Bonnie Vanak's Blog, page 18

Call me a sap...

This morning as I sat on the deck of the rental, drinking coffee and gazing out at the fields and mountains, a thought kept running through my head. I am a sap.

I love happy endings.

I told this over dinner the other night to a few people, friends of friends I had just met when they asked me what I write, and why I write it. The answer came to me like a slap on the head.

Yeah, I'm a sucker for relationship stories and I enjoy creating paranormal worlds and action, adventure and mystery.

But it's the happy endings in romance novels that give me the greatest reason to write what I write.

It's so peaceful here in TN, quiet and serene. One could get away from the world and its troubles, and I've had first hand encounters with some, mainly in the name of hunger and poverty encountered in my travels for the day job.

For nearly 19 years, I've worked hard at the day job to help those who are hungry, homeless and hurting. Sometimes I think it's not enough. Real life isn't fiction. It twists and turns like a mountain road, with a few surprises leaping out at you. Sometimes in the form of joy, sometimes sorrow.

But books, ah, books! I love being an author. And I love happy endings, which is why I write romance, and why every book I write has a happy ending. And why, as much as I adore good fiction and read outside my genre, I hesitate to pick up a book where I'm not certain all will be resolved.

No matter how awful the circumstances, how deep the conflict or how big the odds, when you read one of my books you can be assured the characters will be in love, realize their love, commit to each other and face life together by the time you read the last page.

Turn on the television these days, search the internet there is plenty of bad news.

It's why books are so important to me. They provide an escape, a respite, much like a cabin in the mountains of TN.

Real life is tough enough. It's why I am a sap for happy endings in books.

Guilty as charged.

Contest to celebrate the release of The Covert Wolf!

It's release day for The Covert Wolf! And I'm holding a special contest. First, this is the cover for the Mills and Boon version. It will be released in the UK in September.


You finally get to see Matt's face! 


And to order The Covert Wolf in the US on Amazon, click here.


To order The Covert Wolf on Barnes and Noble, click here.




Here's the deal...


Pop over to my Facebook page by clicking on this link.

Now, look through my page (please "like" it while you are there) and look through the various photos of The Covert Wolf on his "book tour." 


Answer this question: What year is the NASCAR sticker on the car The Covert Wolf chose as his vehicle to pursue demons?


Hint: It was posted on July 13, so you'll have to scroll down.


Once you find the answer, either post it on my FB page, on this blog, or email me at bonnievanak@aol.com


Two lucky winners will each get a paperback copy of The Empath, my first Nocturne, which is now out of print. Contest ends August 10, 2012.


Good luck and happy hunting! 

Review for The Covert Wolf!

4.5 stars from CataRomance! Woo hoo! The Covert Wolf is in bookstores on Tuesday, July 24! If you haven't seen the fun "tour" I've been doing with the book, please check out my Facebook page.


Click here!


Review of The Covert Wolf



“Since the mystique associated with werewolves has always fascinated me while the risky exploits of SEALS also intrigues, I was very excited to discover how the two would be blended in the first book of the Phoenix Force miniseries. Bonnie Vanak certainly does not disappoint in her latest Harlequin Nocturne story, as emotions, conflict and peril escalates.

There are eight men in the special Navy SEAL team to which Lieutenant Matthew Parker belongs, and the Draicon werewolf is proud to serve his country. All members of the Phoenix Force squad have paranormal abilities, so they are better able to battle other supernatural beings who would terrorize unsuspecting humans. Unfortunately, a good friend serving with him is killed by demons when the two are setup, and Matt vows revenge against those responsible. The same demons are seeking the powerful Orb of Light, so he is doubly intent on finding them and keeping their destructive plans from becoming reality.

While Sienna McClare has agreed to work with a SEAL in order to retrieve the Orb, she had no idea the person would be a Draicon werewolf, a race of beings that she despises. Since she is a hybrid, the family by whom she was raised has abandoned her, and she believes locating the ancient object would get her back in their good graces. Matt and Sienna need each other to reach their goals, and they soon realize the connection between them is also very crucial to their future wishes.

Bonnie Vanak is an author of innovative paranormal books. Her previous stories about supernatural beings have been inventively unique, and the Phoenix Force miniseries has additional out-of-the-ordinary features. Taking the real life profession of a Navy SEAL and giving these brave individuals traits that cause them to be even more powerful is a noteworthy premise, and Ms. Vanak makes every aspect of the story frighteningly believable. Could the malevolence that takes place during war sometimes be caused by demons and not ordinary humans? 
While the SEAL activities at the start of the story come across as possible, the rest of the book is just as conceivable. There are a number of situations where supernatural capabilities come into play, and regardless of the species, their talents seem very natural. Although every member of the SEAL team is not human, there is still camaraderie amongst them like regular soldiers, and these moments sometimes had me smiling and definitely sensing their friendship. I am already eager for more of their stories! 
The relationship between Matt and Sienna is totally realistic, as they both have dreams yet see no way for them to become an actuality. Their heartaches are so genuine, and any happiness practically leaps off the page because of affecting feelings. I adored these two individuals with their compassionate natures, and I saw Matt as a true hero on so many occasions as the safety of others came first. The sexual awareness they each felt is intense and causes plenty of tension, and when they finally express their inner feelings, the scene is beautifully sensual with fiery heat. 
There are a few surprises to be learned before everything concludes, and I was shocked by almost all of them. Several characters from past Bonnie Vanak books make an appearance, and they enhance the story whether you have read about them or not. 
THE COVERT WOLF is a magically enthralling novel with imaginative scenarios, particularly likable characters, a touch of humor and dangerous suspense.”

Amelia Richard, CataRomance

Writing, writing

The next few months will be hectic. The Covert Wolf is being released July 24 in bookstores, and August 1 on Kindle. And  I found out that the next book in my Navy SEAL paranormal series will be released next year.

I have a hard deadline to meet and I'm busy writing that book, which I'm titling The Phantom Wolf.


Incubus Wolf, the next Craving, will be released in September. I just finished copy edits for that novella. Cool cover, huh? It's a very sexy story about a werewolf who has incubus blood, lives in Alaska and is being  tracked by a Fae bounty hunter determined to bring him back to the demon prison he escaped from. But instead of capturing him, she finds herself captured... in his lair...where he is determined to seduce her.


I won't be posting much on this blog in the next couple of weeks as I try to focus on The Phantom Wolf. DH and I are also traveling to Cass, West Virginia to visit the railroad park, which has the largest collection of working Shay locomotives in the United States. We are indulging our love of steam trains, while our house sitter watches over our dogs. The dogs love it when she comes to stay at our house. They think they can get away with things, like sitting on the couch, sleeping on the bed... oh wait.


Been there done that. Heh.


Have a good week, everyone! 

Cool news!

First, I got my author copies for THE COVERT WOLF, my July 24 release. Woot! I love getting author copies. It's always a thrill, no matter how many books I've written.

Second, THE PANTHER AND THE PYRAMID is FREE on Kindle starting today for the next five days!

You can download it here.

The promotion for free book ends on June 26, so hurry and download your free copy today.

And third, I found out that Harlequin is releasing THE COVERT WOLF as an audio book on Audible! How cool is that.

Have a great weekend!

Back from El Salvador

I'm back from El Salvador. It was a very tough trip, working 12-hour days, but rewarding as well. We met many families and cases of extreme need, and I talked with some orphans who had horrific pasts. The stories of these children would break your heart. Two girls I interviewed had been locked in a closet and left naked and alone by their mother when they were only 2 and 3 years old. She'd then go out for the day, not even giving them any food. They were so hungry that they defecated on the floor and then ate their own feces. Oh, and their grandfather? He'd come over to the house once in a while and rape them.

When police found out their case, they brought them to the hospital. The girls were so ill and malnourished that they spent several days in the hospital before going to the orphanage.

Today they are in an orphanage where they are loved and cared for. I just don't understand how a mother can do that to her children. These are the stories that drive me to work hard at my day job by raising money to keep children safe and secure in orphanages so no one can abuse them anymore. And these are the stories that drive me to write fictional romance with happy endings, so I can decompress from the horror of how they suffered.
The photo is taken from the shores of Lake Ilopango, a crater lake formed by an ancient volcano, which is 60% polluted with chemicals from factory runoff, wastewater and other delights. We are doing a water project for the two communities who have to rely on this water for bathing and cooking and sometimes, even drinking. It's odd because it's such a beautiful and peaceful lake on the surface, with such deadly contaminants lurking below.
Now it's back to trying to catch up to stuff at home...I need to return to writing the next book, which I'm titling The Phantom Wolf. DH and our dogs were so happy to see me after all this travel. I think they may have taken my suitcase and are holding it hostage so I can't leave them any time soon.

DO NOT buy my book!

Here's a little secret... if you are thinking about purchasing my Egyptian historical, The Panther and the Pyramid, on Kindle, don't do it. Not yet.
Because starting later this month, it will be... gasp...
FREE!
That's right. The Panther and the Pyramid will be a free book on Kindle June 22 through June 26. I'm getting ready to leave the country, again, and wanted to give everyone advance warning, as I won't be back until right before the promotion starts.
So if you'd like to read Panther and you have a Kindle, just wait until June 22. And you'll get it for free!
The link is here. 
Have a great week, everyone. I'll touch base upon my return from El Salvador.

Back from Honduras

And I got a lot of good ideas for my next Navy SEAL paranormal book. Then I found out my July 24 release, The Covert Wolf, is now available for pre-order on Walmart. Cool! You can check it out here.

Had a very productive trip to Honduras. We visited a lot of cases and met many single moms with kids who barely can scrape together money for food. One mother told me that sometimes she gets so desperate from watching her children cry from hunger, she wants to hang herself.

She said this while glancing at the leaky ceiling of her shack. We gave her food, promised we would not forget about her, and I am hoping, we gave her a reason not to despair.

We also visited an island called Amapala which is in the bay shared by El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Lovely island, but many poor people living there. We stopped for lunch at the bayside fish shack pictured above... crude wood boards as flooring, plastic chairs, and very fresh fish.

Next week I will be in El Salvador for the day job. I haven't been to that country in years, and I'm very much looking forward to the trip.

Excerpt from The Covert Wolf

Leaving for Honduras for a week. I'll be offline and out in the country, somewhere.  In the meantime, I updated my website to include an excerpt of my July 24 release. 


Click here. Hope you enjoy it and have a great week!

Imagine...

Next week I'll be in Honduras for the day job. I was there back in March as well. As we toured areas north and west, ideas sparked.


I envisioned one of my Navy SEAL characters in the mountainous terrain, engaged in a dangerous mission to find an evil warlord. As our team trudged down steep mountain paths to interview villagers about their living conditions and what we could do to help, my mind clicked into overdrive.


Later that night in my hotel room, I jotted down those ideas. Buoyed by venturing into different terrain, my mind came up with all kinds of ideas.


Those ideas sparked into the book I'm now writing called The Phantom Wolf. Phantom is the next book in my new military series for Nocturne and features a secondary character from The Covert Wolf.


Sam "Shay" Shaymore is a Navy SEAL and an extremely powerful Mage who can shapeshift into a wolf. Shay and Kelly, the heroine, venture into a small village in Honduras overpowered by evil. There, they must rescue Mage children who have been kidnapped. 


This story has action, adventure and overtones of child trafficking, as well as the paranormal element.


It's definitely a trademark for me to always have a happy ending in every book I write. I must...it's why I choose to write romance. I could write other types of fiction, but having worked in the field of humanitarian relief and development for nearly 19 years, I NEED a happy ending. And the elements of child trafficking in the book I'm writing? I wish I could say they were straight out of my imagination. They're not.


Child trafficking happens frequently in Haiti and Honduras and other countries I visit for work. It's a horrible reality. The organization I work for, and our partners, help as much as we can, but our work is diverse and the evil forces (they ARE evil, there is no other way to describe them) behind child trafficking are powerful. We do what we can. 


So to compensate for the misery I see, the sad stories I hear, I write issues like this into my books and resolve the situation. It's what makes writing paranormal romances so satisfying...and a much-needed escape for me.


I can't save every child in my work for the day job, but in my books, everything always turns out all right. It's why I enjoy being a romance author. During the day, I try hard to fight the dark forces of poverty and injustice. But at night...watch out... 


You never know when a big, powerful Navy SEAL shapeshifter will come charging through the jungle to set everything straight.