Brought To Book victoria Fox
FictionFi i editord Karen chats to bestselling author Victoria Fox about her inspiration and her larger-than-life characters…
THE SANTIAGO SISTERS IS ANOTHER ROMANTIC, EXCITING, SEXY READ! HOWDID YOU CHOOSE TO WRITE THIS GENRE? For me, it’s the best of all worlds. my stories are escapist, thrilling and scandalous, and enormous fun to put together. growing up, i loved authors like Jackie collins and Jilly cooper – specifically the bold and daring characters and plots, and the idea that my imagination could take me anywhere. i adore the glamour and the glitz, the gorgeous players and the larger-than-life storylines. when i hit on the hook for my first novel, i sat down to write it and thousands of words just poured out. WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION? i’m inspired by the celebrity gossip i uncover in magazines and online. i’m a bit of a conspiracy theorist and if i see something that doesn’t quite ring true, be it an unexpected new relationship, a public spat or a cancelled appearance, i imagine what might really be going on behind closed doors… the rest comes straight out of my head! For the santiago sisters, i’d had a job in my teens styling sets in a photographic studio, so i had a broad idea about what might be involved. i just had to glam my scenes up and imagine an intense world of beauty and brutality, with a fair dose of bitchiness, too!
CALIDA OR TERESITA? i’ll say calida, the sensible, more cautious santiago sister. teresita is hot-headed, passionate and impulsive. my sister and i share the same contrasts. For calida and teresita, their differences lead to a deadly rivalr y; thankfully, in real life, i think they can enable us to get along better. EVER BLUSH WHEN YOU WRITE THE SEX SCENES? there’s nothing worse than an author who’s embarrassed by her own sex scenes! i think it comes across in the writing and the reader can tell – and if we’re cringeing, so are you.
WHY DO YOU THINKWOMEN LOVE YOUR BOOKS SO MUCH? i try to make my stories like stepping into another life, so opening the covers is like opening a fantasy world. it’s nice to remove ourselves from the tumult of daily life. women like reading about sex, glamour and romance – there’s a fantasising teen still in all of us!
WHAT NEXT FOR YOU? my next novel, the silent Fountain (out in march 2017) is a gothic timeslip romance set in Florence. despite its differences from my previous titles it still carries the hallmarks: big, sweeping locations, grand themes of love and romance, and strong female protagonists.
The Santiago Sisters, Victoria Fox, Mira PB, £7.99