshments. I still have some breakfast on the table since Ilan has a big project that he needs to finish by lunchtime. That man never eats when he has something on his mind. That is unless Luke has him stressed out. Then, my husband becomes a bottomless stomach. I hope you enjoy peppered eggs, potato pancakes, and lemon sweet rolls.”

Nyx and Aedyn enter the warm home, but stop in their tracks once they get inside and Vixen closes the door behind them. The finely crafted furniture and somewhat expensive paintings catch little of their attention as they stare at the kitchen table. Leaning over the table with his hand holding a chunk of bread is Luke. Specks of eggs and sweet roll are still on his face as he stares at everyone.

Luke swallows his food and grins impishly. “Hi, Mom . . . How’s Dad?”

Posted in Allure of the Gypsies, Legends of Windemere, Teaser Tuesday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Are Tropes A Good Thing?  A Bad Thing?  Or Somewhere In The Middle?

Posted on June 3, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Posted by Joy York It was years after I began writing that I learned about tropes. I never had one in mind when I wrote any of my books. I’m a …

Are Tropes A Good Thing?  A Bad Thing?  Or Somewhere In The Middle?
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A Hero From A Villainous Lineage

Posted on June 2, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

One Piece

The inspiration for this week’s topic is ‘One Piece’.  Kind of spoilers, but this is something revealed in 2016.  Anyway, the character of Sanji is revealed to have come from an infamously villainous family called the Vinsmokes.  He’s the black sheep of the family though because he isn’t as strong or cruel.  This got me thinking about how common it is for there to be a good-natured protagonist who comes from an evil family.  So, why is this a popular trope?

One reason is that this touches on the tried-and-true subject of ‘nature vs nurture’.  This has always been a popular topic of debate since people have different opinions on which is more powerful.  With a hero who comes from an evil family, one can believe that they are naturally prone to do bad things.  Yet, this one person isn’t like the others, which can be caused by being raised by someone else.  Maybe they were abandoned for some reason or ran away, but they escaped the influence of their family early enough to not be ‘infected’ by their evil.

An addition to the ‘nature vs nurture’ concept is that there is always a threat of them falling.  There can be hints that they might join or at least imitate their family to reach their goals.  It could be that they are extra violent, turn off their empathy, or have no qualms about doing horrible things if they feel their target deserves it.  It works best if you make the protagonist an anti-hero instead of a true hero, but the latter can be gradually pushed towards this side.  It depends on how they feel about their biological family and if they want to be accepted.

Some authors will do this solely to throw a twist into the story.  Think of the reveal that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker’s father.  It shocked everyone at the time because nobody saw it coming and such a thing wasn’t common.  Now, it might as well be named after that twist, but that’s besides the point.  As you can guess, this requires that the audience be with the hero for an extended period of time.  So, it might work best for a series or at least a longer work.

You might think doing this for shock is a bad thing, but it accomplishes an important feat if done correctly.  Most importantly, the hero either shouldn’t have known this from the start or assumed they would never meet up with their family again.  The first option is probably best if you want to give them a true inner conflict.  Being from a dark lineage, the hero must question their own ‘nature vs nurture’ background as well as deciding how they handle their family.  It’s no longer an unconnected enemy that they are facing, but blood relations.  If they are truly good then they will have to figure out if they are okay with killing, capturing, or doing anything negative to these people.  They might even believe that they can turn them from the dark side even if they haven’t seen any proof of that earlier.

Redemption is a third option for this type of story if the character is aware that their family is evil.  Not for their family, but for themselves.  Sometimes, they participated in the crimes as a child and something caused them to turn good.  Other times, they left as a child when someone they cared about was hurt or killed.  So, they set out to atone for their family’s actions by doing good and possibly even taking them down.  This can be seen as a conclusion to the previous inner conflict where the hero decides that the world would be better off without their lineage.  An added twist here is them deciding on what to do about themselves once they are done.  If they feel their bloodline is evil then they might try to take themselves out at the end.

Personally, I like this type of character, but I wouldn’t use it often.  I did it with Dariana in Legends of Windemere and I revealed it soon after she debuted. Can’t say I did it with any of my other books so far.  Having a child come from a dark family isn’t as much of a challenge as it once was though.  So, I don’t think I would use it very often unless it really works for the characters.

So, what do other people think of the hero from a villain family?

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World Reef Awareness Day

Posted on June 1, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Coral reefs are very important ecosystems, which have been in danger due to pollution and climate change for a long time.  So, today is used to bring awareness to how essential they are and the threat they are under.  Best to just list some facts:

  • A reef is a large, living structure created by coral polyps.  The polyps leave their skeletons behind, which forms the reef.
  • Coral reefs support approximately 25% of all marine life.
  • Their colors come from zooxanthellae (algae) living within the coral tissue along with chromoproteins and fluorescent pigments created from the color.  This is why dead coral is bleached white since it can no longer produce the latter two or support he algae.  Coral bleaching is caused by stress.
  • Many fish depend on coral reefs for food, which means humans who eat the fish depend on these environments as well.
  • They exist in shallow, clear water because they require sunlight.
  • If a reef gets too hot, the coral will get rid of the algae, which causes bleaching and the eventual death of the reef.
  • These structures act as storm buffers and reduce erosion of nearby islands. This is done by slowing down the flow of water.
  • Coral reefs began forming nearly 240 million years ago.
  • They clean the water that they live in.
  • There are more than 800 species of hard coral, which form reefs.
  • The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef system on Earth and can be seen from space.
  • Coral is considered an indicator species.  This means that their health will indicate the overall health of the environment.  Strong coral means good ecosystem while sick coral means bad.
  • Climate change makes water more acidic and warmer, which increases the occurrence of coral bleaching.
  • Runoff, seeping, and other forms of water pollution kill corals.
  • Overfishing can eliminate the species that help maintain the coral reefs.
  • Destructive fishing (dynamiting and cyanide) along with reckless boating can physically damage the reef.  Massive corals grow 0.3-2 centimeters per year while branching corals grow 10 centimeters in that time.  It takes around 10,000 years for a reef to form, so any damage is devastating.

Here’s 11 hours of reef and ocean footage.

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Goal Post: Progress Made Against a Whirlwind

Posted on May 31, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

This week didn’t go as planned.  Now, I did finish all of the blog posts for July and August, so that’s a victory.  I also completed the editing of Darwin & the Beast Collector, so I’m going to start typing them in next weekend.  This weekend is for family and to help my son with schoolwork . . . It’s also one where I need to relax a bit because the previous week had far too much chaos.

Without giving specifics, a family member ended up in the hospital last weekend.  I will say it was not my son though.  They’re okay now, but the initial incident was fairly stressful.  Getting them to the hospital was the first challenge and then handling everything afterwards.  Half of my time was spent getting as much stuff done for them as I could before they could come home.  The rest was Pokemon and editing with the latter being easier to pull off since I wasn’t sleeping well for most of the week.  All of this was on top of work, several appointments for my son, and dealing with other annoyances.  If you want to know how exhausted I was, I took a family illness day to help out more when they were released.  I ended up sleeping 10.5 hours after going to bed early and this was with NO medication.

Getting back to the writing side of things, I did figure out how to fix that medallion issue in Darwin & the Beast Collector.  I need it to make a few more appearances, but I apparently added something else to it in a later chapter that makes it easier to handle.  I find this story so much harder to juggle because I changed my mind on where it was going several times.  The foreshadowing still works, but some personalities changed enough that I had to rework a bunch in the edits.  I’m kind of glad that Darwin & the Joy Path is going to be a lot more straightforward when I get back into it.  This one was being worked as a suspenseful mystery with inspiration from ‘Jurassic Park’ and other ‘science gone mad’ stories.  A simple quest is a nice refresher for me since it’s been over 2 years since I wrote anything new.  I think it would work well for the series too because things get heavy afterwards with the final 3 volumes.

This coming week is going to be filled with activity.  My son is part of an art show one night and is getting a music award another.  This is on top of various appointments, but at least we have Friday off.  He’s not with me though.  Another event is prom at my school, which I’m going to attend to support a student.  Have to make sure my dress clothes still fit because I can’t show up looking like a schlub.  I might not be doing more than hanging out with other teachers, but I have to look like I belong there.  Good thing we have the next day off too because I’m going to want the extra sleep.  Another plus is the Pokemon event for next weekend isn’t that interesting to me, so I should be able to get a lot more editing typed in.

Yeah, my life is really boring, which happens this time of year.  The end of the school year is crazy busy and gets kind of pricey.  I don’t deal with it solely as an educator, but as a parent as well.  So, I don’t get to relax that much until the whole thing is over.  I’m happy that the day after the school year ends is Pokemon Gofest, which is a fun way for my son and I to start our break.  Yet, it’s going to be a long slog towards it and I’m hoping to type in all of the edits before July.  It’s possible with there being multiple days off where I don’t have my son.  Then again, this book needed a lot more changing around than the previous 4 because I went more pantser than planner.

Finally, I have to admit that I’m getting nervous about writing something new.  I mentioned it’s been over 2 years, which means I worry about being rusty.  I also feel like my brain isn’t as keen and focused as it once was.  This is a combination of general fatigue, long covid, stress, and very little time to get everything done.  I’m afraid that I can’t pull off a coherent story any more and I need it to be partially solid before editing.  This might require that I take longer to write than usual, so doing only 1-2 chapter sections instead of 2-3 every day.  In the past, it would take me 20 days to write the first draft, but it might be 30-40 this time.  Doesn’t sound bad, but keep in mind that I can’t do any writing when my son is over because I would prefer to spend time with him.  I also won’t be able to write on weekdays with all of the appointments and errands.  So, this really boils down to getting maybe 3 chapters done in a month without any non-weekend days off.  Going to be a long slog, but maybe that’s for the best to get my head back into author mode.

Oh yeah, the 99 cent pricing has done nothing to change sales.  Nothing is moving and I have no idea what to do.  Makes me really wonder why I’m still writing when I can’t afford marketing or even cover art these days.

Goals of the week?

  1. Help son with studying.
  2. Son’s art show and music awards.
  3. Prom.
  4. Type in Darwin & the Beast Collector edits when possible.
  5. Find something else to watch on TV, but don’t know what I’m in the mood for.  I keep thinking of watching ‘Black Sails’ again.
  6. Get extra sleep.
  7. Help family member when needed.
  8. Pokemon Go to stay active since it’s going to be a busy week.  Exercise will be limited.
  9. Mow the lawn tomorrow before it starts raining again.
  10. Wish for it to stop raining on the weekends.
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National Creativity Day

Posted on May 30, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Seems like an important holiday to celebrate, especially for anyone trying to be artistic.  I don’t get to use my imagination as much as I used to, which hurts.  Maybe I’ll get back to it either one day or during the next lifetime.  Still, here are some quotes for those who need a mental boost.

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Writing a Book that Publishers Will Love

Posted on May 29, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

You need a crystal ball to know what publishers like to publish. Some stories pick up interest and become trendy, while others, seemingly catchy, …

Writing a Book that Publishers Will Love
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Poetry Day: Raising a Glass

Posted on May 29, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Google Image Search

(Salute . . . I can’t figure out how to do the apostrophe over the ‘u’, so I hope people read the word correctly.)

We raise a glass to all our friends
Of the past and present

 

To those you knew
Within your youthful days

 

To the ones you meet
Along your winding path

 

To the pals who wandered far away
Never entering your realm again

 

To the allies stuck to you like glue
No matter where you live

 

We raise a glass to all our friends
In hopes of making more

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Questions 3: Monster Hunting?

Posted on May 28, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Not sure where the picture above came from, but it worked for the original post idea.  I was going to do a ‘Ye Olde Safari Gear Shoppe’.  I couldn’t get the concept to work because going on a monster hunting adventure isn’t a general, simple thing.  A lot of gear would be specific to the monsters, terrain, and people.  After multiple attempts, I gave up and decided to open the floor.  I mean, if going on any adventure depends on the individual then lets hear from individuals.  Keep in mind that these questions are going to work off the concept of you willingly going on a monster hunting adventure.

  1. What terrain would you pick to go monster hunting in?
  2. What is one piece of gear you would take that is not armor, weapons, or basic camping?
  3. What would be one monster that you would search for?
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