Victoria Alexander
New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander was an award winning television reporter until she discovered fiction was much more fun than real life. She turned to writing full time and is still shocked it worked out.
Since the publication of her first book in 1995, she has written thirty-one full length novels and six novellas. The Perfect Wife—originally published in 1996 and reissued in March 2008—hit #1 on the New York Times list. Sixteen of her books are bestsellers hitting the New York Times, USA Today and/or Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. With books translated into more than a dozen different languages she has readers around the world and has twice been nominated for Romance's Writers of America prestigious RITA award. In 2009 she was given a Career Achievement Award from RT Bookclub and was named Historical Storyteller of the year in 2003. In 2008 she was the keynote speaker for the Romance Writers of American annual conference in San Francisco. Victoria credits much of her writing success to her experiences as a reporter.
Her years as a broadcast journalist were spent in two radically different areas of the country: Nebraska and West Virginia. In West Virginia, she covered both natural and manmade disasters. She was on the scene when a power plant construction accident in a small town left 52 men dead. She once spent the night on a mountain waiting to learn of the fate of coal miners trapped in a mine collapse. Victoria was producing a newscast when her husband (who worked at the same television station) and several other journalists were held hostage by a disturbed Vietnam veteran. In Nebraska, she reported on the farm crisis and watched people lose land that had been in their families for generations. She covered the story that was the basis of the movie BOYS DON’T CRY and once acted as the link between police and a gunman who had barricaded himself in his home. Her investigative work exposed the trucking of New York City garbage to a small town dump in rural Nebraska.
During her journalism career, Victoria covered every president from Ford to Clinton. She knows firsthand what it feels like to be surrounded by rising floodwaters and inside a burning building. She’s interviewed movie stars including Kevin Costner, ridden an elephant and flown in a governor’s helicopter. She’s covered a national political convention and Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Denver as well as small town festivals celebrating everything from walnuts to Glen Miller. Her work was honored by numerous organizations including the Associated Press who called a feature about a firefighter’s school "story telling genius". It was the encouragement she needed to turn from news to fiction. She’s never looked back.
Victoria claims her love of romance and journalism is to due to the influence of her favorite comic book character: Lois Lane, a terrific reporter and a great heroine who pursued Superman with an unwavering determination. And why not? He was extremely well drawn.
Victoria grew up traveling the world as an Air Force brat. Today, she lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband and her dogs. Victoria had two bearded collies, Sam and Louie (named from characters in one of her books). Sam (on the left), the best dog in the world for 13 ½ years, passed away in September 2010. Louie took on the position of loyal companion and did a fine job even though he doesn't understand that kitchen counter surfing is not allowed!
Now he's been joined by Reggie, also a faithful companion.
They all live happily ever after in a house under constant renovation and the accompanying parade of men in tool belts. And never ending chaos. Victoria laughs a great deal—she has to.
“Möge ihnen die Liebe für immer ihre Schwingen leihen, so dass ihre Füße nie wieder den Boden berühren.”
“Liebe ist... nun ja, sie ist ..., das heißt ..." Er blickte sie direkt an, seine Stimme klang ruhig und fest. "Liebe, Miss Effington, heißt am Rande eines Abgrunds zu stehen und sich fallen zu lassen, aus freiem Entschluss und im sicheren Wissen, dass man fliegen kann.”
“An arrogant man knows his own worth, and if he is clever as well, knows yours.”
“No one wants to get too close to a madwoman. Or men who have monkeys for pets.”
“Women, intelligent or not, were rarely reasonable.”
“You want to kiss me now,Matthew. I can see it in the look in your eyes.""I want to do considerably more than kiss you." He grinned wickedly. "And that too you should see in my eyes.”
“You and I have found something few people ever do.Do you not understand, Matthew? I refuse to let your misguided nobility keep us apart.My life as a princess, or a peasant, is not worth living without you in it.""And mine is without you? I'm willing to go to Avalonia and be your blasted lapdog, if that will keep you in my life. Damn it all, Tatiana, I love you. I have loved you from the moment you went up in my balloon. From the moment I saw the tilt of your smile and the spark in your green eyes. From the first lie to the last, I have loved you. And I love you now!""Then do stop screaming at me!""I am not screaming! I am..." He stopped abruptly and blew a long, frustrated breath. Stark....raving...mad.""I suspected as much." The corners of her lips twitched as if she were about to laugh.His heart leapt.He stared at her for a long moment. "Can you forgive me?""Never." She shrugged. "Perhaps. Possibly. Someday.Years from now.""After a great deal of groveling, I imagine?" He raised a brow. "Begging, beseeching, pleading and so forth as well, no doubt?""Without question.""And how long do you expect the groveling, begging, beseeching and so forth would continue?" He started around the table toward her."A lifetime should do." She cast him the look, and any lingering doubt he had vanished."I see. Exactly where will I be doing this groveling, begging and beseeching?" He reached her and pulled her into his arms and back into his life."Do not forget the so forth." She stared defiantly up at him."I would never forget the so forth." He bent and kissd the hollow of her throat. "The so forth has always been my favorite part.Now,where?”
“My life as a princes, or a peasant, is not worth living without you in it.”
“I was lying!""Why did you have to choose that moment to do it so well?""Because I had to make you believe me! Because I couldn't let you give up your life for me!""You are so annoyingly noble." She sniffed. "It took me far too long to realize it was all an act.One I should make you pay dearly for.You humiliated me in front of those very nice people.""Those very nice people you actively deceived," he said pointedly. "Besides, you hit me. Excessively hard,I might add.""Not nearly hard enough," she snapped."Perhaps you can have your captain shoot me?""Do not for a moment think he did not offer," she said loftily. "And do not think for a moment I did not seriously consider it.Dimitri was quite disappointed when I forbade him to kill you.""I should be grateful for that much, then.”
“La vida tiene una interesante forma de cambiar tus planes y de cambiar incluso aquello que crees que quieres.”
“Her heart leapt, which made no sense at all. This was not to be an affair of the heart. There would be affection certainly, but nothing more. Apparently her heart wasn't aware of her plans. Odd, she'd never known it to be rebellious before.”
“Don't let not knowing what to do prevent you from doing anything at all”
“My desire, my sincere and heartfelt desire is to rip that surprisingly sheer garment from your body, toss you onto that bed, and indeed ravish you from head to toe. I wish to make love to you until you are too exhausted to do so much as stand without support. Until you call out my name in your dreams and reach for me in your sleep. Until you can think of no one and nothing beyond the touch of my hand, the caress of my lips.”
“Adventure, my dear, is as much a state of mind as anything else. One can travel the world and never find the excitement to be found within arm's reach.Remain true to yourself, but understand happiness may not always be found in the plans we have laid out for ourselves, but rather in the unforeseen turns life takes us. Do not close your mind, or your heart, to the unexpected twists of life. It is those unexpected paths that could well lead to the greatest adventures of all.”
“I say seduce her, seduce her tonight. Break the door down if you have to. Tell her all those things you said to me about her. You will love her more tomorrow than today and how you want to die with her hand in yours–which is an excellent line, by the way, that I fully intend to borrow when the time comes.”
“Silly of me not to have realized it. One often finds Greek temples lurking in the woods of English estates. Sneaky things, temples.”
“It wasn't as if she was terrified of heights, she simply preferred to be closer to solid ground, where words like plummet and plunge did not linger in her mind.”
“Yes, well, there’s something to be said for damsels who need rescuing.” Thomas’s gaze strayed back to Marianne. She would never need rescuing. And wasn’t there something to be said for that as well?”
“As I have yet to meet a gentleman I wished to spend the rest of my days with, I would say the failure was on their part rather than mine.”
“It must be quite difficult, concealing your superior male qualities behind a mask of feigned humility.”Why, Gillian, it’s that very ability that makes us so superior.”
“I think it's your bosoms." Rand Surveyed him critically. "The dress wouldn't be as tight if they weren;t so large. I think your bosoms are too big."Alexei looked down at his overstuffed chest. "Can bosoms ever be too big?"Not real bosoms perhaps, but I think in your case..." Rand considered him thoughtfully. "No question about it: they're definately too big"Are you sure?" Alexei studied his reflection. "I thought they were just the right size for a man of my height.”