Beautiful People Linkup – Villains Edition: Christine

I totally didn’t forget about Beautiful People this month. Nope, that was not me xD. So, here’s a slightly later linkup than usual, on a Saturday because I realise next Wednesday is no September of this world! (It’s hard to believe it’s already soon October!) Meme by Notebook Sisters and Further Up and Further In.

I was very tempted to consider the antagonist of Horology, but I’ve put that book aside for a few months whilst I edit and hone my other books. For a completely different reason that I know a lot about him already than I want to (The Continental world is full of secrets I’m not willing to myself find), I’m staying away from WTCB’s antagonist, the infamous Rion Costello.

Instead, I’ve chosen to talk about someone who’s not been mentioned on the blog all that much. Granted, she’s not a central character in Triangle, my woman’s fiction/contemporary romance, but she is certainly one of the most malicious characters in the first two thirds of the book.

“You need to find yourself a woman who is as equally temperate and dull. Andrea and I were searching for excitement. You need a girl who likes simple things: reading, popular music, trekking.”

Christine Taunton

1. What is their motive?

Christine would say that her ‘motive’ is enlightening Andrea to how dull Keith is as a lover. She doesn’t mean to be sharp, but she doesn’t really have a filter between mind and brain.

2. What do they want, and what are they prepared to do to get it?

What Christine wants is to be sufficient – she has a weakness for glitter and good living. To get this, she’s not afraid to hook up with someone she doesn’t love – as long as he keeps buying her things, and entertains her. She hates being bored.

3. How do they deal with conflict?

By spiteful comments, certainly. When her ex turns up at her mother’s health appointment, for instance, Christine’s not afraid to give him a piece of her mind.

4. Describe their current place of residence.

Christine’s current home is a comfortable, mid-range white-walled bungalow just outside town, which she bought after her mother began forgetting housework and struggled on her own.

5. If they were writing this story, how would it end?

Probably the same way as it is. Although she is, as I say, malicious, Christine gets what she’d call her happy ending (until an inevitable divorce, I suspect).

6. What habits, speech patterns, etc. are unique to them?

Christine has a habit of tossing her hair over her shoulders, even when she isn’t wanting anything. She also has slender fingers, from playing the violin in her youth, which she occasionally rubs together.

7. How do they show love? What do they like to do with/for people they love?

She shows love by lavishing gifts on her friends and family. Though she can also show love through affectionate touch – if she cares for someone, she’ll touch their arm or comfort them. She also makes a mean cherry clafoutis.

8. Do they have any pets?

Nope. Christine looks after her mother and that’s a handful enough.

9. Where would they go to relax/think?

To relax, she watches movies, ‘chick flicks’ mostly, like Love, Actually and Pretty Woman, though she has a weakness for Miss Marple and cosies (but the popcorn doesn’t taste as sweet then). She likes sitting in those precise Japanese gardens.

10. What is their weapon of choice? (FYI: words, eyes/looks, and fists count as weapons too.)

Stilettos? 😉 Her words are her most hurtful of weapons, but I wouldn’t vote against her removing her shoes and digging them into an attacker/rapist.

So that’s Christine for you, one of my lesser ‘villains’, but a woman with a temperament as hot as fire and twice as sharp. She’s contemporarily mean, but, like all the best ‘villains’, she’s not afraid of redemption.