Author Spotlight… Q&A with Victoria Paige
I am so excited that romance author Victoria Paige took time out to answer all my questions.
Meet Victoria Paige-
Victoria Paige writes edgy and seductive romance.
She loves pairing familiar tropes with unique stories, possessive alpha males with strong-willed heroines, and packing gritty, morally gray plots with enough humor, witty banter, and spice for a suspenseful, emotional, and steamy read.
She’s a fan of angst, groveling, and hero redemption. When she’s not in her writing cave, she’s busy reading or catching up on her favorite series on Netflix and other streaming channels. She also loves watching Turkish and Korean drama snippets on TikTok.
Let’s get to know Victoria Paige
Leah: What initially drew you to the romance genre as a writer?
Victoria.: I’ve always loved reading romance. I started with Mills and Boon and Harlequin, then Johanna Lindsey. I might have diverted to other genres, but I was always interested in the romance between the main characters even if it wasn’t the main plot.
Leah: What made you push publish that first time?
Victoria: I started writing for fun, but a friend of mine told me to hit publish, and I was like, why not? I was surprised when a reader emailed me and told me they were discussing my book in the now defunct Amazon boards and that encouraged me to write more.
Leah: How do you approach creating compelling and relatable characters in your romance novels?
Victoria: I continue to learn the craft of character. And I learned to be vulnerable with myself, letting me dig into my own strengths, weaknesses, and insecurities. But also a character is three parts. There’s always a part in me in them, even the villain. The other two parts are observations of people I know, and the last part is made up. This enables me to create multi-dimensional characters.
Leah: If there was a piece of advice you would give past author you… what would it be?
Victoria: Keep out the noise. In my early writing career, I let reviews sway me. But I quickly learned that reading is subjective and I can’t satisfy every reader. So I write what I want now, but being mindful of what I call my “ideal readers.”
Leah: Do you have a subgenre that you tend to read the most?
Victoria: No. I love reading domestic thrillers. And I’ll even read Stephen King. Romance-wise, I’m all over the place as long as it’s well-written and the blurb interests me. I prefer angst and fast-paced stories.
Leah: How do you balance the development of the romantic relationship with other elements of the story?
Victoria: I make sure that the external plot serves their character’s relationship arc. Sometimes I unconsciously do this, but now I spend more time analyzing the character arcs before I even write that first word.. It’s almost like a braid where all the plot points need to intertwine with the growth of the characters and their relationship, so it’s more organic.
Leah: Can you share any writing rituals or habits that help you stay focused and productive during the writing process?
Victoria: I write several drafts, but the first draft is the most important and has the most pressure. I plot/plan for three weeks, and make sure I earmark 45 days where I have to write everyday. I have snacks ready and I workout first thing in the morning so my limbs and joints are warm. I made the mistake of writing first thing in the morning and exercising later and I developed shoulder pain. After the first draft, I don’t touch the manuscript for two weeks, sometimes even a month. When I do that and read my first draft, it’s like reading the story for the first time and plot holes will fall out.
Leah: What challenges do you face when writing romance, and how do you overcome them?
Victoria: Sex scenes! There seems to be a demand for spice and it’s hard for me to insert them if it doesn’t fit the story yet. But for me, I’ve determined the quality is better than quantity. To overcome this, I give the readers sexual tension first before the first sex scene. It doesn’t always happen that way, especially when there’s a one-night stand trope, but I still work on the tension.
Leah: How do you handle romantic tropes and clichés to keep your stories fresh and engaging for readers?
Victoria: I tend to do the opposite of trope expectations or I always think of a way to twist a cliché to give the readers a new take on it.
Leah: Do you have a favorite trope to write, and if so, what about it appeals to you?
Victoria: Enemies-to-lovers is fun to write since there’s built-in conflict already to the trope.
About Scorned Obsession:
Leah: Your heroes are often hard men to like except with their heroines (especially once they get their heads straight)… is it hard to create these men with similar traits but are so different at the same time?
Victoria: I love writing flawed heroes. But the thing that helps me make them so different from each other happens even before I start writing. I think I’m one of the few authors who don’t have visual inspiration. I hear the characters in my head. Their cadence, their diction, and the rhythm in their speech which also translates to their inner monologue. Character is dialogue to me and dialogue is character.
Leah: Oh… these two… from that moment at the end of chapter three, I wasn’t sure how you were going to bring these to back together and make it believable. (This goes into the pants/plan aspect) Did you know that their journey was going to be so difficult?
Victoria: Yes, I knew it was going to be difficult. One thing I do before I start writing is identify problems. Characters who have history together I need to decide how to bring that in without resorting to too many flashbacks. But it was important to show how their love evolved. If it wasn’t for their shared history, the story would have gone a different route.
Leah: Sandro is so much more than I anticipated. His dedication (okay obsessive nature) to Bianca is great… and it’s honestly nice to see that he acknowledged the need and obsession (even with is reticence) more easily than your other heroes… why choose that route?
Victoria: It goes back again to their shared history. He didn’t know the meaning of love, but he’d always had affection and had been protective of her. This made it easy for him to acknowledge it. Because his point of not pursuing Bianca was his unworthiness and he didn’t want his family to touch her. He would have come around eventually now that Bianca is older, but the catalyst of the forced marriage sped things up a bit.
Leah: Bianca was one of those heroines that at first i thought, oh man she is going to be naive and sheltered… but she is mature beyond her years and capable of understanding so much more than anyone realizes. You often treat the heroines in this way… is it hard to find that balance in the characters you create?
Victoria: Yes. I always loved strong heroines. It’s why I started writing because I love a super alpha hero but I don’t like them to steamroll the heroine. My problem in my earlier books was I was too logical. LoL. Which can be bad in romance. And that’s where I started digging deep to find the vulnerabilities and insecurities to balance the logic. I also have a world-view when I write romance. Because Bianca is sheltered, it doesn’t mean she’s entitled and I make sure that comes through in her actions.
Leah: You have such intricately interwoven worlds… is it hard to blend them in such an organic way but keep them separate at the same time?
Victoria: Yes! The challenge I encounter is not to info dump or bring in every single character. This is something I work on in my numerous drafts. To make sure secondary characters play an important part in the scene or I cut them out. Sometimes I’ll do a chapter for the fans and bring in the characters from other books. I have family trees that I’ve started updating regularly to also help the readers refresh their memories since it takes me a long time to publish the next book. I also have book maps.
Leah: You love a morally grey hero… Sandro is no different… What draws you to that?
Victoria: I found my sub-genre with mafia billionaire. They are super-alpha, and I’m sure you’ve heard this before. That a hero will sacrifice the heroine to save the world, but a villain (or morally gray hero) will sacrifice the world for the heroine. I love that concept a lot.
Leah: These two have such a tormented/intense history… was it difficult to navigate that with their relationship changing more? Or were they always destined?
Victoria: They were always destined. But I had to figure out how to get them there. The trick with writing romance I’m finding is what keeps them apart. Because once they’re together with no conflict, the story is over and that’s boring for me to write. LoL. So, I always start with their origin story and what wounds or ghosts shaped their world view. Because the past always informs on present actions. The past is never dead. As soon as I had nailed this down it became easier to write their story.
Check out my review of Scorned Obsession HERE.
Connect with Victoria Paige
Amazon Author Page: amzn.to/3poYltN
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriapaigebooks/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vpaigebooks
Victoria Paige website: https://victoriapaigebooks.com
VIP Reader Group: https://bit.ly/3nfC4Jg
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Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3wJrJsB
Bookbub: https://bit.ly/3gzeztu
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/victoriapaigebooks/
Victoria Paige website: https://victoriapaigebooks.com
