Best Selling Author Bonnie Vanak Blogs for the PFS writers

Please welcome Bonnie Vanak to the Pink Fuzzy Slipper Writers Blogspot, she is just as an amazing person as she is an author. Thanks Bonnie you're the best!

Are you a plotter or a panster? Actually, I’m a plantser! I do both. I start out with a destination in mind, have a road map, the synopsis, of how to get there, but sometimes I take drastic detours. Kind of like driving from Florida to California by way of New Jersey.

Do you get your characters from the people you have known or now know? My DH is the role model for my heroes, because he’s romantic, and caring, and a wonderful person. But each character is different. I did write one character who had a little of me in him. That was Ramses in The Tiger & the Tomb. He has my quirky sense of humor.

How about a peek into your next series, or single? My next single title historical is The Lady and the Libertine from Dorchester. That book is out in April 2009. It features a wicked, thieving earl who is trying to steal a ruby from a beauty in Egypt who guards a vast treasure hiding in Egypt’s sands. The ruby is the key to unlocking the treasure. He also desires to steal her virginity, and guess what happens there? J The hero, Nigel, is almost an anti-hero. He’s a very bad boy, but he does the wrong things for the right reasons.

I also have a Draicon werewolf novella out in Midnight Cravings, a collection of Nocturne Bites. That book is a trade paperback released in April. The next Draicon Nocturne will be Raphael’s story in Immortal Wolf released next fall. And I have a story in the Holiday with a Vampire anthology coming out next December from Nocturne.

How do you handle working, writing and having a family at the same time? Ask me next month after the holidays are over, lol! It’s not easy. We don’t have children, which is one reason I’m able to write. The day job and the writing put a lot of demands on my time. I’m trying to find more balance in my life, and that’s always a good goal.

Do you do your own research? Ever go to say, Egypt for inspiration or information? I do all my own research, but have never been to Egypt. One day I will go. That’s a promise I made to myself. I like to make my stories as authentic as possible in detail and setting, so I do a lot of research.

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How long have you been writing? I started writing romance in 1997, took a break for a year, and then got “the call” in 2001 when Dorchester wanted to publish The Falcon & the Dove, my first historical.

Do you still read? I love to read, and that’s often my reward for finishing a deadline. I cherish the times when I can sit down with a book and read for two hours straight. It’s wonderful!

Tell me about some of your favorite heroes.

Nigel is the hero of my upcoming historical, The Lady and the Libertine. He’s in desperate need of reforming and love. I had fun tormenting him.

For the Nocturnes, I loved writing Damian from Enemy Lover, he’s such a dominating, yet vulnerable alpha male with a dark secret. Damian is extremely protective, very possessive and domineering. Jamie calls him an “uber alpha,” and he has NO idea what “uber Alpha” means. He has a gentle side to him, and it surfaces a lot when it comes to Jamie. In one scene right after he’s disciplined the werewolves who failed to protect her, he’s so caring and gentle with her. It’s a total contrast to what he did with the guys. I also adored Raphael, whom you’ll meet in Enemy Lover, the immortal, Harley-riding werewolf.

What's your ideal dream day? I like my day job now, as it gives me the opportunity to help those in dire need. I work as a=2 0writer for a large international charity and travel to poor countries to interview poor people, get stories of their needs, and write letters to raise money to help them. The travel can be grueling, however. The saddest part of my job is witnessing the suffering of innocent little children who are dying from starvation or have endured horrific abuse. It gets pretty tough, and I just have to remember the good we can do for them. This is why I started writing romance, because the happy ending is always in my books. I don’t always see that in real life. Some of the children I’ve written about have died, and it breaks my heart. Others, like this little orphan girl I met in Haiti years ago, give me such a feeling of joy. The orphan girl, who was left at our orphanage in Haiti as a young girl, is now in college. She speaks French, English and Creole and she’s very, very smart.

Do you have a website? I have a website; www.bonnievanak.com and a blog, www.bonnievanak.blogspot.com. You can read an e xcerpt of my other books on the website. Thanks for having me as your guest!