Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi! I’m Victoria, and I’m currently responsible for five published novels, a handful of graphic novels, and a few manuscripts that are still in the works. I live in the Waikato region of New Zealand (think Hobbiton meets Mount Doom with a biiiiiig lake thrown in for spice), where I run a small shop and write full time.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have one coming out soon called At First Blush, and that’s probably the one with the most interesting back story to it: it was inspired by a series of recurring dreams I’ve had since I was a child. Ever since I was about ten or eleven years old, I’ve dreamed that I’m sitting on the beach waiting for my love to come back to me. Writing the book was an act of catharsis for me, but it was also quite difficult on an emotional level. I wrote the first draft of At First Blush more than two years ago now, and it’s taken me this long to work up the courage to finally release it to the world. It was available briefly in 2013, but I had a freak-out and pulled it down again. Re-writes are done and I’m finally feeling good about it, so it’s gone to the editor for a thorough scrubbing before I finally re-release it again. Fingers crossed!
Oh, and funnily enough… ever since I wrote the story down, the dreams have stopped.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Oh yeah. I’m a total pantser (or as I prefer to call it, 100% organic). That means I plan pretty much nothing before I begin, and mould the story like clay as it’s progressing, going back and tweaking things if I have to, changing places and names if I get a better idea later, so on, so forth. I simply can’t plan. As soon as I know how the book is going to end, I lose interest in the project and move on to another idea.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jennifer Fallon has had the biggest personal influence over my early career. We met in 2007, long before I published my first novel, and then we met again while I was touring the South Island of New Zealand in 2014 after publishing my first book. Her advice has been invaluable to my career, and also inspired me to reach out and offer a helping hand to other young authors. Though you do see the occasional catfight between authors, as a general rule it’s a very close-knit, supportive, and friendly community. I love it, and really enjoy being part of it.
Other authors that have inspired me on a less personal level are Raymond E. Feist, Gaylene Gordon, and Michael Turner.
I got addicted to Feist’s books when I was quite young, and reading his backstory made me feel like I had a chance to make a go of it, too. Though as an adult I can see the flaws in the world he built, when I was a teenager I saw nothing but a shining beacon of hope that I, too, could one day become an author like him. That meant so much to me.
Gaylene Gordon was a local author, who unfortunately passed away just a few years before I discovered she existed, and yet her YA novels still remain amongst my favourite books even though they’re so short I can devour them in a couple of hours. She showed me that I could have a positive effect on young people around me, particularly those dreaming of turning the written word into a career. It still upsets me that I never had a chance to tell her how much she meant to me. I just hope one day I can make other young creatives feel the same way she made me feel.
Michael Turner wasn’t technically an author so much as a graphic novelist, but he inspired me much the same as the other people mentioned above. Though he was flawed, he still managed to find success through courage, determination, and pure stubbornness. Sadly, he passed away in 2008 after a long, painful battle with bone cancer, and the world is a less beautiful place without him. May he rest in peace.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on the next book in my Immortelle series, under the pen name Abigail Hawk. It’s a delightfully smutty paranormal/political/action novel, set in modern Russia. Finishing my post-apocalyptic series, The Survivors, took a great emotional toll on me, and The Immortelle series is much more light-hearted. It’s helping me to recover, slowly but surely.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Honestly? Facebook. I’m just so bad at marketing, so I focus on talking to people and let the rest sort itself out.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you don’t want it to be critiqued, don’t publish it. As soon as you hit the publish button it’s going out to the world, for better or for worse, and anyone could see. People say horrible things. If you’re emotionally sensitive about the work, and the thought of someone hating it or saying something bad hurts you, then just don’t publish it. Publish something that you’re not as close to, and come back to the sensitive book later in your career, when you’ve developed a thicker skin – which you will, because like I said, people say horrible things. Dealing with criticism is part and parcel of your job as an author.
The other important thing is that you need to be able to be prolific. If it takes you five years to write each novel, then you’ll probably never be able to turn it into a career. In my personal experience, you need to be able to put out a new book every 3-6 months if you want to make a decent income off it – and six months is pushing it. 3-4 months is better, or so I hear from authors more successful than me!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Exactly what I just wrote in the last box! Goodness knows I’m still struggling to learn it.
What are you reading now?
…Nothing, because I’m a terrible person. I’ve just been too exhausted. I currently have three books on my “to read” shelf: The Watchmen (the graphic novel), Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets (because I’ve never read them before, and I enjoyed the first book), and The Regent’s Gamble by my good friends, A. Payne & N. D. Taylor.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve been in a state of deep creative depression since finishing The Survivors in February, and I’m only just getting to the point where I can write again. So, for the moment, I’m just recovering and slowly poking away at my existing projects while my muse digs her head out of the sand.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Empire Trilogy, by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts. I could read that series over and over and over, and still find something new each time.
Author Websites and Profiles
Victoria (V. L.) Dreyer Website
Victoria (V. L.) Dreyer Amazon Profile
Victoria (V. L.) Dreyer’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile