December 1 my latest Nocturne story will be out. THE BEWITCHING HOUR is a BITE about Hector Morales of the San Antonio crime lab and he’s come to Necropolis for Lyra and Theron’s wedding. And it just happens he gets the best present…

I hope y’all will check the lastest story of the Valorian Chronicles.

After that there will two more books in the series. The next full length book will be out in July, it’s called THE VAMPIRE’S KISS and then the one after that will be likely October and is called THE WOLF’S HEART.

I’m working on new stuff for Nocturne but sometimes its hard finding the perfect next series to work out. I’ve written 6 Valorian books and it will be both sad and exciting to work on something new.

What would you like to see as a series in Nocturne? What kind of creature? What type of story?

No I’m not talking about Halloween coming up, I’m talking about my story The Bewitching Hour which will be released by Silhouette Nocturne in December. It’s a BITE, a short about a secondary character in my Valorian Chronicles. This story is about Hector Morales, the chief investigator from the San Antonio crime lab. I had a lot of fun writing a story for him…

Check out the cover…

Here’s a short excerpt:

There was only ten minutes until the wedding ceremony. Hector Morales shut the hotel room door behind him, tucking the key card into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and walked swiftly down the wide opulent corridor to the bank of elevators. Luckily, the Necropolis Grand Hilton had eight elevators serving the huge lavish hotel. He hoped at least one of them would get him to the penthouse suite in time. He really didn’t want to be late for Lyra and Theron’s wedding.

After pressing the up button, he sat in one of the red velvet high backed chairs to wait. He smoothed down the wrinkle on his gray trousers and cursed himself for not making more time before the wedding. His suit definitely needed pressing, and he likely needed a shave. He rubbed a hand over his chin, already feeling the first prickles of stubble. But the phone call from the office in San Antonio had taken up his grooming time and then some.

The sheriff had called him about a missing person’s case his crime scene team was working on. As usual, the sheriff had called to chew him out. It still surprised him he had a job after that fiasco in San Antonio when Caine Valorian’s forensic team, from Necropolis, came out to help him on a strange murder. The murder ended up being part of a series of rituals that a very powerful vampiress was conducting in order to open a portal to hell. She ended up being a demon of all things.

Hector still had trouble believing that all of that had happened. Vampires, lycans, witches, these were the types of people that lived and worked in Necropolis. He was both pleased and perplexed to call some of them, namely Caine’s crime scene team, his friends. Enough so, that he was attending Lyra’s, who was a witch, nuptials to a half vampire/half witch named Theron who hailed from the Otherworlder European city of Nouveau Monde.

Sometimes it got really confusing keeping everyone’s species straight.
The elevator arrived. When the doors slid open, Hector walked into the plush mirrored elevator for the twenty floor ride. His room was on the tenth floor and the wedding was in the penthouse suite in a tropical type atrium. A night wedding. He liked them around this time. It seemed more romantic to him. It was no surprise thought especially since a lot of the guests were vampires and couldn’t tolerate the hot sun for very long.

The elevator stopped on the thirteenth floor. The hoteliers obviously weren’t superstitious. The door slid open but no one came on. Shrugging, Hector pushed the close door button. But before it could slide shut, a slim pale hand stopped it. The door bounced open again from the intrusion, and a tall slender woman in a lavender dress stepped into the box.

Her hair was as red as a Texas sunset and it swirled around her in long perfect curls. It shone in the muted elevator light and Hector had a terrific urge to reach out and caress one of those perfect spirals. He actually had to fist his hand tight against his leg to stop from doing just that.

She glanced at him and smiled. “Good evening.”

He just nodded, his mouth too sticky to open and form any coherent words. He was usually quite comfortable around most people. He worked in law enforcement long enough to be confident and sure in his position. But nerves zapped through his body the second the woman entered the elevator. The air seemed thick around him, and he was having a difficult time breathing. Was it just because she was an Otherworlder? Or was it because she was breathtakingly beautiful?

She looked at him again. “Are you going to Lyra and Theron’s wedding?”

Her eyes were as green as fresh spring grass. He didn’t think a color like that could exist in someone’s eyes. Knowing he was staring, likely impolitely, he cleared his throat and lowered his gaze. “Yes,” he finally managed to say. His throat was tight and he pulled at his tie. The temperature in the elevator was definitely rising.

“I’m Fiona Woodland, Lyra’s estranged cousin.” She stuck out her slim elegant hand toward him.

I’m here to talk about the Great Depression.

Mine.

Yup, I’m heading down into a deep dark abyss where everything sucks. I’m tired all the time now, and I’m eating way too much bad food, not exercising, when I was doing it every day and losing weight, and I want to throw myself onto my bed, grab a pillow and sob uncontrollably leaving everything wet and soggy with tears and snot.

Not a pretty picture, I know.

And I know its source, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Sometimes its really hard being a writer. No wonder alcoholism and creativity seem to go hand in hand. I could easily be drunk every day. Maybe it would help.

So I’m looking for ways to ease my suffering. Movies usually help. But lately I haven’t found any good ones. My favorite TV shows also help, but True Blood is done for the season, and BSG is just plain done. Yes, I have them on DVD, but it’s not helping either. And however much I love Dexter its not filling the void either.

I have been buying a lot of books of late as well, hoping one of them will ease my pain. As I’m reading it does, but the second I put it down I’m hurting all over again.

So, I’m reaching out to you dear Bradford Bunch blog readers….

HELP ME!!

What are some of the ways you find comfort? What kinds of movies, or books, or whatnot make you feel better? Any bad foods I should be eating?

Right now I’m learning to adapt in my career and basically in my life since writing is a huge part of it. I’ve recently come to a grinding halt, not of my choice, and now I have to deal with it. It’s been difficult and trying and emotional, and I’ve had more than one teary moment…

It’s been hard. But last night something happened. I realized that there was a big chunk of my love of writing, a big part of my overall dream, that I wasn’t doing anymore. And that’s screenwriting. It came to my notice after I entered a online writing contest on a whim, to see if I could do it, and well I got my scores back from my scene and yes, I CAN DO IT and well if I do say so myself.

So, I’ve decided I’ve been given a gift…the gift of time. And I’m going to use it to rediscover my love for screenwriting…and who knows what may happen. I came close twice 7 years ago to realizing that dream…now I have years of writing experience, industry experience, and contacts. It may be a whole different story this time around…

And speaking of movies, there are a bunch coming out in the next few months based on books. Lots of adaptations going on.

Where the Wild Things Are - beloved children’s book brought to life in live action

Fantastic Mr. Fox - another children’s book coming to the screen, really interested to see what Wes Anderson does with this one

The Men Who Stare at Goats - should be hilarious, George Clooney involved with paranormal research done by the military

Lovely Bones - heartbreaking novel, I’m predicting some Oscar noms with this one

Cirque du Freak - Vampire’s Assistant - I’ve read the book, and it’s pretty dark, but the trailer for this makes it look very light and comedic

New Moon - the Twilight sequel, trailer looks awesome I have to admit

The Road - cannot wait for this, Viggo Mortensen in what is sure to be an Oscar nominated performance

And the one I really can’t wait to see…

Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief

Looking forward to any of these? If you could choose one book to be made into a movie what would it be, and who would star in it?

Hey all. It’s Ann Aguirre’s birthday today. And guess what, it’s my birthday tomorrow. So for all those birthday virgos out there, I am giving you this beautiful birthday present…

Eric Northman…

Enjoy…

I know I have, again and again and again…

If it was your birthday today, what would you wish for?

I finished my last book a few weeks ago and since then I’ve been feeling a bit befuddled, so it didn’t suprise me I couldn’t put a coherent blog post together…so here are some random thoughts from Vivi…

1. just watched 17 Again with Zac Efron and laughed my butt off, watch it with the kids

2. also watched Cofessions of a Shopaholic and was very disappointed…I loved the book, but this adaptation sucked big time, Isla Fisher is a great comedic actress but she had nothing to work with in this one

3. recently finished two proposals, one UF, the other YA, and the lovely LB has them now…they are in fates hands…send me some lovin’ that something comes through soon

4. I am addicted to True Blood

5. Can’t wait for Dexter’s new season to start

6. I’m already looking forward to RT 2010, how sad is that?

7. I feel like sleeping all the time, must be the withdrawals from book deadlines

8. I want to eat a big bag of gummie bears, but won’t because every single gummie will end up on my ass as a tiny little fat deposit

9. Recently finished reading The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong, highly recommended

10. Also finished reading Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge, VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, it has a top spot on favorite books ever, its fabulous UF without all the sex and romance that I’ve been hating on lately

I saw this at the Fangs, Fur, Fey blog and thought it was pretty cool. An author posted all her first lines from her books past, present and future. It was cool to read them. Sometimes you can see a pattern in authors’ first lines…

Here are mine…(not from everything I’ve written)

First Lines…

Where was all the blood? – Blood Secrets

The moment Jace Jericho stepped into the Boneyard’s staff room, he knew there was trouble. – Dark Lies

When the uniformed butler opened the oak doors of the Lenoir estate in Nouveau Monde, Lyra Magice tried not to be impressed. – Veiled Truth

The bust was about to go down. – Mahina’s Storm

The orchestra music playing in the elevator, as it ascended to the ninth floor of the Nouveau Monde medical center, was driving Kellen Falcon mad. – The Vampire’s Quest

From books coming soon to Nocturne…

There was only ten minutes until the wedding ceremony. – The Bewitching Hour

Olena Petrovich had close to three hundred years to perfect sin to an art form. – from The Vampire’s Kiss

Diego grabbed Elise around the waist and pulled her close. – from The Wolf’s Heart

Other books…

Dust devils whirled viciously around the broken remains of civilizations. – Hell Kat

Not again. Oh, please, God, not again. - Inferno

The demon tried to buck off the man clinging to his back. – Demon Dreamer

Cigarette smoke hung in the air like a cancerous fog. – In the Company of Wolves

Books I’m working on…

The skin on Alan Bigby’s liver-spotted face rippled as if something was alive underneath it. – UF wip

The intense sickly-yellow glare of the spotlights made the grisly scene in the park all the more gruesome. – UF wip

“Are you going to be okay here by yourself?” – YA wip
You belong to me… - YA wip

Are there any books that you can remember that have awesome first lines? From the above lines, which is your favorite?

I’m sick.  That’s my excuse for why I’m so late with this post….I’ve been crazy sick for the past three days.  I hate being sick…

So to make me feel better I’m going to post a little teaser excerpt from my upcoming book from Samhain, DEMON DREAMER.  It will be released July 14.

excerpt - copyright July 2009 Vivi Anna

Kiara Brodie bolted upright in bed, panting, her long blonde hair stuck to her cheeks and forehead from the sweat that slicked her entire body. The dream had been intense, so vivid, and so real. She could still smell the demon in her room. Heat and sweat and something spicy.

Shoving the tangled blanket aside, she swung her legs over her bed and breathed in deep. Her heart was still racing. She hadn’t dreamt like that in a long time. Not since her brother had died. She wondered if this was some sort of omen, like her dream had been for Liam. A prophecy of things to come.

Such was the life of a seer.

Kiara stood and grabbed the ratty blue robe draped over a chair and slid it on, tying it tight around her waist. She slipped her feet into slippers that were worn on the bottom and shuffled out of her small bedroom and into the kitchen of her quaint but stuffy trailer.

She set the teapot onto the stove and turned on the burner. Maybe a cup of herbal tea would chase away the last remnants of her dream still clinging to her like spider webbing. Rubbing at her face, she pushed open the curtains over the kitchen window and stared out at the day. It was early yet, not even five by the way the sky held a faint yellow and pink glow. Most of the caravan weren’t even awake yet. Most wouldn’t wake for hours.

Such was the life of a tinker.

A life Kiara hated just about every minute of. But she was born to it, and because of her gift and her curse she didn’t have any chance of changing it.

Once she had her tea poured, she took it and opened the door to her trailer to sit out on her favorite chair under the awning. She loved early mornings. There was no one around to bug her, to ask her for a palm or tarot card reading, or to watch her warily from the corner of their eye. Because she knew they did, even if they didn’t mean to.

She was part of the caravan, had been born to an Irish tinker and lived among them for her whole twenty-three years, but she was never fully one of them. Because of her curse she’d always been set apart. She knew some feared her and what she could see with her goat’s eye. Born with an elliptical pupil in her right eye like a goat, Kiara had been both ostracized and revered. She’d been marked, declared the elders of the caravan. Marked as special, marked as someone to fear. It was a strange place to be. And one that was starting to wear her down. She was tired of being the one. She just wanted to be Kiara Brodie, a young Irish girl with a big yearning in her heart.

A yearning for something else, for something more. For somebody more.

Due to her place in the tinker society, guys didn’t approach her. Although she was considered beautiful and desired, there was not a one who had the balls to take her on. Most of the men were afraid of her. And the others were just disgusted with her strangeness.

She hungered for a man who would find that otherness sexy and wanted to be with her night and day. Especially the nights. She harbored wild and wicked fantasies but had yet to find a man who was man enough to fulfill them.

Which brought her back to her dream. There was something about the demon that ignited the fires inside her. He was strangely beautiful and obviously powerful, and she gravitated toward that power. If a being could rip apart a house and imprison two other obviously powerful beings, she could only imagine what that strength and power would be like on top of her. Feeling him inside her. Would she feel his power surging through her?

She shivered at the thought. Cupping her tea in her hands, she took a sip and smiled. Maybe this was a sign that her ideal mate was just around the corner. That soon she would meet him and know the thrill of a hot, fierce, passionate man’s pleasure.

Sorry I’m late with my blog post…had a crazy busy day with lots of running around and appointments.  So to make up for my tardiness…I give you the hotness that is TRUE BLOOD.

Mmm, delicious.  Vampire Bill

Yummy!  Eric the vampire sheriff

Nom nom brother Jason Stackhouse

Yes sir…Sam the shapeshifter

I love True Blood. It’s a great show.  It’s my new obsession.  Finally something to fill the hole in my pysche that BSG left.

Are you liking the show? Have you read the books?

I started my writing career in epublishing back in 2004.  My first release Goddess of the Dead was about an Egyptian vampire who bathed in blood.  Yeah, not very romantic but hey, there you go.  I liked it.  Then came Blood Red, a very violent sexy reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood, that also came out in 2004.  

Since then, I’ve published a few more ebooks then made my leap to traditional print publishing in 2005 when I sold to Kensington.  My first release Night of the Jaquar in the Sexy Beast anthology came out March 2006.

And since then I’ve had a few more releases with Kensington and now with Silhouette Nocturne, but the one thing I’ve always tried to keep constant was my connection to small publishers and epublishing.   I think an author can co-exist in both worlds.  And there are a bunch of authors that do just that.

Sometimes its for money, I mean its nice to have a steady monthly paycheck coming and epublishing can provide that, and sometimes its to publish something that maybe that author’s other publishers just can’t seem to market or its too short to market as a full novel.   That’s why I love publishers like Samhain and Loose Id and Ellora’s Cave that can provide that outlet for authors and provide books to readers that are alternative and not something they might find in a bookstore.

My next ebook is called DEMON DREAMER.  It’s a linked book with two other stories, ANGELIQUE’S RELEASE by my BFF Kimberly Kaye Terry and STONE’S EMBRACE by my buddy Delilah Devlin.   They all come out July 14, from Samhain Publishing.

Here’s my cover.  Isn’t it to die for???

Do you read ebooks?  What publishers do you buy from?  Discover any authors that you can’t wait to tell everyone about?