Victoria Fox bio.
By day I live in London. By night I relax in my fantasy LA mansion, sipping Krug in a Jacuzzi and watching a bare-chested man clean out my pool.
I was born in 1983, went to boarding school in my teens and studied English at university. While there, I wrote my first (unpublished) bonkbuster: The Hardest Part. It had lots of sex in it and not a great deal else. Suffice to say that after a rambunctious beginning it was over disappointingly quickly.
Despite this, the genre never lost its sheen. I want to write bonkbusters with swagger; rude, racy and irreverent reads that reignite the glory days of Collins and Cooper. Plenty of sex, bags of scandal and a host of outrageous players who keep us up long after lights-out.
A long-time admirer of Jackie Collins, I often wondered what life would be like as a bonkbuster author. After working in publishing for a few years, I decided to quit and find out – and I haven’t looked back since...
My debut novel, Hollywood Sinners was described by Closer as "a heady mix of corruption, glamour, lust and power". My second full length novel Temptation Island is published in June 2012.
Welcome to Paradise. Only the rich are invited...only the strongest survive. But is it heaven on earth or a devil s playground? Fame. Money. Success. Lori wants them Aurora is being destroyed by them, and Stevie s got them at her best friends expense. These three women are all drawn unwittingly to the shores of Temptation Island, all looking for their own truth. But they discover a secret so shocking there s no turning back. It s wicked, it s sensational. Are you ready to be told? The island promises the one thing money can t buy - but the glittering waters drown dark secrets... The price is devastating.
Interview
What made you decide to write Temptation Island from the perspective of three characters instead of one and why did you choose Lori, Aurora and Stevie?
-The bonkbusters I loved reading in my teens had lots of characters and plotlines going on simultaneously - it helps to keeps the pace up and deliver the thrills and spills chapter after chapter. Having three women to root for means there's someone for every girl to identify with, and I love how in a great bonkbuster all the strands collide explosively at the end. Plus I have so many stories to tell that one heroine just wouldn't be enough! Aurora came first because I wanted to write about the life of a Hollywood starlet, then Lori as an exotic Spanish beauty and Stevie for the more grounded UK factor. I think they make a good mix.
Each girl becomes, or is, famous in her own way, was it fun to write their glitzy lifestyles?
-It was masses of fun. Every time I wrote Aurora she just leapt off the page, so by the end of the book I wasn't sure who'd told the story - her or me! I love imagining these crazy celeb lifestyles, both from the perspective of someone who's never known anything different and someone coming in from the outside. How do they deal with the trappings of fame? Temptation Island explores the idea that it's not always an easy ride, no matter how much money or notoriety a person has. In a bonkbuster your imagination can run totally wild and anything can go on the page, so I like to go full-throttle - it's what I find so fun and liberating about writing them.
Were any of the characters based on anyone you know in real life or even on yourself?
-There'll always be a part of every author, however small, that goes into the books they write - but I shan't tell you mine! My plots are based on the hidden lives of mega-celebrities, and what might go on behind closed doors once the cameras are out of sight. I couldn't say which ones appear in Temptation Island because I'd wind up at the centre of a libel suit, but you might recognise a few if you keep up with the gossip. Let's just say that truth is often stranger than fiction . . .
I know there are already some short stories but do you think you'd write a sequel to Temptation Island, or will you leave it how it is?
-I think there's definitely scope for a sequel and I might revisit the island in future: JB and Lori certainly have unfinished business. My three shorts, Rivals, Pride and Ambition, lead up to the novel so there's every reason I'd continue on the other side.
If you had to pick a soundtrack for the book, which song do you think fits it?
-Nice question! Song: Katy Perry, 'California Gurls'. Album: Grace Jones' Island Life
Thanks Victoria for visiting the blog today!
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