That’s me today. Vivi Anna Cranky Pants.

I’m late with my blog post. I hate being late, but the truth is my mind is elsewhere. I’ve been forgetting a lot of things lately. Maybe it’s because this month is my release month and I’ve been running around the internet like a madwoman.

I do this to myself every release month. I completely overbook myself with chats, guestblogging, promo ops, like the one I’m doing at eharlequin.com…teaching world building…book signings, interviews, and podcasts. Have you checked out my podcast here at Access Romance? I sound all squeaky.

Whew! I’m tired just thinking about it all. And on top of that I have a book due soon.

And I suppose while I’m trying to catch my breath, I’m wondering if it’s all worth it. My book would sell without doing any of it. Does doing all of this really help me in the long run? I have no clue.

Now, I’m exhausted, and cranky… LOL

So to end this very short blog post my question is this, have you ever checked out an author further because of an ad you saw, a blog post you read, or a chat you’ve been to? Has it prompted you to want to read their books? Who was the last author you read that you discovered from being online?

Oh, and I forgot to pick my winner from my last blog post…so without any further delay…

Wendy, whose theme song was Breathe by Breaking Benjamin…come on down! Could you please email me at vivi@vivianna.net to claim your prize.

One of the questions I’m asked frequently is “Does an author need an agent?” My short answer: “Absolutely.”

Granted, when you’re writing romance, there’s a stronger possibility of not requiring an agent before scoring a sale to a publisher. Even so, a good agent is an author’s best friend, for a number of reasons:

1. A good agent has roughly a gazillion contacts in the industry, and has a beat on which editor from which publishing house is currently seeking which material.

2. A good agent is a savvy negotiator and can help you get a better deal.

3. A good agent can make sense out of contracts…and probably comes to the table with a better-than-boilerplate contract when getting ready to negotiate a deal for you. (Translated: publishing houses tend to have standard contracts for their authors…but a good agent who has previously done business with those houses probably already has a better-than-standard contract to begin the negotiating process — in other words, a good agent starts the negotiation with an advantage over a non-agented author.)

4. A good agent is more than just the contacts and contract person: he or she is your business partner for your writing career, and offers advice and feedback on your next moves.

5. A good agent may even act as a “pre-editor” and give your manuscript a thorough edit before it’s submitted to a publisher.

A good agent, in short, is an author’s friend. Maybe even an author’s best friend.

(Note: I’m stressing the phrase “a good agent” for a reason. Anyone can hang up a sign declaring that he or she is a literary agent. Smart authors MUST do their homework, because a bad agent is far, far worse than no agent at all. And there are numerous scammers out there who claim to be agents and actually fleece authors out of their money. Rule of thumb: money flows toward an author. If an agent demands payment up front, from you, instead of taking a commission out of a sale, steer clear.)

So are you looking for a good agent? If you are, Backspace — one of the best writer resources I’ve ever encountered — is holding an Agent-Author Seminar in New York City on November 6 and November 7, 2007, at the Radisson Martinique. If you can, come check out the “All Agents Day.”

From the Backspace website:

With 25 agents and 3 editors on the program, the Backspace Agent-Author Seminars are a terrific opportunity to network, ask questions, talk about your work, and listen and learn from the people who make their living selling books.

Two days of panels & workshops featuring:

November 6: Emmanuelle Alspaugh, Rachel Vater, Paul Cirone, Scott Hoffman, Michael Bourret, Jennifer DeChiara, Jennie Dunham, Jessica Faust, Michelle Brower, and Liza Dawson with Daniela Rapp (editor, St. Martins)

November 7: Laney Katz Becker, Janet Reid, Stephany Evans, Caren Johnson, Alex Glass, Lucienne Diver, Jennifer Unter, Miriam Goderich, Kate Epstein, Joe Veltre, Elisabeth Weed, Deborah Grosvenor, Paige Wheeler, Jeff Kleinman, and Miriam Kriss with Mark Tavani (editor, Random House) and Brenda Copeland (editor, Hyperion)

Register for one day or both! Attendance limited to 150.

If anyone has any questions about getting an agent, or about Backspace, let me know! Go ahead and post a comment.

There’s something about spring that’s so energetic, so joyous. Right now, down in the southern hemisphere, it’s a time of renewal and birth—blossoms, budding vines, unfurling fronds and lambs in the fields.

It’s a season of bluster and enthusiasm, yet it’s pretty damn tempestuous too. In the past few days, we’ve experienced warmer sunshine, promptly followed by gusty winds, thunderstorms and hail.

When I look out my window I can see the blossoms on the plum tree and the tui birds have taken to performing diverolls across the sky in mating pairs. Love is most definitely in the air!

I’m watching the changes day by day as summer approaches. Yet on the other side of the world, it’s autumn and winter is coming closer. When you look out your window, what do you see?

I’ll draw one winner from everyone who comments for my October release, The Apollonides Mistress Scandal.

My blogging schedule worked out so that I am blogging here and at the Brava Authors Blog today. Thought this would be a good time to put out some short (copyrighted but unedited) excerpts of my upcoming Brava release Right Here, Right Now (March ‘08). The excerpt starts at the Brava Blog and continues here.

Check out both, comment on both blogs and you’ll be entered to win your choice of two of my previous releases.

Good Luck!
_________

Right Here, Right Now (continued from Brava Blog)

Reed was a man on the run.

The big weasel.

Here Gabby thought tonight, formal date number nine, might be the date. The one to capture all the heat pulsing between them with a bedroom ending. Hell, she’d be lucky to get cab fare out of him now.

Reed took a long swallow of water.

When he didn’t choke, Gabby cursed life’s unfairness. “I’m assuming I’m the part of the relationship that’s not working.”

“Look, it’s not you. It’s-”

Oh, no, no, no. “Don’t finish that sentence.”

If he continued down that road the half of the salmon filet she did manage to swallow would make a repeat performance all over his expensive navy suit. Tempting but not going to happen.

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked as if he actually did not know.

“Just don’t.” She pointed a finger in the general direction of Reed’s heart to back up her threat.

Those ice blue eyes that were so attractive up until five minutes ago blinked several times. “Gabby, we should-”

“Stop talking before someone loses a body part.” Her gaze dropped to her fork. “Preferably you.”

The sexy sparkle behind his eyes faded as the grin on his full mouth fell flat. For the first time since they sat down to eat, Reed’s usual assurance slipped. Nice of him to show some reaction.

She learned long ago to control her emotions. To keep her reactions neutral and her anger at bay. No matter how fast that ball of anxiety started to spin around in her gut she held it all in. Forced her outside to defy her insides.

She had been through far worse than a broken relationship, weathered much and never broke. But something about the silliness of the scene, of Reed cutting her off at the same time she mentally planned his seduction, broke open the dam inside her and sent anger spewing in every direction.

Her chest clenched as her cheeks grew hot. Her jaw pulled tight enough to make her back teeth ache. Pissed. She was down-to-her-bones pissed. A new sensation and one she chalked up to a build-up of stress without any release. One that refused to go away quietly.

If Reed intended to hand her a relationship pink slip, then she planned to give him an ending to remember. “Tell me something.”

He smiled at the older couple sitting at the table next to them. “Sure.”

“Where did it go wrong for you?”

Their relationship didn’t take any wrong turns for her. They cruised along just fine with her getting more interested and attracted every single day. Then the waiter put the entrees on the table and everything went to hell.

“The ‘it’ is…?” he asked.

“For a smart guy, you seem to be experiencing some trouble with small words.”

He stopped glancing around the restaurant and focused on her instead. “Talk slow and I’ll try to keep up.”

“Fine.” Actually, the scene was anything but fine, but she clearly did not get a vote. “Us. You and me. The relationship. Since we never even had sex, I mean.”

UPDATE: We have a winner!!!! Congrats to kim h. Email me so I can get those books out to you!

I’m a dreamer … and I thank God every day for giving me a mother who instilled me with the belief that I could do anything if I set my mind to it, and then encouraged me to follow my dreams.

Not everybody had that.

As a waitress I get to meet people from all walks of life, and I’m always somewhat shocked when I meet someone who clearly has a passion for something, yet they brush aside that passion because “It’s not practical.” Or “I could never make a living at it.” I just don’t understand why they don’t go after the life they want.

In TROUBLE, my latest release from Berkley Heat, the heroine, Samair Jones, is one of those people. For years she’s denied her own dreams and passions to live the life she thought she was supposed to. Until finally, one day she’s just had enough. After all … What’s life if you’re not going to live it?

With Samair I got to take one of those people who confuse me with not going after their dreams, and set her on the path to doing so. For me, the rest of the story pretty much wrote itself, I think Samair’s passion had a lot to do with that.

The hero of TROUBLE, Valentine Ward, is completely practical. He was raised in the foster care system, has no family, and has learned to take care of himself, and to always get what he wants. So even though he’s the practical sort, he still always goes after his dreams. If that makes no sense, I’m sorry. I’m just not sure how else to explain him without giving it all away.

My point? I’ve gone after many of my own dreams, I’ve traveled the world, climbed mountains in Nepal, been on safari in Africa (as well as lived on the beach and swam with wild dolphins) and several pub crawls in Ireland. Those are just a few of the dreams I’ve had, and succeeded in living. Another one is writing a novel.

TROUBLE is my third single title novel, my second with Berkley, and I want to thank all the readers or romance, especially erotic romance, for going out there and buying books. Without you, I’d not be able to continue to live one of my dreams. And as a thank you, just comment here to be entered to win a signed copy of TROUBLE or LUSH.

UPDATE: The name drawn for the giveaway is CRYSTAL B. Congratulatrions Crystal! You have 10 days to email me to collect your prize. Use the contact button on my website, and include your snail mail addy please.

I know that Halloween won’t arrive for many days, but I have a horror story for you—we have unwelcome houseguests. Woodpeckers are descending on our house like cats to a tuna melt.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love birds. A pet bird pops up in my novel Carefree and plays an important role.

I love to watch birds and hear them sing (um…okay well some birds I don’t like turkey vultures and the like). We have a bird feeder and bird bath, which is electric to keep the water from freezing in the winter, but the woodpeckers have become troublesome. Why? Knock, knock, knock is all we hear from all sides, and trying the fill up the holes haven’t worked. As soon as the old ones are filled in, they just start making new ones. AND it doesn’t matter that there are lovely trees in the backyard, they prefer the wooden panels of our house.

This wasn’t always a problem, we’re not sure what happened, but something has to be done.

Any ideas on how to get rid of them? I’ll giveaway a copy of Illusive Flame to the best idea or solution, but it must be humane.