In January, our friends at Doubleday Book Club and Rhapsody Book Club were kind enough to feature new releases by both yours truly and Courtney Milan. Not only did this allow us to get our books out to great new readers, it allowed Courtney and I to acquire some hardcover copies of our books. Pretty damn exciting, I can tell you.

As a special promotion, Courtney and I were asked to interview each other. We're both pretty shy, but we managed to come out of our shells for a few minutes to throw rocks and kisses at each other. Here, in its entirety, is that infamous interview:

Victoria: I’ve known Courtney Milan for a few years. I knew she was an amazing woman, but I didn’t know much about her writing until now. What a relief to find that my friend is just as witty and smart on paper as she is in person. And what a thrill to learn that her first book, PROOF BY SEDUCTION is out the same month as my book, LEAD ME ON. I couldn’t ask for better company on the shelf.

Courtney: I know this interview is supposed to be about Victoria Dahl, but I have a secret I must disclose to everyone first: I have been stalking her. Ever since I read her very first book, almost three years ago, I have been a not-so-secret fangirl of hers. I sent her gushing e-mails. I sought her out at book signings. When none of that worked, I wrote my own book just so I could publish it with the same house, and thus follow her around with greater ease. Now look—I’m interviewing her. Mu ha ha ha! Success is mine!

Victoria: You were a very high caliber of stalker, Courtney. I’d highly recommend you to anyone. You even got me to pay for lunch when you flew out to find me. Well played, Ms. Milan.

 Courtney: Ahem. I got a little carried away there. Now I am putting on my “professional author” hat. 

Victoria: That doesn’t look like it fits. But carry on.

Courtney: So, Victoria. You’re a romance author. How many feather boas do you own? How often do you wear them? Are they difficult to dry clean? 

Victoria: Don’t tell, but I actually don’t own any. My writing props consist of bunny slippers and a martini glass. Any rumors you’ve heard about sweatpants are entirely untrue. They are called “yoga pants” nowadays, and they’re exceptionally stylish. 

What kind of special ambience do you need when you’re working on a historical story? Do you use a quill? Do you turn down the heat and huddle near the fire?

 Courtney: Wait… how did you know I named my laptop Quill? And yes, I usually have to turn down the heat, because me and my computer cuddle up close and personal. Did you know that the MacBook’s CPU can reach 200 degrees Fahrenheit? Who needs heat? If I could become an author-laptop cyborg, I would. I think I may be one anyway.

 Which reminds me. Conventional wisdom states that authors are biologically human, but you and I both know that an author on deadline consumes a diet that no human could possibly survive on. Can you shed some light on what dinner looks like for you when you’re finishing a book?

 Victoria: You asked that on purpose, didn’t you? I should never have told you that I ate nachos four days in a row. But I’m not ashamed. Those nachos were delicious, and my pizza delivery boy was getting carpal tunnel from ringing the doorbell.  That nacho binge was an act of mercy! As for the rest of my family, they get a lot of opportunities to eat sandwiches when I’m on deadline. And fast food. And nachos.

Speaking of superhuman constitutions, could you reveal the trick of how you manage your busy life? You write and you work outside the home, and as a young married woman, I’m sure you also keep your house in perfect condition at all times. What’s your secret?

 Courtney: Uh. Just today, my husband asked me, “Courtney, we have a beautiful dresser. Do you know what it’s for?” “Yes,” I responded. “That’s the place where I pile books and dirty laundry until I hand in my book, isn’t it?” You’d think that would have annoyed him, right? But he was basically happy because I was actually listening to him and responding, which is not always the case when I’m on deadline. Often, I stare blankly into space and then jump up mid-conversation and say “Gotta go—I just had an idea.”

 While we’re talking about the subhuman behavior of authors on deadline—

 Victoria: I said “superhuman.”

 Courtney: —What’s your least favorite chore, and how awesome is it to be able to shirk it because you’re on deadline?

 Victoria: I hate putting away laundry. Once I’ve sorted it and carried it downstairs for washing and drying, it just seems like a slap in the face to have to perform the whole routine in reverse. So when I’m on deadline, those clothes never leave the laundry room. They come out of the dryer, they’re worn, and then they go right back in the washer. Like sand through the hourglass…

 Courtney: I’m convinced there are evil laundry fairies that purposefully triple all laundry when you’re folding it, but then magically wrinkle and dispose of all the clean clothing before you can get around to wearing it.

 Now speaking of torturous labor, let’s turn to the 19^th century. You write historical romance, and while the feel of your books is sensual, it’s also gritty, in the best sense of the word. Not everyone was coddled by servants and raised with a silver spoon in their mouth, and you seem to love throwing people of diverse backgrounds together. How does that realism translate into romance?

 Courtney: When I was growing up we never had a lot of money. But as I grew older, I met and became friends with people who did. It’s always been fascinating to me how differently I sometimes see the world than those people, just because we’re from different backgrounds. No way of looking at things is “wrong” or “right”; just different. And so this particular struggle—how the wealthy experience life, as compared to those who are barely getting by—resonates with me emotionally. I can write it because I’ve lived it.

 But I think diverse backgrounds (generally speaking) are really the heart of romance: Love should make you a bigger person (figuratively). Love should make you more understanding, more compassionate, more willing to branch out and try new things. What better way to accomplish that (and to see the sparks fly) than to match a hero and heroine who really challenge each other?

 Victoria: I couldn’t agree more. And in my opinion, those struggles and challenges lead to respect between two people, both in fiction and in real life.

 Speaking of realism, you’ve given your heroines some hefty baggage. There’s a point in every one of your books where I find myself falling in love with the heroine. No, not that way (not that there’s anything wrong with that way), but you make me want to reach into the book and give her a big hug and tell her it’s going to be all right. How do you get to that moment? When you start writing a book, do you know all about your heroine’s past, or do you invent it as you go along?

 Victoria: My heroines aren’t big on hugs, but you can try it if you dare.

 Backstory is the very first thing I come up with when I’m writing a book. Before I know what the story is, I need to know where these people have been. What makes them tick. What they hate and who they’ve loved. That’s how I find out how they’ll react to each other when they’re thrown together.

 Once you’ve made the sparks fly, you have to find the reason they resist each other. And if you’ve created a truly delicious hero, that reason for resistance had better feel genuine. Backstory creates that friction, and their baggage gives you a way to break these strong characters down.

 And on the topic of breaking them down… let’s talk about your heroes. Oh, boy. I am such a sucker for torturing a good hero, and your hero in PROOF BY SEDUCTION is turned inside out by his attraction to the heroine. How can you be so cruel? (I should note that I’m rubbing my hands together in delight.)

 Courtney: What can I say? I’m a cruel, cruel woman. The truth is that Gareth Carhart, the Marquess of Blakely, really needs someone to turn him inside out. He’s a brilliant scientist and a wealthy lord. Everyone he meets is cowed by his title and his intelligence. As a result, beneath his haughty exterior, he’s quite lonely. And so when Jenny, my heroine, sees through his façade, he finds it both infuriating and attractive—because for the first time in his life, someone recognizes him for who he is as a person, rather than seeing him as just a title.

 I also love your hero, Chase. He blows things up for a living—legally, I might add! This is one of the sexiest occupations I can imagine. It’s both hands-on dirty, and yet placing precision explosives requires a calm, cerebral intelligence. It’s the best of both worlds. What ever made you think of that, and how can you possibly top it?

 Victoria: Jane, the heroine of LEAD ME ON, has a very cool exterior. Actually, she’s a lot like Gareth. Boy, these two would never have made a good match! If we’d thrust them together, they would’ve sat with backs straight and jaws clenched, scorning each other through the whole book! Wow…. Oh, sorry. Momentary author imagination lapse there.

 Back to Jane. She’s unflappable, and I knew it would take someone very special to throw her off balance. This woman is a force to be reckoned with. It would take someone smart and sweet enough to appeal to her logical side, but he’d have to have a really wild side to get under her skin.

 Enter Chase. He owns his own company, so he’s perfectly acceptable on paper. But his occupation involves dynamite and the thrill of dangerous work. He wears jeans and muddy boots to work, and there’s nothing civilized about him. In other words, he’s sex on a stick… and he has a brain. Poor Jane didn’t stand a chance. As for how I can top it… My next hero is a treasure hunter. Does that work?

 Courtney: Ooh. That definitely works. I’ll resist the almost overwhelming urge to make an inappropriate joke—but don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll have every opportunity to make them all yourself.

 Victoria: Oh, I’ve got the booty jokes covered. But back to unflappable heroines. I can’t help but notice that your heroines are independent, educated, and tough as nails. And they’re also 19^th century ladies. This thrills me to the bone. In your opinion is the experience of your heroines much different from the average 19^th century woman?

 Courtney: Not really. The truth is, there have always been independent, educated, tough-as-nails women out there—and a lot more of them than men ever gave women credit for. Women in the nineteenth century, even wealthy women, had a lot to contend with. They didn’t have epidurals or episiotomies; they couldn’t induce labor or perform C-sections. The child mortality rate was terrible. And we haven’t even started to discuss crop failures and coal shortages and vitamin deficiencies and street riots.

 Anyone who looks at those women and imagines they had an easy life—that they didn’t develop strength and grace and backbone under those circumstances, and instead stayed foolish and frail—isn’t paying attention. Beneath those corsets and those heavy petticoats, women were powerful creatures.

 One of the reasons I like to write about women who experienced the harsh realities of the nineteenth century is that after the heartache, I love giving them their happy ending, their well-deserved reward for those years of strength and grace and backbone.

 Victoria: Aw! That’s surprisingly sweet, coming from you.

 But speaking of happy endings. One of the things that really resonated with me in LEAD ME ON was Jane’s relationship with her somewhat embarrassing family. I think you really captured those family dynamics, so well that I have a sneaking suspicion. Tell us the truth: Are you the embarrassing one in your family?

 Victoria: What? What have you heard? Forget it. This interview is over!

 Courtney: What? Wait! You can’t go yet! I haven’t asked you about your childhood yet! Or—or your pets! Noooo!

 Courtney on Victoria: The writing world first became aware of Victoria Dahl’s immortal genius when her first book, TO TEMPT A SCOTSMAN, won the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award several years ago. Since then, she has published six different novels, both historical and contemporary. Her books are about girls who like being more than a little naughty, and the heroes who love to indulge them. Victoria lives with her family in the mountains, which is rather inconvenient for her as the altitude means she has to microwave nachos for at least ten extra seconds.

 Victoria on Courtney: Courtney Milan lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, who is either a doctor or a ninja assassin. Or both. Her description was unclear. According to Courtney, aside from her husband, there is a distinct lack of fabulousness in her life. Indeed, she claims to be happy when standards in the Milan household hover above mediocrity. But I know the truth: Courtney saves every ounce of her sparkly excellence for her writing. PROOF BY SEDUCTION is her first book. Please stay tuned for many wonderful romances to come. (You can visit Courtney here: Courtney Milan)

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