Rob Walker asks: “Would you say that in general, no matter the provocation, that your main character can not do a despicable act? OK that is unfair and too general. But in general, is it a problem when our hero or heroine sinks to the level of the killer that they chase? Are there exceptions as in self defense?” Good question Rob, and I will do my best to answer. While some authors do let their protagonists sink as low as the bad guys, it is usually under extreme provocation and the character is already set up as a maverick so to speak. Robert Crais’s Elvis Cole is a good example. He is not above breaking the law or killing people when he sees it as necessary to save someone else. There are other characters, like Parker’s Spenser, who bend the rules but what makes it work is that they are at heart good people doing good things. The readers relate to that goodness and accept a temporary fall from grace. That is especially true if the character does not like the fact that he or ...