Victoria Dannan Interview
Mary: Who inspires you?
Victoria: I never miss the opportunity to say that I started writing Paranormal Romance because of Kresley Cole whom I call The Great Kresley. But, once I started writing, I find that I am inspired by the characters themselves.
Mary: Where do you find your ideas? Does something trigger them? Do you carry around a notebook incase inspiration strikes?
Victoria: I don't carry a notebook around, but one of my characters who is a vampire author of vampire romances, Istvan Baka, does. Ideas are not one of my challenges. I've been meditating for so long that I have a conduit open to the great divine creative. I simply get quiet and still and say, "Bring me a melody, or an image, fill in black."
Mary: Do you like to write series? Or single titles only?
Victoria: The first book in The Order of the Black Swan series is the only one that will stand alone. The others will draw on information from preceding volumes. I set the series up in an environment with limitless potential so that I would never get bored with doing the same thing.
Mary: Do you like to travel? If so where is your favorite city?
Victoria: My husband and I both worked for the airlines when we were younger. Because of free flights and lots of accompanying deep discounts, we had the opportunity to travel a lot more than most. We did love to travel when traveling was still fun. Without hesitation I can tell you my favorite city in the world is Edinburgh which is why it is the headquarters of The Order of the Black Swan.
Mary: Can you tell us where people can find you? Web site, social media, blog, etc.
Victoria: http://www.victoriadanann.com
VictoriaDanann.me
http://www.facebook.com/vdanann
Mary: What is your writing process?
Victoria: I start with a basic idea then build that into a skeletal outline. I copy that outline to a second document I label my "extended outline" and then start fleshing out from there. It's the best way I can keep things organized. When I think of this or that detail I want to include, I have to have a place to plug it into a "timeline".
Mary: Where do you want to go with your writing career?
Victoria: I would love to end up with a series that is as well-respected and much loved as the Fever Series, Immortals After Dark, and Black Dagger.
Mary: What is your work in progress? And, when do you plan to have it done?
Victoria: The second book in the series is complete and releases October 14th. Let me add a little promo for the Release Day Party at my Facebook address. There will be discount coupons for The Witch's Dream and instructions on how to get one of the gorgeous "World of Black Swan" mousepads.
I am writing the third book, The Summoner's Tale, now. It is scheduled for release on Valentines' Day, February 14, 2013.
Mary: What are your thoughts on self-publishing verses traditional publishing?
Victoria: I'm very happy with the path I chose, but, truthfully, it doesn't qualify as either one. I'm not self-published, but I am published by my own company, 7th House, that has been publishing my planners and books (among others) for the past fourteen years.
Mary: Does your family support you in your writing career? How?
Victoria: Oh yes. My spouse supports me wholeheartedly partly because he likes me to be happy and partly from guilt - I think. When I was very, very young I wrote a PNR manuscript and made the giant mistake of asking him to read it. After he finished telling me what he thought, I didn't write again for several decades. At that time I didn't understand that he is the farthest thing from my audience. His biggest criticism was that I was not nearly descriptive enough. The huge irony is that "too descriptive in places" is the criticism I probably get from readers most often when they don't love my work.
Mary: If there was one wish you could ask the genie in the bottle to grant, what would it be?
Victoria: I would like to spend some time in the body of one of my characters, Elora Laiken, in the second book, in the world I created.
Mary: Would you ever consider converting one of you stories/published books into a screenplay? And if you could corroborate with someone, who would it be?
Victoria: At this point I'm not interested in that because I've seen what happens to great writing when it's converted for screen. HBO's "True Blood" series is an excellent example. Sookie Stackhouse was FUN! The TV show is gory and so beyond perverted it bears little resemblance - as you probably know. At present I'm thinking no thanks. If I was desperate for money for some reason, I might change my mind.
By Victoria Danann
The Order of the Black Swan #1
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: 7th House
Date of Publication: April 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-933320-49-6
ASIN: B007V8RAKW
Number of pages: (estimated 370)
Word Count: 111,268
Purchase Links: Amazon Smashwords
BOOK TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/embed/wIDjWBWHg2k
Book Description:
Minutes ahead of inevitable assassination, Elora Laiken is forcibly transported to an alternate dimension similar, but not identical, to her own. She is stranded. Alone. Far from home. A stranger in a "strangish" land.
Of course a girl could suffer worse problems than having gorgeous suitors. Perhaps more importantly, in the midst of an epidemic of vampire related abductions, can she stay alive long enough to choose between an honor debt, true love, or the breathlessness of single-minded passion?
My Familiar Stranger is a full length, stand alone, Paranormal Romance novel that also sets up the foundation for the Black Swan series. It is loved by fans of paranormal romance, fantasy romance, and urban fantasy.
Erotica quotient: A few steamy scenes. No menage. No BDSM.
For the past thirteen years, Victoria has illustrated and authored Seasons of the Witch calendars and planners.
Though works of fiction are a departure for her, she has had this series simmering on the back burner of her mind for years. In addition to authoring and illustrating Seasons of the Witch, she plays rock music and manages one of Houston's premier R&B/Variety/Pop bands.
This series will include some of my actual experience in the paranormal with fictionalized anecdotes from my journals during the years when I was a practicing "metaphysician", but most of the material is fantasy.
web http://www.victoriadanann.com
blog http://www.victoriadanann.me
facebook http://www.facebook.com/Victoria.Danann.9
goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8920457-victoria-danann
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