Me!!!!!

RT was a couple of weeks ago and I was thrilled to death to have received an award.   My Nocturne VEILED TRUTH, book 3 in the Valorian Chronicles, won for best Nocturne of 2008. 

You have no idea how overwhelmed I was to get this.  I mean, me, getting an award for writing a romance novel.  It floors me, because in truth I really dont’ consider myself a romance author.  I just write the story I want to tell.  And as long as I get to toss in a few paranormal entities, blow some stuff up, and have a few bloody fights, and some hot sex, I’m good to go.

This award was also doubly cool since Veiled Truth was a tough book to write.  In the process I ended up losing the first 12 chapters after a computer crash (like a moron I didn’t back up), after a few days of screaming and crying, I started to rewrite, and was working on chapter 13, another crash happened and I lost work again.   And it happened one more time before I gave in.    I got a new computer and rewrote the work I needed to, finished the other chapters and pieced everything together as best as I could.    It was a miracle that it all worked out well.

  Here’s me with my award.  How awesome is that?  

What was also cool about getting the award was watching my peers getting awards as well.   Very cool to see someone I know and love walking across that stage, in the spotlight, receiving their award.   Needless to say, I was a blubbering idiot the day of the award ceremony.    Well, I did have company.  There was another author that did some crying of her own, and then we cried together and hugged a lot. 

Here’s me and the ever lovely Lauren Dane holding our awards.  I was so proud to see Lauren getting an award for best erotic futuristic for Undercover, which totally rocks by the way.

It’s these moments that make me so happy to be part of this industry.  

But afterwards, it got me wondering does anyone other than me care that I won an award.  Does it matter to readers that a book has won an award?  Do you actively seek out books that have won?

Sorry I’m late to the party…life and all that…

Vampires, vampires, everywhere.  Everywhere you look on the shelves, and on TV, there are vampires.  And I have to say it makes me very very happy.  I love a great vampire tale.  I also like to write about them, as my latest Nocturne book reveals…The Vampire’s Quest.

The vampire in question is Kellen Falcon, the former ballistics expert from the Otherworld Crime Unit in Necropolis.  Now, he’s on a mission of his own. To find the cure for the disease running rampant in his veins before it drives him insane. 

So in honor of Kellen and all the vampires out there…here is a list of my favorite vampire books/series (that are either about those vampires, or have vampires playing prominent parts in the story) TV shows and movies.  They aren’t just for Halloween.  Enjoy vampires every day of the year!

Books:

The Hollows series – Kim Harrison

Night Huntress series – Jeaniene Frost

Mercy Thompson series – Patricia Briggs

Wicked Game – Jeri Smith Ready

Leandros brothers series – Rob Thurman

Sonja Blue books – Nancy Collins

Anita Blake series (the first six books) – LK Hamilton

Morgainville Vampires – Rachel Caine

A Hunger Like No Others – Kresley Cole

Blood Ties series – Jennifer Armintrout

Vampires – John Steakley

Bewitch the Dark series – Michele Hauf

The Dresden Files – Jim Butcher

Shows:

True Blood

Moonlight

Supernatural (they had vampires once or twice)

Movies:

Dracula 2000

Dracula (with Gary Oldman)

Lost Boys

In the Dark

Underworld 1&2

Fright Night

Kiss of the Vampire

Van Helsing

30 Days of Night

Blade III (Ryan Reynolds is the bomb)

Do you have a favorite vampire book, or character, or show or movie?

One lucky commenter will get a book prize.

I love when a book is set in Europe.  I don’t know what it is about European settings and in essence the people that draws me in.  It has that…Je ne sais quoi type of sensation. The thing I can’t put my finger on.

I’ve been to Germany and Austria and the Netherlands.  I loved it there.  I could wax poetic about the way I felt when roaming the cobblestone streets or touring the spectacular cathedrals and castles.  But no one wants to hear my poetry…trust me.  I long for the day that I can go back to those places, and add more to my touring schedule…places like France.  I really want to travel through France.  My sister lived there in a tiny village for a few months and I envy all the stories she has about her time there and the pictures of all the quaint towns and people she met along the way.

I long to see Paris, and Marseille, and Nice, and Lyon, and Nouveau Monde.  Say what?  Nouveau Monde?  Yes, that’s right.  It’s that picturesque city where the Otherworlder community has congregated.   Vampires and lycans and witches, and even humans live in relative peace and harmony in the beautiful progressive city.   It has much of the same look and feel of Lyon, with a long and wide river winding its way through the bustle of the city.   You should go there.  It’s gorgeous.  Just watch out for the nightlife…they just might bite.

(pictures of France here)

Nouveau Monde is the city in France that I constructed for my new book THE VAMPIRE’S QUEST.  In this book, my hero Kellen Falcon, travels from the secret city of Necropolis in Texas to the much loved and known Nouveau Monde.  He’s searching for a cure for the rare vampiric blood disease Sangcerritus that he’s just happened to contract.   But there in the enthralling city of Nouveau Monde he finds so much more.  Like fiery red-headed Sophie St. Clair, a spit-fire of a woman and a fierce lycan.   He faces the toughest battle of his life there, both for his life and for his heart.

Romantic Times magazine says “This is a fantastic supernatural thriller from start to finish. Anna takes two supernatural beings and makes us believe the romance and attraction between them are real.”  And they gave it a TOP PICK for April.

What kind of settings do you love?  Europe?  Asia?  Good old America?  Canada?  Why aren’t more books set in Canada?

What kind of settings do you long for?

I’m very happy to have Ms. DD here to blog.   She’s a fun, talented, lady that I’m thrilled to call friend…without further ado….

I’d like to thank the Bradford Bunch for hosting me today. I blog a lot. I’m not sure why. It may have to do with the fact I live a very solitary life and need a forum to connect with other like-minded people. First, I’m a writer, which means I live in a fantasy world most of the time. Second, I live in the boonies of Central Arkansas and choose not to venture out too often into town because I tend to come back with a really thick drawl, a hankering for fried chicken, and to desire to have my two front teeth pulled.

My family understands me. They only call when they want to make sure I’m still alive. They only call late in the evening because I tend to do my best work mid-morning to mid-afternoon, and if they do call early, they won’t know who they’ll get. It could be a bad-ass vampire hot for her first draw of blood after a long drought or a cowboy who’s been too long on the range and is ready for a hot bath, a beer, maybe a woman, and probably not in that order. They kinda know who they’ve reached by how I talk. My accent changes, the rate of my delivery changes, and I have to think for a long moment after they ask me how I am because I have to decompress to remember which “me” they are asking.

So, who am I today? I’m a demon, freshly awakened by the touch of an innocent human. I’m angry, horny, and I’ve just discovered that although I’ve been reanimated, I’m still in deep kimchi. So while I type this, I’m still running through a forest of writhing trees and vines, dragging a girl behind me as we try to evade the horrors slithering through the night. But it’s Friday, so that’s okay. I don’t have to be “writer me/mom me/daughter me” until Sunday when I promised to resurface and spend the day with the real family, at which time, mom will ask me what I’m working on and I’ll tell her until her eyes roll and she tries to remember if she dropped me on my head at birth.

I did come bearing a gift. Post to this blog and you’ll be eligible to win a signed copy of any of my pre-2009 print books (if I currently have it in stock—I have the majority of them).

One of Delilah’s latest releases is, Texas Men from Kensington Aphrodisia. “…Virile cowboys, clever plots and arousing descriptions will make readers sigh with satisfaction.”

How Battlestar Galactica makes me want to be a better writer:

There’s never been a story, a program, a film that has affected me as much as Battlestar Galactica.  I’m not talking the old series from the 80’s, I’m talking the new reimagined brilliance by Ron Moore and David Eick.

From the moment I first watched a blond bombshell named Six walk down a crowded street on a planet called Caprica, I have been completely and utterly enthralled with the storyline and the characters.

Every week when I’ve watched, I have been captivated and moved.  I am completely invested in these characters lives, good or bad, I want to go on the ride with them.  It humbles me to hear the dialogue and see the character’s arcs played out before my eyes.  I am in awe of the writing, acting and directing.  Everything about it makes me ache and makes me want to be a better writer in every way.

And I’m extremely saddened that this glorious ride is coming to the end.  There are only two more episodes and then there will be no more new visions of brilliance.  I am so sad, that I do actually want to cry.

And yes, I am a total geek.  J  But this show has been pivotal in my growth as a writer, as a creator.  I aspire to be as great as those that worked on this amazing series.

TOP TEN REASONS I LOVE BATTLESTAR GALATICA

1. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace – the kickinest, toughest, ballsiest female character I’ve ever seen created for TV, and Katee Sackhoff plays her so well, its scary, I want to be Starbuck
2. Number Six – the blond bombshell cylon who corrupted a brilliant scientist into unwittingly destroying the human race almost to extinction – played to perfection by the lovely Tricia Helfer
3. Dr. Gaius Baltar – the corrupted brilliant scientist - funny as hell, and so self absorbed, adore him, James Callis is divine in this role, when he is on screen its like magic, he steals every scene he’s in
4. Colonel Saul Tigh – so deliciously tortured and conflicted, and Michael Hogan can act more with his one eye (the other is covered by a patch) than most other actors can do with their entire bodies – brilliant
5. Admiral William Adama and President Laura Roslin – the relationship between these two is both caustic and beautiful, I’ve loved watching them come together, their love seems so pure but born out of chaos
6. Hot dudes – Jamie Bamber as Apollo, Tahmoh Penikett as Helo, and Michael Trucco as Sam Anders, and I don’t know but there is something sexy about both Callum Keith Rennie as Leoben, and Mark Sheppard as Romo Lampkin

7. Fabulous tough female characters – Grace Park as Athena/Boomer, Lucy Lawless as D’Anna, Kate Vernon as Ellen Tigh, and Rekha Sharma as Tory Foster

8. The fact that I NEVER know what’s going to happen – every episode is a surprise for me, I’m never comfortable watching this show, I am always tense and unnerved, because I can never be sure that one of my favorite characters won’t die, there is no safety net when watching

9. The music – has always been a big part of the show, and it’s by turns moving and haunting, some pieces give me shivers especially the opening credits song…funny thing, my mom can’t be in the same room as the TV when the theme music is playing, it unnerves her so much she feels like crying every time – big time kudos to Bear McCreary for such amazing sounds

10. The writing – I am humbled by the writing on this show, also jealous as hell that these wonderful talented people got to create something so amazing and timeless.   BRAVO writers.  BRAVO.  I am indebted to you for bringing to me week after week of utter brilliance.  I want to create something as magical as you have.  There’s nothing more I can say about that.

Has there been anything you’ve seen, heard, or read that has made you want to be better, to do better?

Thanks for commenting on my blog post.

I’ve picked two winners…

Barb P

Little Lamb Lost

Would you please email me at vivi@vivianna.net to claim your prize.  You have until March 15th to do so.

I’ve know Myla for a few years now.  She’s one of the special ladies that I work with on the Allure anthologies.  She’s talented, she’s funny, and I adore her…

Here’s Myla Jackson

Write-Minded

By Myla Jackson

http://mylajackson.com/

As a writer, I find myself becoming more and more of a hermit. A writer’s life can be very solitary! And I, the social butterfly of my youth, have gone to the dark side and embraced the solitude.

To a point.

Then I have to breathe life back into my muse and get out and smell the roses, the Tyson chicken factory and the exhaust fumes. All that to get on the road to find the nearest write-minded individuals who think like me and speak the same language. I LOVE seeing my writer friends and family.

With two fast-approaching conferences on the horizon, I can’t help but get excited. Every time we get together, something new breaks loose from our combined brainstorming sessions. One year at the Dreamin’ in Dallas conference, me, my sister (Delilah Devlin) and four of my close writer friends dreamed up a proposal for a paranormal romance anthology. Lo and behold! The anthology sold. Not as one, but two paranormal anthologies: Damned, Delicious and Dangerous and Masters of Desire(01/09).

During a brainstorming session, my sister and two of our writing friends dreamed up a series of linked shapeshifter stories. We had no idea how difficult it would be to bring the stories together. In the ALTERED STATES series being released by Ellora’s Cave, each story feeds a bit more about the overarching plot and the genetic experiments performed on unwilling military specimens. Each story can be read alone, but the overall storyline is all the more powerful the further you read into the series. It takes coordination and commitment to make it all come together, and write-minded people to think it through. Watch for the Altered States series at Ellora’s Cave: Night Prowler(12/08) by Layla Chase, Beast Within(02/25/09), by Betty Hanawa, Naked Prey(03/25/09) by Myla Jackson and Unleashing the Tiger(4/24/09) by Delilah Devlin.

I can’t wait for conferences to see what new ideas are generated by talking with others who are write-minded. The energy is palpable and you can taste the excitement, because we all love writing and that love for writing produces books we hope the readers will love.

Myla Jackson writes sensuous stories for Ellora’s Cave, Kensington Aphrodisia and Avon Red.  She’s created a variety of tales from genies to werewolves, mermaids, sea monsters, chameleons, vampires and witches. Reading and writing gives her the freedom to explore strange new worlds and write the characters and creatures clamoring to escape her mind. She likes writing everything from romantic comedy to dark and sexy suspense. Mostly she likes to escape into other worlds whether grounded in reality or complete fantasy. Come…escape with Sinfully Sexy, Myla Jackson!

In April my next Nocturne comes out.  THE VAMPIRE’S QUEST was a struggle to write.  I knew from all the emails I gotten about this character, that I HAD to get Kellen Falcon’s story just right.  I think I was able to do that and more.  I love this story, and I love Kellen.

I am more than thrilled to say that Romantic Times Magazine came The Vampire’s Quest a TOP PICK.  This is my second for this series.  I’m tickled pink!

Here’s the review…

THE VAMPIRE’S QUEST (4.5) by Vivi Anna: When vampire bomb investigator Kellen Falcon travels to the European city of Nouveau Monde to visit a doctor working on a cure for his terminal illness, a bomb explodes in the office, killing the doctor and several others. Barely making it out alive, Kellen joins up with werewolf police officer Sophie St. Clair to investigate the bombing before someone else ends up dead. This is a fantastic supernatural thriller from start to finish. Anna takes two supernatural beings and makes us believe the romance and attraction between them are real.

Here’s a short excerpt from the book…

A few bars of a hardcore metal song thumped from his jean pocket.  He fished out his cell phone and flipped it open.  “Falcon.”

     “How’s Europe?  Are they trying to deport you, yet?”

     Kellen smirked at the humor in Caine’s voice.  The chief was usually not one for jokes.  “Not yet.  Give me a few more days.”

     Caine’s haughty chuckle suddenly made him feel homesick.

     “Monsieur.  Monsieur.”

     Kellen glanced at the receptionist.  She was motioning to him with the wave of her pen.

     “Hold on, Caine.”  He put his hand over the phone.  “Yeah?”

     “No cell phones, please.”  She pointed to the sign by her desk, the one with a big red X over a picture of a cell phone.

     Waving that he understood, Kellen stood and wandered out of the office and down the hall, then said into the phone, “Are you still there?”

     “Yes.  What happened?  Did you get kicked out of somewhere?”

     “Yeah, my doctor’s office.  I guess they don’t like cell phones around all their fancy electrical equipment.”

     The vampiress at the main reception desk smiled at him as he leaned against the wall near her.  He nodded at her.

     “How’s it going?”

     Kellen appreciated Caine’s query into his health.  They hadn’t parted on the best of terms after Caine had accused him of blowing up the lab.  “It’s my first appointment.  I’ll know more after I talk to this guy.”

     “Okay. You’ll call when you find out?”

     “Yeah.”  He ran a hand over his head, feeling strange about Caine’s concern.  Not exactly good friends, Kellen could count on one hand the number of times they’d ever engaged in a personal conversation.  But he had to admit, he liked that the chief had called with questions into his health.  Made him feel a little less alone.

     Static filled his ear.  Pushing away from the wall, Kellen turned the phone in his hand.  “Caine?”

     “Yeah, I’m here. I can barely hear you though.” More static crackled through the line.

     “There’s a lot of interference in here.  I’ll call you later.”  Kellen flipped his phone closed and slid it into his pants pocket.

     A loud piercing shrill echoed from the doctor’s office down the hall.  Everyone in the reception area looked up at the strident sound.

     “Looks like someone else didn’t turn their phone off,” Kellen said to the receptionist.

     She smiled at him, and then went back to her typing.

     He glanced at his watch.  He still had five minutes to kill before his appointment.  He squinted down at the watch face.  Something was wrong with it.

The second hand seemed to have stopped mid-tick.  He tapped the plastic covering.  No, it hadn’t stopped but it was barely moving, as if suspended in some kind of liquid.  Looking up, he noticed that other things in the lobby were off.

The clock on the wall over the receptionist’s desk displayed the same effect as his watch.  Even the vampiress seemed to be moving slower.  Her actions and reactions to things were about a second off in time.  There was a blur of motion over her body.  Like when a photograph is out of focus.

The hair on his arms rose.  A multitude of heartbeats from everyone on the floor thundered in his ears, making him wince.  All of them were in sync.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

All except for one.  He recognized that ticking for what it was.

WHEEEEE!  And since I’m in such a good mood and I just got a shipment of my new shiny book, I want to give a couple away.

Tell me in the comments your favorite movie, and I’ll put your name in a draw for two chances to win The Vampires’ Quest.

I’ve known Cathryn for a few years now.   And I have to say she’s one of my favoritest peoples evah.  She’s warm, funny, charming, and talented as all get out.  I’m very happy to have her guest blog with us today.

Covers by Cathryn Fox.

I have a wonderful editor at NAL who likes to involve me in every step of the packaging of my book.  While I love and appreciate having a say, it also really stresses me out. I’m not a designer, what if my amateur ideas make a total mess out of the cover?

My editor comes to me before her cover conferences and asks me my input, what exactly I’d like to see on my cover.  After all, I wrote the book, I’m closest to the characters so I should at least have a clue how I’d like to see it packaged right?  Wrong!  Honestly, when it comes to graphics and design I’m at a loss.  If you don’t believe me, just ask my webmistress!

I really want to just say, oh, let the artists handle that, figuring they can do the cover more justice than I can, but I also know if I get a cover I don’t like, then the fault lies with me for not at least trying to come up with something that fits. 

When my editor at Samhain asked me to fill in a cover sheet, at first I froze.  I really had no idea how the cover should look. In the past I’d even gone so far as to hold contest to get ideas from readers.  This time I sat down and thought about it, really thought about it.  And eventually an image/idea came to my mind.  Excited, I shared my thoughts with my editor and she passed them along to the designer.  When I received my cover for Blood Ties, I almost cried.  It was better than I could have imagined.  The artist took my ideas and ran with them, creating a beautiful cover that conveyed the story inside the pages.  I was thrilled and thought, okay, maybe I can do this!

So when my editor at NAL recently asked me for input on INSTINCTIVE, the first book in my new series, I took a whole day to think, write notes, reread sections of the book and look at other covers in the paranormal line.  It’s up to me to clearly convey my ideas to my editor so she can then carefully convey them to the artist. 

The task doesn’t seem so scary anymore and I’m beginning to believe that with careful consideration maybe I can do this.  My editor loved my ideas for the cover, and my thoughts on branding the series.  She takes my suggestions to conference next week and I can’t wait to see what they come up with.  As soon as I get the cover I’ll share it with all of you.  Stay tuned for more, I think this one is going to rock!

So what are some of your favourite covers? 

Fairy tales are wonderful stories to rip apart and put together again, your way.  I love messing around with them, putting a new creative spin, or turning something nice into something wicked and wild.

I’ve written a few reimagined fairy tale stories.  One of my first is coming out in ebook tomorrow from Ellora’s Cave.  I originally published it back in 2004, and its been rewritten and polished up and is coming out again.  I couldn’t be happier.  Red was my first kick-ass heroine.

Here’s an excerpt from IN THE COMPANY OF WOLVES…

Red bolted up from the bed. Sweat poured off her face. It soaked the sheets beneath her.

After rubbing her hands over her face, she swung her legs over the bed and stood. She went to the dresser, picked up the bottle of vodka and took a long pull. She got dressed, wrapped up in her hooded black cloak and left the room. She needed some fresh air.

Red stood behind the boarding house in the rain. There was just open field and tall trees behind the house. That was the reason she picked the place. It afforded a quick escape route through the woods. Escape was always the first thing on her mind.

She raised her head to the cool rain and opened her mouth to let it pour in. She swallowed it down and opened for more, thirsting for the pure water. Hoping to be cleansed, she drank it in greedily. But no amount of water could wash away her sins. She had been too long alone with only black-hearted vengeance for a companion.

Red cocked her head to the side to listen to the night. Did she hear something?  The rain fell hard on the tin roof of the house. It was difficult to hear anything over the roar. She slowly turned to her right and stared hard into the shadows, narrowing her eyes. She saw a flash of something. Glowing eyes like those of an animal.

Red ran. She turned to the open field and sprinted. If she could make it to the trees, she would lose him. She’d had many years of training in the forest. As she ran, she felt for a weapon. Shit!  She left her knives in the room. What a fool!  She knew better than to leave her place unarmed. She’d have to double back to get to her arsenal.

When she made it to the trees, she glanced back over her shoulder. She saw no movement behind her. The Wolf was quick, she knew, so he may have entered the woods further down. She’d have to be sharp and use all her years of training to survive. This was the one night she had planned for, lived for, and she was not going to fail.

She moved into the foliage, hunkering down onto one knee. She put her hood up to cover her bright hair. She scanned the surrounded trees, letting her eyes adjust to the extreme dark. There was no moonlight to guide her way and she saw no immediate movement. Looking down at the forest floor, she searched for a weapon.

Lightning lit the sky and she was able to spy a small broken branch. It was jagged at one edge. It would be perfect for close encounters. She picked it up and held it firmly to her body. If she could get close enough to him, she could stab the wood into the soft part just under his chin on the side of his neck. He would bleed to death.

A branch snapped. Red stayed still and surveyed the woods. It could be just an animal searching for food. Another branch snapped. This time it was closer. Red held her breath and narrowed her eyes. She could see a shape inching toward her.

Red looked down and picked up a small stone. If she could get a good aim, she could hit him in the head to stun him, affording her time to come up on him. If she missed, then he would know her location. Either way was a risk. She stood up and pulled her arm back.

“Red?  It’s Jack.” His voice was soft and low.

Red hesitated and lowered her arm. “What are you doing?”

“I followed you outside. I saw you run into the trees. I was worried. Are you all right?”

Red sighed and moved closer to him. He was endangering her. Surely, The Wolf knew her location. Or had she imagined him?  Maybe she had only been running from Jack.

“You’re an idiot. I could have killed you.”

He laughed lowly, and something about it made her stomach clench. “Not without your knives.”

Pausing, her heart began to race. Adrenaline pumped through her body like wildfire. “What?”

“You’re unarmed, aren’t you?”

“Jack?” She saw the movement too late. “Watch out!”

Before the words were out of her mouth, The Wolf was on Jack. He came up from behind, grabbed Jack’s chin, lifted his head and sliced the knife across his throat in one swift stroke.

What fairy tale do you think would be cool reimagined?  What are some of your favorites already done?  Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella?  

I have a couple of PDFs of IN THE COMPANY OF WOLVES for giveaway.  I will pick two commenters.   I will announce the winners on Saturday.