Vivi Anna has wowed more then one reviewer with her imagination and talent for descriptive writing that arouses and, at times, shocks her readers. A main staple on many TBB lists, you can find some of her books, including Blood Red and Buck Naked, at Extasy Books. http://www.extasybooks.com/
You can also find her story Prince Charming and His Ladies In Wanting at New Concepts Publishing. http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/

Hi Vivi, thank you for taking the time to talk with us!

Thank you Kathi! I’m always thrilled to be talking with FAR.

You have a new book coming out soon from Extasy Books. Can you tell us about Hell Kat? When will it be out?

Hell Kat is a thrilling action-adventure set in a post-apocalyptic future. It’s about a treasure hunter, Hell Kat, and her partner Damian, and they set out to retrieve the Monolith, which is an important piece of technology that could get them enough money to buy a ticket out of the Outer Rims and into a fresh new life up North.

Only problem is they have to hook up with Kat’s archival Hades. And he’s big, and mean, and sexy as sin. So there is where the story itself lies. They must cross the treacherous Wastelands to get to The Vanquished City where it is rumored that creatures foul and twisted live in the dark.
It was a lot of fun to write!! And definitely one of my favorites, along with Blood Red.

From story conception to final edits, how long does it usually take you to finish a book?

Depends on the story. Some take longer than others for different reasons. Even shorter ones can take me longer to finish than longer pieces. You see I don’t work on one thing at a time. I’m usually working on three or four projects at once.

Let’s see…Blood Red took me nine months from conception to final edits. The Gift of Elan took me two months. Hell Kat took me six. And one I’m working on right now...a short novella, that has so far taken me five months, and I’m only half way done.
It’s weird. My mind jumps around, and I have a difficult time concentrating on one thing for long periods of time…I have to have several things going on all the time.

What do you think is essential to creating a good hero? What about a heroine?

In my books, a good hero needs to be tough, inside and out. He has to be able to stand up to my heroines, but also be able to understand them. He should be aggressive inside and out of the bedroom, but also be willing to let her take control and love it!! He doesn’t necessarily need to be drop-dead gorgeous, but he does have to be sexy.

My heroines need to be smart and more times than not, kick-ass. I hate heroines in stories that are whiny and always looking to others (especially their heroes) to solve their problems. Get off your butt, and solve it yourself! I like to create heroines that are aggressive especially about their sexuality. Women that desire pleasure and are not afraid to seek it or take it.

Are you a meticulous note keeper when it comes to writing?

Oh good God, no!! I’m the most unorganized person in the world. My notes are scribbled on paper, napkins, and backs of other important papers, on my desk. I have six binders full of notes and character sketches, and outlines, and ideas. I should really go through them and at least organize by genre…LOL

When I’m working on a story…actually writing it on the computer…I have the notes spread all over my desk, pinned to my walls, lying on the floor surrounding the desk. When I’m done with that particular story…all those notes I gather together and shove into a binder. Then I find all my other notes about my next story…and so on goes the madness!!

Have you ever had a character go off in a completely different direction then you were expecting them to go?

Yes, several times. In The Gift of Elan, my villainess, Delphine was supposed to die at the end, but she didn’t want to. And I’m glad I didn’t kill her, because she’s the villain in another book…

Also, while I was writing Hell Kat, I started to really hate Kat. I wanted to like her, but she started doing some stuff I didn’t like, and I thought wow, I don’t like you at all…but she endured herself to me by the end of the book! LOL

You’re stranded on a deserted island with three characters from any books and you are allowed to bring one thing from civilization. Who is sharing your island abode and what did you bring?

Constable Evan Brady from my book Buck Naked, Doyle from Laurell K Hamilton’s Merry Gentry series, Roland from Stephen King’s Dark Tower books…

And I would bring an ax.

If you could invent anything, what would it be?

I would invent a writing program that could fix all my grammatical problems, like my sentence structure. Something that would go (and it would talk) “hmmm, I think that sentence would sound better like this…”

So a built in editor in my computer! LOL

You have written two awesome books loosely based on fairy tales. What is it about them that brings out such creative energy?

Thanks Kathi!! I’m not sure really. I guess because they’re so well known and loved…I just love screwing with that. Twisting and turning them into something demented from my imagination…so people go…ah, now isn’t that interesting, and laugh.

What do you have in the works right now?

Well, I’m two people at the moment, so lots going on! LOL

Finished a big romance/fantasy called Sword Maiden of Fallon for an agent. I’m working on Draconian Legends, a romance/fantasy trilogy, Hungry Like The Wolf about werewolves, developing a follow-up to Blood Red, thinking about a follow-up to Hell Kat, and developing another romance/fantasy called Along The Watchtower.

Hopefully this year, will be the emergence of my alter ego, but also more great stuff from Vivi Anna.

Also, I will be teaching an online erotic/romance course in February at A Hint of Seduction.

Another busy year!!

Is there anything that you would like to add before we go?

I just wanted to thank some people for a great year. Lisa for everything you do. Kim for being my biggest and loudest cheerleader. Emy for being the love of my life although you’re so far away…and to all the reviewers past and present…thank you for loving or hating my work…it makes all the difference.

Thanks Kathi! I love getting reviews from you!!!!!

Thanks Vivi, for chatting with us!
Visit Vivi Anna’s website for more on all her books. http://www.vivianna.net



Interviewed by: Kathi