Vivian Arend's Blog, page 57
January 29, 2013
oooooh–sale!
If you haven’t tried it yet, you must. On sale for .99! (HEAT WARNINGS ON THIS ONE, DARLINGS!)
Drat. Now I have to go do a re-read.
January 16, 2013
Great review for HIGH RISK
HIGH RISK got an awesome 4 1/2 star review in the March RT Magazine!
Versatile Arend kicks off a high-stakes adrenaline-producing series featuring an elite search and rescue squad based out of Banff, Alberta. The protagonists in this exceptional tale are at a crossroads in their lives; damaged emotionally and physically, they face serious challenges. Arend provides a stellar mix of searing sex and emotional exploration that will keep you glued to the page! Sizzletastic!
Link to the WOLFIE READ ALONG
To go to the post to enter click here. This post will stay at the top of the blog, and new material posted under it. Arwhoooooooo!
January 13, 2013
Read along with the Wolfies!
==NEW==>
Time is flying and the sixth book in the Granite Lake Wolves is nearly here! I wanted to have some fun, and since I’ve heard often from readers that they love re-reading the novella length Wolfies, that’s what we’re going to do!
READ ALONG WITH THE WOLFIES
When: Jan 14- Feb 15
What: Go through the series and enjoy in preparation for book 6, WOLF NIP. Every book you read earns you points toward winning prizes!
Prizes?: Oh yes! I have these cool dudes as well as 2013 limited edition dog tags! And print books!
ARWHOOOOOO!!!
How?: Check out the rafflecopter and have some fun.
**I’ll be keeping an eye on this blog post over the next weeks, so if you want to make additional comments re: your favourite scenes as you re-read, you are welcome. I’ll join in as I can if I think of fun things to share about the scenes you mention!**
**I’ll be adding my favourite moments of writing/publishing the wolfies to this post. Check when you come back to add to your rafflecopter.**
January 12, 2013
Winner- High Risk cover flat
Sorry- got distracted! The winner of the signed cover flat is:
Lisa B!
Congrats, Lisa. Give me a shout so I can send it off to you!
More fun starting this week with the Read Along with the Wolfies! Hope you all join in.
January 10, 2013
History from WOLF FLIGHT
This is the start of a scene explaining how Tad discovered his wolfie heritage. I’ll give you more some other day, but just for fun… (unedited warning)
—
Kluane National Park, Yukon
The sun shone off the surface of the lake to reflect a million sparkling jewels back into his eyes. The bright blue summer sky stretched from mountain peak to mountain peak. Tad maneuvered his floatplane toward the portable dock visible along the north shore of the small lake. He took a deep breath and congratulated himself for being smart enough to find a job that got his butt out of an office and into some of the most beautiful county anywhere in the world.
Damn, he loved to fly.
He had just tucked the plane next to the dock, neat as can be, when he felt a solid clasp to his shoulder.
“Nice landing, hotshot, very nice.”
Tad grinned as he slipped the lock on his door and hurried to open the passenger compartment and let out his clients. This was the second time he’d flown a private booking for the Alaskan based Maximum Exposure Adventures. The owner, Keil Lynus, was a monster of a man with the arms of a gladiator and the gentlest demeanor.
“Great set up, Keil,” Tad said as he secured the tethering ropes fore and aft, tightening them to keep the massive floats next to the dock. He admired the tidy little log cabin at the edge of the lake, a small storage shed tucked behind it next to the trees. “We can unload the gear in stages, or we can organize ourselves into a bucket brigade and get everything off the plane all the way to the cabin or wherever you want it. Your choice.”
The dock swayed as Keil climbed down to stand next to Tad. “What do you think, Erik? I’m game for the brigade. I hate picking things up a dozen times.”
Tad watched as Keil’s business partner and best friend twisted his shoulders sideways to get through the door. If Keil was big, Erik was the Friendly Giant on steroids.
With lots of tattoos.
“Definitely the long carry, only I think you and I should be on land. We’ll put things where we can find them. The last time we let your little brother store gear it became part of the lost Templar Treasure.”
“Hey,” TJ complained, “Can I help it I like to organize supplies in a logical manner and you yahoos don’t?” He sat on the edge of the plane doorway and made a face at his older brother. “And I do mean Yahoos in the purest sense of the word.”
Tad grinned at his passengers and took a deep breath of the crisp fresh air. He had flown full time for three months now and he hoped for many more days like this. Regular clients who treated the wilderness like a precious gem. People who returned to the same places to change them for the better, not trash them to the ground.
Tad thrilled to think he was on his way to secure a living doing what he loved.
After TJ whacked his head on the doorframe for the third time Tad held out a hand to restrain him. “Do you want me to pass you the stuff? I’m not as tall as you and if you slam into the frame much more you’ll bend it out of shape. I charge extra for things like that.”
TJ jumped down and rubbed a hand over his forehead. “Sounds great. It was hard to turn around in the back too and I’ve smacked my funny bone so many times it’s gone numb. Not quite as bad as when my arm fell asleep and Keil threw something at me and I couldn’t reach up in time to grab it. Damn near broke my nose.”
Tad chuckled as TJ stumbled toward the end of the dock, his arms full with duffle bags of supplies. Whatever they fed those boys down in Haines, Alaska, made them grow pretty damn big. Even TJ stood taller than Tad and he wasn’t small at almost six feet.
Tad turned back to ready another load when he heard a distant splash followed by a shrill scream. Winter or summer the water was glacier fed and icy cold.
He leapt to the dock to help the boy but Keil beat him there. “TJ, you’re an idiot. What the hell are you doing?” Keil reached down and with one hand, hauled the boy up to stand dripping wet beside him.
“Oops. I don’t know how it happened Keil. I mean, one of the boards must be loose or something.”
Keil rubbed his hands over his face, took a calming breath and pointed to the cabin. “Go get changed, Mom will kill me if I let you catch another cold. Put the kettle on to boil.” He took a few paces toward the plane before he paused. “TJ, did you fall in before or after you picked up a load of gear?”
TJ bit his lip and took a slow step away from Keil. He spun around and ran for the cabin like the devil was after him.
“That’s what I thought.” Keil muttered. He shouted after his fleeing brother, “You’re lucky Mom likes you, brat! Or you’d be swimming with the polar bears right now!”
Tad tried to keep his face blank as Keil approached the plane to take over carrying gear.
Keil chuckled. “Don’t worry, I won’t kill him. He’s better than he used to be, if you can believe it. Just wait, you ain’t seen nothing. Hang around with us for very long and you’ll feel right at home in a nuthouse.”
Tad passed down another load of gear and a flash of contentment surged. He wasn’t sure why, but spending time with this group of kooks felt very, very good.
January 8, 2013
HIGH RISK Excerpt and Cover Flat giveaway
Over the next couple weeks I’m going to share a few excerpts from my upcoming Berkley Sensation at different blogs along with chances to win signed cover flats. So I thought I’d start here! HIGH RISK is labeled Romantic Suspense, but I’m calling it High Adventure.
Ready for a peek at the first book in the Adrenaline series, coming March 5? Meet Marcus and Becki.
High Risk
Adrenaline, Book 1LIFELINE: an elite search-and-rescue squad based out of Banff, Alberta. Specializing in high-risk rescue missions, this team goes wherever the job takes them…?
Rebecca James was once revered for her devil-may-care attitude and backcountry survival skills. But ever since she lost her partner in a fatal accident, patches of her memory have been missing. And until she can recall those final, tragic moments before the accident, she can’t move on.
Since Marcus Landers was permanently injured during a mission, all his energies have been focused on his Lifeline team. When Becki—whom he had an intense affair with seven years ago—arrives in Banff, he’s inspired to reignite the spark they once had. Their mutual ardor slowly awakens Becki’s dormant, haunting memories.
New truths surface until Becki must at last confront her greatest fear. Remembering the past might mean a future without the man she loves…
Enjoy an excerpt from HIGH RISK:
The window was already open. Fresh air flooded the room and swirled over the queen-size bed. Beyond the increased size of sleeping arrangements, not much else had changed from when she’d been a student. A desk. A bulletin board on the wall with a single motivating quote painted across the top: I am the captain of my soul.
It was like going back in time, and a shiver raced up her spine.
She’d agreed quickly enough when David Landers asked her to accept a teaching position, then gotten to ponder the why of her rapid decision at leisure the entire trip from Jackson, Wyoming, to Banff. She wasn’t twenty-three anymore. She wasn’t the headstrong, dynamic leader admired and hated in turns by her classmates.
Only she wasn’t really sure who she was instead. Somewhere along the way, she’d lost track.
And when you got lost, you went back to the beginning and started again.
On an impulse, Becki slid open the desk drawer. She pulled out the set of coloured markers she suspected she’d find there. A sheet of paper joined the markers on the desktop, and without any further consideration she wrote in block letters.
. . . BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP
She tacked the bold statement in the middle of the bulletin board before stepping away to examine it. As a motivation, that was all she needed. She didn’t have to solve all the problems of who she was right now, who she’d be in the future. One step at a time, she’d find out.
The sunshine beckoned, so she exchanged her travel clothes for running pants, adding a water bottle holder. She was debating gloves or no gloves—temperatures were still nippy—when there was a knock on the door.
She peered out the security peephole and nearly died.
Marcus.
His face had matured. She’d thought him handsome before, all those years ago, but at thirty he’d still been young. Not babyish—that word would never have crossed anyone’s mind in describing Marcus—but more like unrealized potential. Now? His cheeks and jaw were firmer, his blue eyes just as alert. Small character lines extended from the corners, and she wanted to touch them. To smooth away the crease marks between his brows.
His shoulders were as wide as she remembered, his open jacket stretched over a firm chest. Her mouth went dry recalling exactly how firm his body had been. Was.
He knocked again and she jerked into action, even as memories tumbled in her brain.
~~
As the door opened, Marcus dragged on his best manners in consideration of his brother’s earlier comments. See, David, I can be something better than an asshole when I want to be.
He pinned his smile in place as he spoke to the woman slowly coming into view. “Rebecca James? I don’t know if you remember me . . .”
A rock slide couldn’t have hit with more impact. Even knowing she was going to be there didn’t reduce the shock. The face before him wasn’t only pretty, it was familiar. Very familiar. He hadn’t seen it in real life for years, but he’d seen it plenty in his mind.
Her eyes lit for a split second before her smile faded, as if she weren’t sure what to do next.
He sure the hell didn’t.
“Hi, Marcus. Nice to see you again.” She straightened, clutching the front of her water bottle holder. “Are you visiting David?”
“I live here.”
“In Banff? Since when?”
“For the past four years.” He gestured into the room, still reeling from the shock. “And you’ve gone back to your student days.”
Suddenly that was the worst possible thing he could have said, because all he could picture was her naked and spread before him—on the bed, in the giant tub at the Banff Springs Hotel. Up against the wall, her skin slick with moisture as he pinned her in place and rocked his cock into her willing body again and again.
One wicked weekend. Taking him and breaking him apart with her sensuality.
He was staring—he knew he was. But her lips were still firm, that hint of mischief there as she smiled. While her dark brown hair was pulled back into a tidy ponytail, his mental images were of it tousled around her head as he held himself over her, intimately connected. The curves of her body were clearly visible under her tight running outfit, and he had the urge to strip her and see exactly how well his memories lined up with the new reality.
The door shifted position and Marcus snapped his gaze off her hips, where he’d been momentarily trapped.
Her smile had gotten bigger. “Seems you haven’t changed much.”
Digital
Mass Market Paperback
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Booksamillion | Powells
***~~***
————COVER FLAT CONTEST————————-
Comment below for a chance to win a signed cover flat of HIGH RISK. Contest closes Friday eve, winner announced on Saturday
International.
January 1, 2013
Looking Back / Looking Forward
2012 was a banner year in so many ways. It always amazes me to take a long, hard look after a year has passed, and realize what’s been accomplished. What good things have happened.
Since this is my writer’s blog, I’ll stick pretty much to that part of my world, and the biggest thing to share is that readers–wow–readers have made this all possible. I love writing, but even more I love knowing that people are enjoying my stories. I’m not the type that would write simply to write. To tuck the novels away and move to the next one. I NEED to have people to share with, and the fact that so many of you have embraced my storytelling is enough to make me want to climb a high mountain and shout for joy.
Which I did in 2012 
Over the year I had 5 new ebook release with Samhain Publishing and 7 print books. I sweet-talked my awesome agent, Kim Whalen, into repping me, and with her guiding me, went through the amazing first time event of an auction/sale to a New York publisher. Two of my books hits the New York Times and USA Today list–and that was ALL you readers. WHeeeeee!!! Silver Mine received an RT Top Pick and was nominated for an RT 2012 paranormal award.
I went to RT Convention in Chicago, RWA in LA, and a third book signing/get away w writer friends in Las Vegas. I answered emails, but gave up most of my blogging in favour of writing more words on stories, preparing for a busy 2013. I played on twitter lots, Facebook a little and IM far more than I should.
The biggest things I’ve learned this past year are: focus and fun.
Focus is a variation on a theme. I’ve always been interested in goal setting. On realizing that at different times in our lives we go through different seasons, and what’s right at one moment will not be right down the road. Clinging to the old style simply to cling is painful and doesn’t help anyone. I need every month, heck, every day to FOCUS on the here and now, and what’s right. What’s needed. This is part of the reason I’m not blogging so much anymore. While I love blogging, and I miss interacting in that way, it’s simply not the best use of my time, not with faulty internet and all the other responsibilities I have. To waste time regretting that is also silly, so I’m happy to have the moments I can, and for the rest? Know that I’m spending time writing MORE lovely stories for you.
Fun seems self explanatory, but I have to confess I’m VERY competitive. Not necessarily with others, but with myself. If I wrote 9 books in 2010, and only 7 in 2011, it feels as if I’m going backwards. Well, actual word count shows that the 6 books I wrote in 2012 adds up to WAY more words than in 2011 (because 5 were novels) but you see what I mean? I don’t want to be scrambling to try to do more when it’s just a number on the page. Writing is a joy to me. My friends are a joy, and so is my family. Those are the things I’m focusing on, not some silly desire to ‘do more.’
I want to keep ‘living more’. That’s a far more important goal.
What’s coming in 2013?Feb-
Rocky Mountain Desire: Six Pack Ranch #3 in print
Wolf Nip: Granite Lake Wolves #6- digital
March
High Risk: Adrenaline #1- my Berkley Sensation book! Digital/Mass market. This will be the first time I get to see my book in book stores on release day!
May
Rocky Mountain Rebel: Six Pack Ranch #5: digital (Joel’s story)
July
Silver Mine: Takhini Wolves#2- print
August
Diamond Dust: Takhini Wolves #3- digital
September
High Passion- Adrenaline #2 -Digi/mass market
October
Rocky Mountain Angel:Six Pack Ranch #4 print
November
(tentative) Six Pack Ranch #6
December
Under an Endless Sky (Granite Lake Wolves print antho #3)
Other projects:Keeping it fun, I have ideas for a couple of self pub projects, including a new wolfie 3 book antho, a 3 book BFF series and…I’ll tell you more as I know, because FUN FUN FUN, right? 
Events I’m going to for sure:
RT Conference in Kansas City in May
RWA in Atlanta in July
Emerald City in Seattle in Sept
Events that are PRETTY sure:
LoveLetters in Germany late May
Lori Foster in June
———-
Since the moment I subbed that first story to now, the adventure of publishing has been incredible. Varied, and challenging, and SO much fun. And the shiniest parts have been the friends I’ve made. You, the readers and writers who fill my world.
Thank you. That’s…about the best I can say. Thanks so, so much.
December 27, 2012
12 Days of Giving-Winners 2012
It’s time! First though, thank you so much to everyone who stopped in and help me celebrate the holidays in the right way–with my friends!
I have the first five charity donations under control. Thank you for your suggestions and I’m honoured to support them for you.
Here is the list of the rest of the people who won gifts. If you’re on the bottom part of the list, I need you to contact Fatin and let her know which prize you won and any specific details she needs, such as which book you want, and in what format, or your mailing address if it’s a print book, please include that as well. Yes, what you won is written here, but in the interest of a timely delivery, sending Fatin the specific information means she can get your gifts out to you a lot faster. Email her at : novelsidekick at gmail.com
AND as always, if by some chance you don’t get your gifts, please contact me–I’d hate to have it happen, but it occasionally does. Goofs are meant to be fixed!
Main gifts- 5x$100 to Charity of choice. I’ll be sending them out ASAP
-MinnChia: Project Linus
-Brenda: Wounded Warriors
-Lisa Guertin: Ronald McDonald House
-Hollie: Yorkshire Air Ambulance
-Kim Wade: Shared Housing Center
~~**~~
Day #1
calendar #1: Nancy G
calendar #2: Dorthy
calendar#3 : KittyKelly
Day #2 iTunes card: Lisa Guertin
Day #3 Coffee Mug + swag: Melanie J
Day #4 Ebook of choice from Samhain: Jane George
Day #5 ebook backlist: Natasha A
Day #6 Ebook ARC of WOLF NIP: Fedora
Day #7
Jennifer’s Fireman: Lisa B
Tessa Dare’s: Crystal GB
Day #8 Wolf Puppet + wolfie swag: Kris
Day #9 Choice of Vivian Arend print book or 2 ebooks from backlist:
winner #1: Denise Bush Kyle
winner #2: Colleen C (Print Under the Midnight Sun)
Day #10 $10 Amazon/B&N gift card: Lindsey E
Day #11 (book to you or a friend)
Moira Rogers book-Jane
Lauren Dane book- elaing8
Elle Kennedy book- Chelsea B
Maya Banks book- Angel
~~**~~
And that’s it for now. My next couple of releases are fast approaching. ROCKY MOUNTAIN DESIRE is out in print Feb 5. The 6th in the Granite Lake Wolves is February 12, and there will be read-a-alongs happening in January for the earlier books for fun!
And March is the first of my Berkley Sensation books: HIGH RISK! I’m so excited to see this one hit the shelves/ebooks at the same time.
If you want a reminder of my releases or other news, make sure you’re signed up for my newsletter. Otherwise, thank you again for stopping in and making this holiday season special.
December 24, 2012
12 Days of Giving #12
Last Challenge- no cost except time.
Give a moment to remember what’s important.
This is a season of great importance in many religions. For other families there are traditions and rituals that help bring the family together and give us something to celebrate. Slow down in the middle of the visiting, the cooking, the serving, eating, unwrapping and squealing to put it all in perspective.
Another part of being thankful…
~~~
Thank you for joining me over the past days. I’ll post the names of the people drawn for gifts and for the $100 charity donations on Dec 27.
From my heart I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season. I’m so thankful for all of you.
