The Readers’ Writers: Best-selling author Victoria Alexander – Freeport Journal

Victoria Alexander exemplifies life lived and enjoyed to its fullest. This charismatic lady is a former TV news reporter who viewed all the good and bad this world has to offer, including the time her own husband and other journalists were held hostage by a disturbed man.

Since leaving television, she has seen 16 of her more than two dozen books hit the New York Times, USA Today and/or Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. “The Perfect Wife” was a NYT No. 1 bestseller. In 2009 she was given a Career Achievement Award from RT Bookclub and named Historical Storyteller of the year in 2003.

Victoria’s stories of love, romance and intrigue in bygone eras contain the charm and sometimes quick tongue the author herself possesses. In “The Perfect Mistress,” Victoria unveiled a proper lady who discovers passion is her legacy. But she also introduced some new characters who now have their own story to tell in “His Mistress by Christmas.” Widowed Lady Veronica Simpson seeks the boudoir benefits of marriage without the tedious restrictions. Rogue and explorer Sir Sebastian Hadley-Attwater needs a wife in order to ingratiate himself to his family. Oh, yeah, there’s a collision course if ever there was one.

Q. What prompted you to set your stories in the 1800s?

A. Overall, I think the 19th century is far enough in the past to provide a lovely veneer of romance without being so far in the past that contemporary readers can’t relate to it.

When I first started reading romance, I fell in love with the Regency period in England. For a fiction writer it was a fabulous time. The Napoleonic Wars were raging through much of that period so you have men of great courage and war heroes and all the drama that accompanies countries during wartime. There was a fascinating social system with unmarried women under strict social rules, but those who were married (and had provided an heir) were free to behave almost as they wished. Plus the clothes were gorgeous.

From there, I moved into mid- and now late Victorian. It was a period full of progress and, while fairly civilized, also had great potential for adventure. I think it was a fascinating time to be alive. And I love true stories of Victorian exploration and invention.

Q. How do you consistently create characters unlike the ones in your previous tales?

A. I hate the idea of writing the same story with the same characters over and over, so I put a lot of thought into the stories as well as the characters I create. But honestly, there are so many different facets of people to explore. It’s fun to create a heroine who is firmly a woman of her time and would never think of doing anything improper in one book and then in the next, a heroine who has the means and determination to do exactly as she pleases. My next book (“My Wicked Little Lies”) is about two people who are already married to each other, so I got to explore how and why they would keep secrets from each other.

Trying to make my characters and my stories unique from book to book is a challenge. It means each book is harder to write than the last. As much as I wish it would be easier, I think that’s a good thing. It means I keep working and stretching to write the best book I can.

Q. What one thing do you believe has kept readers coming back to your books?

A. Honestly, I think it’s simple. I write the kind of book I like to read. I want a book that’s going to take me away from real life for a bit and hopefully make me laugh or at least smile. And I think there are a lot of people out there like me. Deep down inside, I’m pretty run-of-the-mill ordinary.

Q. “His Mistress by Christmas” is a bit of a departure for you due to its holiday theme. Will we see more holiday-inspired novels from you?

A. Absolutely! I’m already working on one for next year called “What Happens at Christmas.” I think Christmas is a wonderful time of year to set a story. Aside from the obvious holiday festivities, it is an innately magical time when anything can happen, when miracles happen. And what is more miraculous than falling in love?

Q. Any parting thoughts for your readers?

A. I’ve started a new family series called “Sinful Family Secrets” that centers around the Hadley-Attwater family and their friends and connections. “His Mistress by Christmas” introduces the family, and in the notes section of my website, there’s a section where the matriarch introduces the family. “Meet the Hadley-Attwaters” is in the “Ladies for Tea” format I started in the continuing short story at the end of the “Last Man Standing” books.

I’d also like to thank my readers for liking my work. It’s really a thrill to know that there are people who like what you pour your heart and soul into.

And I should tell them I have a lot more stories left to write!

http://www.victoriaalexander.com/

DA Kentner is an author and journalist. www.kevad.net

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