Earlier this month, I posted my review of book two in Sylvia Day’s Crossfire series, Reflected in You. Today the print version releases, and Sylvia is stopping by Smexy for a chat.

Welcome to Smexy Books, Sylvia! In case some readers are unfamiliar with your Crossfire series, give us a brief description of Eva and Gideon.

Eva and Gideon are an affluent young couple trying to make a very passionate and troubled relationship work. They have so much in common, including histories of childhood abuse, but the coping mechanisms they’ve each adopted to overcome that trauma are very different, which causes all sorts of problems between them.

Eva and Gideon spend a lot of time in this book analyzing their relationship and trying to get past the fear that one day it’s going to fall apart. They have to accept the risk. In this book, Gideon even says: “People get over love. They can live without it, they can move on. Love can be lost and found again. But that won’t happen for me. I won’t survive you, Eva.”

What drives Gideon to be this obsessed with Eva? Is Gideon the ultimate romance fantasy hero by placing Eva in a category that is even beyond love?

Have you ever read a book and become so engrossed in it you didn’t realize the sun had set and you barely have light to read by until someone enters the room, flips the light on, and startles you? That was Gideon’s life. It was growing increasingly dark and isolated, and he didn’t realize it until he found Eva. His lust for her was the initial spark and as they grow closer, she inspires, enlightens, and supports him. She sees all his flaws and understands the root of them. She “gets” him in a way no one else in his life ever has, but more than that, he understands her and that’s a profound connection for him. What she needs from him are the deepest, darkest parts of his soul that no one else ever wanted to know. I’m sure his ability to love unconditionally and with every fiber of his being is one of the reasons so many of us are captivated by him.

To balance out such an intense relationship, I think it’s important that we see Eva and Gideon’s interactions with other people and I really liked when we see Gideon hanging out with a friend or even his sister. Will we continue to see more of that?  Cary, Eva’s roommate, has a big supporting role in this series. Will his story line have any sort of closure at the end of the next book? 

Yes, Gideon and Eva’s social circle will expand as they grow more secure in their relationship. Eva will be more integrated in Gideon’s life and she’ll include him in her expanding network of friends. As for Cary, he’s still got some growing and healing to do, and Eva won’t be truly happy until he is.

I don’t want to spoil anything for those who have yet to read this book so I’m going to be vague but by the end, we learn something about Gideon that doesn’t often occur with a romance hero. As I said earlier in my review—you went there. Was this planned all along? Was it a difficult decision to make or was it something that had to happen for his character to move forward?

I knew Gideon was dark and dangerous, yes, and that he has no limits when it comes to Eva. He’s stayed true to his character all the way. It wasn’t a difficult decision to go where he takes us. First and foremost, I have to be true to the story as it comes to me. I can’t think about reader response when I’m writing.

Entwined With You, book three of this series is scheduled to be released next year. Is this it for the series? Any tiny hints you can give us to hold us over for the next few months?

I can’t say Entwined will be the end of the series until I’m finished with it. It’s possible it may take a fourth book to wrap things up. I won’t cram or rush the third book just to make it a trilogy—Gideon and Eva deserve a decent and solid HEA. Nor will I unnecessarily extend the series beyond its natural end point—I have other series in progress! As for hints… Reflected was really Eva’s story. Entwined focuses more on Gideon, who has much further to go to get to a good place.

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