Meet the amazing bonkbuster author Victoria Fox

I'm thrilled to have the gorgeous Victoria Fox here today...

When did you first start bonkbusters? And when were you first published?
I started my first bonkbuster Hollywood Sinners in 2009 and it took me about three months to write. I had so much fun with the story, it came so naturally and I just knew it was what I had to try doing for a living. The book was published in summer 2011.

What is it about this genre that appeals to you the most? Do you read other genres? If so, which?
Anything can go in a bonkbuster. My imagination can run totally wild because the only rule is that everything should be big, bold, daring and dangerous. Bonkbusters are about sex, glamour and adventure. They sweep across continents and generations, offering readers total escapism and the ultimate beach-and-cocktail read. I spent my teens reading these books and it was so much fun. I love writing that for other people.
Elsewhere I enjoy thrillers, literary fiction, and I love a good ghost story! It depends what mood I’m in.

What’s the title of your latest book? Can you tell us about it?

My last book was a Mills & Boon romance called Glittering Fortunes. It’s shorter than my bonkbusters, and set in England rather than Hollywood, but still delivers all the thrills and spills, sex and scandal, of my summer books. The action unfolds in a Downton Abbey-style estate in the West Country, owned by two rival brothers: dark, brooding Charlie and runaway cad Cato. When a beautiful local artist comes between them, a sensational family secret is revealed and their lives change forever…

What inspired you to write it?
I’ve always wanted to write for Mills & Boon – they are an institution! I was also keen to try my hand at something slightly different to my usual bonkbusters, and the idea of a glamorous country house hiding a mysterious past was too hard to resist.

Is it part of a series?
Glittering Fortunes is the first in a series, yes. I’ll be returning to Lustell Cove to see what the characters are up to, and next time we’ll be visiting the town at Christmas.

Do you find it easy to write sex scenes?
Oh yes! They are the easiest bits to write for me. I love writing sex scenes. Sometimes if I’m stuck on the story I fast forward to the next sex scene to get me back on track. I don’t know why this is – maybe I just have a dirty mind!

Have you ever spotted anyone reading your books anywhere?

Yes, I spotted a woman on the tube reading my last bonkbuster Wicked Ambition. If I’d been by myself I probably wouldn’t have said anything, but the friend I was with encouraged me to and I’m so glad she did. It was a lovely encounter for both of us!

Who designs your covers?
My publishers have a cracking design team who come up with my covers.

If your latest book were made into a film, whom would you cast?
Ooh, that’s a nice question. I’d need two super-hot British stars for the brothers – and naturally I’d need to be there for the casting… Let’s have Robert Pattinson for Charlie, and Henry Cavill for Cato. Mmm. Yes, please.

What’s your favourite Chick Lit book that made it to the big screen?
It might not be classed as chick lit, but I adored One Day by David Nicholls. I’ve not seen the film – I’m nervous to, as I never like the movie as much as the book.

Name one of your favourite Chick Lit books?
My favourite bonkbuster author is Jackie Collins, and her best, for me, is Lovers & Gamblers. For chick lit, it’s hard to beat Lindsey Kelk’s I Heart New York.

Name one female author who you think deserves to be better known.
Bernadette Strachan – her books are so warm, funny and smart. I love them.

Where do you write? Do you ever wish you could write elsewhere? If so, where?
I write in the second bedroom of my flat. I love it; I have a great view over rooftops and all my books on the shelves. Also I have a giant Temptation Island poster on the wall, and whenever I’m struggling with a scene I look up at the model and she seems to look back and say, Go on then, stop procrastinating and get on with it! If I could write anywhere else it would be in a hammock in the Maldives, with margaritas on tap and a topless waiter to serve them.

Do you have any hobbies?
Playing the piano. I love playing Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan (though probably not that well!).

In the movie of your life, who would play you?

Photo credit: HiStyley via photopin cc

In my dreams, Chloë Sevigny – she’s brilliant!

Speed Round...
Top drink to make you tipsy? Dirty martini
Shopaholic or shopadon’t? Shopaholic
Sky-high heels or closer to the ground? Closer to the ground – I’m nearly six feet as it is!
E.L. James or Jilly Cooper? Jilly Cooper
Cry baby or tough cookie? Tough cookie

By day Victoria Fox lives in London. By night she relaxes in her fantasy LA mansion, sipping Krug in a Jacuzzi and watching a bare-chested man clean out her pool. Victoria was born in 1983, went to boarding school in her teens and studied English at university. A long-time admirer of Jackie Collins, she often wondered what life would be like as a bonkbuster author. After working in publishing for a few years, she decided to quit and find out – and hasn’t looked back since...
Her first novel Hollywood Sinners was described by Closer magazine as ‘a heady mix of corruption, glamour, lust and power’, Temptation Island went on to be tagged the Sun’s ‘best bonkbuster of 2012’, while Wicked Ambition cemented her place as Cosmopolitan’s 'favourite new-generation bonkbuster author’. Even Jackie Collins, Queen of La Bonk, agrees that ‘Victoria Fox is always a fun read!’
Look out for her new novel, Glittering Fortunes, out now http://tinyurl.com/q7o6w23
Visit her at www.victoriafox.net

Friend her at facebook
Follow her @VFoxWrites