Good afternoon!

I'd like to thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for us at Fallen Angel Reviews.
If I could, I'd like to ask you a few questions about yourself. You make the statement on your website that you were a journalist and now a romance author. How did you make the transition?

It was actually easy because the skills I acquired as a journalist, to write on deadline, gather information and research, come in very handy as a author. Especially the ability to meet my deadlines!

Are you still working as a journalist or full time as an author?

I work full time as a writer for a charity. It makes finding time to write a little difficult, but I manage.

Your "What's New" page is emotionally hard to read, it's really sad to see the poverty all over the world. How do you deal with it? It looks like every little bit helps. Is there a way your readers can help?

That's so sweet you asked about helping.Thank you!

The work is difficult emotionally but I've learned to push aside my personal feelings when I'm in the field interviewing people. I wait and cry in my hotel room. Actually, right now I haven't updated my webpage, but if readers want to help, they can help victims of Hurricane Katrina by donating to their charity of choice, or if they live in the affected areas and are lucky enough to still have a home, volunteer at a refugee center.

These people have lost everything, their homes, cars, businesses, even loved ones. They're now living in Third World conditions. I encourage everyone to do what they can. Even $5 can make a difference when combined with other donations. Check out the charity you want to donate to see where the money is going. Here are two great links to research charities.

http://www.guidestar.org/
http://www.charitynavigator.org

Charity Navigator investigates non-profits and their finances and rates them.The highest rating is four stars. Here's some tips on giving from Charity Navigator:

1) Give to an established charity.
2) Designate your gift to go towards the cause you want to help (i.e. mark on the check and the envelope "Hurricane Katrina relief")
3) Avoid telemarketers.
4) Research the charity.

Some organizations, like the Red Cross and Salvation Army, can quickly mobilize and have resources in place to help the most urgent needs. The most urgent needs are medical assistance, food, water, blankets, emergency housing,vaccinations against diseases like cholera and hepatitis.

Others provide much-needed long term relief, long after the media has gone away and the crisis isn't in the public's eye. These are charities like Habitat for Humanity that build homes. There are others as well.

IF you send money for hurricane relief to a charity BE SURE to write it is designated HURRICANE KATRINA relief. Otherwise, it may just go into the general fund.

You write both as Bonnie Vanak as well as Blair Valentine. What made you choose to use a pseudonym?

I wanted to keep my erotic romance writing for Ellora's Cave separate from my other writing. Plus I like the name Blair. Like the Blair witch. I feel like the Blair witch sometimes, especially during "that time of the month". *grin*

Can you tell us what research goes into your Egyptian historicals?

Tons. I like my books to be as historically accurate as possible, so I do lots of research. I read books on ancient Egypt, do lots of internet research and then weave facts in with fiction, letting my imagination soar. For example, in my last Leisure release, THE COBRA & THE CONCUBINE, I used a scene that really happened, only wrote it as if my characters were there. That's the scene inside the pyramid when Badra finds the priceless necklace of Princess Meret. Jacques de Morgan, the archaeologist who is also in my book, really did discover the jewelry the way it is described, only my character found the cache.

Do you feel as if the characters live with you as you write? Do they "talk" to you?

Oh yes. Especially if they leave an indelible imprint on me. Rashid, an Egyptian warrior in The Cobra & the Concubine who was abused as a boy,never shut up, lol. And Cinderella, in Cinderella's Rebellion, she was yakking away a mile a minute.

What is your favorite part of being an author?

Seeing the pleasure others get from reading my books. I've enjoyed reading romance novels for years and some have provide a much-needed escape when I've faced challenging situations. I love being able to do the same. I think one of the most touching moments I had as an author was when a bookstore owner told me my first book, The Falcon & the Dove, was the last book her friend read before she died. Her friend loved the book and she wanted to read it, too.

How did you find out that your first book was accepted? Did you celebrate?

I nearly threw up. LOL! I was home on my lunch break, and the call came in, but it was listed on caller ID as out of area. I thought it was a phone solicitor and ignored it. Instead, it was my soon-to-be editor asking me to call him. I was so excited, I choked on my sushi!

What is a typical day like for you?

Crazy. Because I work full-time, I don't get to write until long after 5 p.m. I'll give you an example of one of my days in the field from a trip I took to Nicaragua in July.

5:30 a.m. Alarm rings. Wake up, ask self, "What country am I in?"

5:45 a.m. Take shower. Shiver. Realize the hotel is out of hot water, again.

6:30 a.m. After breakfast, get in the car with the photographer, project coordinator and our country host. Drive north to Matagalpa.

8:30 a.m. Arrive, after two hours in the car. We only nearly hit one cow wandering in the road. Rejoice.

9 a.m. Visit a village we built in the mountains for the poor people. 150 homes. While talking with people and taking photos, we notice black plastic shacks built on the mountain overlooking the new village. Go talk to those people. One woman, who is four months pregnant, tells me her house fell into a ravine the night before due to rainfall and erosion. They had to scramble to get the kids out. We tell her we will get her a new home. She starts crying.

12 p.m. I have to use the bathroom. Oh dear.

12:30 p.m. I really have to use the bathroom. Only outhouses around. Any port in a storm.

We tour around the city, talking to people in need, and people whom we have helped, until 3 p.m. and leave to drive two hours back to Managua. On the way back, we realized we forgot to have lunch, again, because we were so busy so we noshed on granola bars in the car.

4 p.m. Arrive in Managua.

4:30 p.m. Have dinner in Managua.

5 p.m. Pick up our suitcases at the hotel and drive to the airport to fly to Guatemala to interview a nun who runs a medical center. She has a new arrival, a child who was starving to death.

9 p.m Flight leaves.

10:30 p.m. Arrive in Guatemala.

11 p.m. Arrive at hotel. Too wound up to sleep, I take my Alphasmart and do a little writing for my next book.

How do you write? Seat of your pants? Outline and Post-Its?

I am a kind of the seat of the pants writer, but I'm disciplining myself to be more organized. I do a rough outline first, so I have an idea of the story, plot, motivations, and characters. That really helps when I write in snatches. I try to utilize down time, like folding laundry or doing other mundane tasks, to plot the book or work out character conflicts. It helps to brainstorm at times like that when I'm physically occupied in a task, but my mind is free to wander.

Have you found a certain ambiance helps you to write? If so, what is it and does it differ book to book?

There is a certain ambiance I'd like to obtain to write, but I never get it, LOL! Honestly, I get a chuckle out of writers who say they must have fresh roses on their desk to write, or they can't write without this kind of music or that. Whatever works for them, but my life is so hectic that I rarely get a chance to just sit and write, let alone arrange a nice writing space with stuff. My best writing friends are my laptop and my Alpha Smart. I write on the laptop at home. I can write on the couch while hubby is watching television, or in the car on the Alpha Smart when we're traveling or anywhere else. I even did final edits on a love scene for The Cobra & the Concubine during Hurricane Jeanne last year! I was on deadline and had no choice. That is something I do NOT want to repeat again.

What would you like to accomplish as an author?

I'd like to be the best writer Bonnie Vanak can be. Not the best writer any other author can be. I know I'll never be as good as some authors, but I always want to strive to be a better writer.

In all honesty, there is a book inside me I want to write, but don't have the courage to try for now because it's very emotionally draining. It would combine my experience of traveling in the Third World with fiction. But I think it will have to wait until I stop working in the day job and can really distance myself. It makes me too sad to write to write it now.

What do you have in the works at this time? Can you give us a peek?

My next release is an Ellora's Cave quickie on September 28. It's called SURRENDER THE NIGHT. It's a vampire story. It's filled with lots and lots more hot sex! It's about the leader of the vampire world choosing a mate, a misfit vampire. Here's the blurb:

Weaving his spell of enchantment, he came to her in dreams, initiating her into the passionate world of the vampire. She cannot forget the slide of his muscular body thrusting into , the sharp, erotic sting of his fangs sinking into her tender skin. Now Adrian, leader of the vampire world, will seduce Lily to officially Turn her into a vampire. Only Adrian knows Lily's darkest secret, a secret that can turn his people against her.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Thanks for taking the time to interview me. I'm very honored Cinderella's Rebellion was chosen as a Recommended Read by Fallen Angels reviews!

If you'd like to learn more about Ms. Vanak and her books, take a look at her website at: http://www.bonnievanak.com/index.html. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions.

Interviewed by: Serena