From SRP author Mark Posey:
One of the perks of writing thrillers (aside from the unhealthy amounts of caffeine and the excuse to spend hours Googling “how long does it take a body to decompose in a root cellar”) is that I get to torture my characters. It’s basically part of the job description. You come for the plot twists, you stay to watch me put my poor fictional people through hell and see who crawls out the other side.
But between you and me, not all characters are created equal when it comes to suffering. Some of them practically invite me to throw rocks at them. Which brings us to today’s cage match:
Jacobine vs. Billings.
Who’s more fun to torture?
On the one hand, Jacobine’s a nun with a gun. She’s already given up coffee, chocolate, and the good life for vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. (Well, mostly.) She’s deadly, smart, and a little too good at seeing through my tricks. Which means if I want to make her sweat, I have to throw some nasty curveballs her way. Kidnappings, moral dilemmas, enemies with more firepower than the Marines—you name it, she’s faced it. Torturing Jacobine is like sparring with a pro boxer: you’re going to get hit back.
Billings, on the other hand…oh, Billings. He’s a spook, sure. He’s tough, smart, and cynical enough to see the rot in the world for what it is. But the man has one fatal flaw: he thinks he’s in control. Which makes him delightful to torment. Nothing’s more satisfying than pulling the rug out from under a guy who believes he knows the score. Billings is the kind of character who, when you drop him in quicksand, still insists he’s got this handled right up until it hits his neck.
So who wins the “fun to torture” crown? Honestly, it’s a tie. Jacobine makes me work harder—every punch I throw at her, she dodges or counters. Billings, though, makes me laugh when I pull the rug out from under him. They’re both like the ideal sparring partners in the author’s gym of cruelty.
But don’t take my word for it. Which one do you like watching squirm more: the deadly nun who doesn’t flinch, or the CIA agent who thinks he’s seen it all?
Hit reply and let me know or drop your vote in the comments. I’ll be over here sharpening my knives and researching new ways to ruin their day.
— Mark.
