Writing Wednesdays

So another week seems to have gotten away from me. This time the culprits are obvious: deep in rewrites for Atlantis Redeemed, planning the release stuff for Atlantis Unleashed (only 2 weeks and 6 days, woohoo!!) and my darling Princess has strep throat. Yes, we're on baby Motrin and the dreaded pink stuff (Amoxycillin, for those of you without kids). But she's happily ensconced with her juice in front of some cartoons, fever down for now, so I can get in a good hour of writing.

I missed Movie Monday again and OMG all I can say is STAR TREK STAR TREK STAR TREK!!!!



It was FABULOUS!!! Saw it Friday and saw it again on IMAX Sunday (Mother's Day gift, yay me!). LOVED it!! I'm a confirmed Trekkie, so it was such a treat for me - all the callbacks to the original show were fun and the casting was brilliant. I'd been concerned about Urban as Bones - didn't seem like a fit - but he was absolutely terrific in the role. I hope he gets a bigger part in the future movies! How about you? Did you see it? Thoughts? Oh, and Spock and [SPOILER]??? ZOWIE!!!!

TV Tuesday continues the season finales and reminds me how much I hate the way network TV does season finales. Cliffhanger, cliffhanger, cliffhanger. Yawn. Do they realize that by the time the show comes back, we won't care? I'd like to have some of this stuff actually WRAPPED UP for a sense of closure. Don't give me spoilers about Fringe, though - it's safely on Tivo and I can't watch till little ones are in bed for the night. Too scary! Am thrilled about Leonard Nimoy casting there and that it has been renewed for next year.

OK, a little good news, I'm starting a Great Read Thursday on the blog - will talk about books I've read that I enjoyed (and why) and I hope you'll do the same in comments so we can intro each other to new authors.

But for now, the story is calling me, so here for WW is a snippet that nobody has seen yet for Atlantis Unleashed (out in less than three weeks!! You can preorder now!! ) - a secret sneak peek just for you!! They've made it to the jungle . . .

Excerpt from Atlantis Unleashed, copyright Alesia Holliday, writing as Alyssa Day

Keely pushed her hair away from her face and tried to breathe, but the heat and dehydration, probably combined with the events of the past few days, had taken their toll. Justice released the energy sphere, lifted her into his arms and moved them both out of the chamber and back to the mouth of the cave, where the outside air was much fresher.

She leaned over, pulling in slow, steady breaths, until the dizziness and hyperventilation passed. “I’m fine,” she said finally. “Just really could use some water.”

Unexpectedly, he smiled. “Although the Nereid still hides from me, or is recovering from the use of so much power, I find that my Atlantean gifts are returning. If water is what you want, my Keely, then water you shall have.”

He strode outside to stand, legs braced apart and arms held up in the air. The sunlight shone down on him as if he were some primitive god, himself, returned to his people and ready to accept their worshipful homage. He was beautiful and stern and primal, and something deep inside her stirred, shaken and moved by the sight of him. Her breasts tingled and her nipples hardened, craving his touch, and her thighs tightened as liquid heat pooled in her center, readying her for him like some ancient virgin to be sacrificed to a lusty god.

Her face flamed at the thought and she tried to remind herself of the biological imperative that caused women to be attracted to powerful men in dangerous situations. She was a scientist. She of all women couldn’t fall prey to something so primal.

Even as she tried to resist the siren call of his intense sexuality, he lowered his gaze from the sky and stared straight into her eyes. His own had darkened to black with blue-green flames dancing in the exact centers of his pupils. “Poseidon, hear me,” he called out in a voice filled with tempest-tossed waves and gale-force winds, never taking his gaze from her. “Bring water to me that it may give life and health to my woman.”

“I’m not your woman,” she whispered, but this time even she didn’t believe it. At that moment, with winds circling Justice like a typhoon, whipping through the clearing to center on him, energy crackling around him like miniature lightning bolts in shades of silver, blue and green, she could deny him nothing.

“For Poseidon,” he roared, throwing back his head. Somehow his braid had loosened, and long strands of hair whipped around his face and shoulders; blues all the spectrum of possibility caught in the strands of his hair flew in the wind as it danced to his call.

She looked up, following his gaze, unable to doubt him for even an instant. He had called for water, so it would come. She knew it, and when the swirling, twirling coils of crystal clear water tumbled through the air toward him, she laughed with delighted joy.

“Come to me, Keely,” he said, and the heat in his eyes seared through her until she wanted to tear off her clothes and throw herself on the ground in front of him; a pagan offering to be taken right there in the downpour that he had created. But instead she stumbled forward, hands clenched at her sides, until she stood a mere breath away from him.

He laughed down at her and shouted out another word, a beautiful word, a word she did not know. The water turned into a spring shower, falling onto them and into their open mouths and down their necks and soaking into their filthy clothes.

From Atlantis Unleashed, in stores June 2nd!

Writing Wednesday

Oh, wow, the week has been getting away from me! Much kidlet stuff this week. I helped Princess's class work on their writing skills for the state test FCAT writes, and they all passed with flying colors! Much joy and I baked cupcakes to take into class today.

Also, Science Boy turns 12 Saturday (how did THAT happen???) He was JUST BORN! GAK! So there has been much secret and not-so-secret shopping as the new Nintendo DSi he's desperate for has made its way to my house. Just need to wrap it and hide it till Saturday . . .

So, in brief: Movie Monday - who saw Wolverine?? Thoughts? Love Hugh, love Gambit, a little disappointed. Not what I expected, no humor, too grim. Can't wait for Star Trek this weekend!

TV Tuesday, I admit to watching Biggest Loser and I cried when they finished that marathon. How affirming!! Anybody else a fan? Or did you catch American Idol? How was it?

Writing Wednesday: Have you checked out the excerpt for Atlantis Unleashed yet?? And I know, I need to put the back cover copy on the site. Doing that as soon as I finish my chapter of Redeemed today. have a great Wednesday!!
hugs,
Alyssa

Writing Wednesday

Busy, busy days!! Only 33 days till Atlantis Unleashed is out and I'm so excited!! I'll be doing lots of guest blogging leading up to release, so I'll be sure to share where you can find me.

Today I'm hard at work rewriting a scene in Atlantis Redeemed, where Brennan first finds Tiernan again, in the heart of Yellowstone National Park, after he nearly lost his mind over her in Atlantis Unleashed (you'll see that scene soon, it's CRAZY!).

But for writing Wednesday, I'm sharing a different snippet from Atlantis Redeemed, where Tiernan first finds out that she may have more enemies than she expected at the science conference . . .

From Atlantis Redeemed:

Tiernan stilled at the mention of the Atlanteans. She’d never told Rick, or anybody else, the full story. That she’d passed out at that awful party in Boston and woken up under the dome of the lost continent itself.

Atlantis.

Brennan.

The image of his wild, almost feral, ocean blue eyes staring down at her, while his muscular arms held her to his hard, hot body, burned through her memory, making her shiver. That face that belonged on a magazine cover--beautifully sculpted masculine features framed by thick waves of long black hair. He’d been crazed, with power or passion or . . . something. He’d been crazed, and then he’d been gone.

She still wondered about that. About him.

Rick opened her car door, yanking her out of her reverie. “Now, maybe, Tracy?”

Tiernan nodded and grabbed her leather backpack and fake press credentials, put on her slightly ditzy “Tracy Baum” smile, and stepped out of the car. She took a deep breath and raised her mental shields as she straightened up to her full height, wobbling a little on the ridiculous heels.

The heels were part of her cover. The shields were part of her sanity. The last thing she needed was to be overwhelmed by crashing pain from a hotel full of lying neuroscientists. Her job was simple. All she had to do was work her way through one lying neuroscientist at a time.

All that could matter was the job. The mission. The paper that had to come out – the story that had to come out. The truth, as they said, would set her free.

Pulitzer.

Pulitzer.

Save the damn world, and get a Pulitzer.

If she repeated it often enough, like a litany, maybe the truth would be forced out. It had to come out.

As she smiled at the bellhop and pretended to listen to Rick’s conversation with the man, she tried to create a visual focus in her mind. The headline. Front page, above the fold:

SCIENTISTS’ EVIL PLOT FOILED: SHAPE-SHIFTERS AND HUMANS SAVED

But the image of her success kept fading. Wavering. Replaced by a pair of ocean blue eyes.

She teetered across the concrete drive, and then up the sidewalk alongside a row of dense hedge, following Rick and the bellman with their luggage, silently vowing that the damn shoes had to go the minute she escaped to her hotel room.

She never even saw the knife until it was taut against her throat.

Atlantis Redeemed, copyright Alesia Holliday writing as Alyssa Day

Countdown to Atlantis Unleashed!!!

Ask the Author

Hey, I'm the featured author at RT Bookclub's Ask the Author till May 1 - please stop by and ask questions or chat!!

RT, the most prestigious review publication in romance fiction, gave Atlantis Unleashed a Top Pick review!!! They said:

Day is back and better than ever in the newest rousing installment
of her Warriors of Poseidon series. She doesn¹t skimp on the action, but this story also delves into the psychological, giving the characters real depth. Power and passion unleashed make for outstanding reading!

computer gurus say prospect is good

that I recover my files!!! doing happy computer dance!!

SmartBitches who love Trashy Books have some bosom heaving going on!! Today is release day - they'll make you laugh so hard you pee. But in a good way. Seriously. Sarah and Candy ROCK the romance love.

Back to work recreating ending, just in case. Oh and be sure to check out the BRAND NEW WEBSITE DESIGN!! New forums!! New EXCERPTS!! Justin at Stonecreek Media is fantastic!

And as if 72 ways to find me weren't bad enough, I'm now at Twitter: It's a sickness.

well my computer blew up

And lightning fried my backup. Am frantically trying to recreate a book while I wait anxiously for the techs to tell me if they could recreate my files. For the whole awful story, go here: http://www.romancingtheblog.com/blog/2009/04/09/stress-perspective-and-the-romance-writer/

Sad pugs, their person is on deadline

 

Back soon to play, I promise!! And I saw the prototype of the new website layout and it's GORGEOUS!!! Can't wait to share!
hugs,
Alyssa

Writing Wednesdays

Hey! Two days in a row! Theme week continues with Writing Wednesdays. Here is a sneak peek at my short story,
The Princess and the Peas, in The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance:

Excerpt from The Princess and the Peas, copyright Alyssa Day

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a princess in a tiny kingdom known as Elvania. The kingdom’s exact location is long lost in the mists of time; some say it became part of France, while others claim it for Switzerland. The Swiss claim has more merit, perhaps, as the precedent of impartial and wintry cold neutrality has sometimes been a guiding tenet of that people. All agree that the princess claimed a lovely view of the waters of what is now called Lake Geneva from her turret bedroom.

Not that she cared much for views. Or lakes. Or anything at all, in fact, other than her single-minded, unswerving quest for the perfect husband.

This is her story. (Except where it isn’t.)

***

“Lucinda!” The dulcet shrieks of her-royal-pain-in-the-nether-regions rang through Lucy’s skull like a trumpet blown by a particularly incompetent musician. She shot up out of her narrow bed, clutching the threadbare quilt to her chest, blinking stupidly, wondering what was on fire.

With any luck, she was. She being Princess Margarita Gloriana Dolores Tresor Montague, Glory to her friends, not that she had any. Lady, mistress, and hellspawn to Lucinda since the two of them had been ten years old.

When the cry didn’t repeat itself, Lucy closed her eyes and started to sink back into her lumpy mattress, hoping that it had been a nightmare. Maybe she could fall back into that inexplicably tingly dream, although it was curious that Ian, his dark eyes flashing, had been riding his horse through the main hall, coming to get her. Since when did she dream of Ian?

More to the point, since when did any dream leave her feeling quite so . . . breathless?

She repressed that line of inquiry and opened a single eye. The glimmers of pink light edging through her narrow window told her that it could be no more than an hour since the princess had finally, finally pronounced herself pleased enough with the preparations, so that Lucy could crawl off to her room--the tiny chamber adjacent to Glory’s own—and catch at least a few short hours of sleep before the guests arrived.

More stinking royalty.

If Lucy lived through the week, it would be a miracle. Why couldn’t she be a cook or a scullery maid or even a laundress? Surely slaving away in the hot kitchens or over the clothes boiling away in the pots must be a stroll in the gardens compared to dancing attendance on the spoiled brat of a princess.

Never mind. It didn’t matter. Sleep. Lovely, blessed sleep.
Just a few hours, and then a strong mug or three of hot tea, and---

“Lucinda! Get in here right this minute, you lazy girl! We forgot the peas!”

Lucy startled awake with a jerk and slammed her head so hard into the stone wall that she was sure to have a goose egg on her skull in a matter of hours. Not to mention the headache. She gritted her teeth, threw her legs over the side of the bed, and stood up, swaying a little with dizziness from the pain in her head.

“I. Am. Coming. You. Horrible. Monster,” she gritted out under her breath. Then, louder: “Coming, my lady.”

She didn’t bother to put a spritely tone in her voice. Glory wouldn’t have believed it anyway. The last time Lucy had sounded spritely, it had been the day she’d left a very wet and slimy toad in Glory’s bed. She grinned at the memory but then sighed.

Sad to live on the memory of a childish rebellion that had happened nearly eleven years ago.

Lucy stumbled into Glory’s room, taken aback as always at the virulent pinkness of it. Wall hangings, rugs, bed coverlets, and even Glory herself were all a vision in nauseating pink. And rose. And red-tinged violet. It was like walking into the inside of a sow’s stomach.

She rubbed her eyes again, hoping it would go away. It didn’t. It never did.

“What are you talking about, Glory? What peas?”

“That’s Your Highness,” Glory snapped. “Or Milady, at least while our guests are here. I can’t have it thought that I allow the serving wenches to address me with such familiarity.”

“Serving wenches? Serving wenches? Whose shoulder have you cried on more times than either of us can count? Whose bed did you climb into for safety and comfort whenever there was a thunderstorm—and that up until you were fifteen years old?” Lucy asked with—she thought—admirable calm. “Mayhap you should rethink that term, or I’ll find out if Magda can come help you this week.”

Glory gasped at the idea of the pig keeper as her personal servant. “Magda? She hasn’t bathed in months. You must be joking. Don’t forget that you owe me--"

“I owe you nothing,” Lucy said flatly. “I’ve spent the past eleven years working far and above the value of my keep, in spite of the promise your mother made to mine. I turn twenty-one in three days and am only staying this week as a favor to the Glory I once loved as a sister.”

Glory had the grace to look abashed, but only for a span of seconds. “You know you cannot leave me, twenty-one or no. There is no place for you to go.”

“There is the world, Glory. There is the world. Or do you forget?” Lucy waved her arm and the scattered pillows, clothes, and assorted frippery covering every inch of Glory’s floor flew gracefully to their assigned places in trunks and the wardrobe.

“Now. What peas?”

[For more, check out THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF PARANORMAL ROMANCE, in stores now!]

TV Tuesday

OK, I'm dreadful at blogging so am going with themes. THEMES, dammit, will keep me in line. So, TV Tuesday:

Anybody watch CASTLE with Nathan Fillion? I've loved him since Firefly and have been hoping he found a home in a TV show that lasts. There was the EXTREMELY short lived show about people in a bizarre road race, but that disappeared before it started, practically. Anyway, I had a blast with it! Love the daughter, love the Mom from Dharma and Greg, think the police detective is great (for those who think she's too tightly wound, HELLO, she needs to have a beginning point so she can have a character arc!), and love, love, love Nathan Fillion (HELLO, AGAIN, those who find him too over the top and annoying, he has to find his own character arc, give him a chance). And those of you (you know who you are) fizzing about teensy details like OH, NO, HE WOULDN'T TYPE IN SINGLE SPACE IF HE WERE A REAL AUTHOR, well, just hang up the crazy hat.

It's CAPTAIN MALCOLM REYNOLDS. Back on TV. And I'm in my happy place.

AND IN GREAT PERSONAL NEWS, just found out that THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF PARANORMAL ROMANCE came out this week instead of next month! (Teensy glitch in communications, there). Check it out!! I've been sneaking a peek at all the wonderful stories and it looks like so much fun! Not to mention that the seriously hot high prince of the Fae, Rhys na Garanwyn, who I introduced in my story makes a very definite appearance in Atlantis in July . . .

hugs,
Alyssa

Steve Martin! Tina Fey!! Yay!

The alien king Rondelay.  Rofl.

 

THE OSCARS

I love Hugh Jackman beyond all reason.  That opening was fantastic!!

 

Happy Friday!!

Ran around like a fiend all day and now I’m getting ready for our excellent chapter meeting of the First Coast Romance Writers.  We’re flying Marcela Landres, an editor from NY, in to speak to the chapter and we’re really looking forward to it!

Off to fold laundry, prepare for meeting, and watch ep 1 of Joss Whedon’s new Doll House.  Can’t wait!  Joss is the Master.

Hugs,

Alyssa

 

http://www.alyssaday.com

RITA award winning author
Atlantis Unleashed, Atlantis Unmasked, June & July '09!

 

 

Random thoughts and Kryptonite

I'm guest blogging at Romancing the Blog on why I need Kryptonite. Stop by HERE if you get a chance!

10-second tale: Hole in roof! Boo! Water damage! Boo! Insurance adjustor comes right away! Yay! Contractor comes right away! Yay! Roofers and painters here all day tomorrow! Boo! But all done in one day! Yay!

Got darling son his first pair of contacts today. WHY is it fair for 11 y.o. boy to have 3-foot long eyelashes??

Lovely editor LOVED new ending for Alexios. Yay!

Off to play in Brennan's world for another chapter, since today went down the crazy hole of errands/roofing.

hugs,
Alyssa

ps Please send any healing thoughts and/or prayers to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of my personal heroes. She's facing cancer again. Her work for women's rights paved the way for so many things we take for granted today. She's a tiny woman with an enormous brain and tremendous talent and my thoughts and prayers are with her and her family as she takes on yet another challenge.

I say we call for a boycott

Worst commercial in the Super Bowl HERE.

Never, ever ordering from Teleflora. Ever. Because, REALLY???? No, I mean, REALLY???? Because we live in the 1950s again and women don't order flowers? Women who don't particularly want to be insulted in such a crude, sexist, misogynistic way??? Oh, and wait -- women who read ROMANCE NOVELS???? Screw 'em. Let's boycott the asshats.

Crazy week, back to Brennan

It was a catch-up week here; dogs to vet, son to eye doc, etc. etc. So I'm happily ignoring Mt. Laundry and ensconced in my office with Ghirardelli chocolate peanut butter squares and a fresh mug of coffee so I can dive back into Brennan's story. I've got so much swirling around in my mind on 3 different books that I wish I could write 18 hours a day!! Hope you're all having a lovely weekend. We're planning to watch the Super Bowl, but only for the commercials! LOL. We only care about college football (Go Buckeyes!)
May you have lovely half-time food while rocking out with Bruce.
hugs,
alyssa

New cover!

This is Atlantis Unmasked for July!!

New cover!!

This is the new and improved version of Justice's cover - countdown to June is on!!!

Happy almost weekend!

I'm back into Brennan's book in a big way; the curse he's under is making life very very tricky for him (and for me, not that he cares!) and for his heroine Tiernan! (You'll meet her in Justice's book.) When I was finishing up copyedits for Alexios, the absolutely perfect ending scene came to me and it was so lovely that it made me choke up a little writing it. I hope you love it, too. You'll meet Grace in Justice's book, too, by the way. OH! And for a little teaser, I put the first chapter of Brennan in the end of Alexios! Yay!

I just realized I toss those terms around and it might be helpful if I actually explained, LOL: copyedits are the stage where the manuscript comes back to me with the copyeditor's grammar and punctuation corrections - evidently I have a semicolon problem, who knew? - and continuity issues like "Hey! this character had brown hair in chapter 2, why is it purple in chapter 4?" and it's my last chance to make any substantial changes to the book.

After that, the next thing I'll see are the galleys or page proofs, where the pages are actually typeset so they look like the actual printed pages in the book will look and I'm only allowed to make very minor corrections at that stage, like fixing a typo.

Well, in other news, my darling baby is turning 9 on Sunday (how did that happen??? she was just born!!!) so I'm off to buy ingredients for her cake and maybe a gift or two.

May you all have a lovely lovely weekend.
hugs,
Alyssa

Busy, cold cold day

It's the coldest day of the year here so just drinking hot tea and trying not to go outside for any reason. Finishing copyedits on Alexios so those can go to UPS tonight and have been writing both Brennan and the first urban fantasy simultaneously. I have never written more than one book at once, but the UF won't leave me alone, so I'm still sneaking pages in at night. We'll see how it goes! So far, I'm loving it. I have a title, but need to be sure my editor approves before I can share. Oh! And I have cover art to share. Will try to get that uploaded in the next day or two.

If you're waiting on a mailing from me, I'm sorry but my assistant has been sick so we're behind. I promise to get all those books and totebags mailed out this weekend!!

And the website - I know, it's terrible. Trust me, it's just a placeholder. I've hired a wonderful new designer, but the new site won't launch until probably late April or May 1 at the latest. I'll try to keep loading stuff to this temporary site in the meantime. I have many cool excerpts! Be patient!

Hope you're having a wonderful day and staying warm!
hugs,
Alyssa

random snippets

This one is from ATLANTIS UNLEASHED. If you remember from ATLANTIS AWAKENING, we left poor Justice in a very bad place:

Present day; the Void created by Anubisa, goddess of Chaos and Night

Justice floated in a dark dimension composed entirely of pain, his mind cannibalizing his memories for some sense of himself.

Viscous as a thick, murky potion conjured by a dark sorceress, the pain surrounded him, taunted him, buffeted him and cradled him until he no longer existed other than as a supplicant; a slave; an unwilling participant in a twisted and torturous game.

His consciousness had dwindled down to the barest pinprick of flickering light. He knew his name, knew he was Justice in a vastness of injustice, knew that his sacrifice had saved Others whose names had long been torn from his mind. But nobility was as nothing against the pain; the pain ate nobility, consumed strength, devoured pride. Ate the Body until what was left of the Body burned in acid rebellion against the Mind. The Mind screamed and howled, silent shrieks of protest against an unyielding evil that licked his blood, feasted on his terror and laughed a dark, breathless humor of longing.

But the memories flashed; taunting him with their evanescence. First; a glimpse of the beginning. There was the cavern, and then there was after. After had been when the pain began. Of that, at least, he was sure.

It's an addiction

TV. Love great TV. Shows I'm having great fun with lately:

1. The Mentalist - Simon Baker. Yummy. Plus the writing is smart, funny, and with that hint of danger/madness that always intrigues me.

2. Leverage: Timothy Hutton is superb, but this really is an ensemble show. Just when I think I love Sophie best, Porter the little orphan-turned-thief will do something terrific. And the guys on the show are all funny and smart and sexy. What's not to like??

3. Of course, the old standby, the new season of American Idol. I actually like the new judge; she's a songwriter and makes actual sense when she has comments.

But I have a dirty little secret: I'm giving up most of my TV watching because I'm having so much fun with the books I'm writing that I keep ignoring the TV to write "just one more page." LOL!!

So tell me: what great shows are you watching now? What have you given up on, like I did on Heroes?
oh and P.S. if you're a teacher, I admire the HECK out of you!! Spent the day talking to three different 6th grade classes about being an author and it totally wore me out. How teachers manage to keep all those kids' attention all day long is far, far beyond me!!
hugs,
Alyssa

OK, if vampires ARE alive?

I'm betting they're not doing cheesy line dancing . . .

Video is work safe but definitely not good for your eardrums! Thanks (??) to my darling friend Barb and her 'net surfing addiction for the link.

Giving good things to the universe

I was speaking at my local chapter of Romance Writers of America Saturday (First Coast Romance Writers here in Jacksonville, if you'd like to join us) on a panel and one speaker, the lovely and talented Tracy Montoya, said something that really resonated with me. If someone in the group said something negative about herself, Tracy would advise "giving it back to the universe" -- in other words, don't offer such negativity; don't allow it into your life.

I love this.

So many times during my life, I've fallen in with negative thinking and negative thinkers. Woe is me, life is terrible, this job sucks, my bosses are out to get me. Unfortunately, I tend to be somewhat like a sponge for negative energy, so I soak it up and reflect it back, to the universe, if you will. And though I firmly do *NOT* believe that "bad things happen to bad people" - I worked pro bono for abused and neglected children, enough said -- I do believe that it is possible to view life's events through a prism that can be distorted.

It certainly happens to those of us who have suffered through depression; it's hard to see the light from the bottom of the black pit.

So for 2009 and beyond I'm going to try to find, if not rose-colored glasses, at least those without the shades of black and gray. I'll offer it back to the universe. I hope everybody can join me in this.
hugs,
Alyssa

Guest blogging and more prizes!

I'm at Yankee Romance Reviewers today talking about goals, hopes, and wishes for 2009. Stop by if you have a chance!

WINNERS: My darling daughter picked random numbers, so JILL and ANONYMOUS who says her real name is Alyssa Day (hey! what fun!) are the winners. Please email me at authoralyssaday!aol.com with your mailing info for the book!
hugs,
Alyssa

Don't dis the YA authors

OK, I never do this. I never respond to all the critical and media disparagement of genres in which I write. Romance takes it hard - you can almost never read any article about the romance genre without the outdated and ridiculous term "bodice rippers" coming up. It's outright insult at worst and sloppy journalism at best - like putting a discussion of steam engines in an article about modern physics. But I write romance and women's fiction, and I love writing emotionally satisfying stories about love and a woman's journey and all of the terrifically exciting adventures that can go along with those things.

I've also written a couple of young adult books, just for fun, and they were very light-hearted. But I'm now working on a very intense, lovely, dark and deep love story YA novel that has (of course!) a very paranormal vibe to it. So maybe YA is on my mind, and that's why this hit me so hard. But while eating breakfast today I was glancing through this week's Entertainment Weekly and there's a piece about their predictions for the Oscar noms. Under Best Adapted Screenplay, they have a "For Your Consideration" box that says this:

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist writer Lorene Scarfaria fashioned rounded characters from a young adult novel.

And, you know, this really ticked me off. The implication is glaringly obvious: the screenwriter MUST deserve an Oscar for MANAGING to turn characters from a YOUNG ADULT NOVEL into "rounded characters." WTF??????

Let me tell you, this EW writer hasn't read much in the way of YA novels. I have so many friends writing in the YA field right now, and their books are amazing, thought-provoking, and --surprise! -- their characters are definitely "rounded." Read Caridad Ferrer, or Niki Burnham, or Serena Robar, or Marianne Mancusi, or Simone Elkeles - and her new book, PERFECT CHEMISTRY, is out now and you MUST watch the hilarious rap video parody she did for the book - the music will stick in your mind AND make you want to buy the book AND tell you how to pronounce her last name, LOL.

So, please, media. Get over your outdated prejudices. We romance authors don't write "bodice rippers." We young adult authors DO write wonderfully rich and rounded characters who are experiencing all that life has to offer when you're on that thrilling cusp of adulthood and your future shimmers with endless possibilities.

OK, stepping off soapbox now. It's 2 days till WILD THING's release!! So in the comments tell me your favorite romance or young adult novel you've read recently and I'll randomly select two to win an autographed copy.
hugs,

Alyssa

Happy New Year!!

May 2009 be wonderful for us all!! I UPS'd off the copyedits for Justice (and a batch of yummy cookies) to my lovely editor today for Monday, so am feeling very pleased with myself.

I'll probably start in on revising the very end of Alexios (ATLANTIS UNMASKED) tomorrow, because I'm sick that way and can't help myself.

OH! Did I mention I got cover art for Alexios? I'll post it as soon as I can get a better .jpg file. I'm not quite sure what I think and would appreciate opinions.

Also, Brennan's book is going GREAT!! I'm almost afraid to admit it without knocking on wood - but Brennan (ATLANTIS REDEEMED)is really REALLY fun to write!! You're going to be present in the very first scene waaaay back when Poseidon first cursed Brennan - it's a crazy, wicked curse and cruelly designed to cause the most pain . . . when Brennan can feel pain again, that is!!

I'm in the process of a new website design, so please be patient, but new excerpts are FINALLY going to be posted. Also, DON'T FORGET THAT WILD THING IS OUT TUESDAY!!! Sightings of it are in bookstores already. It's the anthology with Maggie Shayne, Marjorie Liu, and Meljean Brook, and it's Bastien's story with Kat the panther shifter. I love Bastien and I hope you enjoy his book. (This is a reissue for only $7.99 of the larger, $14 version from May, 2007 so if you bought that one don't pay for it again!)

Finally, in news that I'm not crazy about yet, they picked a new Doctor Who. Not only will I miss the wonderful and amazing David Tennant, but this guy? he's sort of all hair. Weird hair. Sigh. But maybe with a haircut . . .

The kids go back to school Monday!! Boo! But Yay! More time to write! Happy New Year, everyone - 2009 is going to be WONDERFUL!!
XOXO,
Alyssa

Merry Christmas & happy holidays!

May your holidays be filled with love and joy.
hugs,
Alyssa

A fascination with clutter

My guilty little secret lately is that I am addicted to the show Clean House. Niecy Nash, the host, is hilarious, but my real fascination with the show is that they go around the country finding people with the most cluttered houses and organize them. I have some sort of weird fascination in seeing just how horrible the clutter can actually be in people's homes.

But it's not nearly as simple as the clutter itself. The problem is that nobody lives in a house so overflowing with junk that they can't walk around, unless there are some emotional or psychological issues involved. So getting Joe Smith to give up his collection of 5000 Beanie Babies or Jane Jones to part with her 6200ceramic bunnies can be a problem.

I'm the anti-pack-rat - I hate clutter with a horrible passion and sweep for it on a regular basis, boxing off anything not nailed down to charity. If it doesn't fit or we don't use it, why have it collecting dust or sitting in cardboard boxes in the house or garage?

Of course, I'm married to a man with a teensy bit of pack-rat in him - he tried a couple of years ago to get me to let him keep his dot-matrix printer by offering to let me print drafts of my books on it.

My 500 page books.

This would take a week and a half. Not to mention how much my poor editor would have appreciated the eyestrain . . .

If I ever decide to quit writing, I'm going to become a professional organizer. In fact, perhaps I should audition for Clean House. I'm pretty blunt, so I could be the Simon Cowell of the show - "Are you OUT OF YOUR FREAKING MIND??? Why would you POSSIBLY want to keep THAT??"

On second thought, maybe I should keep my day job.

Holding out for a hero!!

I'm guest blogging at Romancing the Blog today about heroes and why we love them! Please stop by and say hi!
hugs,
Alyssa

Well, it has been a wild and crazy ride

I never did log back into the NanoWrimo after the first week's horrific computer/server problems, but I think I did okay:



Tired now. Editing madly till I turn it in 12/3 . . .

A day to be thankful

Dear readers,

If you're in the U.S. and rushing around baking pie and roasting turkey, or if you're somewhere else around the world and today is just a regular Thursday, please take a moment to know I'm sending you my very best wishes for a wonderful day.

This year has been rough and today when I sit down with my family for the annual feast, when we hold hands around the table and share what we're most thankful for, all of you will hold a very special place on my list. I am thankful for your kindness and caring and for your generosity in making my books a small part of your life.

May the holidays bring you much love and joy and many, many delicious kinds of pie!
hugs,
Alyssa

2009 is the Year of the Warriors of Poseidon!!!!

The great news is that there will be a wealth of Warriors in 2009!! Here's the projected schedule:

January 6, 2009: WILD THING - Bastien's novella in this anthology - will be reissued in mass market paperback at the $7.99 price point for all of those who hate paying $14 for trade.

April 13, 2009: THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF PARANORMAL ROMANCE – The U.S. release of the British book by the same name – 24 of paranormal romance’s hottest authors! Alyssa’s short story introduces Rhys na Garanwyn, High Prince, High House Seelie Court. He was so sizzlingly hot that Alyssa just HAD to bring him into the Atlantis world!

June 2, 2009: ATLANTIS UNLEASHED - Justice's long-awaited story. It's much longer than the others (turned it in at 500 manuscript pages) and much darker and more emotional. I hope you love it as much as I do. I so wanted Justice to have his happy ending.

July 7, 2009 - the very month after Justice's book: ATLANTIS UNMASKED - Alexios meets Grace and his life is never going to be the same. The Fae also enter the fight in the form of the deliciously hot Rhys na Garanwyn, High Prince, High House Seelie Court. New battle lines will be drawn!

October 6, 2009: ATLANTIS REDEEMED, Brennan's book. He met his heroine Tiernan in Justice's book and oh, holy Poseidon was it an explosion! Plus there is that small problem that he can't remember her the minute she's out of his sight . . . Wow. This one is going to be tough to write my way out of . . . but Brennan deserves the best.

So there you have it. Only a few short weeks until WILD THING hits bookstores everywhere and then 2009 belongs to the Warriors of Poseidon!! Thank you so, so much for your kindness in trying my books and for your patience. I am truly blessed.

hugs, Alyssa

Argh! Why am I always right about this stuff??

I kept saying, "Chuck, don't kiss her! She's a bad guy!" "Don't kiss her; she's Fulcrum!"

But did he listen??? NOOO!!

Argh.

In other news, please PLEASE don't pay any attention to the mock cover posted at amazon for the MAMMOTH BOOK OF PARANORMAL ROMANCE. That was just an art draft mockup and the artist didn't know which authors were in the book so put random names on the front to show placement. The cover in my blog is correct in terms of author names. Thanks!
hugs,
Alyssa

yay!! NEW COVER EXCITEMENT!!

I've got a short story in this book - it's a British publisher and the U.S. release will be in April. Love, love, LOVE the cover - the moons and wolves are gorgeous. What do you think?

Oh, big sadness - and big fun!!

David Tennant will no longer be Dr. Who!!! Lovely, lovely David Tennant. He's SO MUCH FUN in that role.

In the big fun news, my dear friend Elissa Wilds has just released her debut book - and it's FANTASTIC!!! Rush over to her website or to your newest bookstore and pick up BETWEEN LIGHT AND DARK today!

hugs,
Alyssa, deep deep in the book

It's finally here!!!! Everybody vote!!!

And, because nobody believes me when I describe it:

Gave up on "official" NanoWrimo

The website is so slow as to be nonexistent. Who has that kind of time? But the idea is still fun and giving me an energy charge - so I'm still in the game on my own. Wrote an entire chapter today and boy did things take a wild left turn!! Who knew that a Fae high prince I "discovered" in a short story would pop up in Atlantis? Can't keep a good Fae down . . . And whew! He's seriously hot. Wow. I mean -- oh, sorry. I'm back now. LOL. Oh, and for anyone who wondered, 50,000 words is roughly half a book for me. Atlantis Unleashed clocked in at 104,000. So that's a pretty smoking month! Happy November, by the way!

So it's November

Trick or treating was way nicer with friends and a nice thermal mug secretly filled with Shiraz . . .

Soccer at 8 a.m. was WAY nicer with a hooded jacket and a nice thermal mug containing about half a pot of coffee . . .

And now I'm Nano-ing. Which is not some obscure Mork and Mindy reference (yay, syndicated TV) but means I've decided to join in the craziness that is National write-a-novel-in-a-month. If the website ever loads, I'll even post wordcount, etc. There's something wonderfully satisfying about knowing that more than one hundred thousand people across the country and even around the world are all working together to meet the 50,000 words at the end of the month goal.

For me, thermal mugs are evidently a good thing:
I'm here!

This is your brain. This is your brain on deadline.

Yes, I hit a new all-time low. I got out of the car at the soccer field to pick up my son and looked down at my feet:



Then I got back IN the car and drove 'round to pick him up, remaining in the car. Poor kid is already going to need therapy, having a writer for a mother . . .

Navy Guy made me deadline brownies

Yesterday was a bad, bad day. Bad. Darling husband came home and provided big hugs and homemade brownies. With walnuts. Lucky, lucky Alyssa.



Also, there was a pug bath, because how can you be sad with this for entertainment??



Please everybody share your de-stress tips with me!! Thanks!!
hugs,
Alyssa

Cold snap!!

35 degrees overnight!! In Florida!! I pulled out the LL Bean jackets for the kids. I *love* it - it's great writing weather. Anybody actually seeing snow yet?? My daughter has never seen snow (that she remembers). I need to travel to snow this winter!!
hugs,
alyssa, back to the book! Yay!!

Goodbye to email

I had to pull the plug around noon; finishing the book!! Wish me luck and send Alexios and Grace "happily ever after" vibes.
hugs,
Alyssa

August 26, 1920

All of our daughters should know this date. It's the date the Nineteenth Amendment was signed into law, giving women in this country the right to vote. Only 88 years -- only 88 years of having a voice -- of claiming for ourselves the right to representation upon which this country was founded.

The prevailing argument against giving women the right to vote was that we "didn't want to be bothered with unwomanly things." I absolutely LOVE the response one suffragist of the time had to this. In 1915, writer Alice Duer Miller wrote:

Why We Don't Want Men to Vote

* Because man's place is in the army.

* Because no really manly man wants to settle any question otherwise than by fighting about it.

* Because if men should adopt peaceable methods women will no longer look up to them.

* Because men will lose their charm if they step out of their natural sphere and interest themselves in other matters than feats of arms, uniforms, and drums.

* Because men are too emotional to vote. Their conduct at baseball games and political conventions shows this, while their innate tendency to appeal to force renders them unfit for government.

Today I took my daughter AND my son to vote with me (Florida has an early voting provision). I wanted them to see democracy in action. I wanted them to be part of the first election in our nation's history that has a black man and a woman on the presidential and vice-presidential ballot.

No matter what your politics, please vote. And remember those women, 88 years ago, who fought so hard to give us this amazing right.
hugs,
Alyssa

Gone to the dogs

So Sunday afternoon we had a call from the lovely Retha Puvogel (her name is an anagram for Heart Pug Love, in those truth stranger than fiction moments), who is the coordinator for the Orlando Pug Rescue. She was on her way up here to Jax Beach for a pet rescue fundraiser at Paws Park - could we stop by?

I seriously needed a break from the deadline, so we loaded up the entire family and headed for the park. Precious and Buckeye, our two rescues, clearly were excited:


It was our dogs' first time in an off-leash park and I was worried that they would be intimidated (or worse, aggressive to the smaller dogs, since my four run in a pack) or that I'd be chasing after them like crazy when it was time to come home. Imagine my surprise and delight when it all went wonderfully!! They absolutely loved it. Had a blast, played chase with other dogs, got mad attention from other humans, but stayed in a loose orbit around me at all times. One whistle and (mostly, Buckeye had some roaming to do, I admit) they'd be back at our side.

It was fabulous and raised money for all the rescue and dog-related groups out there. I'm dying, of course, to write something about a "tail wagging good time" but in our case, it was more about the tongues:


If you're in the market for a new pet, dog, cat, ferret, or whatever, please check out PetFinder. Or if you have a few dollars to spare in this tough time, please help out your local rescue group or humane society. The economic crunch is really hitting them all hard.
hugs,
Alyssa

Happy weekend!

I'm fighting another giant headache but managed to have lunch with a friend and stop by the bookstore. Picked up Julia Quinn's MR. CAVENDISH, I PRESUME - even if you're not a historical romance fan, read Julie. Her dialogue is wonderful - it sparkles right off the page. And she is one of the nicest people on the planet, so it's just a feel good purchase all the way around. Found John Irving's UNTIL I FIND YOU on the remainder table for $7 instead of the $15 that the paperback version cost, so I bought the heavy hard cover version and splurged for another pumpkin spice latte with the difference. Also the dog whisperer's newest - with 4 dogs it can't hurt to learn all that I can learn about keeping my furry herd in line. (Saw him on BONES and was fascinated.)

My lovely editor cover conferenced ATLANTIS UNMASKED yesterday; I can't wait to see the art they come up with for him. I'll share as soon as I see it.

Oh, and let's see how this works:



Happy weekend!!
hugs,
Alyssa

The hidden universe of characters

Because WILD THING is being reissued in mass market paperback in January (I'd better check on that, actually; Berkley sometimes switches around release dates on reissues and doesn't tell us) and I get a chance to read Bastien's story again and see if there were any "oopsies!" in the printed copy that I wish I could have changed then. Actually there was one oops in that I mentioned the Atlantean ability to change eye color like a mood ring but didn't actually mention it - ok, Bastien's eyes were two different colors in the space of a couple of different pages because of what he was dealing with and there it was. Nobody ever wrote to me about it, like "hey, loser, your MAIN CHARACTER changed EYE colors!! Don't you have an EDITOR?" or something like that, but I would have been prepared, because I knew why he changed eye colors but I just didn't bother to tell my READERS.

This is the tip of the iceberg (heh, icebergs, oceans, Atlantis, I crack myself up in a very first grade sort of way today, maybe because I'm on a caffeine overload since Starbucks brought my beloved pumpkin spice lattes back out, so forgive me the stream of consciousness) when it comes to the actual universe a character lives in and the author knows ALL ABOUT but doesn't have room to tell you in the book.

Why not? You cry! We want, no, need, no, DESERVE to know this stuff!! Well, the answer is simple. It would be a backstory dump of leviathan proportions and it would bore you silly and it would make for 7000 page books.

So there are going to be tons of things an author knows about the universe of her characters that will be revealed gradually or maybe never revealed at all but will be part of the rich tapestry of life experiences that have grown that character into the self he or she is in the book.

The problem is in the balance - and this is often true of life, too, which sadly took me about 30 years to figure out, but that's a very long story and one that probably needs a prologue from a practicing psychiatrist or at least a witch doctor -- and when the balance is good, or even great, you're going to care enough about the characters to give a serious damn what they do in life and where they go and if they end up happy or get their comeuppance or whatever you feel they deserved. Because you've INVESTED in those people, and you DESERVE TO KNOW.

I didn't get this at first. I got it as a reader; I really did. There were plenty of characters that I'd wonder what they were up to now. But when I wrote my very first novel and people would come up to me at booksignings and ask "What are Jules and Sam doing these days?" I would be taken aback and think thoughts like "if only I had a red hotline to Imaginary Character Land I could tell you . . ."

Because I'd created them and then I'd been done with them, I'd forgotten that they lived on in the minds of those who'd invested in their lives during the course of reading my book. This, let me tell you, let me shout from the rooftops, THIS is an amazing gift that readers give authors. For a reader to invest that kind of emotional energy in a character I'd created -- it's humbling and validating and totally blows me away with joy and gratitude. But the first few times I didn't expect it. Authors were the *other* people.

Oh, yeah. Now, me, too.

So sometimes I can tell you a lot about characters that you'll never read in the books, if you're really interested. Sometimes I DO know the answer to the question you're dying to know, but I can't or won't share because it will ruin an upcoming plot twist if I give away the surprise. For example, when I discovered the big secret about the Atlantean priesthood that you're going to find out in ATLANTIS UNLEASHED, I nearly fell out of my chair. (Alaric is freaking out, let me tell you, and he's not much of a freak-outer.)

So, anyway, back to the page proofs, then on to the prep for copyedits for Unleashed. My short story for THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF PARANORMAL ROMANCE is done and edited (had to change "drawers" to "trousers" which tickled me). Then back to new pages on Alexios's book. He's quieter than some of the others in the Seven, so it's interesting to peel back the layers in his character universe until I can see him for who he really is instead of the scarred face he presents to the world.

Oh, and I PROMISE to put the first couple of chapters of Justice's book up on the website by next week. Sheesh. It's October, already. Hmmm, I think I'm going to need more of that pumpkin spice latte . . .

The other Atlantis

preparing for launch October 10. I'm going to try to go down and see it.
Here's the story - first time since 2001 there've been two shuttles on launch pads at the same time.

It's Tina Fey's world and the rest of us just live here

Have always loved her and I was thrilled to see her have a glory night last night. (Never forget - First female head writer of SNL!! And since she's gone, it's back to utterly un-funny, but maybe that's just me . . .) And she had the luck to receive one of her Emmys from the lovely David Boreanaz from one of my favorite shows, Bones.

And Christina Hendricks has that Sophia Loren look going on and was utterly glamorous and gorgeous in that green. seriously, I want that dress!! Plus it cemented my desire to be a redhead again.



Did you watch the Emmys? What were your favorite moments and/or gowns? I have to admit the opening was totally awful for me - people who have months to prepare for something and go with the "I have nothing prepared" always annoy me, though. It seems disrespectful to the audience, somehow. I know they were going for funny but it so wasn't.

Rainy here today and a great day to figure out why this chapter isn't working and fix it and move on. Alexios is trying to tell me something - I just don't quite know what, yet. I should get cover art for ATLANTIS UNMASKED soon, so I'll be sure to share.
hugs and happy Monday!
Alyssa

Talk Like a Pirate Day and scary 80s hair

I've been working on Alexios's book, ATLANTIS UNMASKED, and trying to talk him off the ledge (Grace is driving him nuts). These alpha males get flustered easily when their hearts start to become involved . . .

It's TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY so of course I'm driving my kids nuts. (Hey, "nuts" is a theme here). My husband Navy Guy has to do a big inspection at work and I offered him 10 bucks to talk like a pirate while he did it. I'm guessing he didn't . . .

Some friends of mine and I were trading scary '80s hair pictures and this one from high school (those are my baby brothers) made me cringe. The fluffiness, it is scary. OTOH, I'm kind of thinking about going back to this (my actual) hair color? Thoughts? The only downside is that I wouldn't be able to blame my flake-out moments on my blondeness . . .



Have any pirate stories or scary 80s hair you'd like to share?
hugs,
Alyssa, who promises to start blogging more regularly

Random Musings

Random Musings because it's just that kind of day - brain is not on track for anything cohesive.

* We're stuck indoors while fierce rain and winds lash down and everybody has cabin fever. I've been reading some books I'm judging for a contest and working on a short story for THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF PARANORMAL ROMANCE that will be coming out with a British publisher (but here in the U.S. too) sometime next summer. It's a satirical take on The Princess and the Pea (all of those shallow princes who fell in love on looks alone always drove me nuts; what if Rapunzel's glorious hair hid the personality of a troll? Who the heck CARED if a princesss could feel a pea under mattresses?). Anyway, mine involves a spoiled princess, a cranky serving wench, and a very surprised elven prince. I'll post a little bit later after I've played with it some more.

* I'm roasting a turkey just because. Love turkey. Love to make turkey veggie soup the next day. Love turkey sandwiches.

* Did I mention the rain? And the first day of school canceled till Monday? And cranky bored kids?

* Michael Phelps eats 12,000 calories a day. I'm taking up swimming. Now. On NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me show, at the end where the panelists make predictions, Peter asked what Phelps would do next. One of the predictions was "go back to his day job as Mayor of Atlantis" and I laughed so hard I nearly snorted Diet Coke on my keyboard. (In a strange coincidence, Alexios's heroine is a former Olympic contender in swimming.)

*Finally, last but certainly not least, I have been overwhelmed by all the gracious posts and private emails from all of you about the delay in the books and my health. I feel so grateful and humbled that you have all been so kind to me. Thank you with all my heart.

hugs, Alyssa - off to carve a turkey :)

Good news and bad news . . .

VERY IMPORTANT: Okay, the Bad News first.

With many apologies, I have to report that ATLANTIS UNLEASHED will not be released in August as previously reported, but it has been moved to June ’09. I was very, very ill the first half of this year and everything had to be pushed back. I am really sorry that the announcement of the delay didn’t get made sooner; with everything going on, updating websites was far down my priority list. Please accept my sincerest apologies for not letting everyone know about the delay – and that it’s so long – much sooner. Sometimes life and health issues just get in the way, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate you all for hanging in there with me. You are amazingly kind and generous - all of the emails and messages have truly lifted my spirits when things were difficult. Thank you so much.

To help make up for this delay, I’ll be posting free short stories, excerpts and deleted scenes on the website over the next several months until WILD THING is reissued in mass market paperback form in January, and then during the January until June timeframe. Thank you for trying my books and for hanging in there with me when life and health had to come before writing.

The Good News - No, Great News - is that we're going to have a gracious plenty (as my Southern friends say) of Warriors next year. Here's the projected schedule:

January, '09: WILD THING - Bastien's novella in this anthology - will be reissued in mass market paperback at the $7.99 price point for all of those who hate paying $14 for trade.

June, '09: ATLANTIS UNLEASHED - Justice's long-awaited story. Both my editor and my agent said it's the best story in the series yet. It's much much longer than the others (turned it in at 500 manuscript pages) and much darker and more emotional. I hope you love it as much as I do. I so wanted Justice to have his happy ending.

July, '09 - the very month after Justice's book: ATLANTIS UNMASKED - Alexios meets Grace and his life is never going to be the same. I'll have some deleted scenes up soon where you'll meet Grace and see why he's drawn to her.

"Fall" '09 - exact date to come: ATLANTIS REDEEMED, Brennan's book. He met his heroine in Justice's book and oh boy was it an explosion. Plus there is that small problem that he can't remember her the minute she's out of his sight . . . Wow. This one is going to be tough to write my way out of . . . but Brennan deserves the best.

So there you have it. The bad news and the good news. Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in letting everyone know and thank you so, so much for your kindness in trying my books and for caring about what happens to my Warriors. I am truly blessed to be able to write my stories and I am grateful and humbled that you enjoy them.

hugs, Alyssa
ps There will be excerpts and extras and short stories posted soon on the website - stay tuned!

Pics!!

Me and dear friend Marianne Mancusi at Sambuca's family style Italian restaurant - home of the bowling ball sized meatballs!!


The whole gang: Marianne and me and Cindy Holby and Barb Ferrer and Liz Maverick. We had a blast!! and then ice cream. oops!


Central Park view at dusk - gorgeous!


Me, Barb, and Best (Assistant) Editor in the World, Leis Pederson at Ellen's


Outside of Ellen's - surprisingly not too long of a wait to get in pre-theater, but I do try to schedule my theater going for Tuesdays and Wednesdays and avoid the weekend crush Loved it, loved it, loved it!!!

hugs,
Alyssa, who will have more later

POOR UNFORTUNATE SOULS . . .

Yes, I'm still singing sea with Ursula's song from The Little Mermaid on Broadway (go here for a wonderful snippet if you have time; it has music) last night. (Ursula was played by Meredith Inglesby and she ROCKED THE HOUSE!!!!) Why do I always love the villains best?? Hmm, maybe something to ponder later . . .

The funniest part was when Sebastian made a reference to "Grandpappy Poseidon" and we cracked up!! I was with a very good friend who knows my books and Best (Assistant) Editor in the World, so they laughed so hard and tried to convince me to use the line in my books!! Can't you just see Ven saying something like that when Riley has her baby???

We had dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner before the theater and it was amazing! All of the wait staff are aspiring singers and dancers and actors, so they sang all through dinner - some of them will be on Broadway very soon, if the level of voice talent is any indicator!! The girls had an amazing time.

And, best of all, I'll post more pictures in a few minutes!
hugs,
Alyssa

 

 

Start spreading the news . . .

New York!!! My favorite city in the entire world!!! I'm here for an entire week and having a blast. We have an amazing apartment (see above for view from my window) and the week is jam-packed with fun, sights-seeing, shopping, museums, spending time with Best Editor in the World, and going to shows. Tonight is Little Mermaid on Broadway. Okay, must run but enjoy the pics!! I'll try to post more daily.
hugs,
Alyssa

Happy Summer!!

Happy Summer!!!!


Wow! It's been a while since I checked in - crazy crazy times here. But it's finally summer, my darling son graduated from elementary school (how did that happen?? he was just born!!) and no more homework, projects, or early morning alarms! yay!!

How are you all doing? Any fun summer trips?

We are going to a Disney family vacation this week. We're staying at the Wilderness Lodge and doing the whole crazy park-hopping thing. I'm not really theme park girl, but it seems like it would be impossible to have a bad time at Disney. LOL. After that, I'm off to NYC for a week mid July to meet with editors and agents and take my daughter the diva to Broadway camp.

Then of course it's San Francisco the end of July for RWA national. I hope any northern Californians can come out and meet me!

Just had some amazing news!! The More than Magic contest of Romance Writers Ink announced their winners - and ATLANTIS RISING took first place in paranormal! But wait, there's more - ATLANTIS AWAKENING took second place!! But wait, there's more! LOL. This is the most exciting - ATLANTIS RISING is the grand prize winner of all the categories!! I was so honored and thrilled and surprised!! (You can see the full list here - there are so many very talented writers on that list; I'm very proud to be part of it.)

In news you really want to hear, I should finally know the new release date for ATLANTIS UNLEASHED within the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned!!!

Okay, more later. I'm off to watch the Tonys. But I promise not to fall out of touch again!!
hugs,
Alyssa
ps If you've been waiting on a mailing, they're all finally going out this week, we promise!

Friday free throws

1. Go see PRINCE CASPIAN. Even if you don't have kids. Loved it! I so wish I could have dinner with C.S. Lewis.

2. My dear friend Karen Rose's first hardcover novel just came out and it's brilliant! If you love romantic suspense or even straight thrillers, this book is for you. James Patterson even gave her a cover quote. Check out SCREAM FOR ME now!

3. I'm still at Romance Divas all weekend talking about mythology in writing - pop over and read the posts - fascinating stuff happening.

4. I just wrote a post over there, in fact, that made me realize a basic truth about my dark and twisty mind: I think my subconscious hangs out in bars with Stephen King's subconscious and they shoot tequila together.

Seriously.

5. Remember the Boy Scout Rescue Mission? Found out today that my darling son's class had to write an essay and do a multimedia project on "My Hero" this week - and he wrote about me and did a movie!! I'll see if he can figure out how to load the movie here; it's pretty cool. (And yes, that was the sound of me getting all choked up.)

Happy weekend!
hugs,
Alyssa

Guest blogging!

Come visit me over at Romance Divas with other fabulous authors as we talk about myth in paranormal romance!



Everything Old Is New Again – Using Mythology in Romance

May 16, 17, and 18 at Romance Divas


Featuring:

P.C. Cast

Robin D. Owens

Gena Showalter

Lori Handeland

Alyssa Day


Want to know how to use mythology, culture, fairy tales, or folklore in romance? Romance Divas is hosting a 3-day workshop with some of the hottest names in the genre. It will take place at the Romance Diva Forum. All are welcome. To get access to the forum you will need to register.

Guest blogging!

If you're an aspiring writer, stop by and see me at Romance Vagabonds today. I'm talking about supbplots!
hugs,
Alyssa

Bid on signed books!!

Okay, it's an auction, so you're actually bidding, but author Brenda Novak
has a huge annual fundraiser to raise money to fight juvenile diabetes and you
can bid on a full set of mine HERE!

There are many many more things to bid on, including an African safari!
hugs,
Alyssa

The Great Mommy/Boy Scout Rescue Mission of 2008

And you all thought an author's life was glamorous . . .

So my darling son went away Saturday morning for his first sleepover camp away from home. He's still a couple of weeks shy of his 11th birthday, and I spent most of Friday night hyperventilating. Because:

1. First sleepover camp
2. First camping trip without a parent, just the Scout masters
3. They held it in the Florida Keys. Which is a very very very long way from Jacksonville. (440 miles, to be exact, but more on that later)

Finally, Saturday morning, I decided to let him go. After all, I'm very adventurous. My husband is very adventurous. I didn't want to crush Connor's sense of adventure at such an early age because Mommy was worried.

Right?

Wrong.

After more than 10 hours in the van, they finally arrived Saturday night and set up camp. In the swamp. Seriously. Long Key State Park smells like a swamp or a sewage treatment plant. I'm sorry if you're from Long Key, but even driving up to it I could smell the stench through my closed windows. (Driving. Up. To. It. Yes. I'll get to that . . . )

We got a call at breakfast Sunday, things were good. Much camping activity planned. No call Sunday night, but okay, scouting things. Independence. Mommy tries not to worry.

Monday morning the phone rang. It was the scout master. Heart leaps in throat. What's wrong?

Connor is in bad shape. Because the SWAMP they picked to camp in is -- wait for it . . . this is a shocker if you know anything about Florida or swamps . . . A MOSQUITO NESTING GROUND.

The poor kids have been SWARMED. Connor has my blood chemistry, which means that he, too, is very attractive to all manner of stinging insects, and he reacts badly to them. The scout master says, We're all bitten pretty badly, but poor Connor is the worst. The other scout master is on the way to the store for FIVE MORE CANS OF BUG SPRAY.

FIVE.

Connor wants to come home. Also he has a bad scratch right next to one eye.

Okay. I say, reasonably, I think, Are you all coming home early since you're being dive-bombed with mosquitos?

No.

Okay. I say, I'm on my way. Less than an hour later, Tom Tom programmed, daughter ensconced at the home of a very wonderful friend, I'm in the car heading south. Driving south.

Driving. South.

For Four Hundred and Forty miles. South.

Arrive at camp site amidst stench 7 1/2 hours later and bugs start to dive bomb me. Walk through group of very depressed-looking kids, all scratching their bug-bite covered limbs, to find mine. He's in the tent packing up. Say, Connor come out here.

Child is a mass of welts from head to toe. Literally. Swollen up so badly behind his ear, his ear is pushed out from his head. Neck covered, Arms and legs covered. Every available inch of space covered. He's trying to roll up his sleeping bag, I say, forget that, just throw it all in the trunk. We make the mad dash out just before all blood is sucked out of my body by kamikaze mosquitos.

Head 30 miles back up the road, trying desperately to keep poor kid from scratching himself raw. Stop at lovely Key Largo Holiday Inn resort and put child in shower. He comes out and sits in only his shorts on bed while I slather him with half a tube of cortisone cream. EVERYWHERE is covered with bites. They got in his clothes. Bites even in his armpits. Between his toes. Gave him Benadryl, I take shower to wash 440 miles of road off. We head for dinner, he eats like starved thing. Other boys ate faster so he never got seconds.

Back to room, collapse in exhaustion. Wake up Tuesday and drive the 410 remaining miles home.

Wait, are we getting to the glamorous part yet? Oh, no. Hmm. Maybe where I washed 8 loads of laundry yesterday, with all camping clothes, gear, and sleeping bag wet and sandy from beach . . .

But he did tell me he helped clean up a turtle nesting ground Sunday and he was proud of that. (The welts and bruising are healing now.)

We got matching t-shirts and are calling this The Great Mommy/Boy Scout Rescue Mission of 2008. Because you have to laugh about this stuff. And who wouldn't drive 900 miles in 2 days to rescue her kid? It's in the Mommy contract.

But from now on? No camping trips further than 150 miles. Seriously.
hugs,
Alyssa, trying to survive the final 4 days of spring break

The happiness of THE END

random stream of consciousness; done the end done red bull done coffee the end diet coke must go to dentist now will snore in chair is that bad?

ok after nap I'll take a look at final clean up; goal is to get this baby to editor by the 21st. Happy happy happy done

Oh, and just filed taxes too so life is happy now. House? Hmm. tornado seems to have hit, indoors, sometime during last month or so . . .

sigh.

for some reason I want to take a nap

Could it be the sleepover Princess had last night, where the girls were up, giggling, till midnight? Or could it be some sort of subconscious puggy mind control, because I walked through the family room on my way to find caffeine, and had to pass this:

Fun news!!

Just heard through the grapevine that my good friends Catherine Kean and CL Wilson won in the historical and paranormal categories of the prestigious Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence contest!!

Catherine writes lovely, richly nuanced historical romance that really pull you into her world. And CL spent FIVE YEARS writing the first two books in her series - you better believe they are amazing!!!

Cheers to both of them!!
hugs,
Alyssa

T-5 . . . continued

Received a lovely note from a reviewer today. She said that she read on my blog that I was going through a rough patch with
revisions, and then she wrote:

"I finished reading the Anthology Shifter yesterday and thought I would
share my review ( I'm a reviewer for a Dutch website on English
(romance) books) of Shifter's Lady with you, just to let you know what
an amazing writer you are and how much we love what you do. We hope
you'll hang in there also on these bad days."

What a thoughtful thing to do - I have to tell you that notes like this and the posts you all make on my blog, and all the emails are so encouraging when life is getting in the way of the writing. I'm back at it today, after yesterday's sinus migraine and "Family Fun" aka "Stand around in the heat and spend $40 on raffle tickets to win nothing but at least we're raising money for the school" Day.

Life is good. I'm very lucky. Hope you're all having great weekends!
hugs,
Alyssa

T-5

Bad day. Brain melting. Child still sick. Will try T-5 again tomorrow.

T minus 6, and chapter 1 changes again

for the 4000th time, but who's counting????? argh.

ATLANTIS UNLEASHED, copyright Alesia Holliday/Alyssa Day

Four months ago: A cave deep underneath Mt. Rainier, Cascade Range, Washington, United States

Justice took inventory of his condition, his weapons, and his chances, as he’d done so many times before in his centuries as a warrior and came up with:

1) bad,

2) worse, and

3) odds-on favorite to be a dead man in the next five minutes.

Condition, physical: Currently lying flat on his belly with his face smashed down on the side of a wet and soon to be seriously enraged tiger. Peacock-sized egg on the back of his head from rough handling by the vamp and wolf shifters who’d carried him down the long tunnel from the surface. Possible cracked rib or two. The ketamine they’d darted him with was mostly worn off, due to the nature of the Atlantean immune system, but he wouldn’t bet any gemstones on his ability to transform into mist.

Condition, mental: Fury bordering on homicidal rage. In other words, standard operating procedure. Ha. SOP. Poseidon picked his warriors carefully, or so he’d always heard.

The sea god must have been multi-tasking the day he decided to add Justice’s name to the list.

Weapons: None. The sword he’d worn for hundreds of years--indeed since the king of Atlantis had given it to him with not a single word of explanation but only a look steeped in contempt—gone. The slightly less-dumb of the two shape-shifters standing guard over Justice and his furry friend Jack stood off toward the mouth of the cave, fondling Justice’s sword like he couldn’t believe his luck.

The shifter wouldn’t have his sword for long. That was a vow.

Justice would have smiled if he wouldn’t have ended up with a mouthful of wet tiger fur.

They’d taken his daggers, too. The better to kill them with.

The drugs were probably still interfering with his access to Atlantean water and energy powers, too. He’d assume he was powerless; didn’t want to rely on the unreliable when he was otherwise weaponless against two wolves and a tiger.

Chances: He’d bet his Atlantean powers against most shape-shifters, even in close quarters like this, but five hundred pounds of tiger? Even one who was sort of a friend when he walked on two legs and called himself Jack?

He’d have to call it even odds. And that was before he ever got to the two wolves.

But Justice knew one critical fact: he’d rather spend eternity roasting in the lowest of the nine hells than spend one more minute with his face pressed into the side of a wet tiger.

T-7

Okay, I'm doing the 7 day countdown to turning in the revised version of ATLANTIS UNLEASHED by the 15th. Suffer along with me (and my friend Barbara Ferrer is doing the same). My brilliant and long-suffering editor has suffered long enough waiting for this book. Everybody please send me "Brain not-melting" vibes and cyber chocolate, okay?

In more fun news, here's an interview with Kendra Leigh Castle, author of CALL OF THE HIGHLAND MOON, out now!!

Alyssa: Tell us about your world and why it called to you:

Kendra: Big sexy men in kilts, magic and mist...um, does Scotland NOT call to anybody? Okay, so maybe that's just my own fixation at work (Seriously, though! Hot guys in kilts!). But I've always loved romances where the Highlands were involved. Well, Highlanders, to be more specific. And anything supernatural pulls me right in, always has. So I developed the idea of a remote estate in the Western Highlands of Scotland where the actual Stone of Destiny (not the one currently on display in Edinburgh) is guarded by a pack of werwolves whose origins are shrouded in mystery. Civilized by a saint and assimilated into the Clan MacInnes a thousand years ago, the MacInnes Wolves roam the part of my world that I like best: the magical part that bumps right against the everyday reality we all live in. I've always wanted to cross that border and see what was there...so I took a peek, and there was Gideon MacInnes, tapping his foot impatiently and refusing, in his delicious Scottish brogue, to wear a kilt. I feel that the butt-hugging jeans were a fair compromise.

Alyssa: Why will readers fall in love with your hero?

Kendra: Gideon is my favorite type of hero: strong, stubborn, smart, loyal, and charmingly imperfect. I just loved the idea of this big, handsome Highlander who's always been the "good son," who always welcomed having responsibility heaped on him, trying to cut loose just once and having his well-ordered universe come down around his ears. He might be a big, tough werewolf, but Gideon has a good, honest heart, and I hope that's what readers love about him.

Alyssa: Why will readers identify with your heroine?

Kendra: Smart, funny, and self-deprecating, Carly Silver has a strong attachment to her home and family, who she loves even though they make her crazy. She's driven and ambitious when it comes to making her business, a romance-centric bookshop called Bodice Rippers and Baubles, a success, and is really pretty happy with her life. Except for the part where she's way more successful with animals than with men, that is. She has no idea how beautiful she is, which is one of the reasons it was so much fun to land a real live hero straight out of fantasy on her doorstep to tell her. Carly is someone I would be glad to have as a friend, and I'm hoping that my readers feel the same way!

Alyssa: What has been the most surprising thing to you about becoming a published author?

Kendra: I guess I'm still learning to deal with the fact that this isn't just me plugging away at a story on my laptop anymore...it's an actual business! I'm not just writing a book...now I'm also fielding revisions, edits, publicity, etc., on top of the book writing, and trying to balance all of that with my day-to-day "mom stuff" that goes along with having three young kids. It's a step learning curve, but I wouldn't trade it. And I even almost actually wrote something in my day planner the other day. Sanity through better time management: I'm getting there.

Alyssa: What's next on the horizon?

Kendra: The sequel to Call of the Highland Moon, called Dark Highland Fire, will be out in October, and I'm currently working on story that comes after that one. The werewolves and some of their otherworldly counterparts are keeping me very busy!

Alyssa: How can readers learn more?

Kendra: You can visit me at my website. I also blog twice a week at Wickedly Romantic.

Alyssa: Just for fun, what is your favorite movie that you've seen lately?

Kendra: Oh, tough one! I don't get to the movies nearly as much as I'd like. The last thing I saw at the theater that I really loved was Enchanted. I'm always up for a fractured fairy tale, and I think Disney did a great job poking gentle fun at their oh-so-perfect cartoon princesses by moving one into modern day New York City. And then giving her Patrick Dempsey (*drool*)! Poison apples? Helpful sewer rats? Giant dresses and over-the-top dance routines in Central Park? I'm SO there. Yes, mentally, a part of me is still five years old. It's part of my, um, charm.

So that's it for now - send me GO ALYSSA, GO JUSTICE vibes and cyber chocolate, and check out Kendra's book if you have time. THANK YOU!!!
xoxo,
Alyssa

All that and chocolate bunny ears!!!!

Wow! I have so much to be thankful for!! Tomorrow is our 12th wedding anniversary. It has been an amazing twelve years, and my husband is a true romantic hero. If it weren't for his support, I'd still be practicing law, instead of writing the books and telling the stories that I love so much.

Tomorrow is also the day that the printed New York Times newspaper with my name on the actual bestseller list comes out!! And it's going to happen again next week!! Yep, we found out that SHIFTER is #14 on the NYT list for the second week in a row!! Woohoo!!

There will be chocolate bunny ears to nibble to my heart's content, and everyone is healthy and happy here. I'm feeling so lucky and grateful these days, and I wish all of you the very happiest of Easters and as many chocolate bunny ears as you can possibly eat!!

Speaking of delicious (didn't you love that segue? LOL), my dear friend Julie Leto's rocking paranormal romance, PHANTOM PLEASURES, is coming out soon!!! And to celebrate, she's doing some great giveaways at her blog,
starting Monday!
She's not only giving away a chapter a day of her upcoming paranormal romance, PHANTOM PLEASURES, but she's also sweetening the pot by offering a $20 Amazon/Borders gift card per day to anyone who leaves a comment. So stop by and check it out! You'll be glad you did.

And enjoy those bunny ears.
hugs,
Alyssa

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!!!!!

Thank you all 10000 times!!!!! I’m thrilled beyond all measure to report in that SHIFTER kicked some serious butt on the bestseller lists!!! I give so much credit and thanks to my fabulous co-authors and my brilliant, wonderful readers!!!

Here’s the tally:

14 on the freaking NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST!!!! This is the biggie, folks - the absolute pinnacle of publishing success. Wahoo!!!

45 on the USA Today list - which means if you bought the paper today, you could find us listed in the LIFE section!! This list contains all books sold - fiction, nonfiction, childrens, cookbooks, you name it. Wahoo!!!

And all sorts of other wonderful ones, including NUMBER ONE bestselling romance for all Waldenbooks and Borders!! Guess you used that coupon! LOL.

Anyway, it has been champagne city around here. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

hugs,

Alyssa

Free short story - on its way!!

I'm a little behind on posting the free short story on my website since I'm in mad turnaround on revisions. Look for it by the 15th!!
hugs,
Alyssa

SHIFTER IS IN STORES TODAY!!!

I'm so thrilled!! Finally!! SHIFTER is in stores today, with Ethan and Marie's story in Shifter's Lady!!

Stop by my website for excerpts and more exciting stuff!!

UPDATE!! A COUPON!! If you go to your local Borders or Waldenbooks (love them!!), use THIS COUPON to save $1.00 on SHIFTER and many other of your fave books!
hugs,
Alyssa