No one does sex, glam and drama like Jackie Collins. Her first novel, The World is Full of Married Men, scandalized the romance genre, and the Hollywood escapades of her signature character, the sexy Lucky Santangelo, quickly made Collins an international sensation. The seventh Lucky novel, Goddess of Vengeance, turns the heat to Vegas, where Collins introduces the younger generation of Santangelos. Money, power and passion are always on the line when it comes to this family.
Drop Dead Beautiful was supposed to be the last Lucky story. What made you bring her back for Goddess of Vengeance?
I will never be finished with Lucky. I love the character and so do my readers, so the Santangelo family will always be around. Lucky is like a James Bond for women!
Las Vegas is the new hot setting for Goddess of Vengeance. What is it about Vegas that creates such a perfect backdrop for this story?
What can I say about Vegas? It’s a magical city full of adventure and excitement. Lucky and Gino have built several hotels in Vegas, and Gino was right there at the beginning when Bugsy Segal and Meyer Lansky ruled. Chances was one of my favorite books to write, and I researched the early days of Vegas very carefully.
Recently the New York Times Magazine published an essay about how the “strong female character” could use a little more weakness. As the creator of strong female characters, what do you think about this assessment?
I think it was written by a man! Lucky is strong, but she also has a vulnerable streak which is certainly not the same as being weak! Strong women rule. And in Goddess of Vengeance, Lucky is right up there.
How are you and Lucky alike?
Lucky is the woman I would like to be in another life. Who wouldn’t? She’s strong, sexy, powerful, astute, beautiful and ballsy! She does and says all the things other women might not have the nerve to do or say. Lucky is a true heroine.
What has been the most Lucky-esque moment of your life?
I was held-up by a masked gunman in my car. “Don’t move, bitch, or I’ll blow your f***ing head off”—were his exact words. So . . . in true Lucky style—I fired my engine and took off!
If you could be trapped on a desert island with three people—celebrities, fictional characters, anyone—who would you choose?
Lucky of course! Jack Python from Hollywood Husbands. And Al King from Lovers and Gamblers.
If you could switch lives with any of your characters, who would it be?
Here we go again—Lucky Santangelo!!!
What is next for Lucky and her children, Bobby and Max?
Oh wow! Plenty! Max is 18 and a wild one. Bobby is hot hot hot! Many more Santangelo adventures to come!
