Today the lovely Victoria Ley is visiting me in Yorkshire, and I’ve been looking forward to it for ages!  Believe it or not, Victoria is my first ever English visitor.  Although we live in the same country we actually live quite far apart.  I live “oop north” and Victoria lives “darn sarf” (excuse my terrible accent impressions).  We might have different accents, but we definitely share one English trait in common  – we love to talk about our awful weather.  And believe me, there’s an absolutely biting east wind today.

So, after after warming ourselves with a nice big pot of tea, we’re ready to start!

Where do you live, Victoria?  I live on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, the south-east England

Where is your favourite place in the world?   Right now, it’s anywhere but here! I’m tired of English winters, they are far too cold and far too long.

If I have to name somewhere though, I’ll say Amsterdam. It’s visually beautiful, culturally interesting, and is home to my favourite team in the Eredivisie [Dutch football league]. I’d happily move there tomorrow!

And I’d come and visit you!  Amsterdam is a really cool city, and Dutch football players are among the best in the world

Being a writer is a great job.  What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?   Oh dear, where shall I start? I’ve had almost nothing but terrible jobs. Being outside in a hanger during the winter when I valeted cars has to be way up there. It was freezing, I would wear four layers of clothing and still be cold, and it was a generally unpleasant job.

What book do you wish you’d written?   Wow. Erm… There’re a few! When I first read The Dead Zone (Stephen King) I thought “This book is perfect”, and I still do. There are many books I’ve read and became so engrossed in that they’ve stayed with me for days afterwards. I love those, and I would love to have the ability to write something that affected somebody like that.

I’m planning a high-fantasy series, à la David Eddings, simply because I loved his Belgariad series, and although I’m obviously not trying to recreate those books, they definitely inspired mine.

What’s your happiest memory?   Hmm. This is actually the most difficult question! The simplest things make me happy; I am easily pleased. In the last couple of months, I’d have to say my novel Darkseed: Awakening being named Critters’ Preditors&Editors Young Adult Novel 2012 made me pretty happy. This is something I’m especially proud of as I didn’t canvass one single vote. Everybody that voted had actually read/heard of my book, and chose to do so of their own volition. That made me happy, that people had not only read my book, but they liked it enough to consider it for an award, that’s incredibly flattering.

If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you say to them?  Pass! I actually do not have an answer for that. There’s nobody, living or dead, I can think of that would benefit from hearing something I would have to say!

What would your superpower be, if you could choose one?  Ha, I’ve actually had this conversation a few times this year! In the second Darkseed book, one of the characters discovers she has this…ability. A friend who has read the book asked where I got the idea from; it was actually my desired ‘superpower’ whilst I was at school. I don’t want to say too much about it right now, I will when the book is out.

Failing that, I’ve had dreams where I’m able to fly, and I always wake up wishing I really could. Those dreams are exhilarating, and kind of creepy.

If you won twenty million in the lottery, what would you do with the money?   Loads! First thing I’d do is pay off my mortgage and sort my house out, get a car/motorbike, buy some land, get a Friesian horse… How long do we have? There are people that say “I could never spend that amount of money”, well, I’m not one of them. I could spend it for sure, give it to me and I’ll prove it! After I’d spent out on making myself and my friends secure, I have ideas in terms of charities, and some projects I’d like to oversee.

It’ll never happen though. I don’t buy lottery tickets J

What’s the most important lesson life has taught you?   Almost everything around you is superfluous. I’ve had much, and I’ve had nothing, the latter on too many occasions, but it’s all just stuff. I learnt early on in life that what’s really important to a person’s worth is the thing you will never lose once you get it, and the one thing nobody can ever take away from you. And that’s what you fill your head with.

And finally, please tell us about your latest book, where we can find it, and where we can find your blog/website!

My book is Darkseed: Awakening, and is the first book in the Darkseed series. It’s a supernatural horror, and follows the lives of two teenage girls upon their awakening to the paranormal world around them. It has spirits, mystery, drama, and a bit of magic. Awakening is the sort of book that I enjoy reading, and I’m enjoying writing the series immensely.

It’s available for purchase direct from my publisher MuseItUp Publishing, and from Amazon and pretty much anywhere else online that sells eBooks.

My website is currently under construction, but it’s www.victorialey.com Not very creative on the name front, I know. I don’t blog, but the site houses up to date info on me, my writing, and whatever I’m currently filming. Please come say hi!

Thanks very much for coming, Victoria.  It’s been lovely to meet you.  You have a great philosophy…and your superpower sounds intriguing! Congratulations on your well-deserved Preditors&Editors Award!

If you have any questions for Victoria, or any comments at all, please let us know in the comments section.  You know we always love to hear from you!