Special Announcement: I Have an Agent!

I am now represented by Suzie Townsend of Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation.

Yes, I know. SUZIE TOWNSEND. *mental freak out*


This is my agent :D :D :D MY AGENT. I'm never going to get tired of saying that.
I still can't quite believe this is happening, despite that I've had a week for it to sink in. Suzie is nothing short of my dream agent, and I'm fully aware of how fortunate I am to have her. *still freaking out*

I began querying this project in early November, and Suzie was pretty much the first agent I contacted (she was expecting my submission--I won a crit from one of her authors a couple months prior, which turned into a referral to Suzie). She finished my manuscript quickly, but due to an email malfunction, I didn't get her email asking to talk until almost a month later! But it all worked out :D

This past week has been insane--full of uncertainty and excitement and really tough choices. I found myself in the unbelievable position of having multiple offers, which was a dream I never quite dared to have. In the end though, my heart was set on Suzie.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them as best I can, but otherwise... *eee* I have an agent!!!

♥

The Mighty Archetype: Good Guys Gone Bad

Good Guys Gone Bad - These are the ones who break your heart.

Exhibit A: Phoenix from the Marvel Universe

*Official art*         When Jean Grey apparently died saving the rest of her team from a shuttle crash, she emerged from the depths of the ocean in X-Men #101 as The Phoenix, an incredibly powerful being.
        She maintains her new power level as a hero for about two years, before the Hellfire Club starts messing with her mind, guiding her toward, for lack of a better term, the dark side. (Source.)

Exhibit B: Chun-Woo Han from The Breaker
*Official art by illustrator Jin-Hwan Park*         Also known as Goomoonryong, or "Nine Arts Dragon," he had some ambiguous morals, but he always pulled through in the end, including nearly getting himself killed a couple times to protect his pupil. But when the girl he's been pretending not to be in love sacrifices herself for him (and he fails to save her), it pushes him over the edge. He abandons his pupil and sets out for revenge.

So, as you can see, the transformation from good to evil can be a result of both external and internal causes. Maybe the character gets captured and fitted with a device like Sam's watch in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which forces him to betray his friends and comrades. Or maybe making the "wrong" decision becomes the right one in order to save someone important. Or, like Chun-Woo (and Riku from Kingdom Hearts or Sasuke from Naruto), maybe he's always had a little bit of darkness inside him, and all it took was a compelling push to cross the line.

It hurts most when, like Chun-Woo, the character starts out perfectly likable. He's flawed and kind of shallow, but he's a good person. Readers grow to love him, to see him as their security blanket for how insanely kickass he is and how he always pulls through. So when something happens and the light switches, it's devastating. If you can do that to your readers, you're doing something right :) (and they might hate you for it, but that might be okay too lol)

So what do you guys think? Harvey Dent from The Dark Knight would also be a great example of this archetype! Who else fits?

♥

Previous posts in the archetype series:
• 1: Broody Jerks with Hearts of Gold
• 2: The Hero Who Hides Behind a Smile
• 3: The Goofy Guy Who Secretly Kicks Ass
• 4: The Designated Psychopath
• 5: The Mad Scientist
• 6: The Child Prodigy

Have a great week!