DAY LECLAIRE lives in the midst of a maritime forest
on Hatteras Island on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Despite the yearly
storms that batter them and the frequent power outages, she finds the
beautiful climate, superb fishing and unbeatable seascape more than
adequate compensation. Being flexible and having a sense of humor also
helps, she's discovered, along with a love for both the island and her
craft.
Day’s interest in writing started at an early age.
"There were four kids in our family, the three girls all close together
in age. We were home from school one winter day because we’d had a
blizzard and Mom... Well, she was practically pulling her hair out in an
attempt to keep us entertained. We’d fought our way through any number
of board games, had read all the books in the house and were basically
making a total nuisance of ourselves. Out of sheer desperation, Mom told
me that if I didn’t have any books to read, I should go write one.
So, I did. It was a historical. A Cinderella story set in
the Wild West with a wicked stepmother and two wicked stepsisters.
As I recall, those two stepsisters bore an uncanny resemblance to my own
two sisters. I guess I was out of charity with them at the time!"
Those initial attempts, rooted in elementary school,
continued all the way through college. "Although I’d thought about being
a writer in high school, I majored in Anthropology at University of
California, Berkeley. I was going to be another Jane Goodall . . .
right up until I went camping for the first time. It forced me to
reconsider a lifetime spent without the basic necessities of life—like
running water and flush toilets." So she dropped out to reconsider
her career choices. That’s when she met her future husband, Frank.
"It was a whirlwind courtship. We married five months
after meeting." The two went into business together, first running a
film library in Berkeley, then remodeling houses in Seattle, Washington,
before opening up a produce market. "Frank is great at retail.
He’s a natural salesman. But I’m not. With a retail operation . .
." Day laughs. "You have to be nice to the customers. That’s
tough since I’m an introvert who’d rather hide in the employee lounge
with my nose in a book. When I became pregnant with our son, Matt,
I told Frank that I’d like to find another line of work. He was
incredibly supportive. He asked me what I wanted to do and without
even thinking I said, ‘Write. I want to write romances.’
The next day we drove into Seattle and bought our first computer."
And the rest is history?
"Well, not quite. Harlequin returned my first
attempt—three mercifully short chapters. They said that although
my writing was competent, the plot of my story was melodramatic and my
characters stereotypical. But I took competent to mean good.
That one word gave me all the encouragement I needed. The next
book received an even more positive response—and a request for a
revision. Although they ultimately turned that second story down, I
never grew discouraged. It certainly never occurred to me to give
up."
Then tragedy struck. Day’s younger sister, Nancy, was
diagnosed with a brain tumor and died the following year. "It was
a very dark time," Day confesses. "We’d recently moved into this
tiny condominium outside of San Diego, California, and I didn’t know a
lot of people. My son, Matt, had just turned three and I spent the
summer hiding in our home with the drapes drawn, playing with him.
Finally my husband—out of sheer desperation—told me to start writing
again or go get a job at McDonald’s flipping burgers. It worked!
I sat down and wrote a slapstick romance called Jinxed. After
three months of depression, I needed some comedic relief and that book
provided it. It was my first Harlequin Romance and I dedicated it to
Nancy."
Recently, Day took a break from writing. "To be
perfectly honest, I had health issues which sapped my creative energy.
It's taken me a while to get the spark back again. But this year .
. . it's like a dam broke. I can't wait to sit down each morning
and lose myself in my latest story. I am so grateful to be able to
do what I love most—writing!"
And now that she's made the move to
Silhouette Desire? "I'm so excited! I have a ton of ideas.
Let's just say that I have a lot of writing ahead of me." Okay,
but what do readers have to look forward to? "First up is
The Royals trilogy which will be released February through April of
2007. The first three books are in and approved. I've just
finished my fourth
Desire, which is sort of a punctuation mark to the trilogy and will be
out in September 2007. I also have a NASCAR book I'll be writing for
Harlequin and that will be out August of 2007." As one fan says in response, "Finally! A new
Day Leclaire. I've even marked my calendar. The only problem
is how to handle my withdrawal symptoms until then. <G>
Fortunately, I can get a fix rereading all my Leclaire favorites—all thirty-something of them!"
Day Leclaire is the
multi-award-winning author of nearly forty novels. Her last
book was Keeping Faith, a December 2003 release through
Harlequin, which has garnered Day an impressive tenth nomination for the
romance industry’s highest award, the RITA, sponsored by Romance Writers
of America. She is also a three-time winner of both The Colorado Award
of Excellence, as well as The Golden Quill Award, has won Romantic
Times magazine’s Career Achievement award, the Holt Medallion, and
the Booksellers Best Award.
Day’s feel-good books offer a unique combination of humor,
tugs-at-the-heart emotion and unforgettable
characters which have won her tremendous worldwide popularity, as well
as numerous publishing honors. Her romances sparkle with great
dialogue and every one touches the heart; she makes
you care about her characters as much as she does. In Day’s own words,
“I adore writing romances, and can’t think of a better way to spend each
day.”
