Read 2 Review » Victoria Danann

R2R: Where did you come up with the idea for your book?

VD: Please don’t think I’m being difficult or diva, I just honestly don’t know.

R2R: How did you come up with your characters?

VD: I guess it would be rude to answer two questions the same way. So let me try to describe my creative process. Regardless of the art form, I get quiet and still, ask for what I want and it comes. If I want to write a song, I say, “Bring me a melody.” If I want an idea, I say, “Thrill me.” I could spend days on philosophical/spiritual/metaphysical beliefs that, I think, feed and support my creative habit, but few people want to tread those depths. Basically, I honestly don’t know.

R2R: Who did you show your first draft to and why?

VD: Working on the principle that it “takes one to know one”, I gave it to the one of my four, adult children who is creative because I knew that, even if it was awful, she could respond without shattering my impulse to write or my desire to get out of bed the next day.

R2R: Do you have plans to a follow up?

VD: This book was written as the first book of a series which is why it’s so long. The second book in the series is complete and releasing mid October. I’m working on the third now.

R2R: What is your favorite movie?

VD: Willow.

R2R: What do you like to read?

VD: Paranormal romance. My favorite authors are Kresley Cole and Karen Marie Moning (Dream Series). My favorite books are Memnoch the Devil (Anne Rice), The Gate to Women’s Country (Sherry S. Tepper), and Good Omens (Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman). I’m not necessarily recommending these because you would have to have a serious theological background to get all the jokes in Good Omens, a serious theological background to understand Memnoch the Devil, and you would have to be a feminist at heart to appreciate Gate to Women’s Country.

R2R: Where do you go to escape?

VD: My only real escape is inside my head which is why writing is like vacation. Since the world seems to be getting crazier hourly, I’m grateful.

R2R: Do you have any pets?

VD: My thirteen-year-old Doberwoman just passed away and I’m not ready to start thinking about whether I will fill the dog-shaped place in my heart or not.

R2R: What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

VD: Don’t let anyone read your work unless you’re pretty sure they are your target market. I let my husband read the beginning of a PNR manuscript and, based on his critique, didn’t write again for a VERY long time. Now it is excruciatingly obvious to me that he wasn’t the reader I want to please. Duh.

R2R: Would you recommend self publishing or main stream publishing for first time novelists?

VD: This is not a quick question.

You want to go for mainstream publishing if: (1.) You have time to wait (could be years). (2.) You either have the tools necessary to function as a publisher which means editing, formatting, converting files, cover design, book trailers, marketing support which includes those things plus ads, website design/maintenance, social media, etc. or have the money to pay someone else to do it.

You want to self-publish if: (1.) You’re 100% positive that you have a great book. (2.) You don’t mind taking on the triple role of writer/tech/marketer.

A third option is to sign on with a publisher who does only electronic format which means they will perform many of the functions for you. They will take a cut that is less than a print publisher, but more than what you would get going it alone.

Lots of options.

~*~

Be sure to check out Victoria Danann at the following locations…

Please click HERE to check out the books available on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com by Victoria Danann