ATLANTIS UNMASKED in stores now!!!

Sightings in bookstores abound! And this time you only had to wait one short month! Yay!

I had so much fun writing Alexios's story - especially after he and Grace seemed to have such a strong connection in Unleashed. I couldn't wait to discover more about her - she is my first warrior heroine and I absolutely love her. Strong, funny, and totally in control - except when it comes to Alexios.

Of course, he's exactly the same way about her!! And the scene between Alexios and Alaric on the waterfront where they have a very uncomfortable conversation about "feelings" made me laugh so hard even as I was writing it. I hope you enjoy it as much.

I'm actually doing some booksignings, too! I'll be at my local Borders here in Jacksonville this Sunday the 12th with 10 other authors; then I'm with hundreds of authors at the giant literacy fundraiser booksigning at the RWA national conference next Wednesday, July 15, and I'm doing a signing with the wonderful Karen Rose in Altamonte Springs, near Orlando, Florida, on August 8th. All details are on my "About Alyssa" page of my website in the left column. I sure hope to see some of you there!

Please feel free to share and forward this post everywhere book lovers may gather and THANK YOU!!!

Thank you, as always, for reading my books. I appreciate it more than I can ever tell you.

Happy July!!
hugs,
Alyssa

Excerpt snippet time!!

Woohoo!! Atlantis Unmasked releases Tuesday (sightings are already pouring in) so here are some "get you in the mood" snippets:

***

“It’s almost impossible to shoot a bow while driving.”

Grace Havilland clenched her fingers around the steering wheel of the Jeep and waited for the Atlantean warrior riding shotgun to respond to what she thought had been her very reasonable point.

Waited. Waited a little longer.

She’d met Alexios months ago and seen him sporadically since, but she’d never been in such a small space with him. It felt like being trapped in a cage with a lion that’d just eaten a full meal. Deadly, dangerous, and exhilarating, but maybe—just maybe—you’d live through it.

Unless he suddenly felt like a snack.

***

Alexios looked around the crowded lobby, remembering the countless times he’d waited for one or another of his fellow warriors to be healed. Unlike the healing chambers in Atlantis, which were an oasis of serenity—all fresh air and sunlight, soft silken cushions, and masses of flowers from the palace gardens-- this room where desperate and injured humans waited smelled of sweat, blood, antiseptic, and despair.

Grace huddled in an orange plastic chair, strangely diminished without her many weapons strapped to her body. He stood across the room from her, leaning against a battered vending machine, and tried to think of a time he’d seen her without them, but came up empty. The bow, knives, and guns were part of her; oddly dissonant to her beauty and her name.

Grace. It suited her. She was Grace in motion, in and out of battle. Except now, when she hunched in that ugly chair, arms wrapped around her knees, waiting for the bleakest kind of bad news.

***

“Hello, Grace.”

She jumped a little at the sound of his voice; the sound she’d been waiting for—and dreading--all morning. Coffee splashed over the rim of the mug, stinging her fingers. “Ouch!”

“Not the greeting I would have expected, but you do have a history of surprising me.” The amusement colored his voice until it was as rich and dark as the coffee.

She told herself the shiver snaking down her neck was simply because of the cold. He couldn’t possibly be as formidable in reality as he was in her memories. Adrenaline-fueled attraction, that was all.

Pasting what she hoped was a friendly but neutral expression on her face, she put the mug down and swung around to face him. “Alexios. Welcome. We’re glad you’re here. Did you just get in through the magic doorway?”

It hadn’t been the adrenaline.

He was tall. Broad-shouldered and lean-hipped with the exact muscular body type she’d always found irresistible, but that wasn’t what she saw first. It wasn’t what anyone would see first.

In the bright afternoon sunlight that turned his mane of thick hair the color of molten gold, the sight of his scarred face was almost shocking. She’d seen him—seen his face—several times before, but always in the night time. Always in the dark. The merciless quality of the winter sunshine cast dark shadows along the jagged edges of the badly healed gouges. The left side of his face was scarred from temple to chin, leaving only his left eye and, oddly enough, his nose, whole and unmarked. But the right side was perfection; both counterpoint and mockery to the damage it mirrored.

The half-smile that had quirked at the edges of his lips faded under her perusal and she was suddenly desperately ashamed. How long had Alexios been forced to endure the stares and speculation? And, worse, what torture and unimaginable pain had he suffered that could have caused such scars?

His narrowed eyes, rapidly turning the deep, turbulent blue of a storm-tossed sea at dusk, gave her the answers: far too long and far too much.

“No," he replied, a grin quirking the edge of that sensual mouth. "I took the tram.”

More tomorrow! Whee!
hugs,
Alyssa

ABC Family channel: you FAIL. FAIL FAIL FAIL

Imagine my horror and disgust when we're freshly home from the pool and watching Scooby Doo (my 9 y.o. daughter, 12 y.o. son and I) and a commercial for upcoming ABC Family programming comes on. The girls in the spot are driving along listening to a tape from Dad, apparently, where he warns them about venereal diseases.

Explicitly.

When the fire quit coming out of my ears, I wrote this, using the contact information on the ABC Family site:

"I am absolutely furious that you're blasting commercials on your family-friendly programming that feature the words "gonorrhea, syphillis, and genital herpes" over and over. My nine-year old is trying to watch Scooby Doo, of all safe and family-friendly shows, and was subjected to this garbage. I expect better of you and am very disappointed that you are letting down your target demographic in such a huge and awful way."

Since when are venereal diseases funny? Or --and hey, ABC "Family" -- family-friendly topics?

Anyone who has read my books knows I'm no prude. But there's a huge difference between what adults choose to read and what young children have blasted at them on a channel touting itself as family friendly.

Change it, ABC Family. Change it, now.

YAHOO!!! MORE BOOKS!!!

I'm thrilled to share that I have a new 3-book deal for more Atlantis
books!! Got surprised by the offer last Monday since I hadn't even turned
in a proposal yet; we worked out details during the week and yay!! More
books!! That plus the 2-book urban fantasy contract are going to keep me
pretty busy. I mailed my husband the "Alyssa Day's Trophy Husband" shirt
that my darling Toni McGee Causey made for him, ROFL. He promised to wear
it proudly. Love that man - I would have given up on this career a couple
of years ago without his support, but he believed in me all the way. I told
him I'd buy him a new truck to celebrate,
and Mr. Frugal says, "Nah, but how about a paint job for the one (150K
miles) I already have?"

Anyway, yay!! Thanks for letting me share!

HUGS,
Alyssa, quite dizzy from the roller coaster these past few weeks
PS: Here's a new review for ATLANTIS UMASKED, coming out in only 2 weeks!!

The first few days in the life of a brand-new New York Times bestseller

I originally posted this at the NovelThoughts blog at the request of the lovely and gracious Aztec Lady, but I had such great response to it, I had to share it again:

Wednesday, June 10th

6:30 a.m. Wake up, begin obsessively checking the bestseller lists. Is Bookscan out yet? Nope. USA Today? No chance.

7 a.m. Beg night-owl nine-year-old daughter to wake up for last day of school. Do the breakfast thing, remind her to brush her teeth, wear shoes (!) grab her backpack, and finally herd her into the car for drive to school.

8 a.m. Out to breakfast with dear friend– have champagne cocktails to celebrate release week (mine) and other good news (hers). Check Bookscan on iPhone and discover Atlantis Unleashed is 14th bestselling romance (all formats) in the nation! Cheers! Drink all champagne; too excited to eat much of lovely asparagus omelet.

9 a.m. Wander around bookstore in a happiness/champagne daze, admiring prominent store placement and comparing it to the placement of my last chick lit book, which was generally used to prop open bathroom doors in bookstores across the country.

10 a.m. Arrive home and receive frantic phone call from daughter who needs clean clothes since pajamas she wore for pajama day are now covered with fruit punch. Drive clothes to school. Wonder if other bestselling authors have nannies.

11 a.m. Talk to agent, who is thrilled with good news. Agent says: June competition really tough. Do not be disappointed if don’t make NYT list this time; you’ll make it eventually. I say, I won’t. He says, Can I write that down?

Afternoon: Blurry. Stuff happens. Obsessively check to see if USA Today list up yet. Child comes home. Clean clothes now also covered with fruit punch. More stuff happens. Made USA Today list again – all 3 books have done it! More happiness!

5:30 p.m. Talk to lovely editor, who is miserably sick but still in office. Tell lovely editor to go home, get rest, see doctor. Editor says: No, I’m waiting for NYT list – I think you might have made it. I say, I have no chance to make it. Summer beach read competition, etc. etc.

5:35 Other line rings. It’s agent. Heart rises into throat. Start stuttering. Editor yells at me to ANSWER PHONE. Click over to line with agent and say, Hello? Agent says, NUMBER 28!!!

5:37 Start laughing and make squee-ing sounds and fall out of chair. Say, Are you sure? Agent says, Yes. Start crying. Agent (who is a guy) hurriedly says, Talk to editor now!

5:38 Tell editor. Both of us are laughing and crying. Blurry. Said stuff. Thanked her for believing in me. She said words like, I told you so. More laughing and squeeing. Some shouting of happy words. Finally tell lovely (sick) editor to go home and take much Nyquil to celebrate.

5:40 Tell children. They shout out Yay and congratulations!! Then: She says, He touched me. He says, She stuck her tongue out at me. Wonder if other NYT bestselling authors have nannies. Or Swiss boarding schools.

5:50 Call agent back. He is very happy for me. Thank him for believing in me. Say, I am NYT bestselling author now. He says, I always knew you’d get there one day. More tears (me only, see above re: guy) and laughing.

6 p.m. Out to celebratory steak dinner. Too excited to eat much. Announce news on Twitter and email with iPhone. Congratulations start pouring in from lovely, lovely friends. Husband calls from Japan. Tell him, You are now my trophy husband. He cheers for me, tells me he always knew I’d make it. More tears. More laughing. Wonder if other NYT bestselling authors are so emotional. Wonder if other NYT bestselling authors are tempted to get letters N Y T in a tasteful tattoo. Start laughing at self and realize am still crying. Waiter is a little freaked out, wonders if I am having psychotic break. Leave big tip.

7 p.m. Out for celebratory ice cream. Wonder if all NYT bestselling authors weigh 5 lbs more than the other kind. Realize Dairy Queen is not really special enough, go wild and add chocolate dip to ice cream cone order.

8 p.m. till ?? Email and answer email congrats in a daze. Call family. Call friends who have been there through all the ups and downs of the past five years in publishing. Stare at pile of laundry. Decide NYT bestselling authors do not have to do laundry until tomorrow.

3 a.m. Finally fall asleep, still smiling so huge face hurts.

7:30 a.m. Son wakes me up. Dog threw up in family room; I need to clean it up. Realize NYT bestselling author’s life not much different from other kind.

Thursday: more congrats via email and phone and Twitter. Many bouquets of flowers arrive. Lovely editor gives day off so spend afternoon at pool. Home again and doorbell rings: lovely agent sent case of champagne! Case is 12 bottles. That evening: Do a very good job of making case only 11 bottles. Some singing and dancing ensues.

Friday: Wonder if other NYT bestselling authors wake up with hangovers. Decide was totally worth it. Still feel like luckiest, happiest person in world, albeit with headache and upset stomach. Post heartfelt THANK YOU to readers on website. Get back to work on current story, just had a great idea for putting my characters in more trouble. Realize that nothing has really changed: I still have the best job in the world.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!!!!
hugs,
Alyssa

I am a New York Times bestselling author!!

Thank you SO MUCH to all of you for supporting me and reading my books and hanging in there when Justice took a while to come out. I am laughing and crying and am going to drink champagne now. Just wanted to share how overwhelmingly happy and grateful I am to all of you!!!!

hugs,
Alyssa

IT'S HERE!! IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!

I am thrilled to finally announce that Atlantis Unleashed is now in a bookstore near you!!!

Today, June 2nd,is the day my new novel, Atlantis Unleashed, hits stores. I'm thrilled that everyone finally gets to discover what happened to Justice after he sacrificed himself for his family!

You can find deets here: !

And you can view the TV interview with me about being a military spouse and writer here:

I've been thrilled with a ton of good reviews, like:

"Day is back and better than ever. 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!" - RT BookClub Top Pick

"an action-packed adventure filled with magic and romance. Alyssa Day does a superb job of world-building that will leave you stunned with the richness of detail. The characters of Atlantis are sexy, intelligent, and fascinating. I absolutely loved it and cannot wait for more! – Romance Junkies Blue Ribbon review

"Ms. Day's world building is a beautifully crafted and the characters she has woven into it are edgy and believable. The scorching passion and spicy sexual tension add great complex weaves to an already smoking hot series. I am really looking forward to the surprises she has in store in the next books. I enthusiastically recommend this book as well as this series." – Night Owl Romance Top Pick!

And even the guys like it, in SPITE of the cover:

"what I discovered was an action romance that very much reminded me of Golden Age pulp fiction, bigger than life, full of alpha heroes and smart heroines, Gods and Goddesses, mystery, magic, and exotic locations. Think Saturday afternoon matinee Tarzan adventures or Doc Savage tempered with intelligent modern female protagonists." – SciFiGuy reviews

Thank you so much for hanging in there with me!! The loooong wait is over and I hope the fact that Alexios's book comes out next month, July 7th, will help make up for it!! Please spread the word wherever readers may gather and thank you again!

Hugs,
Alesia, who has used a lifetime's worth of exclamation points :)