June 3rd Blog ~ Good Demons?
Reflections
This weeks Question: Do Demons make good heroes? Can Demons be good?
Kristy says - A magazine article that I’ve read recently found here stated that demon and angel-themed series are becoming more prevalent. I thought I’d take a moment to discuss demons today. Demons are a particular favorite of mine, because they are seen as bad until proven otherwise. Like the vampires of the past, and the tortured werewolves, Demons are the new bad boys on the block and they are good at what they do.
I like my bad boys as much as any other lady, but I like my bad boys good. That poses the question, can Demons be good? We’ve seen saintly vampires who won’t touch human blood, and shape-shifters that would rather die than harm a single hair on the head of the woman he loves. Can Demons reach that status? I can’t believe, as a writer, that I’m even asking that question. Demons can be good, bad and sexy given a great scene to drop them into.
Demons weren’t always the evil derelicts that they are portrayed as. In many cultures they’ve held neutral standings as well as both good and evil. I think what makes demons unique is the rampant freedom with which one could write about them. Because the range of their actions in mythological history is so great, they could be anything, do anything and still fall under the blanket of being a demon.
So, Do Demons make good Heroes? Absolutely. Can Demons be good? Only if you want them to be.
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Jackie says - The Uprising of demons is a bit of a puzzle to me as I keep hearing that paranormal/fantasy as a genre is falling out of favour, and yet…
Everywhere I look the bookshop shelves are groaning with them, Amazon, and other websites are highlighting them are their main features, so why the dichotomy?
Can you have a ‘good demon’? Well yes, our own Kristy is busy writing a book where her demon has turned almost saintly. We’ve all fallen in love with him instead of the ‘good-guy’. That’s not to say we’ve fallen out of love with the ‘good guy’, we haven’t. But a GOOD demon? Boy oh boy, is that something for the reader to battle with?
It also kind of blows away my intended comments, that without a demon terrorising the plot, the reader could lose out on some serious conflict. We all love to hate the bad guy, don’t we?
Like everything/everyone else, demons have their place in the story, and if not used to their full potential, then you may as well leave them out altogether. But then who would the reader get to ‘hate’?
Better keep them in, then, especially as they seem to be on the rise.
Tags: books, demons, paranormal romance, trends, vampires, writing
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:39 pm
I do believe demons can be heroes without losing the bad boy demon quality. I believe good guys and villians can come in any package if written well. Are they the next thing? Totally possible.
The shelves are inundated with vampires and the like. I only read a few and it’s a bare smattering of what’s available. Shifters, all varieties are in there, but maybe not as prevelant. I think adding demons could definitely broaden the reading selection.
Give me a good story and I’ll believe almost anything. *grin*
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Great post
That’s what makes a demon such a fascinating character for me. He (or she) can have admirable characteristics, morals and scruples just like the rest of us.
But in the end, he’s still a demon, and demons do what they do.
He’s a good guy with an evil day job that he can’t quit. Conflict much?
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:29 pm
I couldn’t agree more with both of you. I love the conflict that demons present. Thank you both
June 4th, 2009 at 9:03 am
I enjoyed your blog on demons. What you forgot was female demons. In my Morgaine series of paranormal romance novels, Morgaine goes from being a sexy semi-good witch to becoming a demon when she uses black magic to save the life of her lover and win him away from his wife. Throughout the series, she varies between being good and bad and in-between. Also, making an appearance in some of the novel is the most famous female demon of all — Lilith. Also,if you ever saw the TV series Dark Shadows, Angelique also went from being a witch to a demon.
June 4th, 2009 at 9:06 am
After I wrote my portion of the blog, I did think on female demons, I’ve always been fascinated with the controversy over Lilith. I hope to see both male and female demons on the rise in romance, they deserve their day too!