We were beyond thrilled last week to be contacted by Penguin Group, asking if we’d be interested in interviewing Sylvia Day, the author of New York Times bestseller, Bared to You. I read Bared to You when going through 50 Shades withdrawal. Gideon Cross is a hot billionaire who owns like all of New York. Eva is a socialite who’s trying to make a name for herself. They literally run into each other and have an immediate connection, but they both carry emotional baggage. They’re possessive, jealous and controlling, which leads to an intense passionate romance, with sex as their therapy. And I have to say, I loved the story as much as, if not more than, 50 Shades.

I have included the audio of the interview as well as a (slightly paraphrased) transcript. I seriously hate my voice on the phone. I think I sound like a Maryland-born valley-girl, if that’s a thing. Think Cher from Clueless with a mid-Atlantic accent that’s been watered down by going to school in Syracuse and living in Connecticut. Get the idea? But that’s why you read this blog, not listen to it.

But this isn’t about me, it’s about Sylvia, and it’s worth listening to for her. She’s lovely! She was a delight to talk to, and I’m so happy we had a chance to chat about Bared to You. We talk about everything from her inspiration for the series, to some details on the sequel, to the rise in popularity of erotic fiction, and of course in true GirlyObsessions fashion, which hottie she’d picture playing Gideon in a movie!

I hope you enjoy! Also, be sure to  check out my second interview with Sylvia!

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Today we’re talking to Sylvia Day, the New York Times bestselling author of Bared to You. Congratulations on your success!
Thank you very much.

My name is Ashley, I run a blog called GirlyObsessions with my friend Sara. You can probably tell from the name of our blog that we talk about all things girly that we’re obsessed with, and your book is one of those things! So we’re so happy to talk to you!
Oh, thank you, that’s awesome to hear. We hope as writers that our books will connect with people!

I think one of the things we’ve learned from our blog is that word of mouth is sometimes the best form of advertising amongst women.  Do you attribute that to the success of your book?
Absolutely. 100%. You know I originally self-published Bared to You. If it was not for the readers who were recommending it on Goodreads and the Amazon forums and so on, it would not be where it is today. I attribute the success of the book entirely to readers sharing it with their friends and family. I’m hugely grateful.

Oh, that’s awesome. We discuss your book as part of what to read after 50 Shades if you’re having withdrawal, and I have to say, I loved your book, I loved the characters, I loved the story. I want to say I loved it as much, if not a little more than, 50 Shades. And I’m not just saying that because I’m talking to you!
Oh, I’m so glad you enjoyed it and I’m so glad that you were able to enjoy both books, both series, because of course that’s what we want! There’s plenty of room out there for erotic fiction and hopefully you like more than one!

Absolutely. I think what’s interesting is that traditional romance novels have been widely accepted, and I feel like this “new” erotic fiction has obviously gained popularity, but it was maybe a little taboo before. Now it’s pretty mainstream. I feel like before it was kind of like admitting you watched porn or something, you didn’t really want to talk about it, but now it’s everywhere. That has to be liberating, not only for you as an author of romance novels and erotic fiction, but also for women.
Oh, absolutely. You know when I first started out, and it’s been this way for a couple of years now because cause I’ve been writing erotic fiction since 2004, but it used to be called those books. You write those books. And now, that’s gone. You know, people don’t say that anymore. You can see them walking down the street with it, and everybody’s ok with it. If anything came out of this media attention for what’s been a long time trend (and apparently the media didn’t know that), it’s that people feel comfortable with it. They feel comfortable walking around with it.

Obviously as women, we discuss our sex life, but I feel like this has given you more ability to talk to your partners, or your spouses, or your friends about sex without feeling ashamed or nervous or whatever. I think it’s so liberating and I think helpful to relationships sometimes. You hear about how 50 Shades, or other erotic fiction, has helped saved marriages.
I’ve been hearing that for years! Men, you know, they may not be as open about it, but they’re starting to get that way. I got an email yesterday from a husband who wanted to let me know that him and his wife both have their own copies of Bared to You, and they were reading them at the same time, and at the end of the day they’d get together and figure out who’s farther along and they’d talk about it. It was part of their marriage and they really enjoyed that. I’ve heard that from other husbands. I’ve had husbands say: I always buy your books for my wife because, of course, I benefit when she reads your books! You know, it’s definitely a way to communicate. If there’s something in there that sounds interesting to you, it’s much easier for you to share the book with your partner, and say hey, read this scene right here, and let me know if you want to try it! You know, you try to explain something that you haven’t done yet, you know?

Oh, absolutely. I’m married and my husband, after I read 50 Shades, was like hmm, I kinda want to check this book out. I want to see what was so enticing and appealing. He tried to read it but he kinda skimmed it, so he cheated, but…
He just got to the good parts!

Exactly! That’s all he cared about!
You know I think it’s awesome that he was interested in seeing what it was, and hopefully that will increase your book budget! He’s like, oh, you like 50 Shades? Let me buy you another one!

Yeah, but I tried to tell him there’s a story in there, too! So I wanted to ask you, what was your inspiration behind writing Bared to You? I know you’ve sort of compared it to one of your other books, Seven Years to Sin. Is it loosely based off that book?
Ok, Seven Years to Sin is a Regency historical. I wrote it in 2010. In that book, the characters both had abusive histories, and that brought them together. That was the point of reference, that’s how they connected. And after I finished the book I sat there and wondered, what would it be like if the opposite happened? What would it be like if the defining trauma of your life actually impeded your ability to have the relationship you want with the person you’re in love with. And that kind of stayed in my head. And I played with it and tried to figure out how I wanted to work that. Those two characters from Seven Years to Sin, Jessica and Alistair, when I first started Bared to You, I pretty much transplanted them from Regency England to modern-day New York. So the characters have a lot in common. They look alike. They have similar histories. But they dynamic of their relationship is completely different.

I know that you write historical romance, you write paranormal romance, and you have this more contemporary erotic fiction. Do you have a favorite thing to write? What would you say are the differences between these more contemporary romances and “traditional” romance novels?
Well, for me, when I start out with a story, I really don’t think about the setting or the time period. It’s just the characters. So I have an idea in my head of the character I want to write about, or sometimes it’s just a scene. And then when I sit down and I go to write the story, that’s when I debate: where would this fit? Which setting, which time period would be the most beneficial for this story that I want to tell? So it always starts out with that. I’m very fortunate that I was able to publish in all these different genres. Some authors are kind of stuck in one thing based on who their publisher is. But I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to write a little bit of everything. And then, the heat levels vary across all the genres. So it’s not as if my contemporaries are hotter than my paranormals. I mean I have erotic paranormals and I have mainstream paranormals. And I have erotic contemporaries and I have mainstream contemporaries. So there’s a wide range. Everything is really sexy no matter what, even if it’s not totally erotic fiction. I don’t know how to write a romance that’s not sexy. I mean how can the guy be the man of your dreams if he doesn’t know what he’s doing?

I know!
Right? I mean you expect him to be exceptional in that area, so all my heroes are, and are happy to demonstrate that!

One of the differences that people who have read Bared to You and 50 Shades see is that both the characters in your book, Eva and Gideon, carry this emotional baggage, and they both want to be in control of the relationship for whatever reason. And I think some people might say that type of relationship is needy and co-dependent and obsessive, and maybe unhealthy, but it’s also sexy and passionate. Do you think that type of passion can exist in real life? Or that sex can basically be used as a form of therapy?
Umm, yes to both! I do think that especially with erotic fiction, because the story is really more dependent on the emotional story arc rather than an external. It’s not like romantic suspense where there’s a bad guy or whatever. It’s two characters, and the whole journey of the story is their emotional growth. And they do that through sexual interaction. So that’s pretty much all erotic romance, it shows some sort of healing through sexual interaction with the person that you love. So there’s that aspect to it. As to whether the intensity, that sort of drama can exist. I don’t know, when I was in school, all my relationships were intense and dramatic like that. Everything was the end of the world or it wasn’t the end of the world. You know, I though about him all the time, almost obsessively thinking about the guy. I remember that very well. And these characters, both in 50 Shades and in Bared to You, they’re very young characters, so a lot of that angst and some of these overblown reactions to things have to do with how old they are. And hopefully you never really lose that. I mean I would hate to reach a point in life where you’ve outgrown being crazy in love with somebody. That would be awful. I mean how fun is that? It’s absolutely fabulous to be that crazy about somebody and have them feel that way about you in return. I mean hopefully not to the point of being stalkerish…

Well, that’s what I want going to say. I mean Gideon’s kind of like an acceptable stalker because he’s so freaking hot. I’m sure Eva’s thinking, it’s ok if you want to recreate my bedroom. It’s not creepy!
Yeah, I mean you kind of forgive him for some of those things. Eva has these moments where she’s like, uhh, ok, you’re crossing way over into my freakout zone at this point! He tries to learn from his mistakes, but for him, he’s never had one of those crazy-wild-overblown-raging-hormone type of relationships with anyone. So for him everything is overblown and over the top. But that’s the way he lives every aspect of his life. His apartment is over the top. Everything he does in business is over the top He doesn’t really have a valve. He doesn’t have a  filter. He’s like 100% with everything.

It’s all or nothing.
And Eva has to deal with him being 100% about her.

You know I feel like there’s this whole thing about how you can’t change a man. A man is a man. But there’s something about Eva that Gideon wants to change to be with her. What is it about her that just possesses him? That makes him want to change? What does she have that all these other women don’t have?
She sees him. She like really sees him. She sees his problems and his scars. And nobody has ever bothered to see that about him before. They see the outside. You know. He’s wealthy. He’s gorgeous. He’s successful. That’s what they’re interested in. That whole facade on the outside. Eva is not interested in that. She’s actually opposed to that. She’s watched her mother be a career trophy wife her entire life. So for her, the exterior doesn’t make a man. Money doesn’t make a man.It’s like, who are you on the inside because that’s all I really care about. And that’s hugely important to him. That somebody can see him for who he is, and still want him anyway.

So I know that you have a sequel planned, Deeper in You, and I can’t wait! There’s rumor of it coming out in October, is that true?
It’s scheduled for October, yes. Honestly the publisher would get it out earlier if I turned it over earlier. So I’m really the holdup here!

Come on! We’re all waiting!
I would love to get it out there. But one of the things is that when I wrote Bared to You, because I wrote it pretty much for me, it was a story that I wanted to tell, I went into it without having any word count in mind, which I would have to do for a book that was contracted. So it wasn’t until I had been writing for six weeks or so and I looked down at my word processor and realized ok, wait, I’m way over novel length and the story’s not done, so clearly it’s going to take more than one book. So you know I had to end it at that point and publish it and move on to the next book in the series. But with the second and third book, I would like to write them all the way through and then find the natural break point between the two. And then put it out that way. So as much as I want to get it out there, I also want to find that natural break point.

That’s ok, you know, we’ll all be waiting in anticipation…
I know! I’m excited for you guys to read it, too! I’m eager for readers to see where the story is going because I know there is a lot of speculation about is it going to go this way, is it going to go that way, and I would love to answer those questions.

Well , personally I want to know more about Gideon’s past, and I hope we do learn more about that. I know you probably can’t tell me, but I’m hoping!
Well it reaches a point where Eva’s been very open with him, and she believes in laying it all out there and hoping that he’ll take her the way she is. And she’ll reach a point with Gideon where it’s like, I’ve given 200% to this and you’re still not there. And there’s only so far I can put myself out there without you meeting me halfway. And he’ll have to make the decision between, am I able to trust someday with this, my past, and still want me anyways? Or am I going to let her go and just hang onto it? And that’s the decision he has to reach. He’s obviously crazy in love with Eva, so he won’t let her go.

Good, well, you know, I like happy endings. So, if just for me, I hope a happy ending is in store!
I was so surprised about that! I talked to my editor about that! I’m surprised because some people are like, I hope they end up together! And I’m like, I didn’t know that would be in doubt! But they have so much between them that you have to wonder, can they do it? But she doesn’t give up easily and he never gives up, so…

I just have one final question for you and you might not have an answer for me but I’m going to ask anyways! On our blog on Wednesdays we do this thing called Hump Day Hottie where we post pics of hot guys, hot celebrities and hot women sometimes. And I noticed on Pinterest that you had a Bared to You inspiration board with a lot of…eye candy. And I was wondering if when you were writing Gideon if you had anyone in mind, or if you were to choose someone to play him in a movie, who would you choose to play him? I know that’s a broad question and maybe such perfection doesn’t exist in real life!
Well I mean you kind of have some sort of idea. I was leaning toward Ian Somerhalder for a while. He also has kind of boyish good looks to him, where as Gideon is more mature, even though he’s only 28. So maybe Ian, 5-10 years down the road. But I don’t know, he’s playing a teenager, so he might have that baby face forever!

He might!
Maybe more along the lines of his older brother. And longer hair.

Longer hair, yes. But I could see that. He has gorgeous blue eyes and the dark hair.
Yeah maybe Hugh Jackman with blue eyes.

Oh, yea that could work. I like that.
Yeah, there are a couple of pictures of him on that Pinterest board where he has longer hair, that I was like, ok yeah, that’s him.

I was looking at the board last night being like, oh my god, I can’t even handle it!
Oh I love those pictures. Whenever I find them I add them to that board, because it’s so interesting to see what everybody’s idea is. But if you look at it, they’re all of the same type. So I guess everybody has the same general idea of what Gideon is.

Well, I think it’s the way he’s written, too. He’s written so clearly, you have this picture of him in your mind. But it’s also one of those things, like, you know, he’s perfect. That doesn’t exist in real life!
You know, I have to tell you, on my most recent trip to New York, I just got back last week, I was walking down the street and there was a business man who came out of the building and he had a suit on. It wasn’t a three-piece suit, just a regular two-piece suit, but he was pretty damn hot. And for a second I was like, oh, ok, there he goes.

You’re like oh hey, can I just track you down real quick? It won’t be creepy, I promise!
But of course we want him to be perfect in ALL aspects, which is sometimes hard to find.

That’s true! Well, I won’t keep you any longer but I wanted to thank you so much for chatting with me, I really appreciate it. And congrats again on the book and I wish you nothing but success and I’m sure it will be a major success for you!
Thank you very much! I’m very happy to have spent the morning with you, I think it was fabulous! Thank you!