I’ve been a bit scared about my August Brava release, because it’s the first book I ever wrote. It has some things I’d do differently now that I’ve become more comfortable with my strengths and weakness. I’ve also realized that I like to try different things in my books. I’m happy to see that it’s being well-received by the online review sites and Kathe Robin of Romantic Times came up to me at the Convention to tell me how much she enjoyed the book. Even more so than BBA because it’s a full-length novel. Anyway, it’s a Romance Reader at Heart Top Pick and I’m so relieved.

Here’s the review for anyone who’s interested:

My new Brava ASK FOR IT (August) just received the Reviewer’s Choice Award from The Road to Romance!!! :d

…just when I needed it. After feeling a bit raw about reviews, it was wonderful to get an email today from a reviewer who’d just finished reading the ARC of ASK FOR IT. She called it PHENOMENAL (all caps hers). :d Such a relief. She’s the first reader outside my cps and editor who has read the book. I was so nervous waiting to hear from someone. A bit of a nail-biter since readers liked BAD BOYS AHOY! so much, which I wrote well over a year after I wrote ASK FOR IT. Those of you who are writers know how much you can grow in ability over the course of a year. Also ASK FOR IT is my first ms ever. So there’s the added pressure of releasing something that was your first dabble ever into writing.

Anyway, so happy and relieved she enjoyed it so much. She got the ARC yesterday and wrote this morning so she must have read it straight through. Wow.

In not-so-good review news, another reviewer contacted me via the review coordinator to tell me that her package arrived torn, retaped, and missing the ARC that was supposed to be inside. WTF? I told my mom today that I must have postal/shipping bad karma or something. What is it with people ripping open my packages? My last two shipments of coverflats from Kensington came to me ripped open at the corner, like they wanted to see what was inside it. *grumbles*

Anything good new with you?

My review in the June RT for Kiss of the Night is awful! I’m not kidding. It’s just plain bad.

Here it is:

:rofl:

I won’t post it all here, you can go read the actual stuff about the book yourself, but the part about her ‘judging a book by its cover’ just killed me. :rofl:

“I must admit that I was pretty skeptical about this novel when I got it in the mail, but after reading just 3 pages I put aside all my preconceived notions and enjoyed every page of the read!

This book has many bad things I can say about it, but none of them about the writing or story telling ability of Sylvia Day who with this first book swept into the Romantica scene and left me hot, bothered, and breathlessly awaiting her next novel. As I said before, when I got this book in the mail I turned to my boyfriend and flat out mocked it. I mean it’s an anthology of erotic stories all written by the same author (what she couldn’t write one full book?), it’s a Regency set book with the horrific title Bad Boys Ahoy! (hmm that’s a title that screams Regency doesn’t it?), and the cover is not only garishly colored but has a pirate ship and two kissing fish on it! (Look at it. I mean LOOK at it!). And yet by the third page I was laughing out loud and totally engrossed.

[read actual review of book here]

Bottom Line: Don’t judge this book by its name or cover because the only person who won’t enjoy this book are those who don’t like their sex hot!”– Rakehell - Regency reviews

also…

Tonight 9 pm EST
I’ll be chatting at Romance at Heart.
RaH Chat Room

… except for the entries I need to finish judging. :love: Will be working on those slowly over the course of the next few days.

In review news, BAD BOYS AHOY! reviews are hitting the web in force this week. First, All About Romance gave BBA a B grade and said, “Bad Boys Ahoy! show us, Sylvia Day, has talent and is a writer to watch.“, which is pretty darn awesome for AAR. *g* I’m very happy/relieved about that.

WNBC. com called it a “must-read” amongst other wonderful things.

Romance Junkies calls it a “fantastic read” and says it belongs on the “keeper shelf”. Of course every reader makes their own determination about that, but I’m certainly happy this reader thought so.

So yay!! :cheer: :dance: :yay:

Okay, enough self-cheer. I’m trying to get back into the swing of WRITING. Yes, my job. I haven’t written more than a three page addition to a proposal in over a month. However, I’m no longer burnt out and the story ideas I’m playing with in my head are exciting to me. I’m a bit torn between writing Lord Fontaine’s story (from BBA) since it’s been a popular request in reader emails, or another story about a character you’ll meet in ASK FOR IT. hmmm… Both would be fun, but for very different reasons.

I’m also hoping to finish up my Avon story soon. This year I’m trying to write one book at a time instead of several going at once. I want to see if it helps me finish faster, or if I just get stuck and produce nothing. LOL

Day, Sylvia. Bad Boys Ahoy! Feb. 2006. 368p. Kensington/Brava, paper, $14 (0-7582-1251-8).

Three sexy rakes wreak havoc in the romantic lives of three Regency ladies in this loosely, yet cleverly, connected trio of novellas. In “Stolen Pleasures,” wealthy merchant’s daughter Olivia Merrick discovers that her new husband, Sebastian Blake, is the notorious pirate “Captain Phoenix.” In “Lucien’s Gamble,” Lucien Remington, the libertine owner of London’s most scandalous gaming hall, is intrigued by the lovely Lady Julienne La Coeur, who has come to pay off her brother’s gambling debts. In “Her Mad Grace,” when Hugh La Coeur is forced to take shelter from a snowstorm in the mad Duchess of Glenmoore’s estate, he meets the Duchess’ fascinating companion Charlotte. Day provides plenty of richly detailed love scenes in each tale, and her wickedly entertaining combination of steamy sex and bold language is certain to be appreciated by readers who like hot historicals by Virginia Henley and Susan Johnson. —John Charles, Booklist

BTW, I’m blogging on the Writer Babes this week, if you’re interested in more ramblings from me.