Gratitude goes a long way.
Sylvia Day
The damaged wealthy hero is actually a hugely common trope in romance, and alpha heroes are very common in romance.
I spend a lot of time on social media, I'm on Facebook every day; I'm on Twitter every day.
I have things I watch in my downtime - I love 'Scandal.' I don't write political romance, so there's not a direct relation there. But it's something I do just to turn off the brain for a little bit, and just to relax and recharge.
Living is a constant source of inspiration.
I urge aspiring writers to write three full-length novels before contemplating publication.
It's not uncommon for men to show up at my book signings or to send me emails with their thoughts about my books. I've also heard from a number of female readers who were introduced to my works by men in their lives.
The '50 Shades' series is a Cinderella story, where the characters seemingly have no flaws. The 'Crossfire' series is very different in that these two characters are almost mirror images of each other.
Publishers should use the paperback side to leverage the ebook side.
I was 12 and read my first romance novel; it was a sweeping desert saga, and I got to the end of it and was like, 'I want to go back and start all over again!' That emotional response to the book and getting to the end of a story you love is what inspires me to write the next book.
When it comes to your hero, what the readers really fall in love with are his flaws. No one ever falls in love with a perfect hero.
Reading is No. 1 - I have to read, or I can't write.
I go to a lot of conferences and conventions to meet with readers directly.
Every writer follows a theme, and mine is survival. If you can't figure out what a writer's theme is, look at the books you are attracted to.
When a story captures me, it comes quickly and easily.
Nalini Singh, J.D. Robb, Patricia Briggs, Shelby Reed - these are my pre-order, must-have authors.
'Scandal' is great because it's intriguing and sexy, and it has a lot of play with secondary characters in situations, lots of drama.
I can't live without my smartphone, but I really geek on coding. It's not so much technology that I like, but puzzle solving.
As for discipline and rules, I confess, I've never been good with either.
I had a very realistic expectation of the level of success that it was possible to attain writing romance novels.
I love connecting with readers!
I've learned to allow myself the room to fall in love with what I'm writing.
My heroines, more often than not, are the ones who are troubled and resistant.
I want to write a story for people where they finish it, and it sticks with them.
As a writer, it's disheartening to write books that you pour your soul into and not have them distributed widely enough to find their audience.
Writers are not celebrities, so you don't expect to walk down the street and hear, 'Oh my God, there's Sylvia Day.' You prefer to be anonymous.
For the most part, romance is written in third person, and it's written in multiple points of view, so you're in the hero's head, and you're in the heroine's head. I've always said that I'm more of a narrator than a creator.
I think we love the fantasy of being the one person who can really touch the person who has been untouchable for everybody else. There's something that makes us feel very special about that; that we could be the one out of everyone who's tried and everybody who's wanted to reach that person - you're the only one who could do it.
Especially in writing love stories, there's always the assumption that once you've said 'I do,' once you get to the point where you're married, well, the hard part is over.
Writing the 'Crossfire' series is deeply personal for me, and I love the whole process of it.
The world would be a very sad place if readers could only love one story.
I've been told by readers that they love how my heroes fall in love fast, first, and with conviction.
Some writers may hate interacting on social media. And if you do, don't do it, because it shows. If you are uncomfortable being out in public, that shows, too, and makes the reader uncomfortable. So find the best way for you to connect with your readers and a way that you enjoy.
I'm a big fan of IMAX/3-D films; I love that whole experience.
I've found that writers who don't read really can't write.
Some days, you will sit down, and you write tens of thousands of words. Others, you have to force yourself to write a single sentence.
'One With You' was the hardest book I have ever written. I rewrote it three times.
I have had unattractive heroes - broken noses, scars, crooked teeth. You want to give them something that is human. My heroines struggle with being too short or fat or old. Some are older than the heroes. You try to cover all spectrums.
The 'Crossfire' demographic is all-encompassing. Age, gender, religion, culture... it doesn't matter.
I believe that if you work hard at a relationship, devoting time and energy to it, being willing to grow and experiment, and never take it for granted, that you can continue to feel the initial attraction and excitement indefinitely.
I know of a few writers who are husband and wife teams.
You really couldn't do a PG version of 'Crossfire!' It just wouldn't work.
There were points in my career where I thought, 'Maybe I'm done. Maybe I've written everything there is to write.' Now I've learned that it's just working itself out. You have to let it do it.
It's fun to try and picture what exactly is in your head and translate it onto the screen. How you can take something that lives in my mind and bring it to life - but that part is fun.
The No. 1 thing is to write the book that you love and then hope that it finds an audience with the same taste as you. I think I've done that, and that's lucky.
I'm a multimillionaire.
My mom handed me my first romance novel.
The 'Blacklist' duology is a project I am very passionate about, and when the St. Martin's Press team approached me, I was captivated with their presentation.
There are millions of people who think that romance isn't real writing. But the only person who can make you real, make your books real, is you.
I love digital books. And I actually started digital-first publishing back in 2005.
