I get giddy when I think of this author whom I've known for nearly a decade (yes, ma'am, think about that!). Her talents were legendary to thousands of online readers of fan fiction, and she was touted from the get-go as the first break-out star of the writers who held us spellbound back in the day. We weren't wrong. For the past seven years, she has written professionally and could easily claim the mantel of the Nora Roberts of erotic e-romance--she's knocked out nearly 100 published stories from novellas to full length novels. A 2009 Eppie winner (for "Walk Among Us" with Samhain Publishing) and 2010 Eppie winner for best erotic romance/novella and paranormal romance respectively, and a 2012 Epic finalist for paranormal romance - let me stop drooling, and just let you take a moment to learn more about the luscious Vivien Dean.
So here's my Magic Eight questions:
Q. Let's get to the facts right up front. What's your full author name, website, your latest release, the WIP that is keeping you up at night, your agent, your publisher, how long have you been writing…your successes? Yes, I want the mini bio right here, right now!
Vivien said: My name is Vivien Dean, and I've been writing erotic romance professionally since 2005. In 2006, I teamed up with Pepper Espinoza to collaborate as Jamie Craig. To date, I have 67 collaborative stories and 29 solo titles, spread over seven different e-publishers, running the gamut of genre and sexual orientation. My next title, a gay werewolf erotic romance called "Moon-Touched," comes out on October 16 at Amber Allure, but I'm currently working on a het fantasy about the eldest daughter of a powerful, influential family in love with the head of her father's guards. You can find me at http://viviendean.com/ and on Twitter as @VivienDean.
Q. What's the best kept secret about your writing process?
Vivien said: Don't stop. As fun as it is, writing is still a job. I write every single day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year. I find the time in between everything else in my life. At my height, I'd regularly write 4-5k a day (both JC and VD), but as my kids have got older, I've cut that back to 2k a day to keep my sanity.
Q. What character have you written or are writing that keeps you up at night - just one, please:)?
Vivien said: It's always someone I'm currently writing that occupies my thoughts. So right now, I'm obsessing on Klea, my heroine in my fantasy. She's the character that shows the most growth within the story (or is meant to, anyway, lol), and I find myself constantly thinking about why she is in the place she's in, why she makes her choices, what she wants.
Q. What television or pop culture fictional character has had the greatest influence on your writing style and why?
On my style? Hm. That's tough. I think my style is mostly influenced by my education in film and theater, to be honest. But if I have to pick one that helped mold how I approach most stories, I'd probably say Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's the combination of deep emotion, humor, and the fragile mask he wears that hides the real pain that often leaks into my work most.
Q: What book/author is the current "hot read" on your bookshelf?
Vivien said: This past summer, I discovered Cara McKenna/Meg Maguire, and I've been devouring her backlist ever since. She had a release at Ellora's Cave last week called "Curio" that I'm chomping to read, but I'm saving it as a treat for myself because I'm trying to meet a deadline. :)
Q. What's your favorite drink on a hot August evening - and who (fictional or not, friend or family, celebrity or historic figure) would be sitting at your side enjoying that drink with you?
Vivien said: If it's evening, it's after dinner, and then my tipple of choice is a good aged port, regardless of the season. And it's always my husband at my side. He's my rock. And my watchful eye when the alcohol begins to have its way with me, lol.
Q. Who's your favorite romance author and what would you ask them if you had the chance (or when you had the chance)?
Vivien said: Oh, just picking one is hard! I'm torn between Joey Hill and Diana Gabaldon. How's that for disparity? I love Hill for her luscious, sensual prose, and for daring to have male submissives and still make them sexy as hell. Gabaldon, on the other hand, wrote one of my favorite heroes ever, Jamie Fraser. I guess since I've had the opportunity to meet Hill before at a convention (and got all my books signed, woo hoo! I'm such a fangirl, lol), I'll go with Gabaldon. I'd ask her how she feels about creative license in making historical fact work with the story. Then, on a purely superficial note, I'd ask her who she'd cast as Jamie in a movie adaptation, if budget wasn't an issue.
Q. Last question…what question have you been dying to answer but no one has ever asked?
Vivien said: "Can't you just pick a genre and be done with it?" To which the answer is, no. I'd get bored. If I could only write one genre for the rest of my life, I'd probably write one story and then quit. Maybe I just have the attention span of a gnat, because I'm the same way about the kind of music I listen to, or the TV/movies I watch, but a diet of all the same, over and over again, would dull it all. I write about the people who interest me in that moment. Sometimes, it's a bisexual vampire with control issues. Others, it's a straight girl from the streets doing everything in her power to stay alive. They're the ones who tell me what to write. I often don't have much say in the matter at all:)
Thank you Vivien!
Now, fans and writers - here's a chance to ask questions of a lady who has put her mark on erotic romance...ask away!
Thank you Vivien!
Now, fans and writers - here's a chance to ask questions of a lady who has put her mark on erotic romance...ask away!
