An Interview with Vivi Anna
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This month we will be talking to Vivi Anna about her Silhouette Nocturne debut, BLOOD SECRETS, her career, and her future plans. Thanks Vivi for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with us. Thank you Debbie! Question 1: Congratulations on your latest release, BLOOD SECRETS! Would you like to tell us a little bit about the story and the yummy alpha male, Caine Valorian? Caine Valorian came out off my love for Gil Grissom on CSI. I was watching the show one night and thought wouldn’t it be cool if Gil was a vampire. Then the world building just exploded from there. I wanted to Caine to possess all the sexy intelligence of Gil but have his own elegance and worldly knowledge that can only come from living for almost 300 years. He’s also physically strong and capable of killing with his bare hands, but he is very refined that he never feels a need to exude his power. I love that in a man! Question 2: Your female characters tend to be very strong women. Eve Grant in BLOOD SECRETS is one such example as she is a human determined to do her job in a world populated with supernatural beings. How much of Vivi do we see in your female heroines? Is there one in particular that resembles you the most? I think all my heroines have little pieces of Vivi. Eve certainly possesses my determination to get things done. Tenacity. I don’t wear leather and run around searching for lost treasures, but I think if forced into a bad situation I could seriously kick some ass like Kat. I certainly do love bad boys with unconventional looks. Question 3: I understand that there will be another book set in the Necropolis. Any teasers you’d like to provide us about that book or any other upcoming books? The next book in the Valorian Chronicles is DARK LIES. Release date for that one is October 2007. This book is about Jace Jericho, the lycan on the OCU and his quest to overcome his hatred of the humans because he’s forced to work with the entire community to solve a series of grisly murders. During the case he meets Tala Channing, a cop with her own set of mysterious secrets and past traumas to work out. They make for a very dynamic and explosive couple. Question 4: You excel at creating fascinating new worlds that really draw the reader into them. Where do you get your ideas for the worlds you create? Or do you start with a character and then craft a world around them? Thank you Debbie! I love world building. It is by far my favorite part of the writing process. Most times I start with a character. I’d have to say 99% of my stories develop out of characters. I picture them in my mind and decide what kind of environment to place them in to give them the most trouble and give them a chance to find redemption. The theme I work through in almost all my books is finding redemption. How can this particular character heal? Question 5: Readers familiar with your spicier books, such as HELL KAT and INFERNO, may be a bit surprised to see you writing for the Silhouette Nocturne line. What appealed to you about this particular publishing line? Do you think they’d be surprised??? I don’t know. To me the line isn’t all that different. I write the same with the same types of themes and characters, it’s just not erotic. When I first heard that Silhouette was opening this line, I knew I had to get in there. I thought what better place to be writing paranormal romances than at Silhouette. That company is amazing for starting and building solid careers. And I lucked out with getting my amazing editor Tara Gavin. Question 6: I see that we share a love for Owen Wilson! What actors or actresses can you envision portraying some of your characters? I originally had Angelina Jolie in mind to play Kat, from Hell Kat, but since her transformation into humanitarian and mother I’ve had to change it a little. Now I think Milla Jovovich would make a killer Kat, or a couple of my new favorite actresses, Tricia Helfer who plays number 6 on Battlestar Galactica, or Katee Sackhoff who plays Starbuck. Both awesome ladies. Christian Bale would make a perfect Caine Valorian. Yummy!!! Question 7: I read on your website about a particular incident that made you strongly consider a life change while repossessing a car. I sense a story here… would you like to share some details? It’s not as interesting as it sounds. I hated that job. Taking cars from people that couldn’t pay for them. Just wasn’t for me. Make me rethink where I was really going in my life. Question 8: What authors have influenced you? If we were to peek on your own bookshelves, who would we find? Stephen King and Nora Roberts have both been big influences in my writing. I was weaned on King at the tender age of 12…loved reading him. Anything horrific and terrifying I wanted to read it. Then I discovered Nora at the age of 21. When I didn’t have anything else to read, my mom gave me her book Honest Illusions. After that I was hooked and glommed her for many years. My bookshelves contain: King, Roberts, Kay Hooper, Marian Keyes, Jonathan Kellerman, Tami Hoag, Janet Evanovich, Dean Koontz, Rachel Caine, Robert Jordan, LKH, Anne Bishop, Mercedes Lackey, Kelley Armstrong, Kim Harrison, and most recently…Lilith Saintcrow, Patricia Briggs, Jennifer Armintrout, Alex Archer, JR Ward, Patti O’Shea, Linnea Sinclair… Question 9: Do you have any specific rituals you go through while writing? Any particular ways you celebrate once a book is done? I have to have quiet when I write. I don’t light candles, or drink wine, or set any kind of mood. I sit my butt down in the chair and write usually at the same time every day. I have to make it a habit or I’d never get anything done. My mind tends to wander… I go out and buy myself something nice when I finish a book as a reward. One day, I’ll celebrate by buying a big ticket item like a new car…but I think I have a few books to go before that ever happens. Question 10: What is your favorite place to write and what does it look like? I write at my computer and it’s a complete and utter mess. LOL I have stuff everywhere. Books, papers, my worry stone, bookmarks, and the funny little things my daughter makes me scattered all over the desk. I think I’d feel weird if it was all clean and tidy. Question 11: If you could meet any one character out of all of your books, who would you choose to meet and why? I want to say Kat, but I’d be afraid that she’d beat me up. Question 12: What do you do to relax when you are not writing? I watch a lot of movies. I love movies. I also like to go for long walks by myself to reflect and think. Or I’ll play games with my daughter. Question 13: How would you describe the ideal romantic hero? My ideal romantic hero – tall, dark, charming with a dangerous air about him, but possesses a true and caring heart. Question 14: If you were given 3 wishes, what would they be? Dang, that’s a tough question. My first wish would be that my daughter would grow up into a happy healthy adult and be successful at whatever she chose to do with her life. Second wish, would be for me to live to see that. Third wish, that I would have an unlimited supply of money that I could do whatever I wanted with. Question 15: Which book has been your favorite to write and why? The book I’m working on is always my favorite. Some have been more freeing than others to write, but I love everything I’ve written. Hell Kat will probably always have a special place in my heart. It was fun to write, and I adore the characters I developed. Thank you so much Vivi for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer our questions. Is there anything you else you would like to say in closing? Thank you Debbie. I’d like to say that I love hearing from readers, so don’t be shy about emailing me, or making comments over at my blog, or at romancebytheblog where I hang out every day. Visit Vivi Anna's website!
Interviewed by
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