Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Guest Blogger: Victoria Dahl


Today, I am beyond excited to have debut author Victoria Dahl as a guest. Victoria's first published novel, TO TEMPT A SCOTSMAN, hits stores today!

Take my advice, run out and buy this book now! I have been waiting for its release for two years, and it was so worth the wait. The book is just that good.


I invited Victoria over so she could fill the rest of the masses in on her first sale journey. Here's what she had to say:



How did your first sale come about?

This is the perfect question for Farrah’s blog, because my first sale involved Farrah!!! In 2005, TO TEMPT A SCOTSMAN was up for a Golden Heart. I’d actually given up on historicals because of the market. My agent had never even asked to SEE any of my historicals. She was busy trying to sell my paranormals in the hot paranormal market. *g* I was surprised when Scotsman finaled in the Golden Heart. And thrilled! But I finaled with eight other wonderful writers, and figured I didn’t have any chance of winning. But then there came a glorious sign! I sat down at a table at the pre-show awards dinner, and a few moments later there was a big buzz on the other side of the table. Come to find out that FARRAH was sitting there and… get this… She’d been one of my judges! What are the chances of sitting down with one of my judges out of the 2000 attendees? Well, after that sure sign of good luck, I won the Golden Heart, and my agent finally asked to see Scotsman. A few months later, John Scognamiglio at Kensington bought it, and here we are. I wouldn’t have sold if Farrah hadn’t given me a good score in the preliminary round! THANK YOU, FARRAH!



Tell me about TO TEMPT A SCOTSMAN.

To Tempt a Scotsman is the story of Alexandra Huntington, the rich, ruined daughter of a duke, and Collin Blackburn, a strong, responsible Scotsman who wants nothing to do with English society. Needless to say, there are lots of sparks when they meet. Sparks that Collin is determined to resist, and Alexandra is determined to fan into flames! I really wanted to write about a heroine who wasn’t perfect. A heroine who makes mistakes and sometimes is even a little (dare I say it?) selfish. *gasp* She wants Collin because she wants him, and at this point in her life, she has nothing left to lose. I also wanted to write a hero who doesn’t fall into bed with anything that moves. To me, that makes his attraction to Alexandra that much deeper. He doesn’t want her because she’s pretty; he wants her because there’s something in her spirit that moves him. I love a little melodrama in my books, and this one definitely has that, but I try to avoid misunderstandings or miscommunication as the basis for conflict. I think genuine relationships are volatile and dramatic enough. Falling in love is hard, even under the best of circumstances. Add in a heroine with a tainted past and you’ve got a story!

What are you working on right now?

I’ve already finished my second historical, tentatively titled A Rake’s Guide to Ruin. It’s the story of Alexandra’s brother, the Duke of Somerhart. His heroine has a gambling problem. (Are you detecting a theme of imperfect heroines?) This book is even hotter than Scotsman, so I can’t wait to see what kind of cover it gets! *g* I just finished up a contemporary romantic comedy last month, and I’m starting the third historical this week!



Victoria, thank you so much for stopping in at my blog. TO TEMPT A SCOTSMAN is everything I thought it would be, and so much more! I cannot wait for A RAKE'S GUIDE TO RUIN.

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posted by Farrah Rochon @ 7:45 AM Comments: 15