Guest: Rita Finalist Victoria Dahl

Welcome, Victoria Dahl, to Mysteries and Margaritas. You can find Victoria on her web site at: http://www.victoriadahl.com/ Update your calendar for all the fun things she has coming. Although, if you follow her on Twitter you wonder when she writes!

Mary: Before we start all the writing stuff, tell me about your growing up, what the small Victoria wanted to be. Tell us about you…

Victoria:  I really wanted to be a doctor, and I still love watching medical shows about diseases and trauma and parasites. Fun times! I’ll read books about outbreaks and magazine articles about new treatment protocol. But there was one tiny problem with my dream of being a doctor...I would never in a million years agree to go to school for that long. I also love sleep. And not working for 48 hour shifts. So I made medical stuff my hobby and concentrated on a career I didn’t need a PhD for: writing.

Mary: When did you know you wanted to write? Tell us a bit about your journey when you first started.

Victoria: Honestly, I didn’t like writing in school. And before you guys start worrying about me, let me assure you that I did great in school. I just would’ve rather been at home reading!  So yeah, I wasn’t very sure about being a writer when I was young. If someone makes me write a paper, I will moan and clutch my head and complain. Papers so very rarely involve kissing or seduction or forced marriage. Boring! It wasn’t until college that I really started writing for pleasure and dreaming that I could someday be a romance writer.

Mary: What story did you win the Golden Heart for? And did it lead to publication.

Victoria: The story that won the Golden Heart was called Ruined. It was my third complete manuscript, and the last historical I wrote before giving up on a tough historical market. The Golden Heart absolutely, 100% led to my first sale. I was busy writing paranormals at the time. I never did sell those paranormals, but I sold Ruined to Kensington and it was published under the name TO TEMPT A SCOTSMAN. I now have a great career in historical romance.

Mary: Did you find an agent before or after the Golden Heart? What has your journey been since then?

Victoria: Ironically, I found my agent with those still-unsold paranormals. She tells me now that she didn’t like vampire stories, but she started reading my slush pile submission and cursed aloud after the first paragraph, because she knew she’d have to keep reading. When I won the Golden Heart, she finally asked to see my historicals as well!

Mary: The first book I read of yours was an historical, To Tempt A Scotsman, yet, I see on your web site you have contemporary. Talk about mixed genres. Tell us little more about all of your books.

Victoria: Yes, Mary, I do get around. After Kensington bought my first book, they looked at my contemporary vampire books, but decided to concentrate on historical. Still, it worked out in the end. My editor, John, liked my paranormal voice, so when a spot opened up in a Hannah Howell anthology, John asked if I’d like to write a Highland vampire novella. Oh boy, you should’ve seen how quickly I said yes. It was a simple transition because I’d already established all the rules in MY vampire world, so I just had to shift those rules to the Scottish Highlands for the anthology, and I was set!

As for the contemporary... Well, I never could’ve predicted that. But my agent called me up one day and said, “Have you ever thought about writing contemporary.” Nope. Never. “Because I want you to try your hand at it.” It took me nearly a year to come up with an idea, but I finally did it. And that first book was nominated for the Rita, so I owe my agent a big wet kiss.

Mary: How has being a member of Romance Writers of America and winning the Golden Heart shaped your career? 

Victoria: Honestly, I wouldn’t be here without RWA. I mean, I’d be alive. RWA didn’t talk me down from a ledge or anything. But I can promise you, I wouldn’t be a published author. I wrote my first book before I’d ever heard of the RWA. I thought it was an instant hit. I started sending it out to agents, then I stumbled upon a little thing called the Golden Heart contest and sent my manuscript in. I was pretty sure I’d win it. Then I got my scores. Bottom quarter. And deservedly so. I entered it in more RWA contests, and those contests offered FEEDBACK, and wow, did I learn stuff. Lots of stuff. Based on that feedback alone, my second manuscript, with the added benefit of a plot and three-dimensional characters, nabbed me my first contest win. I was hooked from there. Contests trained me to write better and the workshops at conferences gave my skills a good polish. With my third manuscript, I won the Golden Heart and became published.

Mary: This year you are honored with a 2009 RITA nomination for Talk Me Down for Best Single Title contemporary. I’ve read this book, and it’s great. The winner will be announced at the National RWA Conference in Orlando on July 31, 2010. Tell us what you were doing when you found out, and how you felt. You know we, want details!

Victoria: I was very, very aware that Rita calls were going out that day. I’d entered four books, including TALK ME DOWN, but it was the last one I expected to final. I received some amazing feedback about this book, but I’ve also gotten some very harsh criticism about the heroine. To put it mildly, I didn’t think she was the type of girl who’d unite five judges in their scoring. LOL

I saw on Twitter that people were getting calls, and I tried not to sit at the computer and watch the minutes pass. But then my phone rang. It was a number I didn’t recognize. I closed my eyes and picked up the phone. The woman said she was with RWA and asked if I knew why she was calling. I answered, “I THINK I DO,” in a voice so high and squeaky it should only have been heard by dogs.

Regardless of all my hopes, I couldn’t believe it. Honestly, it still hasn’t sunk in yet. Wow. WOW! And the very best part? My best friend and critique partner, Jennifer Echols, is also up for her first Rita. Her book GOING TOO FAR is up for best Young Adult Romance. We get to do this together. I couldn’t ask for anything more. Sharing the experience with her means more to me than winning. But I’ll take a win too, if someone offers it to me.

Mary: What are your thoughts now? And what do you think this will mean to your career?

Victoria:  For me, being nominated for a Rita is another piece in a slow build-up to a long-term career. It’s affirmation that I’ve chosen the right path for myself and my writing, and affirmation can sometimes be hard to get in this field.  And it’s an amazing honor to hear your name read alongside your idols’ names. That’s a feeling I can’t describe. I will wear my Rita nomination pin with pride. Everywhere. Including the grocery store!

Mary: Hey I'd probably wear the pin in the shower! What is one thing you think is important for new writers to know?

Victoria:  Listen to critique. Listen for what feels true. If five people in a row have told you your dialogue is clunky, you need to take a step back and look at that dialogue again, even if you think it’s the best. But you have to practice at taking critique, whether it be from writing friends or contest judges. Practice so you can develop an ability to recognize what to take in and what to reject. I’ve received lots of critiques complaining that my heroines are too bold, too harsh, too sensual. Buy my heroines are awesome because they inspire strong emotions. Hee. I knew I’d found the right critique partner when she “got” my heroines. She loved them, and in loving them she could help me smooth out the rough edges without taking all that edge away.

Mary: Is there anything else you’d like to add? Something that I haven’t hit on?

Victoria:  Thank you so much for the invitation, Mary! And I’ll see you at the Utah RWA conference in October!

For details on the conference check www.utahrwa.com

Thank you for joining us today, Victoria, fun interview! I love hearing about a writers journey to fame!