Thursday, September 13, 2007

Giving part of the story from a villain's pov

I've always thought that readers might want to gain an insight into a villain's mind-works in the story, but apparently that's not the case; at least not according to Samhain Publishing.

I've submitted to them one of my suspense thrillers with romantic/paranormal elements and it does open up in killer's pov since it's essential to the story and for the reader to understand where the paranormal thread/element comes from. The premise is quite simple. The killer assassinates his 'mark' but because of paranormal elements (an ancient heirloom locket the victim wears) the victim survives what for all intents and purposes is a sure-kill.

Samhain, however, feels that it is very bad to start in killer's pov or to show glimpses of what drives the killer throughout the story. This was number one 'flaw' of the story's presentation according to the editor. Number two was that there were more than one point-of-view presentation. Basically, the editor said it's not possible for the reader to follow 'threads' of the story as these are far apart by definition of what the story is but they come together as the events impact on them and force them to come together (as they must) for the story to have a resolution.

I'd like to hear from readers and writers as to whether giving insights into villain's motives and motivations is unacceptable. I've always found the books that present multi-viepoints much more interesting, especially in case of mystery-suspense and how it all flows into resolution.

And while you're at it check out my contest page on my website. There's just a few days left. If you're finding it a challenge to reply according to conditions, just drop me a line and tell me about it. It's a sunny but a bit cold day here so have a great day out there. Edita.