Why a Woman Con Artist is 1 Great Story

Ninth in an occasional series about compelling stories and ideas worth telling.

Have you ever been in a relationship with a con artist? Did you lose a lot of money? Did you try to get him or her back, against your better judgment? Did that con artist try to kill you? Did you survive and now want to tell your story?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, you are a Western European man who has a very compelling story to tell, one that is worth a ghostwriter’s time.

This man met a woman from an Eastern European country and was smitten. But she disappeared after stealing a lot of money from him, and it took him a while to find her again. All the while, he hoped they could be reunited.

When he found her and realized it wasn’t going to be, he threatened to turn her in for fraud. They met at a bar in an Eastern U.S. state, where he gave her the news. She reacted by angrily shouting at him and punching him. He got up to try and escape from her, but she kept punching and scratching and shouting at him. He had holes in his shirt and defensive scratch wounds on his arms as a result.

The man found himself against a railing overlooking a courtyard about 50 feet below. She tried to push him over but failed before the bartender, who had jumped over the bar to come running, arrived to separate the two.

Compelling enough? Do you want to read more? I’m guessing the answer is yes.

And that is why this story is worth a ghostwriter’s time. 

As I always do in this series, I remind the reader what is a compelling story. It’s a story that has a powerful and irresistible effect; or earns admiration, attention or respect. 

A guy dating a con woman who tried to kill him is compelling. There’s a market for these kinds of stories. In researching for this post, I went to Amazon and searched “married a con artist.” Eight titles came up. Then I searched “married a psychopath” and got 15 titles.

Other components of a compelling story:

How unique, original, and different it is. Women con artists certainly exist, but they’re in the minority, making this man’s story more compelling. One study I found said 73% of people perpetrating fraud were male. While Anna Sorokin aka Anna Delvey is a noted female con artist (“Inventing Anna” is about her) the most famous ones, including Charles Ponzi, Bernie Madoff, Frank Abagnale are male.

In movies, there are far fewer female psychos, although characters played by Glenn Close (“Fatal Attraction”) and Charlize Theron (“Monster”) come to mind. However, there are way more famous male psychos, including characters played by Anthony Perkins (“Psycho”), Christian Bale (“American Psycho”) and Heath Ledger (“The Dark Knight”). Again, there are fewer women, making this man’s story more unique.

How the story relates to the reader. Do other people go through similar ordeals? If they were to read this person’s story, would they see themselves in it? While most people don’t marry criminals, too many women and some men inadvertently and unknowingly marry sociopaths, psychopaths, and con artists. The details might differ from their own. Men conned by women a niche audience to be sure, but they’re out there. It’s also likely that women would be interested in reading about a man being swindled, making this story relatable to both sexes.

It puts the reader there. I have seen pictures of the location where it happened as well as photos of his shirt with holes and the scratch marks on his face and arms. I also have seen a video of the start of the argument that backs up what he told me happened. Unfortunately, a large pillar blocks the actual scene of the alleged attempted murder, but the video does show the bartender racing to the scene, and it shows the woman walking back into frame.

The man is a true survivor, and any ghostwriter who can help him tell his story will enjoy it.

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