Today it’s my pleasure to have  author extraordinare Vivi Anna as my author interview subject. Vivi has a great new vampire book, THE VAMPIRE’S QUEST, scheduled to release next week. THE VAMPIRE’S QUEST was recently given a 4 1/2 Top Pick rating by the Romantic Times.

1.    Please tell us a bit about yourself and the genre (or genres) that you write.

I’ve been writing in one form or another since 2000, published my first ebook in 2003, then my first NY release came out in 2006.   I now write for the Silhouette Nocturne line.  I write paranormal romance, erotic paranormal, urban fantasy and am trying my hand at YA, paranormal of course.   I’m all about the monsters inside and out.

2.    Describe your current (or upcoming) release in 15 words or less.

Vampire Kellen Falcon is on a mission to save his life, but what he finds is love.

3.    Now use as many words as you’d like to describe your story.

After escaping from the Otherworld Crime Unit, Kellen Falcon came to Nouveau Monde to crack a rare blood disease. But the European hotbed of temptation yielded sport no vampire could resist—criminologist Sophie St. Clair. And with only days to live, Kellen sought sweet release from her to escape a savage past.

The lycan beauty wasn’t one to stray from her pact. But an investigation into a downtown bombing now tied the two together. And it wasn’t long before Kellen’s smoldering eyes and Sophie’s fierce desire for this vampire put her loyalties to the test….

4.    Which character do you like better from THE VAMPIRE’S QUEST—the hero or the heroine?  Why?

I love love love the hero Kellen Falcon.  He started out as a minor character in my first Valorian Chronicles book Blood Secrets, but the second I created him, I knew I’d done something special.  I’ve received a ton of fan letters asking about Kellen, so I knew I had to write his story one day.  He’s a bad ass.  And I love me some bad boy types.

5.    What is the most challenging part of being a writer?

Waiting for stuff.  I HATE it.  I have no patience to wait to hear from an editor about new material, or waiting for the contracts, or waiting for the money, then waiting for the line edits and the cover, then the book, then the reviews, then your statement to see if you sold any books, then knowing you’re going to have to wait to see if your editor will offer on your next project.

It sucks!!

6.    In a fight, who would win…Dracula or the wolf-man?

I’d say Dracula, because he’s immortal.  The wolf-man can be killed eventually.  So old Drac could just wait him out.   Not unless the wolf-man ripped Drac’s head off with one swipe of his claws…

7.    What’s your favorite scary movie?  Come on, spill.  No explanations—just name it.  Let everyone else guess why.

I don’t have a favorite per se.  There is one movie that to me is the scariest and I can’t watch it…The Exorcist.   And the original When A Stranger Calls, not the remake. The remake sucked!

8.    Tell me the one thing you wish you’d known about being a writer, um, before you became  a writer.

To budget better and that there is nothing you can do directly affect your sales.  The ONLY thing you have total control over is writing the best book possible.

9.    What is your writing schedule like?

I write every day, from 5-9 pm.  If I’m under deadline, I will find hours in the day to write a few pages, and I will stay up late and burn the midnight oil.  But I really prefer not to.  I like my sleep.

10.    Tell me anything you’d like to tell me.

Not only do I have two releases this April, The Vampire’s Quest and the Bite anthology Midnight Cravings, I have a new ebook at Ellora’s Cave called In the Company of Wolves.  So check it out!

Thanks for answering my interview questions!

Yes, I am continuing my new policy of posting bookstore coupons. Why? Because I want to encourage folks to buy books and I want people to save money. 🙂

My latest coupon–actually, there are 2 coupons.

The first is for $5.00 off a $25 purchase at Books-A-Million.

And, in case you need a caffeine kick while at Books-A-Million, here’s a coupon link for a buy one get one free grand latte.

(If you belong to my newsletter group, you’ve seen this one–because you usually see my info first!)

Since the release of IMMORTAL DANGER is next week, I thought I’d post an excerpt today:

IMMORTAL DANGER

“Dawn’s coming.”

Understanding hit. The vampire wanted her drink.

She thought she could control him that way. Thought she’d be able to look into his mind, link with him.

Drinking from a human gave a vampire enormous power over the victim. Enough power to glimpse into the victim’s mind. To see memories. To touch dreams.

Once a vampire drank, well, she’d have control over the prey. She’d be able to get him to do whatever she wanted.

No wonder Maya wasn’t too worried about trust being an issue.

If he’d been human, well, she would have been right to think that way.

But since he wasn’t, all bets were off.

There’d be no control. Unless he was the one doing the dominating.

“You’ve probably heard talk about what happens when blood’s exchanged.”

Not really an exchange if he didn’t get to taste her. Not that he was particularly into that, but—

Her eyes met his directly. Blue, not hunter black. Not yet. “I’ll just take enough now for a bond. That way, if you get into any kind of trouble while we’re working together, I’ll know.”

If only he believed her.

Adam had never met a vampire who didn’t lie. He tilted his head back. Gazed up at the cracks in the ceiling and muttered, “Take your drink.” For all the good it will do you.

She rose against him. Her breath blew over his skin.

He should have been repulsed. Ashamed. He’d never given his blood to one like her before. Never offered his throat in submission.

Never been a fool.

Never been prey.

Until now.

His choices were non-existent. If he wanted to find Cammie, Maya was his only hope.

“Relax. I told you, I not planning to hurt you.”

Actually, he believed the woman had said she wasn’t going to hurt him…much. The pain wasn’t an issue, though. He could deal with pain. He’d managed easily enough in the past.

But it burned in his gut that she was already lying to him. While he’d never been food for a vampire, he’d heard the stories from the lucky few who’d managed to survive. Ripping, slashing pain. Teeth that cut, severed.

Mental screams that were never voiced because by then, it was too late. The vampire was already in the prey’s head.

He remembered the foolish humans he’d seen at the feeding room. Eyes glazed over. Blood trickling down their throats. Had they tried to scream when they realized—too late—that it wasn’t all dark fantasies and passion? In that last second before the vampires took control, had they been afraid?

Her lips were on his throat now. Soft lips. Pressing gently. His hands clenched into fists. “Get it over with,” he growled.

“If that’s what you want.” A faint whisper.

He stared up at those cracks—like spider webs in the ceiling.

Her tongue swept over him, a warm, wet caress that caused his cock to jerk in reaction.

He was sick. No other explanation. The edge of her teeth pressed into his neck. The pressure was hard, and he prepared for the piercing pain as—

Heat exploded through him, a blinding flash that shook his body. For a moment, he worried that he’d lost his control, worried that the beast was free, that it would destroy Maya—

The ecstasy hit him. Waves of pleasure, the feelings so intense he shuddered—and wanted more.

***

And on a completely different note…I want to send my congrats out to everyone who is getting Golden Heart and Rita phone calls today!  🙂

I know, I know…Booking It is a day late. Sorry!

There are lots of great books due to hit the shelves soon, and I wanted to mention a few I’m eagerly awaiting:

First off…Lauren Dane (she’s awesome!) has a trade paperback release from Samhaim–CASCADIA WOLVES: STANDOFF.  This book will be available on 3/31/09, and just check out this fantastic blurb:

Cade Warden has put his Pack first for most of his life and now Warren Pellini and his thugs threaten everything he holds dear. Into that life of intense focus and increasing loneliness walks the woman he’s been waiting for.

Grace Pellini isn’t just Cade’s mate, she’s the sister of his greatest enemy and she’s been putting herself in grave danger to gather information to aid the Nationally Allied Packs. Cade is everything she could have hoped for in a man even if he is overprotective and pushy at times.

Against the backdrop of their increasing passion and deepening bond, they race against time to find a key to stop Pellini’s biological weapon. And then the stakes rise again when Pellini calls an ancient Challenge. It’s up to Grace to stand by and let her mate risk everything for his people. And his life is in her hands.

***

And, because Laruen is one busy woman, she has another release that same day! Only, this time, she’s teamed up with the mega-talented Megan Hart to produce TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS.  Sexy, hot, fun–that’s the way I’d describe that book.  🙂

Vivi Anna has a new Nocturne hitting store shelves on April 1–THE VAMPIRE’S QUEST. With that title, I’m so there! Of course, the book also received 4 1/2 stars from RT and was a top pick–so I know it will be a fabulous read. What? You want blurbage? Here you go:

In a race against life and death, one woman holds the key to sanity and salvation…

After escaping from the Otherworld Crime Unit, Kellen Falcon came to Nouveau Monde to crack a rare blood disease. But the European hotbed of temptation yielded sport no vampire could resist—criminologist Sophie St. Clair. And with only days to live, Kellen sought sweet release from her to escape a savage past.

The lycan beauty wasn’t one to stray from her pact. But an investigation into a downtown bombing now tied the two together. And it wasn’t long before Kellen’s smoldering eyes and Sophie’s fierce desire for this vampire put her loyalties to the test…

***

And what’s on your TBR list?

Monday, Monday…

Today I am visiting two lovely stops for my Immortal Blog Tour:

Over at I DO NOT WANT TO WAIT, I WANT THE BOOK NOW, I am talking about connected books–and just how authors connect them. One lucky commenter will win an autographed copy of IMMORTAL DANGER. (Thanks for inviting me over, Greta!)

And over at STAR-CROSSED ROMANCE, my post topic is vampires.  🙂  Just why do we love those vamps?  Comment and you get your choice of an autographed book from my backlist.  (Thanks to the Star-Crossed Authors for having me over!)

There is just over a week (A WEEK!) until IMMORTAL DANGER hits store shelves.  So that means I’m starting to get that wild mix of nervousness and excitement. I don’t think I will ever stop getting excited when I go into a store and see my book on the shelf–seriously, that just thrills me.