Why is My Character a Jackass?

Steve Havelock is a complete jackass.

He's Jane's hated husband in Wrecker. I feel safe in describing him as 'hated' because this is mentioned over and over again in reviews and also in email I get from readers.

Now, I don't personally buy into the notion that every character has to be "likeable," although many critics identify Steve's personality as a weakness of the book. There are jerks in real life, why can't there be one in my book? I will concede that if I were doing it over again, knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have written him this way. Who needs a lightning rod like that?

But I digress. What I really want to talk about is Steve himself. I received an e-mail yesterday which basically asks why he has to be such an a-hole. It's actually a good question. The answer is basically because the book started out as something completely different from what it ended up as. Originally I needed a husband that was worth leaving, and I certainly provided one.

Here's a guest blog I did over at Candy's Raves that explains the history of Wrecker, and indirectly, why Steve is a jackass.

Jackass