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Vicki talks about Iguana Love

What do you think are the unique aspects of extreme sports and the culture that they have spawned?

I can only speak for skydiving, but I would say that extreme sports force you to look at your life on a moment by moment basis and accept your lack of control over the universe and your tiny place in it. Probably, statistically, driving from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami on I-95 is more dangerous than skydiving, but it certainly doesn't feel like it. Driving lulls you, whereas skydiving makes you accountable for each second. It's a continuous learning experience, conditioning your body to fly and maneuver, discovering your physical reactions, and evolving psychology comes from myself, I suppose, and I've never allowed myself to feel victimized by inequality. Although in the distant past I worked for less wages than men, etc., I've never been stopped from doing anything. I require the same amount of freedom as a man, and I have no problem taking it. In my writing I stay away from the flood of woman-as-victim propaganda--a million diseases, glass ceilings, abuse, molestation, rape. Dwell on it enough and you begin to feel it! I'm not about to. That doesn't mean my characters don't have problems--they have many, in order to be interesting. Ramona, for example, overdoes everything. But they always conquer in some respect. I think women can accept themselves--good or bad--as people, and men don't have a problem accepting that anymore either.

In Iguana Love Ramona has a voracious sexual appetite--do you think that women will have a difficult time coming to terms with her sexuality?

People told me something similar about Sherri in Miami Purity, and I was surprised. These are first-person narrators, so the reader is privy to all their inner thoughts. I really don't think either woman falls outside the normal range--near the top, perhaps. A man would be considered "virile," with a similar capacity for sex--maybe we need a word for a woman with their degree of heat, because I don't think it's unusual.

What do you hope will be the reaction of someone reading Iguana Love?

I hope readers will find it intelligent, unique, and interesting.

Do you think that there will be significant interpretative differences between men and women?

From my first novel, Miami Purity, I learned that men and women interpreted my strong, twisted narrator in the same way. Most people admired her determination despite her obvious errors in judgment. A few men I dated expressed some fear, however! I expect the reaction to be similar for Iguana Love.

What about Ramona Romano makes her the predatory female that she becomes in Iguana Love?

Ramona becomes predatory in response to Enzo's manipulation, which she has allowed to overcome her through her obsessive love for him. Enzo and Ramona are two of a kind, both in need of challenge, both bored by easy pickings, both like the reptile, the iguana, that cannot love and, therefore, presents a challenge. If the cold-blooded reptile or person ever returns love, the challenge is over and the positions reverse. Ramona is the iguana to her soon-to-be ex-husband, and Enzo is the iguana to her. Iguana love makes the world go 'round and 'round.

Does Ramona's quest for physical perfection come as a result of competing in a male dominated sport or stem from a need for acceptance?

Ramona's quest for physical perfection, I believe, comes physically from participating in high-stamina activities. It seems to me, physical activity naturally causes one to desire to be more active, stronger and better, and the quest for perfection and heightened sensation builds on itself. It's a natural process once the flow takes over. Of course, her obsessive love for Enzo causes her to do other things, such as get the breast implants. which she wouldn't have done otherwise.

Your books have been described as "noir." In fact, James Ellroy in describing Miami Purity said, "Miami Purity cooks white hot . . . . This book is an instant red-neck idiot savant classic: so gruesome and deadpan outlandish that you wind up baying at the moon like a Florida coon dog." Do you think that you fit into the classic noir tradition?

I think my books stretch the noir tradition quite a bit. There are the expected triangles and dark characters, but I'm not so much concerned with the usual plots that make money the force behind all evil. The obsession and passion of the characters are the main features I find interesting. James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice was my inspiration for the first book--not for the plot, although it's wonderful--but for the deep dark madness and irony implicit in the characters. That's the part of noir I strive to preserve.  

The "redneck idiot savant classic" is also an interesting category! I think I might be the only one in there.

What is the role of women in noir? Do you think your heroines fit that or defy it?

Women have always been strong and twisted in noir, and I think I keep up that tradition very well. Often the woman was seen as the betrayer, however, and generally the man takes that part in my plots. Perhaps this is only because my protagonists are women and the antagonists are men, opposite of the well-known classics, and the betrayer role simply works more naturally for the antagonist, whether male or female.

Why is noir writing so popular now in both films and books? What does it say about our culture?

I don't know why it's so popular--trends come and go regularly. Personally, I've been in love with noir since I found it, a natural inclination. I suppose general economic stability allows people, far-removed from the situations, to feel secure enough to take pleasure in observing someone else's seedy lifestyle and problems, again perhaps, relating more to the noir that's centered on theft and con. No matter what kind of writing is popular, it's always about trouble, because undisturbed good fortune is dull. We'd all like to live perfect lives, but nobody wants to read about them.

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Serpent's Tail
ISBN: 1852426284
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Copyright © 2002 Vicki Hendricks. All rights reserved.