New cover, New Year and contest winner!

Here's the cover for SEDUCED BY THE WOLF, my Nocturne Craving for March. It's another short story in The Ancients line. The reason why she's lit from within? When she gets sexually excited, she glows. I mean, REALLY, glows.

SEDUCED BY THE WOLF is the sequel to HUNTED BY THE JAGUAR. Wolf features Jarrett, the werewolf. I liked his character so much I decided he needed his own story, especially since he had lost his mate and child.

It's a new year and I'm pleased to announce the winner of my contest from last month is Cathy (Caffie!) Cathy please email me for your prize.

In other news, I finished the book! Yay!!! The Covert Wolf is scheduled for release this August. I wrote the book in three months. It was very, very tough, with working full-time and traveling for the day job, plus the holidays, but I did it.

It's not easy being an author, whether you work a day job or your FT profession is writing. Deadlines must be met, and then life happens. 2011 was a tough year. We lost my beloved father-in-law, and had lots to deal with in a haze of legal paperwork. It's not over. But we are blessed with good family and friends to help us through.

For Christmas, we went to Tennessee, and had a lovely time with my great brother and his very sweet, very fun wife. It was good to get together with family. And it was cold!

Just as cold as South Florida promises to be tonight. In celebration of finishing the book, we'll probably have a fire in the fire pit, and toast the New Year with a bottle of red wine.

Here's hoping 2012 is good to you, and brings you and yours plenty of blessings, and everything your heart desires.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

From sunny and warm Florida, wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season!

And best wishes for a peaceful, happy New Year and a wonderful 2012!

The Empath and new website

The Empath has been released by Mills and Boon in the UK!  Enemy Lover will be released next month by Mills & Boon.

In other news, I finally have a new website. You can check it out here. I wanted a darker look to reflect the dark paranormals I'm writing.

My wonderful designer organized the books page to make it easier to access all the books, and there's a new releases page and a page for international editions. This will make it much more user friendly. If you want to know the latest books, you need only click on the new releases page.

In other news, I'm busy trying to finish the Nocturne due the end of this month, getting ready for Christmas and sorting through a lot of projects at the day job. The book is close. Almost there. Almost. Speaking of which, I'd better get back to work because if I make the rum balls first and then write... not a good idea!

My mom

She was a very special person, a best friend as well as my mother. Mom enjoyed reading romance novels. It's because of her love of the genre that I started reading them as well.

We took many wonderful vacations together. Sometimes we visited states like Montana, where she would sit on a bench reading a book while I went hiking in Glacier National Park.

This photo is from our last vacation together, the year before DH and I got married, and the year before she died from cancer.

It was a dream trip for both of us. I'm very thankful we were able to take this vacation, and I feel blessed with all the memories I'll always cherish of our times together. This weekend  it will be 16 years since we lost her. Some days, it feels like yesterday. Mom adored Christmas. It was her favorite holiday. She'd spend weeks getting ready, from making cookie press cookies, to decorating the house and shopping. She created a wonderful tradition. We had to give away some of our toys to poor children before Christmas, because before we could get new toys for Christmas, we had to share what we had with children who had nothing.

When she was dying from cancer, my brother bought her a little Christmas tree with lights, so she could look at it from her bed. I still have the tree, and when I put it out, I remember my mother and the joy she brought to us all during the holiday season. We buried her 3 days before Christmas, three months after Dh and I married. She hid her illness from the family, along with her pain. It was only after we returned from our honeymoon and she collapsed that we discovered she didn't have long to live.

I think she wanted to make sure I was settled, and happy, before passing on. That was the type of woman she was - always putting others before herself.

Miss you mom, always. Thank you for everything you did for all of us.

Technology and the holidays

Confession time. I'm tech-challenged. Can't keep up with all the changes. Just when I was comfortable with Blogger, they changed the template and the browser settings. I'm finally learning FB. And my phone is hooked up to Twitter, but sometimes when I message a friend, I almost end up tweeting. Um, hello world, I did NOT mean to tell everyone that I was so tired that I brushed my teeth with hemorrhoid cream instead of toothpaste...

Dolce also prefers books and toys to computer wires

So if you want to send me a message either through Twitter, Facebook, send a direct message through the Networked blogs (I still am trying to figure that one out, I think I pressed a button and now I'm networked), or Goodreads (I'm not signed up on Goodreads and don't always go to that site) or send up a smoke signal, and I don't always answer, it's because I'm tangled in a wired world and don't know how to find my way out. The best way to contact me is email. Bonnievanak@aol.com






Busy with the holidays, trying to finish the new Nocturne due the end of this month and working at the day job. I am also working with a terrific designer and hope to launch my NEW website by January 1.


Happy holidays, and may the stress of the season stay far from you!

In memory of our Tia

Tia, our beloved Shih Tzu, died Dec. 7, 2006. She had liver cancer. She was a wonderful dog and a friend as well. Miss you, sweetie. I hope all dogs do go to heaven, because you sure deserve to be there. 

Tia, Christmas 2004

New release, new contest

Today is the release day for HUNTED BY THE JAGUAR, the third novella in The Ancients!




Stranded miles from home, Ariana Fuller has few ways to protect herself from the enemy hunting her—except to let her demon side take control over the angelic half of her soul. The last man she wants to come to her rescue is jaguar shifter Daimon Nelson, the man who claimed her virginity and still tempts her like no other.

Though Ariana fears giving in to erotic abandonment will free her inner demon, Daimon's scorching kisses and wicked aura of sensuality make her forget all common sense. She tries to resist his allure, but Daimon is equally resolved to complete his mission of seduction. He must mate with Ariana to absorb her dark powers before they are unleashed—and before the enemy can claim her for himself....


Click here to order HUNTED BY THE JAGUAR on Kindle.

To celebrate, I'm giving away a copy of MATED TO THE WOLF, my second novella in The Ancients series.



Just leave a comment on this blog to enter, or email me at bonnievanak@aol.com. Contest ends Dec. 30. Good luck and happy holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving

Back from Honduras, thankful I live in the USA. I'm thankful for my home, that has real walls and a roof and solid floor, running water and a low enough mortgage. I'm thankful for DH, friends and family, and our dogs.

I'm thankful for a new book contract, the chance to put my imagination on paper to hopefully provide readers with much-needed escapes.

I'm thankful for my readers, and my writing buddies.

And I'm thankful for the chance to be able to help the poor through my writing, and my day job, which I've done now for 18 years. Eighteen years of traveling to poor countries has given me the chance to meet some amazing, wonderful people who give true meaning to the ideals of faith and trust in God, and the compassionate, generous people who help them.

And last, but not least, I am very thankful to all who serve in our armed forces. To all the US troops, at home and overseas, who put their lives on the line each day. A very special thank you, and blessings for the holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Contest next month!

Watch this blog for details. I'll be giving away an electronic copy of one of my novellas in my new series, The Ancients!

Still busy writing the Nocturne that is slated for release next August. I really love how these characters have taken on a life of their own. Matt is very sexy, very handsome and very dangerous, more so than the average Draicon werewolf. He's courageous and loyal and would die for the woman he loves. And at this point in the book, he's ready to make that ultimate sacrifice, if necessary.

Next week I'll be offline and in Honduras for the day job. Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Hunted by the Jaguar

Now available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle.


Stranded miles from home, Ariana Fuller has few ways to protect herself from the enemy hunting her—except to let her demon side take control over the angelic half of her soul. The last man she wants to come to her rescue is jaguar shifter Daimon Nelson, the man who claimed her virginity and still tempts her like no other.

Though Ariana fears giving in to erotic abandonment will free her inner demon, Daimon’ s scorching kisses and wicked aura of sensuality make her forget all common sense. She tries to resist his allure, but Daimon is equally resolved to complete his mission of seduction. He must mate with Ariana to absorb her dark powers before they are unleashed—and before the enemy can claim her for himself….

This is the third story in my series, The Ancients, for Harlequin's Nocturne Cravings line. Another novella, Seduced by the Wolf, is a sequel to this story and will be released in March, 2012.

In other news, I'm hard at work writing the Nocturne that will be an August 2012 release. Nearly halfway there!

Mated to the Wolf cover!

MATED TO THE WOLF is my November release from Nocturne Cravings. It's the second in The Ancients series. Maybe it's because I enjoy writing werewolves, or because the hero is scarred emotionally and physically, but this story was the most fun to write out of all three.

I love this cover. The colors are sultry and evocative, and having his face cast partly in shadow is reflection of his inner torment.

Here's the blurb:

Grayson Adler—lone werewolf, powerful Ancient and empath Healer—has never lusted after prey before. As a paranormal bounty hunter, he's duty bound to capture Samantha Fuller. She's half demon and half angel, with deadly powers emerging and a vendetta against the hunter who killed her parents. Yet Grayson aches to touch her and let her angelic half soothe his hurts, his longing for a connection as powerful as his sexual need. Then he gets a new assignment: to absorb her evil powers and tame her by becoming her mate before she turns demon…

I got the idea for the opening scene of this book when DH and I were dining at a neighborhood bar. It was a unique place, because the dining room was separated from the bar area by a wall and several windows. It was a cool place to go after work and grab a meal and have a glass of wine or a beer. We'd slide into one of the wooden booths, order and talk about our day. That night, I was gazing at the bar and the scene suddenly came to me. I always carry a small journal with me should ideas strike, and I jotted down the images I had for Grayson and Samantha's story.

Sadly, that bar/restaurant closed a few months ago. Like other businesses struggling to make it in this economy, they had to shut down for lack of sales. But for me, they'll live on in this story.

You can pre-order MATED TO THE WOLF on Kindle here on Amazon.

Or here on Nook.

Happy reading!

In memory of Steve Jobs

Thank you for all you did. The world has not only lost a true genius, but a man who truly understood the importance of creative vision.


“Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” - Steve Jobs

New release!

Bitten by the Vampire is the first novella in The Ancients series by Harlequin's Nocturne Cravings line.

Vampire Lucian Marcello knows it's his destiny to claim Mara Fuller as his own. She is a Darklighter, half-demon and half-angel, and has sworn to destroy the man who almost killed her. If she succeeds, her demon side will take over and she will turn evil. The only way to save Mara is for Lucien to mate with her and absorb her dark powers. But though tempted by a shared erotic vision, Mara is resistant to his charms. It will take all Lucien's powers of seduction to make her surrender to his dominance and desire. For if he fails, her life will be forfeit…

You can purchase it here on Amazon...

Or here on Nook.

Next month is Mated to the Wolf, followed by Hunted by the Jaguar. And in March of 2012, look for Seduced by the Wolf!

Advice to authors

This November marks the 9th year I've been a published author. So, for debut authors out there, I have a little advice for when you're faced with a bad review and want to say something to the reviewer.

Don't.

Bad review, snarky email, it comes with the business. Some people will love your books. Others will scratch their heads and think, "WTH?" And the public criticism of your books will come. It might be a small suggestion, or something large and very snarky on a popular romance blog. You'll want to fire off a response about your book, the one you sweated blood and tears over.

Don't.

Here's the best advice I can give you, and it applies to the corporate world as well. Don't ever write an email when you are upset/angry/want to hold the critic's head under water until you hear a gurgling sound. Write a letter to yourself instead.

Get on your computer and fire off everything you feel inside. Get out all those feelings, frustrations, etc.

Keep that letter in a safe, password protected file. Wait 48 hours and cool down.

Then delete it.

Time and again it's been shown that authors, even superstar ones, who take on their online critics, pay for it. The payment may not be lost sales. But it can be something everyone needs these days..something very precious...

Time.

Why waste time responding to online criticism of your books, unless you are correcting a misconception about your book? (For example, if you wrote a romantic comedy about pigs and included the fact that a pig's orgasm lasts 30 minutes and the reviewer said, "She is ridiculous! Whoever heard of a half-hour orgasm?" Then you can send a polite email to the reviewer and point out your research. You were not pulling this out of thin air, or your butt. You know the facts. BTW, pigs DO have 30 minute orgasms. Seriously. Lucky pigs!)

You'd be better off spending your time writing another book and therefore, collecting another advance and more money! If the criticism really gets to you, get together with friends, have a drink and commiserate. Then get back to what you do best...writing!

Criticism comes with this business. Readers also change their taste. So someone who loved your books a year ago may be snarking about them tomorrow with their online friends. It happens. It does NOT mean you are a poor writer. Remember, you got published. Your book resonated with an editor! Be proud of that.

And keep all your positive reader emails in a file. When you feel a little down about a bad review, pull them out and read them for reinforcement.

Be proud of yourself and your work. You're an author. Congratulations! You persevered and you made it.

Now go out and show the world what a professional you can be.

Now available from Ellora's Cave...

From author Blair Valentine...

When Nicolas Hoffman wakes up naked, chained to a wall and ordered to give three orgasms in a row to a rival pack’s heiress, the sexy werewolf thinks his worst nightmare has come true. He vowed he’d never again be used for sex, but he is the last resort for the lovely and emotionally cold Jessenia Drake. She needs Nicolas’ hot touch and passionate lovemaking to break the curse that keeps her frozen.

The sex is sizzling and intense and Nicolas suspects someone wants to keep the heiress on ice in order to seize her power. But Jessenia has an additional concern. As her emotions return, her greatest fear isn’t remaining encased in a world of emotionless ice, but losing her heart forever to her handsome werewolf lover. Reader Advisory: Contains brief m/m and group-sex scenes.

You can purchase it on Amazon Kindle by clicking here.

Why I love werewolves

Need I say more? Howl!!!!!!!!!!

They run hot. Very hot.

My newest Nocturne, THE SHADOW WOLF, is now in stores! And I have news about a new release.

On the run from authorities, gutsy Megan Moraine knows shadow wolves like herself have no place in this world. But she's still prepared to do anything to protect her young charges. That resolve is tested when the trio is captured by Gabriel Robichaux. Everyone knows that Gabriel is a ruthless bounty hunter, a member of an elite group called the Enforcers. Why then is Megan so attracted to her enemy—a wolf who hunts his own people? A wolf whose languid, sexy drawl makes her dream the impossible?

You can purchase it from Barnes and Noble by clicking here.

It looks like Hurricane Irene will miss us here in Florida. While I'm breathing a sigh of relief, I am keeping those further north on the east coast in my thoughts. Nineteen years ago today, Hurricane Andrew came on shore. My friends and I volunteered in Homestead, helping to clean up. It was horrific.

Stay safe, everyone.

In other news, my evil twin, Blair Valentine, has an upcoming release. Blair writes erotic romance for Ellora's Cave. Her newest book, The Ice Queen Cometh, will be out Sept. 16! Details to come.

Happy Hump Day!

The Shadow Wolf and Hurricane Irene

Tomorrow The Shadow Wolf is out! Yay!

Thursday we here in S. Florida are supposed to get Hurricane Irene! Boo!

My heart is beating fast, but it's not because The Shadow Wolf will be in bookstores tomorrow. It's because Irene, a Cat. 3 hurricane, is supposed to either brush our coast or have a direct impact.

I haven't gone toe to toe with a hurricane since Wilma in 2005. Score on that one? Wilma: 1, Bonnie, oh, about $50,000 in damages. Wilma dropped a tree on our roof and two others in the yard. I've posted a photo of what Wilma did to our back yard here... one of the trees crashed through the Florida room, where I had been, stupidly, standing 5 minutes earlier watching the winds pick up.

I've never taken hurricanes for granted after that.

So as excited as I am about The Shadow Wolf, I'm too focused on Hurricane Irene and what we have to do to protect ourselves from the storm.

Ironically, there is a hurricane in The Shadow Wolf. Gabe and Megan and the twins ride one out that's barely a Cat. 1. And Gabriel has a built-in generator that automatically transfers power when the electricity goes out.

Gabriel, can I move into your cottage with DH and the dogs?

Trains!

Earlier this month we were on vacation and missed the train meet at the park. DH is a member of the Tradewinds and Atlantic RR club. They have riding trains for children and adults and DH and his friends built a model railroad track to run their G-scale trains. The new layout was a lot of work, and the results are gorgeous. Kids love seeing the trains, like this one, which is called a Triplex. Many of DH's trains have sound systems. He even has cattle and sheep cars that feature animal sounds!

It's a great hobby.

Our vacations are usually spent at locations that offer old-fashioned steam train rides. One of our favorites is Chama, New Mexico. They have a narrow gauge railroad, one of the last remaining ones in the country, and the railroad yard is an open train museum. We spent a few delightful hours combing through the yard, looking at locomotives, parts, tankers, you name it.

One of my favorite ways to relax when I get home from the day job, when the weather gets cooler, is to sit outside on our patio with a glass of wine and watch DH run the trains in our back yard. Our layout runs the length of the patio. On holidays, when his dad came over, we'd have dessert in the backyard or his dad would sit and watch Frank run the trains. I miss my FIL...the holidays are going to be a little rough this year without him. But at least we have lots of good memories to keep him in our hearts.

Great review of The Shadow Wolf

This review is by Xeranthemum from The Long and Short of It Reviews. Five books! Yay! The Shadow Wolf is out August 23, but available for pre-order on Amazon, B&N and eHarlequin.

"On the run from authorities, gutsy Megan Moraine knows shadow wolves like herself have no place in this world. But she's still prepared to do anything to protect her young charges. That resolve is tested when the trio is captured by Gabriel Robichaux. Everyone knows that Gabriel is a ruthless bounty hunter, a member of an elite group called the Enforcers. Why then is Megan so attracted to her enemy—a wolf who hunts his own people? A wolf whose languid, sexy drawl makes her dream the impossible?

I bit my nails, ground my teeth and flipped through the pages at a furious clip because I never knew what was going to happen next and the suspense kept me glued to my chair. The Shadow Wolf has the emotional punch to make what happens to the hero and heroine matter to a reader.

Right off the bat, Ms. Vanak introduced characters that would appeal to a reader. She painted a scene of despair, hopelessness and fear while showcasing the heroine’s determination, strength and loyalty. The first chapter presented the main players who have the most to lose and gain during the course of this story and sets up the initial conflict between the hero and heroine. And wouldn’t you know, just as I’m writing this I realized something about one of the characters that I read about early on. I’m in shock. Oh, my gosh! I didn’t catch it on the first read through. That really twists the knife. And now I understand all the ramifications. I’m officially blown away. Oh poor, Gabriel.

Yes, Ms. Vanak created characters I cared about. Once the hero, Gabriel bared his heart, there was only one option open to me and that was to fall in love with him too. I wanted to hug him, care for him and wanted him to be happy. He eventually gets all those things from Megan, the heroine but not without some seriously suspenseful and heartbreaking moments along the way.

Megan has had to fight tooth and nail to get where she is and to get where she’s going. She has been hurt so much and so badly, trusting someone else is a huge stumbling block for her. And yet, for all her doubts and fears, she tentatively reaches out to Gabriel and the action begins.

The twins are adorable and important. They are little kids who’ve seen too much and yet still retain some of their innocence and charm. They are the glue that holds the little group together initially until the bigger picture gets painted for a reader and the scope with which they’re up against is revealed.

The suspense of not knowing who to trust, why what is happening is happening and will they get away and survive intact is a constant. Not knowing if both Gabriel and Megan can get beyond their own fears and reach out to the other is another effective hook in this story. What is really going on and why everything is so perverted is another question to be answered. So many threads weave through this book and Ms. Vanak didn’t let one dangle. Eventually everything comes to light in a spectacular confrontation.

There are different levels of secondary characters and some are more important than others. The most fascinating for me was Tristan. He can be a cool dude one second and the other, he’s popping footballs. Amazing man with a hint of omniscience, I’d love to know more about him. The others have supporting roles or shed light on the hero. The heroine doesn’t really have any friends so that’s an emotion tugger.

The conflicts are many but the solution comes down to a decision that only Megan and Gabriel can make. Once they do, it was thrilling to see the intense and volatile scenes that followed. And it was a WOW! moment when it was revealed just what Gabriel really was. Never saw that coming and it made me wonder why they were hunted in the first place. Something tells me it was the other nasties that arranged it all those many years ago. Interesting thought and it makes sense.

The happily ever after is tender, sweet and well earned. In fact it was the icing on the cake. Right before the charming part, their coming together was its own happy ever after and it was sensual, poignant and well written. If a reader is looking for well written physical expressions of love, they’ll find it here.

The Shadow Wolf is one heck of a ride that will leave a reader breathless. I think my TMJ got a workout from all the teeth clenching I did during the suspenseful parts – of which there were many. At one point I thought the heroine was spiraling down into a cliché but no, she dodged that one with style and true grit. This story has dark depths and a meaty plot sure to appeal to paranormal romantic suspense readers who look for a quality written story. The editing is perfect, the characters extremely well formed and the dynamics between the hero and heroine are wonderful. I was thoroughly entertained and can say with all confidence that readers are in for a treat and a great read when they pick up their own copy of The Shadow Wolf."

Rest in peace, LA Banks

I'm just back from vacation and heard the news this morning. The talented, awesome and all-together wonderful human being and author LA Banks has died.

She had late stage adrenal cancer. A group of friends and authors had held fundraisers to help pay for her medical bills.

To celebrate her life, and her talent, I'm providing a link here to her latest book.

Rest in peace, Leslie, you were an amazing person.