Bonnie Vanak's Blog, page 19
May 21, 2012
Dogs and their toys
Came home for lunch and as usual, our three dogs greeted me.Dolce, the male, and Holly, the female, each picked up a toy. The toy greeting is something Holly learned from Dolce.
But Holly picked up the PINK toy and Dolce the BLUE TOY! Blue for boy dogs, pink for girls! It was so cute I had to take a photo of it and upload to my blog.
Now if I could only teach them to do laundry ...
May 14, 2012
Back from Nicaragua
It was a very productive trip. Met a lot of sad, very poor people, including Maria, a mother of four who lives in this flimsy house made from sticks and plastic. You could kick it and the whole house would topple down. Maria is a single mom who works hard and managed to save US $400 for land to build the house.But because the house is not secure and doesn't have a door that locks, Maria's 14-year-old daughter was raped inside the house and is now pregnant. Maria was in another town picking coffee. She had to leave the children alone because if Maria doesn't work, the children do not eat. We are going to build this family a new house with a steel door that locks.
On this trip, I traveled north from the capital of Managua to the mountains of Matagalpa, where many of the coffee plantations are. We visited some remote areas where we will build houses. And while in Matagalpa, I had the chance to try "huevos de toro" soup.
Translation: Bull testicle soup.
Not bad! Not something I'll clamor to eat again in the near future, but I'm glad I tried it.
Before I left the country, I emailed the new Craving novella, Incubus Wolf, to my editor. This story is scheduled for release in October.
Now I have to begin the new book, which I'm calling The Phantom Wolf. It's the second in The Phoenix Force series, about paranormals who are US Navy SEALS.
May 2, 2012
Cover for THE COVERT WOLF
Here's the cover for my July 24 Harlequin Nocturne, THE COVERT WOLF. First in The Phoenix Force, a new series about an elite group of Navy SEALS who are paranormals. This book features Matt, a Draicon werewolf. Fire plays a big role in this book. Matt and the heroine, Sienna, must find an orb of magick before fire demons use it against Matt and his team.
You can pre-order The Covert Wolf here on Amazon.
And save 34% by ordering here on Barnes and Noble.
May 1, 2012
Nook
I've been on deadline with the Craving coming out this October. It's been tough to write because of a lot of distractions lately. Next week I'll be in Nicaragua for the day job. I'll be interviewing poor people about their plight, asking them questions about their greatest needs...
seeing hungry children who have no food. These trips always take a little out of me.
But I digress... I wanted to share an amusing tale about my disorganized book collection and how my Nook came in handy last week.
I wanted to read a paperback I'd purchased last year. I knew it was in the bookshelves, someplace. Mind you, trying to find a book on my shelves is like searching for the dog when it's time to go to the vet. I KNOW she is there, someplace, but she's good at hiding.
I looked at my bookcase, at all the books, and just could not deal with it.
Then I looked at my Nook, and how easy it was...
I bought and downloaded the book. It's now digital, on my reading device and I don't have to search anymore.
Of course I KNOW that paperback will pop up sometime before I finish reading the book... that's the rule, isn't it?
seeing hungry children who have no food. These trips always take a little out of me.
But I digress... I wanted to share an amusing tale about my disorganized book collection and how my Nook came in handy last week.
I wanted to read a paperback I'd purchased last year. I knew it was in the bookshelves, someplace. Mind you, trying to find a book on my shelves is like searching for the dog when it's time to go to the vet. I KNOW she is there, someplace, but she's good at hiding.
I looked at my bookcase, at all the books, and just could not deal with it.
Then I looked at my Nook, and how easy it was...
I bought and downloaded the book. It's now digital, on my reading device and I don't have to search anymore.
Of course I KNOW that paperback will pop up sometime before I finish reading the book... that's the rule, isn't it?
April 23, 2012
Regaining a lost imagination
Today is my birthday. Our house is being watched over by our vigilant housesitter and we are taking a break. As I sit here. on the porch of our Keys hotel, listening to seagulls cry and bulldozers roar (construction next door), I'm contemplating life. It's been a challenging year, but it's finally quieting. I'm struggling to regain something I've lost over the past 11 months.
My sense of imagination and adventure.
Oh, I still have it, but it's lurking deep inside and it's a struggle to coax it out. It stopped accompanying me wherever I went, like a playful child. Instead it sat in the corner as if it were condemned to a long time out.
When your life has been turned upside down, by something unexpected and traumatic, your priorities shift, along with your focus. Even quiet time, down time, is occupied by thoughts of what lies ahead, what you must do. The sense of imagination and adventure gets put on the back burner because your life has changed.
I realized this is what happened with me ever since last May when my father-in-law fell ill and eventually died in Hospice. Our world turned on its axis and left us struggling to carry on, and the main daily responsibilities of home and jobs became the focus, and the myriad of items regarding my FIL's house and his small estate became the secondary focus. I found myself daydreaming, not about werewolves and vampires and stories, but about hiring a cleaning woman to help me clean up 30 years of linens my father-in-law never tossed. No longer was my free time spent in happy, quiet imagination, but immersed in a haze of legal papers, tax forms enough to make the IRS weep with joy, and a blizzard of contractors as we renovated his house to sell.
It's all over now. The house is on the market, the IRS has their fair share and the contractors are gone. Yet I find myself trying to recapture my imagination, my sense of joy at creating stories, and it's evasive, like that imaginary child in the corner who is finally free. She is sullen, but I feel her tug at the corners of my mind like a child who takes my hand to explore the seashore, the cry of a gull, the small waves lapping at the rocks. And finally, she is showing me things I had overlooked in the frenzy of the past few months, allowing me to envision possibilities and finally let my creativity soar.
"See those bushes outside the porch? They're a forest of tall trees, and lost among them is a fairy who got shrunk to the size of a thimble by the spell of an evil sea god, and she's trying to find her way back to her home," she says.
I'm glad she is finally free, and now, at last, with a sense of hopeful adventure, I can take her hand and explore the world and unlock all the playful ideas waiting for me. My well, as Julia Cameron puts it, needs to be filled and at last, it is beginning to bubble with fresh ideas.
It's the best birthday gift I could ever give to myself.
My sense of imagination and adventure.
Oh, I still have it, but it's lurking deep inside and it's a struggle to coax it out. It stopped accompanying me wherever I went, like a playful child. Instead it sat in the corner as if it were condemned to a long time out.
When your life has been turned upside down, by something unexpected and traumatic, your priorities shift, along with your focus. Even quiet time, down time, is occupied by thoughts of what lies ahead, what you must do. The sense of imagination and adventure gets put on the back burner because your life has changed.
I realized this is what happened with me ever since last May when my father-in-law fell ill and eventually died in Hospice. Our world turned on its axis and left us struggling to carry on, and the main daily responsibilities of home and jobs became the focus, and the myriad of items regarding my FIL's house and his small estate became the secondary focus. I found myself daydreaming, not about werewolves and vampires and stories, but about hiring a cleaning woman to help me clean up 30 years of linens my father-in-law never tossed. No longer was my free time spent in happy, quiet imagination, but immersed in a haze of legal papers, tax forms enough to make the IRS weep with joy, and a blizzard of contractors as we renovated his house to sell.
It's all over now. The house is on the market, the IRS has their fair share and the contractors are gone. Yet I find myself trying to recapture my imagination, my sense of joy at creating stories, and it's evasive, like that imaginary child in the corner who is finally free. She is sullen, but I feel her tug at the corners of my mind like a child who takes my hand to explore the seashore, the cry of a gull, the small waves lapping at the rocks. And finally, she is showing me things I had overlooked in the frenzy of the past few months, allowing me to envision possibilities and finally let my creativity soar.
"See those bushes outside the porch? They're a forest of tall trees, and lost among them is a fairy who got shrunk to the size of a thimble by the spell of an evil sea god, and she's trying to find her way back to her home," she says.
I'm glad she is finally free, and now, at last, with a sense of hopeful adventure, I can take her hand and explore the world and unlock all the playful ideas waiting for me. My well, as Julia Cameron puts it, needs to be filled and at last, it is beginning to bubble with fresh ideas.
It's the best birthday gift I could ever give to myself.
April 17, 2012
Sometimes you just need to celebrate...
After nine months of agonizing renovations, WE ARE DONE! My father-in-law's house is finally up for sale or rent. And more good news! My editor approved the proposal to write the next book in my new Navy SEALS paranormal series.
My birthday is next week, but more than a cake, I wanted to celebrate listing the house and writing the next book. So I went to the grocery store and got this cake. It says, "Yay Me!"
Everyone should have a "Yay Me!" cake. Just do it. Go celebrate yourself! You deserve it.
My birthday is next week, but more than a cake, I wanted to celebrate listing the house and writing the next book. So I went to the grocery store and got this cake. It says, "Yay Me!"Everyone should have a "Yay Me!" cake. Just do it. Go celebrate yourself! You deserve it.
March 28, 2012
Books, books, books!
Argh!!!!!! I did it again! I could not resist. I bought more books on Amazon.
A friend and I were talking about the Boxer Rebellion in China during the turn of the century. I mentioned how I'd read a romance novel set in that period. I remembered it vividly, although it's been years since I read it, because of the vivid descriptions of the terror felt by the Europeans during the rebellion, and the suspense of the siege.
So I went looking on Amazon for the book and found it. The Time of the Dragon by Dorothy Eden.
It was one of my mother's old romance novels. After she died, I stored the entire collection in a closet in a spare room. But I suddenly had to have the book NOW, because I wasn't sure if that paperback survived the move. Mom might have traded it.
So I bought the book. And then links popped up about other books I read, and loved, during my formative years. Mary Stewart mysteries! They've been reissued. I can get them for new! CLICK... PURCHASE.
And now I have an order coming from Amazon for MORE books I have no time to read and have no room to store in my bookcase. Because I can't get rid of my books. Each time I try, I think, "No, I'll read this again."
I have a Nook and love it. But wow, I love, love, love paperbacks, trade and hardbacks. I can't resist...
My name is Bonnie Vanak and I'm addicted to books.
Is there a 12-step program for this? If so, don't tell me. Because I'm like that character Burgess Meredith played on an old Twilight Zone episode. The bank teller simply loved to read and couldn't stay away from books.
When my Amazon order arrives, I plan to take those books and set them aside for my upcoming birthday. I can't think of a nicer present for myself than taking a few hours to sit and read, read, read!
A friend and I were talking about the Boxer Rebellion in China during the turn of the century. I mentioned how I'd read a romance novel set in that period. I remembered it vividly, although it's been years since I read it, because of the vivid descriptions of the terror felt by the Europeans during the rebellion, and the suspense of the siege.
So I went looking on Amazon for the book and found it. The Time of the Dragon by Dorothy Eden.
It was one of my mother's old romance novels. After she died, I stored the entire collection in a closet in a spare room. But I suddenly had to have the book NOW, because I wasn't sure if that paperback survived the move. Mom might have traded it.
So I bought the book. And then links popped up about other books I read, and loved, during my formative years. Mary Stewart mysteries! They've been reissued. I can get them for new! CLICK... PURCHASE.
And now I have an order coming from Amazon for MORE books I have no time to read and have no room to store in my bookcase. Because I can't get rid of my books. Each time I try, I think, "No, I'll read this again."
I have a Nook and love it. But wow, I love, love, love paperbacks, trade and hardbacks. I can't resist...
My name is Bonnie Vanak and I'm addicted to books.
Is there a 12-step program for this? If so, don't tell me. Because I'm like that character Burgess Meredith played on an old Twilight Zone episode. The bank teller simply loved to read and couldn't stay away from books.
When my Amazon order arrives, I plan to take those books and set them aside for my upcoming birthday. I can't think of a nicer present for myself than taking a few hours to sit and read, read, read!
March 6, 2012
Now available for pre-order...The Covert Wolf!
This is my next Nocturne and the first in a new series featuring The Phoenix Force, a group of elite, top secret paranormals who are Navy SEALS. The Covert Wolf features Matt, a Draicon werewolf. He first made his appearance in Taken by the Alpha Wolf. Matt is brother to Cindy, who is married to Etienne Robichaux.
Etienne's brothers are in my Draicon werewolf books, Enemy Lover, Immortal Wolf and The Shadow Wolf.
In The Covert Wolf, Matt teams with a pretty Fae to find an ancient source of power before demons can use it to destroy mankind.
Click here to order on Barnes and Noble, and save 34% on the paperback version!!!
Click here to order on Amazon.
Etienne's brothers are in my Draicon werewolf books, Enemy Lover, Immortal Wolf and The Shadow Wolf.
In The Covert Wolf, Matt teams with a pretty Fae to find an ancient source of power before demons can use it to destroy mankind.
Click here to order on Barnes and Noble, and save 34% on the paperback version!!!
Click here to order on Amazon.
February 26, 2012
February 3, 2012
Nightly Special now FREE on your Nook!
Now available for your Nook as my special Valentine's Day gift for the month of February, a FREE download of my short story, NIGHTLY SPECIAL!
Constantly teased by her pack, a pretty shifter named Bunny sets out to prove her courage. But a protective werewolf cop is determined to keep her safe when she meets up with big trouble at a zombie café.
I received a Nook for Christmas and I love it... I'll always be a paperback reader, but the Nook is so convenient. I have an older Kindle as well, but find the Nook easier to take with me. Maybe it's because I have a pretty pink cover and the Nook is in color?
Next release is my March Nocturne Craving, SEDUCED BY THE WOLF. If you have read HUNTED BY THE JAGUAR, you'll recognize the hero...it's Jarrett, the rogue werewolf leader who had lost his mate and is now looking for another.
Click here to download NIGHTLY SPECIAL.
Happy reading!
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