Well, I’m back. The conference was fun, what I saw of it. I spent all day Thursday from 4 AM to 3 AM on Fri. writing in my room in my pjs. Let me say that you know who your friends are when you’re under deadline like that. My roommate and dear friend Shelley Bradley/Shayla Black brought me both breakfast and lunch. Other friends called to offer to bring up sodas, etc. Even more friends covered the workshops and panels I was scheduled to speak on but couldn’t get to. Their generosity and concern brought me to tears.

I’m going to be especially busy this week. I have a ms to clean up and lengthen, a pretty extensive set of revisions, and I need to start a new book. So I’m pretty sure I won’t be around much, but we’ll see. I’ll try. Maybe I’ll have some pictures emailed to me and I can put those up.

((hugs))

When I first began to write, my goal was to entertain my stuffed animals that I’d gathered around my Holly Hobbie rocking chair. I’d make little picture books, usually with crayons, about a three-legged dog with some growth sticking out from his body, because for some reason I couldn’t make a fourth leg properly. My stories would usually be about a girl losing her dog, how she would go out looking for him, how miserable she was without him, what the dog was looking for - usually another furry friend, how lonely he got, and then the happy reunion when the girl and dog found one another again.

Now, the funny thing is - some thirty years later I haven’t strayed too far from that theme in my writing. The dog has just been replaced by a man *snicker snicker* and he is still flawed. Only that growth is something more exciting. But the flaw is important because it’s what makes my character(s) tick. Somewhere along the way I’ve never lost that joy of making imaginary people go through something grueling, or funny, or thought provoking, or painful in order for them to find out that they do indeed belong together.

Now, my characters sometimes all ready know each other, and other times it’s fate or destiny that brings them together - an unusual circumstance. Some sort of element that draws them to one another. Of course there is sex - but it has meaning too.

I’ve traded crayons for a keyboard, and my reader audience is much wider and can actually give me feedback, but I still write for me. My characters are flawed - sometimes the woman is stronger, sometimes the man, but usually they are equals…it just depends on the story itself. There are obstacles they each must face - both alone and together. Sex is of course a new factor - and brings with it all new kinds of issues, problems, and obstacles - along with some good fun stuff thrown in there. Even the heat level and foreplay becomes an important aspect of the story because it mirrors the characters themselves.

But at the end of the day, or book really - they’ve come to understand something very important. And that something is valuable to them, and gives them clarity. They realize there is more to them because they are together. That denying their feelings is somehow denying a piece of themselves. And that sharing those little bits of themselves - those pieces of their soul - was worthwhile because of who they shared it with.

And to think my writing career started with a three-legged dog.

~Ann Cory
www.anncory.com

I was asked to blog about “How it is to be a writer’s Mom” (actually “How it is to be Sylvia Day’s Mom.”)

I had to think about it for a while. The short answer would be, “It is like a mother with a firstborn baby.” However, there are many books to guide a new mother-to-be. But I don’t know if there is a book on how to be a proper mother to a writer.

It has been about three years since my daughter Sylvia started this book-business. I have noticed a slow change in her household. More and more clothes have found a comfortable spot on her bedroom floor and decided to stay there instead of on hangers in her walk-in closet or in hampers for carrying to the washing machine. Dishes never seem to make it into the dishwasher. The backyard has been forgotten. The front flowerbeds, which were once the pride and joy of the neighborhood, are now choked with weeds.

I learned long ago that people will do what they fancy. I know I have no power over any human being. So I decided to just wait-and-see to find out what was going on.

A few months later, I was told about her website. A few more months after that, Sylvia told me she had won Lori Foster’s Brava Novella Contest. To tell you the truth, I had no idea what Sylvia was talking about. It seemed like Sylvia went to another planet and came home speaking a foreign tongue.

Thank goodness for the World Wide Web. I can type in whatever I don’t know, and the computer will lead me to an answer. English is not my native tongue, so the online dictionaries are a great help with finding new words. (so I could comprehend the ramblings of this new author.)

2-3 months after the first book (BAD BOYS AHOY!) was sold to Kensington, I learned that “first sales” were to be celebrated in a grand manner, but it was too late. I didn’t know that at the time she sold. Sylvia grew up with a parent whose ideas and customs are so different from most of her friends. I understand that the children of immigrants feel like they have parents who are from another planet. These children must endure some crazy ideas from their parents’ home countries, and put up with their parents’ ignorance and overbearing attitudes.

For me, her writing world is a different kind of culture shock. I am her mother, but I don’t know the language and customs of a writer’s world. I felt really bad about not giving her a proper celebration for her “first sale”.

Now the baby writer has matured past the baby-steps. She’s progressed from walking, to jogging, and now she’s running full-speed ahead. As her mother, I try to stay by the roadside and provide water bottles when she needs them and a towel to dry the sweat from her face. I shout encouragements when she feels low, and comfort her when (she thinks) she’s stumbled. After all, she is not running alone. Life is a three-legged race — Sylvia and all our family members together. When she is sad, we all feel sad. When she is happy, we scream with joy.

I am not young, nor as able as I wish to be. Each day is new and a challenge, just like the life of my daughter, Sylvia.

Pleasures of the Night
HarperCollins Avon
ISBN-10: 0061230987
ISBN-13: 978-0061230981

Available as of TODAY!

In the Twilight between sleep and consciousness, a battle rages between Dream Guardians and Nightmares. Captain Aidan Cross is a legend, as skilled in fulfilling erotic dreams as he is with the glaive that kills his enemies. Women see Aidan as part of their fantasies . . . except Lyssa Bates. Exquisite, desirable, enigmatic Lyssa perplexes this immortal seducer because she sees him as he really is. And as he attempts to unravel her secrets the unthinkable occurs: Aidan Cross falls in love.

Lyssa has been having the most incredible dreams about a man whose blue eyes hold the promise of decadent pleasures and tempting intimacies. And then he appears on her doorstep! This intoxicating stranger is just as irresistible as the man of her dreams . . . but with her surrender there is also grave danger . . .

Because Aidan is on a mission, and the passion that consumes them body and soul could have dire consequences. Loving the mortal woman prophesied to destroy Aidan’s world is not only impossible . . it is forbidden.

Excerpts

Flash Excerpt:
www.guardiannovels.com/novels/pleasures/aidan-ii/

Non-Flash Excerpt:
www.guardiannovels.com/novels/pleasures/aidan-ii/2/

REVIEWS

“In this fascinating story, wonderful immortals from an alternate dimension are sent to protect dreamers in the mortal world. The hero and his friends are easy to like, and the heroine is strong and intelligent. The secondary characters are a good addition, and there’s lots of sex, but also an intricate and imaginative plot, with plenty of action and even a nice touch of humor. ”
– Susan Mobley, Romantic Times BOOKreviews

“This is a brilliant book. Passionate and full of lush romance, Ms. Day has created a wonderful new world!”
–TJ, The Romance Studio

“…one of the best stories I’ve read in a Romance category thus far this year (2007). Sylvia Day obviously knows what readers love!”
– Detra Fitch, Huntress Reviews

“…a brilliant new world… Passionate, exciting and spellbinding; PLEASURES OF THE NIGHT is sure to please fans across the board.”
- Lettetia, Fantasy Romance Writers

“PLEASURES OF THE NIGHT sizzles as a romance, enthralls as a paranormal, and captivates with a fantastic cast of characters. I didn’t want the ‘night’ to end!”
- Susan Grant, New York Times bestselling author

“So hot the pages should be on fire!”
- Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author

“I was enthralled with this book. It was erotic, sensuous and had an amazing plot.”
- Marcy Arbitman, Just Erotic Romance Reviews

“PLEASURES OF THE NIGHT can only be called an absolute divine read. Filled with humor, action, danger, love and passion that surpassed even my highest hopes…”
– Lyonene, Joyfully Reviewed

“PLEASURES OF THE NIGHT is a must read. An absolute must!”
– Natasha, Romance Junkies

Website: www.dreamguardians.com

My first-ever RT Top Pick, given to PASSION FOR THE GAME:

“Day pulls out all the stops, juggling sizzling romance with high suspense and intrigue. The tangled threads of her plot are intricately woven with strands of in-depth characterization. Not only does Day titillate readers, she grabs them with a strong story and doesn’t let go.”
- Kathe Robin, Romantic Times BOOKreviews

And more fun news!

Rhapsody Book Club named PLEASURES OF THE NIGHT the “Editor’s Choice” and I’m showcased in their catalog as a “Rising Star”! Way cool!

Rhapsody editor, Gina Bernal, says:

“In Pleasures of the Night, one of my favorite new voices in super sexy romance, Sylvia Day, proves that the man of your dreams might be just that! Enjoy!”

Thank you, Gina!

TPTB at Avon asked me to blog about my upcoming release PLEASURES OF THE NIGHT and o’course I leaped at the chance. *g* Talk about my book? NP!

Please stop by the Avon FanLit Blog and post about your “dream guy”, whoever he may be. Just a name will do. Doesn’t have to be a poem or anything! If you’re a writer and one of your characters is dreamy, come and comment about him and what makes him hot.

I’d just love to see some friendly faces over there!

Hey All,

I’ll be chatting on Monday about PLEASURES OF THE NIGHT and any other topic that strikes our fancy in the Knight Agency Chat Room — 9 PM EDT. I hope some of you can make it there!

Knight Agency Chat Room:
client1.sigmachat.com/sc.pl?id=115545