My latest book, Bethulia, follows the story of several women, but they all revolve around a man, Simon Delaney. There are two things you need to know about Simon Delaney. a) he’s good-looking and b) he’s the bad guy. This is not a serious spoiler, because I think it’s fairly obvious to the reader from the start. How or why he has done bad things is another matter.

Some villains can be very compelling, drawing the reader in far better than the hero. Goodness and nobility often comes across as boring, whereas wickedness and villainy can be quite appealing. Milton may not have intended to create a fan club for Satan when he wrote Paradise Lost, but that’s what he did. In real life, as well as in fiction, women are sometimes drawn to bad guys. I know he’s one of the greatest romantic figures of all time…