HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

May you have many treats!!
Alyssa and the Halloween pugs, Mermaid Peanut and Rooster Daisy

A new interview!

If you want to read some new insights into Atlantis Awakening and my Warriors, check out CK2 Kwips and Kritiques!

The sense of humor, it is genetic, evidently

So my 7 y.o daughter has a homework reading and Q&A assignment on Komodo Dragons. I check it over and basically the essay is about how dangerous they can be, what they eat for prey, how they jump out at you from ambush and stick their big scary teeth into you, kind of like politicians in an election year. (ba dum bomp) Also they all live in one village to keep away the man-eating dragons.

Anyway, one of the questions she had to answer was:

If you wanted to get across the island of Komodo, how could the villagers help you?
And she wrote:

Umm . . . Health insurance?
I laughed so hard I nearly cried and let her leave it just like that. rofl.
Poor kid is doomed. I need to start saving money for her therapy now.
TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY IS ATLANTIS AWAKENING!!!!!

And please don't forget to stop by Romance Novel TV and say hi!! I'm guest authoring through tomorrow!

Day 3 at Cherry Con

and I'm having too much fun - this can't be legal!!!! I've met so many lovely ladies who I've only known online and been lucky enough to get to know them better. I'll blog more about it when I can post pics and put some faces with names. We've really had a fab time and the Marriott here in covington, KY, right on the river, has been super.

Tonight the lovely and talented Ann Christopher picked me up for dinner and we had a terrific time. Ann is a former trial lawyer, too, and she has 2 kids the exact same ages as mine. Frankly, we have so much in common she's like my younger, prettier sister! Needless to say we had a great dinner and then dessert over at the Barnes and Noble, where I was pleased to see WILD THING and THE NAKED TRUTH anthologies both still on the shelves, with plenty of space available for ATLANTIS AWAKENING to fit in there on November 6th. :)

Hope you're all enjoying your weekend as much as I am!!
hugs,
Alyssa

Come see me in Boston!!!!

Well, Marlborough, to be exact!! Come join us at Borders for the release party for Atlantis Awakening!! Here's the scoop:

DATE: Thursday, November 8, 2007
TIME: 7:30 pm
EVENT: Reading and Book Signing

EVENT LOCATION:
Borders Books and Music #590
739 Donald J. Lynch Blvd.
Marlborough, MA 01752
Phone: 508.490.8521

We're going to have so much fun and there will be special treats for everyone!!
Plus, the 9th is my birthday, so you can tell me happy birthday and watch me grow older right before your very eyes. lol
hugs,
alyssa

Wow oh wow oh wow.

Really I think no other words are needed. :) Here comes Lord Justice, in May, '08.

Coffee doesn't work as well when you wear it instead of drink it

Just home from Starbucks where I dumped a triple venti pumpkin spiced latte all over myself, my table, and my notes for LESSONS LEARNED IN THE TRENCHES, a talk I'm giving with my friend Barbara Caridad Ferrer at next week's Jennifer Crusie Cherry Con. Does that make "don't drink coffee in public until after I've already had coffee" a lesson? Nah, too circular. :)

I had lunch yesterday with my lovely neighbor, who happens to have the same first name as my editor and one of my dearest friends, so I have to footnote their entries on my cel phone. lol. She has already been far more neighborly and friendly in a few weeks (deadline weeks, even!) than any of my neighbors at my last house were in two years. We really, really love this neighborhood. Everyone is so friendly and gracious and there are tons of kids for ours to play with and make new friends. I'm planning a neighborhood barbecue for Halloween (yes, that's me, never take on a SMALL task when you can turn it into something OVER THE TOP!) and Navy Guy and I will grill up a zillion or so hotdogs and have juice and sodas and people can bring a simple dish and that way we'll have feeding the kids out of the way before the hordes of trick or treaters begin. Plus it's a way for the kids to get more time to show off their costumes, which they love. My daughter is going to be the Spider Queen and my son will be Legolas. I will be a pirate, complete with parrot, and Stacy you KNOW I am missing my pirate boyfriend now!!!! ROFL.

I'm back at work today--I've been itching to get back to Justice. He's such a complex character and he fascinates me, so I can't wait to get back to him. Only 27 days till Atlantis Awakening!! I can hardly wait!!
hugs,
Alyssa

And even more pictures . . .

The reader group shot!! AT the Mellow Mushroom! HUGE thanks to the lovely Sue Smallwood for setting this up!



Me with Dianna Love Snell, who is a fabulous writer and the conference chair for M&M. She and her team did a brilliant job.



Me with Linda Howard, who is as tremendously wise and funny as she is talented. She had such good advice on staying sane and grounded in the insanity of the publishing business.

Pictures!!

Did I mention pictures?



this from a restaurant on the drive from Virginia to Florida. My question: do they send the busboys out back with a shotgun to wait for the covey to fly over? Never, ever have I seen all you can eat QUAIL before.



Did I mention Peanut had an ear infection? Again? This is her "take me to your leader" pose. (She's all better now!)



The lovely Pam with me at my reader dinner in Atlanta. She was just delightful and gave me a beautiful handmade bracelet. I had SUCH a wonderful time at the Moonlight and Magnolias conference. I think Georgia people are among the nicest in the world!

Happy October!!

Life has been a little crazy, as usual. I think I should just accept that there is no such thing as normal in my life. The good news is coming fast: my editor LOVED Shifter's Lady, my novella for the March '08 anthology SHIFTER, so that made me a very happy author. :)

And all the review for ATLANTIS AWAKENING are totally rocking!! Romantic Times gave it 4 and a half stars!! "Poseidon's hot and sexy boys are back and ready to rumble. Day's world continues to gain layers of complexity as the characters discover more about the events and people evolving around them. Ancient warrior attitudes get a major jolt as they collide with the modern world and feminine power. Pure escapist fun!"

Woo hoo!!

Paranormal writers' reviews said: "Atlantis Awakening and the whole world created by Alyssa Day is fascinating and unique. Readers will thrill as they get to know each of the warriors better, but even more they will sigh at the intense action brought to them through Ven. It takes a lot to bring down the King's Vengeance and Alyssa Day has found just the right woman to do it. Readers should look forward to finding out what other women are in the world that will bring down the next hard-bodied Atlantean."

And pictures! I have pictures from the conference in Atlanta and my fabulous reader dinner! Stay tuned while I figure out this new camera!
hugs,
Alyssa

One step closer to being banned . . .

The lovely Kerry from New Zealand let me know that WILD THING comes with a warning label from her library. I'm still chuckling about it:



I'm on my way to Atlanta Thursday for the Moonlight and Magnolias conference. Please stop by the booksigning Saturday to see me - and I can't WAIT for my reader dinner afterward, all organized by the gracious and marvelous Sue Smallwood. We've more than 20 people coming!! Yay, us!!

Too many dollars, not enough sense

So Leona Helmsley's dog gets $12 million in a trust fund in her will. Seriously. As a lawyer, I can't imagine what kind of attorney would write that down without saying "Really? Leona, you're batshit crazy. Get the hell out of my office and get some psychiatric help." But then again, that's part of why I don't practice law any more. Too often you have to do stupid things in the name of "the client is always right." Trust me, litigation clients are just as often nutjobs as they are "right" - especially the ones who want to sue somebody. It always made me nuts when people blamed lawywers for the litigation explosion. I spent 90% of my time in new client interviews talking people OUT of suing.

But. I digress. $12 million DOLLARS. I just bought mine new Nylabones and some liver treats and thought I was being generous . . .

Ethan is giving me fits; he's so freaking alpha that he's not quite getting the big picture. But oh, wow, is he ever sexy! Whew.

In other news, I'm sick with some cold or flu virus that's kicking my butt, so am taking my codeine cough syrup and off to bed. Hope you all have a great Labor Day long weekend.
hugs,
Alyssa

I'm back online!!!

Finally in our new house and finally have my very own internet connection!! Yahoo!! Just in time to check email and find some very lovely news, too:

ATLANTIS AWAKENING will be featured in the Rhapsody book club with an interview of me!

And Sarah W. at Romance Junkies passed on this terrific review (you can see the full text at Romance Junkies):

"As the King's Vengeance, Ven has had to deal with a lot of trouble, danger, and explosive situations in his line of work. But he does it with pride, attitude, and the painful knowledge that all this death is hurting him more than he would like to let on. Ven never thought he would meet any woman capable of reaching his hardened heart but that changes when he lays eyes on Erin Connors, a powerful and important witch in the Seattle Circle of Light.
[. . . ]
Alyssa Day turns up the heat, the sensuality, and the excitement yet another notch in the tantalizingly sexy ATLANTIS AWAKENING! These warriors may hide their hearts at times, but rest assured, they are not afraid to give them to the right woman. . . .

Ven and Erin take top honors however in this tale. Neither expects to find an all consuming passion in the face of so much danger but fortunately, love proves to be the perfect answer to trouble. Alyssa Day makes me crave more Atlantis!
- Sarah W., Romance Junkies

I HATE hotels

Sick to death of every part of it. Why did I think this was a good idea?? Two solid weeks of it and we're all miserable. Still not in the house but hoping that changes soon. Ethan's book is taking a very dark turn and I'm not sure how much of it is me being in a foul mood. Luckily Marie is a counterbalancing force in the tapestry of his story. She has such serenity that I wish I could share . . .

New cover!!!

I'm still homeless with no internet; cadging it wherever I can. But I wanted to share the cover for SHIFTER (Ethan's story; coming out in March!!) And what thrilling company to keep!!

Homeless in Jacksonville

And somehow we survived 1200 miles of driving in 2 days, movers who thought they were on strike, rain and construction at night in South Carolina, 120 degree heat unpacking the 2000 pounds of stuff we had in the U-Haul (not exaggerating - we had to weigh it!!) and me nearly having heat stroke (health advisory: when your face turns beet red, your eyes glaze over, and you feel that you're either going to throw up or pass out, it's time to stop humping boxes in the midafternoon sun.)

My darling husband, Navy Guy, spent yesterday and today requalifying on his survival skills, which involved doing fun tasks while they sucked all the oxygen out of the room and then today being belted into a helicopter simulator upside down, blindfolded, and UNDER WATER.

Seriously.

My lovely and talented friend Eileen Rendahl (her new book is out this week, it's splendid!!) said, "But my job is dangerous too!! I could have gotten a paper cut!! It could have gotten infected!!"

We writers tend to be a bit dramatic . . .

House hunting starts tomorrow at 9 - I want a palm tree!! And a house to go with it, I guess. :)

In other news, the talented Marianne Mancusi's first SHOMI book, MOONGAZER, is out today and it's brilliant!! Intense and edgy - give it a try!! (Can you tell I had time to read in the hotel? I am a chronic insomniac and never ever sleep in hotels without pharmaceutical assistance.)

Pictures tomorrow - maybe of palm trees!! And I'm definitely in the south again - there was an ALL YOU CAN EAT - QUAIL special in the restaurant where we had dinner Sunday. It fascinated me. How do you get ALL YOU CAN EAT QUAIL?? Did an entire FLOCK happen to land over the restaurant? Do they send the busboys out back with a rifle???

Okay, I think they had cheesecake. Hmmm. More later . . .

A snippet from Atlantis Awakening:

When Ven and Erin are finally alone . . .

# # #

"What if we took a break from being reasonable and rational for a little while?" she whispered. "What would you say if I asked you to hold me – just hold me – until morning?"

Hunger flared inside him, demanding that he conquer, that she surrender. The warrior he'd been born and trained to be wanted to plunder. The man he wanted to be -- for her, just for a little while -- pushed the hunger aside and sought desperately for self-control. "Erin, if you need me to hold you, I would love nothing more. In fact, I've been thinking of nothing else since I first touched you, if you want to know the truth."

She gave him a shaky smile, threw the silken bed coverings aside, and held her arms up to him. "Then hold me, Ven. Make me feel safe again."

Carefully, so carefully, he climbed in the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms, realizing as he did so that he was the one surrendering. When she nestled her head against his chest, her music flared up between them, pulsing hot and insistent. He forced his breathing to slow down, tried to focus on something – anything – other than the urgency of desire clawing at him.

He caught one of her hands in his and considered the rings on her long fingers. "It's the opal, isn't it? The opals and the emeralds that sing when we're together?"

She trembled in his arms and turned her face to his chest. The scent of flowers and springtime from her hair tipped the lid off his sanity just a little bit more, and he couldn't help but inhale her scent. Rub his face in her hair.

Want to mark her, brand her, claim her.

"Yes," she answered, the words muffled by his shirt. "They are . . . yes, it's the emeralds and opals singing."

Her words distracted him a little from the flames searing through his nerve endings. "What does it mean, Erin? Why can I hear them, too? Can everybody hear them?"

She drew a deep breath and looked up at him. "No. In fact, in the ten years since I turned sixteen and my Gift manifested, no person other than you has ever heard my gems sing. And the emeralds – the emeralds have never sung before I met you. Not even to me."

His arms tightened around her. They only sang for him. Like he wanted to make her sing. Something deep inside him raised its head and roared. His breath quickened and he rolled back a couple of inches from her, trying to maintain distance. Trying not to pounce on her like the predator he was.

The gems. We were talking about the gems. Focus.

"What do they sing to you?" he asked. "Do the songs have meanings? Why are they so quiet now? I mean, not to be crude, but this is skin-to-skin contact. I figured they'd be singing up a storm."

She scooted closer to him, and her own breathing quickened, roughened. "We could always experiment a little, with the skin-to-skin thing. Right now, though, I'm focusing on keeping them under control with everything I've got."

His arms tightened around her and he couldn't stop the words from rushing out. Couldn't fight it any longer. "Let it go, Erin. Let it go and see what happens."

Excerpt from Atlantis Awakening, copyright 2007 Alyssa Day/Alesia Holliday

A picture's worth a thousand boxes . . .

And ziploc storage bags are the greatest invention EVER for moving. The Cox cable guy is due to show up any second to rip my internet connection from my clutching hands, so the next installment will be from the road. Have a great weekend, everybody!

Moving tips from the veteran of 6 moves in 11 years:

1. If you haven't used it, worn it, or taken it out of a box in a year or more, give it to charity. Somebody out there needs that purple velvet miniskirt way more than you do.

2. If it's covered in an inch of dust, #1 probably applies. If it has "sentimental" value, take a picture of it for the scrapbook and then get rid of it.

3. Really, who needs 72 pairs of shoes? I'm not admitting anything here . . .

4. If the moving company only sends TWO PEOPLE to pack up FOURTEEN THOUSAND pounds of household goods, TRY NOT TO PANIC. Calling the company and shouting words like "asswipe" will probably not help. As much as you may be tempted to.

5. Whoever invents chocolate-covered valium will make a zillion dollars.

Public Service Announcement . . .

Brought to you from your friendly local author. :) Be sure to periodically check the expiration dates on the medicines in your cabinets. We move so often I do this at least every two years, but tonight I still threw out a small waste bin full of cold medicines for the kids that expired sometime last year or earlier this year.

And we won't even mention the can of soup in the cupboard that had an expiration date of January, 2003. It must have moved with us from Seattle to Florida and then from Florida here to Virginia. Sadly, its interstate journey is over. FAREWELL, ANCIENT MINESTRONE!!

Hmmm. Good possibility I'm getting punchy ...