Author Vicki Hopkins

Thank you, Anne, for inviting me to be a guest blogger! As a fellow author, I appreciate the opportunity to share with your readers my writing journey.

I’ve dabbled in writing for many years, but not until January of 2008 did I seriously put myself into the public eye. It all started with my first blog, which is still active – “Lessons From the Phantom of the Opera.” Out of a fluke, I saw the movie and was immediately engrossed in the story. I devoured Gaston Leroux’s original work and cried reading the Phantom’s words, “All I wanted was to be loved for myself.”

Writing is an outlet for me. I’ve never been a very articulate person verbally, however, give me a keyboard and there’s no stopping me! I started my blog to dump my thoughts about the characters, emotions, symbols, and events. Two years later, my blog has over 46,000 hits from 106 countries worldwide, and in May of 2009, I self-published the posts into a study book format. It’s become a favorite with Phantom fans and has led me to my own Internet radio talk show on BlogTalkRadio entitled, “All Things Phantom.”

My dream, however, has always been to write a fiction novel. I started writing my first book in June of 2008, after taking a local college course on fiction writing. It’s been one interesting learning journey taking me from tears and self-doubts to the joy of finally holding my book in printed form. I decided to go the self-published route again, which I call my personal choice rather than my personal failure. Immersing myself into the publishing world has been an education to say the least, and I’ve ducked my share of comments for going the subsidy/vanity route too.

My book, “The Price of Innocence,” was released on November 10, 2009 through Xlibris Corporation. Already comments are popping up on Barnes & Noble giving me five stars. I do own full rights to the work and am sending it out to publishers in hopes it will eventually get picked up, along with my sequel. If not, I will continue to be thankful that it touches those who have an opportunity to read it in its present form.

The book is set in 19th Century Paris, France, and I spent months researching Parisian life to insure authenticity in my descriptions. It follows the life of a young woman who loses her father and finds herself suddenly homeless on the streets of Paris. Her journey takes her from charity houses, to a wash house, and eventually to the most famous brothel of its day – the Chabanais. The Chabanais actually existed from 1878 to 1946, and it only catered to aristocrats. Research into 19th century life, along with legalized prostitution, was an eye-opening experience to say the least! I attempted to incorporate as much historical information into the story as possible.

When I finished, I held a book in my hands that I believed was “tastefully written,” leaving the majority of brothel life to the imagination. It was indeed a challenge, because the very essence of the book is about my protagonist losing her virginity. Brothels and mistresses during 19th century Paris were a way of life. I can tell you it is not a book expounding moral values – it’s a book dealing with the harshness of life and what many women succumbed to in order to survive the poverty-ridden streets of Paris.

Marketing, of course, is a challenge for all of us. When I started looking at websites to pay for advertising, I cringed at the covers of six-pack abs, sexual poses, bulging breast, and words of “hot and heat.” I felt frustrated there was no place to showcase my work where I felt comfortable, so I started my own website, “The Janes of Romance.” My purpose was to give other authors, who felt as I did, a place to advertise their work in a more wholesome environment. It’s meant for writers who focus on “heart” rather than “heat,” and is dedicated to Jane Austin who penned the most beautiful tasteful romances of all time.

The site has only been up a short time and is struggling to find a voice among many others in the marketplace. I do not plan to charge anyone fees until there is sufficient traffic to warrant. In the meantime, if you are looking for a place to market your book among a more tasteful environment for free, I invite you to join. I also advertise The Janes of Romance on Facebook and MySpace. If you are interested for more information, please visit: http://janesofromance.com

To learn about the “The Price of Innocence” and my other works, please visit my author website at: http://vickihopkins.com

Happy writing to you all, and thanks to Anne for the privilege of sharing on her blog.

In the Zone!

My mojo has been in high gear lately. I’m almost 50,000 words into my new Inspirational Romance and 37,000 words into my Romantic Suspense. WooHoo - I love being in the zone! However, at the same time it’s a bit maddening because I get carried away or should I say my characters get carried away. For instance this past weekend I wrote two great scenes that draw my main characters closer together, and then on Monday it occurs to me that the two scenes would work better if they were moved back into the storyline. Soooo, I do a little re-arranging and whala—perfection!

Now, to go totally off the subject: Do you think dogs can read minds? Weird question, I know, but bear with me. My German shepherd, Zoe, always greets me at the back door with one of her toys. I barely have a chance to put down my purse and she’s nudging my leg wanting to play a quick game of fetch [she’s totally not spoiled]. Anyway, Friday I come home from work and as I’m getting out of my car I think to myself, “It’s such a beautiful day I think I’ll take Zoe out to the lake and play Frisbee.” So I leave my purse in the car and go in the back door and there is Zoe, but no toy. Instead she is bouncing around like a kid who’s had way too much caffeine, zipping back and forth through the house just like she does when she knows we are fixing to go to the lake. Now mind you I gave no indication that was my plan she just knew! So if you ask me, they can definitely read our minds.

Here’s another story that I just have to share. Zoe’s roommate, Sailor, was adopted last year at a local shelter. It has taken almost that much time for him to feel safe enough to come out of my bedroom (his safe area that is fenced off) and venture out into the rest of the house. Well over the weekend while in my zone I happened to look down and the two of them were lying side by side with their heads touching. It was better than watching a Hallmark commercial! My two babies are finally pals! If you’d like to see a pic of my little darlings go to my author page. I managed to get a couple snapped before they got bored with one another.

Okay, back to the subject of writing: On Thursday I will be guest blogging, about the importance of research, at Shawna Williams’ blog. So if you can drop by and leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you.

Also on the 23rd I will be interviewing fellow Desert Breeze Publishing author, Stephanie Burkhart. So be sure to drop by.

And don’t forget about my Thanksgiving Giveaway! If you haven’t entered yet, scroll down a few posts and read how to enter. I’ll be giving away two free downloads of my newest release, Journey to Redemption. The drawing will take place the day after Thanksgiving.