Victoria Fox

Victoria is the author of Temptation Island, Hollywood Sinners and Wicked Ambition. 

We chat to Victoria about her ideal dinner guests, her favourite author and her approach to writing. 

What’s your writing style like?

Bonkbusters should have a great sense of humour and fun, and be a bit tongue-in-cheek, so that’s what I aim for. My characters are larger than life and get up to some seriously outrageous antics, so I try to keep my writing light and funny to accommodate this. All the bonkbusters I read as a teenager – Jackie Collins, Jilly Cooper, Shirley Conran – have influenced my style. The thing I love best about these women is how ballsy and brave they are. I don’t want my sex scenes to be watered down or uninspired – they have to be confident, assured and blazing-hot!

Are you working on anything at the moment that you can tell us about?

I’m finishing the final draft of my new book POWER GAMES, which is published July 2014. This one’s about seven celebrities who fall victim to a shocking revenge plot: their private jet gets sabotaged and they must fight for survival in the Borneo jungle! It’s my most ambitious novel to date and I’m very excited.

Who is your favourite author?

In the genre, it has to be Jackie Collins. Elsewhere, I love Rose Tremain, Jeffrey Eugenides and John Fowles.

What’s your favourite word?

Plum.

Do you have any guilty TV/music pleasures?

Loads! I always get into I’m a Celebrity… It’s awful, I know it’s awful, but something about visiting the Australian jungle on cold winter nights is irresistible. On the music front I think I have a Kavana CD knocking about somewhere. On the cover his hair’s like a pineapple and he’s wearing MC Hammer trousers. Nineties!

Do you get writers block and if so, how do you combat it?

I don’t really believe in writer’s block. For me it’s more ‘writer’s-I-can’t-be-arsed’ or ‘writer’s-I’d-rather-be-doing-something-else’, like watching telly or having a bath. If you sit down for long enough and try to get the words down, they will come – so, like any job, it’s about showing up and getting on with it. True, productivity comes and goes, as does quality: some mornings I’ll sit for hours achieving nothing, then I get a rush of a couple of hours where the whole day’s word count falls out. It’s about catching the wave when it comes, but you have to be there to catch it in the first place.

Do you plan?

Yes, but not in masses of detail. I need to know what my book is about, who my main characters are, what happens to them and where they are all going to end up. Much of what happens in between is decided along the way. Planning too rigorously can be limiting – characters and storylines will unfold in ways you haven’t anticipated, and if this happens you should always be flexible enough to follow. Stories have a strange way of deciding on their own how they want to develop.

Do you have any writing rituals?

My favourite Virginia Woolf A Room of One’s Own mug, full of tea, office door closed and silence.

Ideal dinner guests?

Simon Cowell, Joaquin Phoenix, Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyoncé, Susan Sarandon.

If you could swap places with anyone for a day, who would you pick?

The amazing gaucha (cowgirl) I went horse riding with recently in Patagonia. My next book will begin on an Argentine ranch and I’d love to be in her shoes for a day to see how it all works.

Five tips for new writers?

1. Don’t stop until you reach ‘The End’ – you must have something entire to work on and edit, and it doesn’t matter if your first draft is raw.

2. Never give up. It’s trite, but true. You will face rejection at some point, no author gets away with this, and you must have faith and a thick skin.

3. Love what you’re writing. Is this the kind of book you would be excited to read? Have fun with it – this will inject so much life and energy into your voice.

4. Know your market. What titles would yours sit alongside? What authors inspire you? Who is going to read your book? You don’t need to be an expert but having an idea of where your work would be positioned in a commercial market is hugely helpful both to you as a writer and to the agent/editor who takes you on.

5. Research literary agents. When your book is ready, don’t just fire it off to every name you can find. Agents like to see a submission has been tailored to them, their interests and the genres they are seeking. Take care with this – agents have so many manuscripts to read and yours must stand out from the crowd.

Victoria’s website. 

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.