Monday 7 May 2012

Chat with Victoria Vane, Historical Romance Author


I’m so pleased to welcome the lovely Victoria Vane to my blog today. She's a fellow Breathless Press author and writes historical erotic romance too. Please give her a warm welcome. 

A lover of history and deeply romantic stories, Victoria combines these elements to craft romantic historical novels and novellas for a mature reading audience. Her writing influences are Georgette Heyer for fabulous witty dialogue and over the top characters, Robin Schone , Sylvia Day, and Charlotte Featherstone for beautifully crafted prose in stories with deep sensuality, and Lila DiPasqua for creative vision in melding history with eroticism.

Ms. Vane also writes award nominated romantic historical fiction as Emery Lee. http://authoremerylee.com
Contact:
Facebook: Author Victoria Vane or Author Emery Lee
Twitter: @authoremerylee


KT: Welcome to my blog, Victoria. Tell us a little about yourself.
VV: Sure! I'm in my late forties, have been married to the same man for 29 years and have two sons. I love horses, Baroque music, Ferrero Rocher chocolates, and am a self-professed Georgian Junkie.

KT: I noticed your love of all things Georgian on Facebook. Have you always wanted to be an author?
VV: No. Although I have always loved books, especially romantic stories, I never in my earlier life imagined I had the talent for writing. I never took a creative writing class in school and didn't even begin writing until I was forty-four years old. The first attempt I ever made was story that came into my head and wouldn't leave me be. It was an epic tale of star-crossed lovers set in the world of 18th century horseracing and became my debut novel THE HIGHEST STAKES. Imagine my shock when I sold it six weeks after completion!

KT: That's great. I'm always excited to meet other authors who started writing later in life like I did. Who are some of your favourite writers? Who do you feel has influenced your writing?
VV: Since I write under two pseudonyms, my influences are different for each of these writing personas. Emery Lee writes romantic historical fiction inspired by many of the classic authors I loved in my youth such as the Bronte sisters, William Makepeace Thackeray, Daphne DuMaurier, and the great Georgette Heyer.

The more erotically charge stories written as Victoria Vane have been inspired by Robin Schone, Sylvia Day, Charlotte Featherstone and Lila DiPasqua, with another heavy dose of Georgette Heyer.

GH is by far my greatest influence, as she was a master of witty dialogue and creating over-the-top secondary characters that added so very much color to her stories. She also brilliantly captured the speech and tone of the Regency period as I have endeavored to do in the Georgian era.

KT: That's interesting. I think Sylvia and Charlotte are fabulous erotic romance authors. So, tell us what a typical writing day for you is like. 
VV:  I am NOT a morning person. Although I set my alarm for 8:00AM, I often sleep until 10:00 or 10:30. After drinking half a pot of coffee I begin my day with emails and promotional work, which usually takes up the rest of my morning into the early afternoon. If I have any blogs to write or research or editing to do, I tackle that during the day, along with a few household chores, but I generally don't try to do any creative writing until the late afternoon or early evening as my brain isn't ready for it yet. After cooking dinner for my family, I take the dog for a 30 minute walk and think about what I'm going to write while I'm walking. When I get back home, I get to work for real. I generally write from 6Pm until about 1:00 or 2:00Am. Sometimes I take an hour nap and write some more.

My daily writing goal is now 2,500-3,000 words. Some days I can't produce that much and occasionally I go well over the mark but I count myself content as long as I have written at least 1,000 words a day. The exception is love scenes. These are very hard to write and go much slower. I usually have to re-write them 3 or 4 times before I am happy so it might take me 3 days to do a good love scene.

KT: Another author after my heart. Love scenes take ages for me too. LOL. Let’s talk about your new book.  I'm so excited about it as I'm currently reading it. Can you tell us a little about it
VV: A WILD NIGHT'S BRIDE is a racy, rollicking Georgian romp. It's both sexy and romantic, and very funny.
Here's the blurb:

What happens when a struggling actress and a grieving widower come together in a night of unbridled debauchery orchestrated by a bored and machinating rake? With the Devil in Charge, there will surely be Hell to pay...

She’s a lonely lady down on her luck : Phoebe Scott, alias Kitty Willis, is a struggling Covent Garden actress with a bruised heart and a closely guarded secret.

He’s steadfast and eminently respectable: Sir Edward Chambers, Ned to his intimates, is guilt-ridden over his beloved wife's death and avowed to live out a rustic and mundane life … of celibacy.

With the devil in charge — there will surely be hell to pay.
Devil in disguise, Viscount Ludovic DeVere, is determined to return his best friend, Ned, to the land of the living. His meddling machinations result in a night of mind blowing passion after which “dull dog Ned” awakes to find himself in the King of England’s bed!

AWNB is the first title in an erotic historical romance series called THE DEVIL DEVERE, comprised of four scorching HOT historical romance novellas that fit seamlessly together to tell the story of my six main characters and their respective romances. Each of these novellas end with an epilogue that leads directly into the next story. I think readers will really enjoy this fresh and different approach that makes it almost like reading a serial novel. The first title introduces the main characters, all of whom are somehow connected through Viscount Ludovic "The Devil DeVere."

DeVere is a fabulous character, a master manipulator and quintessential rake, who plays a major secondary role in the first and second books, while the third and fourth are both dedicated to him. That may seem highly unusual, but the romantic liaison between DeVere and Diana was so complex that it could be done justice in one book. Thus, I decided to tell their history in THE DEVIL YOU KNOW and their HEA in THE DEVIL'S MATCH. These are also the longest stories. For those who MUST have a happy ending, I advise you to read these titles back-to-back. Incidentally, these two novellas will be combined for release in a trade paperback in late August or September.
Please visit my web site for more info and excerpts: http://authorvictoriavane.com
  
KT: I'm really loving this story so far. How did you come up with the idea for this story?
VV:  The basic premise was inspired by the 2009 film THE HANGOVER. After watching the move I wanted to write something similar, a wildly over-the-top romantic comedy set in the notoriously bawdy Georgian era.

KT: What is up next for you?
VV:  TONS of projects!! LOL!  As Victoria Vane I am contracted for a darkly erotic Georgian romance called DANGEROUS DESIGNS (Yes, the title is meant to invoke DANGEROUS LIAISONS). I will next be working on an erotically charged paranormal romance of the time slip variety that I'm incredibly excited about. My goal is to finish both of these before the end of this year. If THE DEVIL DEVERE does well, I will have an entire spin off series to write that is set in the later Georgian period and into the Regency.

After that, I have two Emery Lee titles that I desire to complete. Neither has yet sold but they are both stories I believe in so I am determined to see them come to fruition whether through a publisher or perhaps independently published.

KT: What is the best piece of advice you would give to a budding writer?
VV:  Work your tail off and don't ever stop. The competition is beyond fierce. You need to write as much as you can as often as you can. Do not ever undervalue professional editing or great cover art, especially if you decide to go the Indie route. I will never publish anything without an editor because I can't see the errors or weaknesses in my own writing. Most writers can't. It's a big mistake to try to do it all on your own and readers are not very forgiving. They will move on to someone else very quickly if you do not provide the quality they seek.

KT: What is the next book on your To Read Pile that you are dying to jump into?
VV:  Unfair question as I have so very many!!!!
There are several authors I have become friends with whose work I am dying to read. My favorites are almost always authors who incorporate a lot of historical detail into their stories. Jennifer Blake is at the top of my pile. Also Joanna Bourne's Black Hawk as I love THE SPYMASTER'S LADY.  I also want to read more Pamela Clare.

C.J. Archer is an Indie pubbed author who recently scored a contract with Amazon. I have heard great things about her first two books and want to read them. I also haven't had a good fix from Loretta Chase or Grace Burrowes for a while. That's just the top of mount TBR.

KT: Yes, the never diminishing TBR pile. LOL. I have one of those too. Is there anything else you would like to add?
VV:  Yes. I generally abhor rules and formulas and only adhere to the ones I must!  LOL! Although I favor the Georgian setting, all of my books have a distinctly different "flavor."  You will never get the same story twice! So if you pick up my books, prepare to be surprised.

KT: It's been fantastic chatting with Victoria. You can check out some of her books.

VICTORIA VANE TITLES:
A BREACH OF PROMISE,Ellora's Cave 12/23/11
A WILD NIGHT'S BRIDE, Breathless Press 4/27/12
THE VIRGIN HUNTRESS, Breathless Press, 6/29/12
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW- Breathless Press, 7/27/12
THE DEVIL'S MATCH - Breathless Press TBA

I'm currently reading A Wild Night's Bride by Victoria Vane. Make sure you check out my post next week at The Nuthouse Scribblers for my thoughts on Victoria's book. Have a great week y'all.

6 comments:

  1. What a great combination: History, Romance and a sexy hero. Just my kind of thing!

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  2. Hi Yazmin! A WILD NIGHT'S BRIDE is also wildly funny! I hope every reader gets a good belly laugh out of it!
    Thanks for commenting. Victoria

    ReplyDelete
  3. Trying not to be a hater... Sold first book six weeks after completion, AND has written all these juicy books I need to add to my TBR list? Not. Fair.

    Congrats, Victoria/Emery, and Kiru, love the new page.

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    Replies
    1. LOL. Selling a book only weeks after writing it is envy-inducing, isn't it? But Victoria is a fab writer. You'll love her books. :)

      Thank you, Beverly. :)

      Delete
    2. Hi Beverly-
      It's all about striking the right chord with an editor- very much a stroke of luck. Once I got my foot in the door, I was determined to keep going, and I'll continue as long as I have stories anyone wants to read. LOL!

      Delete
  4. Congratulations on selling a book just after completing, Victoria. And then all these other books being published!

    Thanks Kiru!

    ReplyDelete

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