My favorite stories have good villains. For me, the villains are often the most enjoyable characters to create for a story. My villains tend to be a little over the top, cunning, powerful, and often ridiculous. Here is a character from Smoog and the Eye of the Trillagryyn (2005), named Darrington. He is the General of the Queen’s army with a devious plan to obtain the Magic Necklace from the Queen for his own power-hungry aspirations.
        What makes him a good villain, in my mind, is his unpredictable temper. Here, the mere ringing of a telephone so irritates him that he blasts the phone to smithereens without hesitation. The guy holding the phone (Darrington’s personal servant) is well aware of Darrington’s quick temper, and probably fears for his life on a daily basis.

     In the scene below, Darrington has been led to believe that the necklace is inside the box he holds, only to discover the box is empty. He knows instantly who has tricked him.

Here is Darrington with what he believes to be the instrument that will assure him of his prize. It’s a Triptoscope, an invention that allows one to peer into the future. To him, this is the instrument that will prevent any possibility of failure in his evil plans for power.