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Vijaya Schartz,
Award-winning Author, Daredevil, World Traveler, Philosopher
For complete publishing history and professional credentials, click HERE

Born and raised in France, Vijaya lived in India, Hawaii, Florida, and Philadelphia, before settling in sunny Arizona. She traveled throughout England, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Thailand, the Himalayas, Japan, and saw the Sphinx and the Pyramids. She returns to Europe regularly to visit her family and do book research. Recently, she visited Luxembourg, Germany, Aragon, Forez and Brittany, to glean information related to her medieval fantasy series in progress.

Award winning author Vijaya Schartz did it all. From theater to television, to hosting Authors Secrets Radio, where she interviewed some of the greatest authors. With eight novels in print and electronic format, Vijaya Schartz writes action adventure laced with sensuality and suspense, in exotic and futuristic settings. Her novel Ashes for the Elephant God is in the process of becoming a feature film in India (although it's taking a long time). Archangel Crusader is now available as an audiobook. She also co-writes science-fiction screenplays for television.
Vijaya Schartz was the president of the Arizona Authors Association for seven years, the talk show host of Authors' Secrets Radio for three years, and a book reviewer for several magazines. She speaks regularly to groups of readers, and at national writers' conferences.
In her spare time over the years, Vijaya was a gymnast, a surfer and an Aikido black belt. She still likes to jump off perfectly good planes or battle the white waters of the wild Colorado River. Born in France, she traveled the world and lived at length in exotic places like India and Hawaii. She now resides in Arizona with her husband and a new kitten by the name of Jasmine.
In July 2000, she braved the rough waters of the Colorado through the Grand Canyon in a raft. Later, she rests in calmer waters, that's her on the picture, center back of the raft, with the white hat. She even jumped from a high cliff into the chilly waters (see small person at bottom right for scale) Did I mention Vijaya is deathly afraid of heights? That's what makes it such a thrill.

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Vijaya participated in the Kumbh Mela pilgrimage in India (left)
where she lived in an ashram (Hindu monastery) for many months.
She even had a traditional Indian wedding (right), like in her novel
Ashes for the Elephant God

Live tigers, now, that's a rush!
Yeah, it's a real one, and it was a challenge
to keep it calm long enough to take the picture

Vijaya throwing her opponent in a self-defense demonstration
at the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu, Hawaii
(Black Belt in Aikido, Vijaya also studied Judo and Karate)

Vijaya once belonged to the French National Gymnastics Team
and represented her country in various international competitions
in Western and Eastern Europe

ARTIST:
    Before becoming a professional writer, Vijaya acted on Stage and Television in Paris and on tours throughout Europe. She sang in Rive Gauche cabarets and studied voice and modern ballet. Her paintings were also shown in several French exhibits.

PHILOSOPHER:
    Vijaya studied Cashmere Shivaism and Siddha Yoga in an Ashram near Bombay, India, where she translated spiritual texts from English into French. She once belonged to the AMORC Rosicrucian Order, the Order of the Knights Templar, as well as the Martinist Order. She studied paranormal phenomena, near death experiences, reincarnation, past life regression, UFO sightings, Alchemy, Tibetan wisdom, Zen Buddhism, and Shinto philosophies. Many of her published articles deal in philosophical subjects.

RADIO PERSONALITY - BOOK REVIEWER
    Vijaya was the radio talk show host of AUTHORS SECRETS RADIO, frist on KFNX1100AM radio in Arizona, then on BOOK CRAZY RADIO NETWORK (BCRN) worldwide on the internet, six times every Wednesday, from 2001 to 2004. Vijaya also wrote a booklet on writing, 12 Secrets for Writing Compelling Fiction, sharing her many secrets and those learned from best-selling authors she interviewed on her show. Vijaya also reviews popular fiction for several magazines.

CHAIRPERSON - ACTIVE MEMBER :
      Vijaya Schartz was the President of the ARIZONA AUTHORS ASSOCIATION for seven years, from 1998 to December 2005, and also held the presidency of the VALLEY OF THE SUN ROMANCE WRITERS Chapter in 1998. She was Editor in chief of the ARIZONA LITERARY MAGAZINE until 2007. She hosted her own radio show about writing for over three years (Authors Secrets Radio). As a writer of Romantic suspense and adventure, in exotic or futuristic settings, Vijaya belongs to the ROMANCE WRITERS OF AMERICA and is a past President of DESERT ROSE ROMANCE WRITERS, as well as the current webmistress for the VALLEY OF THE SUN ROMANCE WRITERS and for the Arizona Authors Association. She often speaks at writers' workshops, seminars, and conferences. Her critique group, AUTHORS' EXCHANGE, meets at her house once a week.