March 1, 2008

Victoria Alexander is here today!!

Written by Cindy Kirk in Jaunty Post

I’d like you all to give a big Jaunty welcome to my friend, NYT Best Selling author, Victoria Alexander.

Victoria will always have a special place in my heart. Because of her great advise I was tighten up my work and eventually sell. Before we started critiqing together, I was too nice to my characters. I remember vividly one situation. I had the hero come to the heroine’s door and Victoria told me that instead of the heroine being so forgiving, she should shut the door in his face! I always think of that advice when I’m tempted to go down the “nice” road.

And now…..Heeeere’s Victoria!

First of all, thanks to the Jaunty Quill Sisterhood for inviting me here! I have to confess I don’t blog very often. But I do keep a list of things to blog about just in case an opportunity comes along. Top on the list—flaws.

I like my heroines to have flaws probably because I have a huge number of flaws. I simply can’t relate to anyone who is perfect in fiction or in life (although I’ve never met anyone who really is perfect just quite a few people who think they are).

I can’t details all my flaws here, the list would go on forever, so I’ll just talk about one.

I refuse to follow directions.

I love to cook and I’m always trying new recipes but I have a problem accepting that whoever developed the recipe knows more than I do. So sometimes they work, sometimes even my dogs won’t eat the result. I firmly believe if one cup of mashed banana is good, two cups would be fabulous. I went to a cooking school in Italy last year where everything was kind of loosely measured. A dash of this and a handful of that which worked for me. Definitely my kind of cooking! Unfortunately, recreating what we cooked in Italy is a little tricky without measurements.

When I have directions for putting something together—say a piece of furniture—I follow them for a little bit then assume I know what I’m doing and go blithely on my way. Oh, yeah sure, sometimes I have extra parts left over but I think manufacturers always give you extra screws and bolts. Right?

I’m also bad about following directions to get somewhere. I listen to directions for a while then my mind wanders off. I figure as long as I have an address, I can find anything. And I usually do. Okay, sometimes—often—I’m a little late. I’m toying with getting a GPS system but where would be the challenge in that?

This is kind of how I write too. When I wrote The Perfect Wife—my second book—I had no idea where it was going or how I would get there. I wrote things in early chapters that didn’t make sense until later chapters. I still don’t know how it worked out but it did. Now I understand that my writing process is kind of organic. I learn about my characters and my story as I go along. So one action or conflict or twist in the story grows from another. Unfortunately, this means I don’t know where I’m going as often as I do. Avon has just reissued The Perfect Wife with a brilliant new cover and I’ve just finished my 28th ( 6 novellas, 22 novels) story so, while this is not a good way to work, I seem to be stuck with it.

And now, I’ll be hanging around here all weekend and I’m open for questions about anything except more of my own flaws.

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24 Responses to “Victoria Alexander is here today!!”

On March 1st, 2008 at 8:19 am
RobynDeHart Says:

Victoria, welcome! And what a great blog. I totally agree that characters should have plenty of faults. As for following directions, I’m definitely a recipe kind of gal. I do tweak regularly though. Kind of like how I write, I use a plan that’s adjustable as I move through it. I’d never thought of that correlation.

So I have a question, after writing so many books, how do you keep writing fresh?
On March 1st, 2008 at 8:41 am
Amy Says:

Hello fellow Nebraskan!!! So good to see you here Victoria. I totally know what you mean about the cooking…LOL I have to change things because I have to watch what I eat and no receipe is ever right for me. *G*
I have a question about The Perfect Wife. I have a copy from before and wondered, do I need to pick up a copy of the reissued? Is it revamped?
Thanks for the great Blog.
Amy
On March 1st, 2008 at 9:23 am
AndreaW Says:

Hi Victoria!

Great blog . . . and so true! If our heroes and heroines were perfect from the beginning, the story would most likely be pretty boring.

I bought my copy of THE PERFECT WIFE a couple of days ago and the cover looks even more gorgeous in person! I believe I read somewhere that this story was tweaked a bit before its reissue. What kind of changes did you have to make? Also, will this be the start of a new series?

Congrats on finishing Oliver’s story!! Do you have a title and release date yet? I’d love to update my TBB list.

Thanks, Victoria!
On March 1st, 2008 at 10:55 am
Victoria Says:

Hi Robyn,

Tough question and I’m not sure I have a good answer.

For me, every book presents a new challenge. Whether that’s in the form of characters I haven’t met before or story lines I’ve never explored or details of history I’m not familiar with. Every book is a new journey, one I haven’t taken before. And I think—I hope—that makes it new for readers.
On March 1st, 2008 at 11:07 am
Victoria Says:

Hi Amy & Andrea,

The Perfect Wife is tweaked in a very minor way. There was a mistake that has bothered me for years and I cleaned up a little bit of the writing. The story itself isn’t changed at all but the new cover is fabulous! My husband said it was certainly his idea of the perfect wife. And yes, he is lucky to be alive.

I am playing with a series about the great-grandchildren of the characters. We’ll see how that goes.

Oliver’s story is The Seduction of a Proper Gentleman and will be out at the end of August.
On March 1st, 2008 at 11:31 am
AndreaW Says:

Thanks so much, Victoria!!
On March 1st, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Amy Says:

Yes, Thank you Victoria. Woots for Oliver’s Story, and excitment for a possible series. I love sitting on pins and needles. Well, actually I don’t, so that would be a FLAW!!!!! LOL
Amy
On March 1st, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Shana Says:

Hi Victoria,

It’s so encouraging to read that you write books and aren’t sure where they’re going at first. I can certainly relate to that, and since I do follow directions in pretty much everything else, I get a little panicked. good to know that it all will make sense at some point.
On March 1st, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Fedora Says:

Hi, Victoria! Thanks for blogging today! I’m definitely a direction follower, mainly because I haven’t had much success NOT following them! I get lost, or the food’s inedible, or the item to be assembled looks like it was thrown together by blind gerbils… Congrats on all your successes! You’ve got so many wonderful books–do you have any personal favorites? And are there any kinds of books/stories that you haven’t written yet that you’d like to try?
On March 1st, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Anne Mallory Says:

Welcome, Victoria!!!

If there is a dish that I LOVE, I will follow the same directions to the letter the next time - because I want that dish again! If there was something slightly off, I tweak. I think I’m the same with my writing process. If I find something that works (using spreadsheets), I try to duplicate it, something that doesn’t (character charts) - tweakville.
On March 1st, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Victoria Says:

Hi Shana,

Trust me—this is not a good way to work! I really envy people who know the entire story before they start. Mine have to grow as I go along and I’m not always sure the story will work out. I live with panic.
On March 1st, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Victoria Says:

Hi Fedora,

>
Which only makes it that much better when things work out.

The Perfect Wife is very close to my heart but I don’t really have favorites. Right now, honestly, the Last Man Standing books come closest to being favorites. I’m really happy with them.

I have only written one contemporary but I do want to write more.
On March 1st, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Helen Says:

Hi Victoria
I love your books I read The Perfect Wife not long ago and loved it, would love to see some stories about Nicholas and Sabrina’s granchildren I did so love their adventures. And I am really looking forward to Olivers story in August. Thanks for all the wonderful stories that take me away to different places.
Have Fun
Helen
On March 1st, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Isabel Says:

I am playing with a series about the great-grandchildren of the characters. We’ll see how that goes.

Oliver’s story is The Seduction of a Proper Gentleman and will be out at the end of August.

Awesome! I love your heroes and heroines, but I have to say Judith has a special place in my heart. I’m delighted she found her HEA with Gideon.

As for cooking, I make the “accidental good dish” for the DH. We call it “accidental” b/c I’m a vegetarian and his favorite dish’s main ingredient is salmon– I don’t taste it at all as I prep and cook it. It’s been more hit than miss, which is a good thing, I suppose. :mrgreen:.
On March 1st, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Virginia H. Says:

Hello Victoria, I just wanted to say that I love, your books. I have read several of your books and will be looking for The Perfect Wife now. Keep up the fantastic work.
On March 1st, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Mary M Says:

I want to read The Perfect Wife now too! Do you ever find yourself still thinking about your characters years after a book is completed? Is that what prompts ideas for their descendants’ books?
On March 1st, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Fedora Says:

Thanks, Victoria! I’d imagine that books are a bit like one’s kids–one might feel slightly closer to one or another at various times, but one wouldn’t really have favorites I’m looking forward to reading more of your books soon (I’ve got several in my TBR)!
On March 2nd, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Victoria Says:

Hi Anne,

I’m afraid I’m a habitual tweaker—recipes, writing, everything. Which means when Io come up with a good dish—I can’t replicate it. That’s a problem.
On March 2nd, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Victoria Says:

Hi Helen,

Thank you! I think Sabrina & Nicholas’s descendents would definitely have a spirit of adventure in their genes. They will be fun!
On March 2nd, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Victoria Says:

Hi Isabel,

I loved Judith too. She was much tougher and smarter than anyone expected her to be. I like that in a heroine.
On March 2nd, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Victoria Says:

Hi Virginia,

Thank you!
On March 2nd, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Victoria Says:

Hi Mary,

I really don’t think about the main characters—I know their lives are turning out well—but I do tend to wonder about the secondary characters. Whatever happened to them?

What’s prompted this new idea is wondering what would happen if kids discovered their perfectly proper family had members who weren’t quite as proper as they’d thought. How would such a discovery influence their lives?
On March 2nd, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Rainy Says:

Hello Victoria,
Love your books and delighted to find our that you “go with the flow” in your writing and cooking.(I’ve found out this does not work well with baking which tends to be very unforgiving.)
It’s the way I tend to write, too. I will let the characters go and see what they will do and find out about them as the story evolves.
However, that’s where the dreaded “middle” of the story stops me because those damned characters will drop me off in a fork in the road where I can right or left, straight ahead, or possibly back a few steps. Then I get discouraged until new characters from another story whisper in my ear.
Ever have this problem?
Re flaws: what is the worst flaw you have given a character?
On March 2nd, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Victoria Says:

Hi Rainy,

–However that’s where the dreaded “middle” of the story stops me because those damned characters will drop me off in a fork in the road where I can right or left, straight ahead, or possibly back a few steps. Then I get discouraged until new characters from another story whisper in my ear. Ever have this problem?—

Sure, writing is really hard. But you have to ignore the characters from another story and pick a direction for the characters you’re already working with. Sometimes, you pick wrong and you have to rewrite.

– what is the worst flaw you have given a character?—

I’ve had some nasty secondary characters but as far as main characters, I think the most flawed was the heroine from The Emperor’s New Clothes. She was something of a con artist. I loved her!

March 1, 2008

Victoria Alexander is here today!!

24 Responses to “Victoria Alexander is here today!!”

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