Interview (YR): Eileen Davidson's Alexis Peterson Is on the Case

Most of daytime fans know Eileen Davidson as Ashley Abbott, whom she’s portrayed on “The Young and the Restless” off and on since 1982. But many might not know that she is also an accomplished author. Along with co-writer Robert Randisi, she has penned four “Soap Opera Mystery” novels, the latest installment being “Swingin’ in the Rain.” In “Swingin’,” Eileen explores the world of swingers’ clubs as a backdrop to murder.

Daytime Dial: Here’s a question I am sure is on everyone’s minds: What made you decide to set your new book in the world of swingers?

Eileen Davidson: I had heard about different people living in Malibu who were into it. And I was like, “You’re kidding!” It was just really shocking, and it seemed like a great backdrop for a murder mystery. After I did some research, I discovered how prevalent it is in society. I’m fascinated that so many people are into it, that it’s kind of a very well-kept secret. And I’m wondering if they ever run into each other at the dry cleaners or in the carpool line.

DD: How did you research it?

ED: This is a true story. I was at Scott Baio’s birthday party, and a woman came up to me and said she was a big fan of my books and asked when I was going to write the next one. And I said, “Well, I’m kind of in the middle of writing it now.” And she asked, “What’s the premise?” And I told her, and she goes, “You’re not going to believe this, but one of my good friends was the manager for one of the top swingers clubs in L.A. for 10 years.” So I gave her friend a call, and we spoke for an hour, and she gave me so much information. She told me everything, and everything she told me I put in the book: game rooms and the dark room, where everybody denies going into, but it’s always full.

The club she managed is closed now, but she said: “I know of someone who is running another one. And if you want to go, I can get you in there.” And I was thinking I should go there for research, but then I thought, Do I really want to do that? So I told her that maybe someday I’ll check it out. But I don’t know.

DD: In theory, it seems like a good idea, but then when it gets down to it ...

ED: Exactly! Exactly! I guess my Catholic upbringing is alive and well.

DD: I like that you incorporated Alex’s fears now that we’re down to four network soaps. What are some other bits of soap business that you bring to your books?

ED: The opening scene of the book actually happened to me in the ’80s while I was filming a scene for “YR.” We were filming the scene at a park in the pouring rain, and I had a crewmember underneath me trying to push me up this steep, muddy hill that I needed to get up, and I kept sliding down. So, I have some guy under me, not in the shot, trying to get me up there, and I keep falling down. We laughed so hard, because I could not get up that friggin’ hill.

DD: I am really enjoying the slow development of Alex and Jakes’ relationship. It’s realistic, and it’s getting better and stronger. Do you purposely keep her relationship with Jakes grounded so that Alex herself does not go crazy?

ED: That’s a good way of putting it, actually, because there is so much crazy stuff going on around her that there has to be something that is a grounding force besides her daughter. So, it’s just kind of the way the relationship evolves. When he was first introduced it was not supposed to be like a love interest, but it evolved that way in the first book. It was just sort of this natural evolution.

If you want to get in on the mystery, buy Eileen’s book “Swingin’ in the Rain” on amazon.com, or wherever books are sold. And check out her first three books while you’re at it!

Interview YR: Eileen Davidson Shows Off Her Inner Diva

If you are a true “Young and the Restless” fan, then you know that Eileen Davidson (aka Ashley Abbott) has written a series of bestselling crime novels centered on the soap-opera world. If you didn’t know that, then you need to go out right now and buy yourself the books, because you are in for a treat. Eileen’s third book in the series, “Diva Las Vegas,” came out earlier this year, and it’s even better than its predecessors.

Daytime Dial: Your books are always so much fun to read. Are they as much fun for you to write as they are for me to read?

Eileen Davidson: Thank you! Yeah, they really are. I really have a good time. I started the fourth book just last week, and it’s just so much fun getting reacquainted with the characters. I crack myself up with these silly things I write.

DD: How do you find time to fit it all in – being a mother, a wife, an actress, an author, a spokesperson?

ED: It sounds overwhelming, but really it just isn’t. It all kind of works out. I go through phases where everything is really kind of crazy and then, like right now, I’m working only one day a week for like the past three weeks, so I have lots of time. When I am home, I write when my child is at school. When I’m working a lot, I bring my computer in with me and work between scenes.

It takes a village sometimes, but it’s not constantly crazy busy. My husband’s schedule is erratic as well. But we just go with the flow and make it work. But very rarely is everything happening at the same time.DD: I love the protagonist in your book series, Alex. She is so down-to-earth and personable. Do Alex and Eileen share some personality qualities?

ED: Oh sure, we do share some qualities. And also, beginning with the very first book, I established the voice of the character. I wrote the first couple of chapters, and I established the voice of who Alex is. I’ve written every first and second chapter for all four books, and then we (Eileen and Bob Randisi, her coauthor) go from there. Like right now, I’ve sent the first two chapters to Bob, he sent me two back, I reworked them yesterday, and then I wrote an additional two and will send that back to him. But I have to rework it because it’s my voice, so I have to make sure she sounds the same throughout the book.

DD: Do you base some of the books’ circumstances on things you’ve done or experienced?

ED: Yes, I do. I have gone to the Playboy Mansion a couple of times for the Halloween party and it was such a scene that I thought, “Oh my god, this would make a great way to open a book.” When I was at the Emmys about three years ago, I was like, “This would be a fantastic way to open a book.” Getting out of the limousine with everybody screaming at you and then suddenly a bigger star comes along, and the photographers leave you and run over there. Only in Hollywood would you go through these kinds of things, and yet it’s my life. But I’m also a mother and wife, and my life is fairly boring. I pick up dog poop and I make cupcakes, and yet I have that other side of my life that’s kind of out there. It’s fun for me to share it with people and to give them a little peek behind the curtain.

DD: Do you ever get worried that your co-workers at “The Young and the Restless” will read your books and wonder if one of the characters is based on them?

ED: Not really, because I’m not mean-spirited at all. But I might base a character on someone I know. For instance, in the fourth book, I decided to base a director character on somebody I work with at “YR.” But I talked to my husband about it, and it was much more interesting to go over the top with the director. So, it kind of starts as a real person, but then it goes off on a whole different tangent. Some of my characters are inspired by real people, but they’re not based on anybody per se.

DD: I love the relationship between Alex and her boyfriend, Jakes. How did you create that relationship and get it to translate so well to their characters?

ED: Gosh, that’s a really good question. They’re still new, as a couple, since she just ended the relationship with the other guy. I guess I don’t want them to be like crazy possessive of each other, but still possessive enough that they keep each other on their toes. Do you know what I mean?

Like, my husband and I have been married almost eight years and we trust each other and are not super-paranoid, because he travels a lot. But I still want him to be jealous to a certain degree. I don’t want him to pull a shotgun out or anything but I still want him to care if somebody else is looking at me or paying attention to me or where am I. You still want your significant other to be interested but just so it doesn’t go over the top. That’s what I want for Alex and Jakes. I want there to be a playfulness and yet a kind of push-pull between them.

DD: Who are some writers you admire and who influence your own writing?

ED: A while back, I was really into all the spirituality and stuff. I was reading tons of really heavy self-help books and spirituality books, and things like “The Power of Now” and all these really intense books, even Kabbalah. I was doing all sorts of research on different spiritualities for years. And then I was at this retreat and I had forgotten to bring a book, and I happened to pick up a Sue Grafton book. It was like, this is so much fun. I guess I needed a break from all of that heavy reading, and I went into the Sue Grafton world. I read all of her books, and for this genre, that would definitely be who inspired me.

DD: Can you give me any details about the fourth book you are working on?

ED: It’s called “Swinging in the Rain” and it’s going to involve the whole subculture of swinging couples. Strangely enough, I’ve heard so much about it in the past couple of years. It just fascinates me that people are so good at sharing, because I’m not. A lot of people are apparently good at it, because it’s very popular. The more I found out about it, the more fascinated I became. I realized this could be very interesting to use as a backdrop for my book.

Interview Y&R: Eileen Davidson: Author, Part 2

Eileen Davidson has plenty of material from which to draw when it comes to writing a juicy story. After all, she has been on the No. 1-rated soap for about 15 years. As Ashley Abbott on “The Young and the Restless” (as well as starring on “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “Days of Our Lives” and “Santa Barbara”), Eileen’s character has seen her fair share of turmoil, intrigue, death and betrayal.

Eileen combined her love of soaps and her love of books into a successful foray into the world of murder-mystery novels. Her second book, “Dial Emmy for Murder,” was released last month, and she is hard at work on the third in the series. She was excited to discuss her latest project.

Have you always been specifically a mystery fan, or just a general book-lover?
Eileen Davidson: “I’ve always been very well read. I was reading a lot of spiritual and self-help books for many years, and it was very heavy. One day I just picked up a mystery novel when I was on vacation, and I thought, ‘This is so much fun!’ I got hooked on the whole genre. I was a writer when I was in high school, and I had always wanted to get back into writing. I do have an interest in forensics, a lot of the cold-case shows and A&E shows about solving murders. Combining that with what I do for a living seemed like a natural fit. People can get a bird’s-eye view of what we do for a living over here, and it’s also wrapped up in the intriguing world of forensics.”

Is there a bit of Eileen Davidson in the novel’s heroine, Alexis Peterson?
E.D.: “Stephen Colbert talks about ‘truthiness,’ and with these books, there’s a lot of truthiness in them. It’s a lot of truth, a lot of fiction, a lot of my own experiences with a twist. It’s a combination of everything — a truth-and-fiction stew.”

Are you working with author Robert Randisi on this second book as well?
E.D.: “Yes. He knows this form of writing very well; I know the soap-opera world very well. We work very well together. When I get pages back from him, they sound like he just finished writing a Western, so I am like, ‘OK, this does not sound like something a woman would say,’ and he says, ‘That’s what I have you for.’ So I rewrite it and put a female tone to it.”

What can you tell me about the third book?
E.D.: “The third book is leaning more toward romance, so it’s going to be a mystery/romance novel. I’m putting in more romance, but it’s weird. I’m not sure how to do it. I draw a lot of innuendo, but wonder, Am I really supposed to start to use certain body-part words when I write it? So I am kind of getting used to that sort of thing, and where to draw the line with that.
“The book opens at Hugh Hefner’s mansion at the Halloween party he has every year. Alexis is there, of course, and there is a murder at the mansion. It’s called ‘Diva Las Vegas,’ because the story ends up taking Alexis to Las Vegas. My husband (Vince Van Patten) came up with that title.”

Would you like to see your series of books turned into a television serial or miniseries?
E.D.: “Absolutely. We’re trying to make something happen with that right now, which is interesting, because everyone says that this genre is dying. But it’s still alive and kicking; we’re still here. But yes, we are pursuing it.”

Is there an indefinite number to the series?
E.D.: “We’re going to see how they sell and go from there. I can’t believe I got one book out, the fact that I have two books in the can is amazing. Anything else at this point is just gravy.”

“Dial Emmy for Murder” can be found at your local retailer or any online book outlet.

Interview Y&R: Eileen Davidson Is Game for Anything, Part 1

Eileen Davidson is back in familiar territory: She has returned to The Young and the Restless, and Ashley is back in Victor Newman’s arms. This time, however, Ashley and Victor’s relationship is a more mature and kinder love. However, there are still those who would try to tear them apart (Adam, this means you!). After all, this is a soap opera.

Eileen, actress and author — her second book, Dial Emmy for Murder, was just released in June — talks about this go-round with Ashley and Victor, as well as being a murder-mystery author.

Now that Ashley has returned to Y&R, are you glad that you get to further explore her relationship with Victor? I know that many fans feel there is more to discover there.
Eileen Davidson: “The writers are definitely taking this down a completely different path than I thought they would, but that’s great. It’s a great way for these two characters to get reconnected this time around, maybe get some closure, and it’s a really interesting story line to play.”

Was coming back to the Y&R set like riding a bike?
ED: “It feels very familiar, since I know this character very, very well. But on the other hand, because the story is so unpredictable — because of Ashley thinking that she might be losing her mind and trying to hold on to her sense of sanity — it’s challenging from that aspect. It’s a different facet of the character. Even though she’s had emotional problems before, it’s never been quite like this, where someone from the outside is the one doing this to her.”

Tell me about playing Ashley and suffering from a hysterical pregnancy.
ED: “A lot of people don’t know that this is a real, physical situation that can happen to women who are so emotionally connected to being pregnant that their bodies can actually mimic a pregnancy when the baby is lost. It’s hard to understand. People wonder how she can still look big even though a baby is not in there, but it is her body that is creating this ‘pregnancy.’”

Were you excited to play this story line?
ED: “I’m always game for anything, and this seemed very interesting and different, and something I’d never seen done before. The fact that this does happen and it’s not just a contrivance makes it all the more interesting. Also, with how much Ashley wanted this baby, and how much she thought that maybe they should have had a child together years ago when she made a choice to have an abortion, with that being strong enough to create a pregnancy is just really cool.”

Victor finally takes down Sabrina’s statue. Does this make Ashley feel more secure in her relationship with him?
ED: “I don’t think she ever felt threatened by Victor’s previous relationship with Sabrina. I think she was very respectful of that relationship. Victor realizes it’s time to close that chapter of his life and move on.”

Tune in next week as Eileen talks mystery, murder and her latest book, Dial Emmy for Murder.

Interview: Soap Stars Share the Magic of the Holiday Season, Part 1

Alison Sweeney (pictured, Sami, Days of Our Lives): I get to experience the magic of Christmas all over again with my son, Ben. A funny memory I have of Christmas last year is Ben kept saying to everyone “Very Christmas!” instead of “Merry Christmas!” It was the cutest thing!

Eric Winter (ex-Rex, Days): My favorite Christmas tradition was always the part where I’d wake up and my mom — or was it Santa? — would place my stocking on my bed for me to have when I’d wake up. For some reason, the fun stuff I’d get in my stocking would be more exciting than actually sitting around the tree and opening gifts. To this day I still get a stocking from my mom.

Eileen Davidson (Ashley, The Young and the Restless): I was born and raised in Southern California, so snow around the holidays just never happened. In fact, I had never seen snow before. So when I was about 8 years old, my mom and dad took me and my six brothers and sisters up to the local mountains (about a three-hour drive from home) for a week over Christmas. They had rented a log cabin for us. We got a tree from the forest and woke up Christmas morning to a blanket of white snow everywhere. It was a very magical Christmas!

Marsha Clark (ex-Hillary, Guiding Light): Since GL taped a month or so in advance, we always got a jump-start on the Christmas merriment. Because the sets were decorated for the season and story lines were involved with the holiday festivities, our Christmas celebrations (in Springfield) started in November!

The wonderful Charita Bauer, who played matriarch Bert Bauer, was our “Santa,” distributing her own thoughtful hand-picked gifts to the cast and crew when Christmas actually arrived (in New York) in December.

Charita and I both lived near each other and would often leave work at the same time. Some of my fondest yuletide memories are of walking home from the studio with Charita through the snowy streets of Manhattan, listening to her hilarious stories and peeking at the holiday audio-animatronics displays in the store windows. Actually, Charita’s warmth, kindness and humor kept the holiday spirit going year-round!

Kyle Lowder (Rick, The Bold and the Beautiful): I moved to New York with my family when I was 3 years old. I believe there is no place like Christmas in New York. I know I am not the only one who feels that way. It is the absolute tradition — I’ve been doing it ever since I moved away from home, and now my wife joins me on the trip. Always Christmas in New York with the family. My parents live only about 30 miles north of Manhattan in the suburbs. So we’re always down to Manhattan seeing the Rockefeller Center tree, the 5th Avenue windows, and everything you can do tradition-wise in Manhattan, we are there doing it. That is something I make an effort to do every year. I’ve missed only two Christmases in New York since 1985, and that’s because my parents were living in Tokyo for my dad’s job. But if they are here, I am in New York with them, and I hope that’s a tradition that never ends.

Interview: YR's Ashley Abbott Is Back, Again!

It seems like just yesterday that Ashley Abbott showed up in L.A., had a short-lived relationship with Ridge Forrester and then quickly disappeared into the background. Initially, they had big plans for Eileen Davidson on “The Bold and the Beautiful,” sister soap to “The Young and the Restless.” But those plans soon fell by the wayside, as did Eileen’s screen time.

Eileen explains how Ashley made her way back to Genoa City: “Billy Bell Jr. asked me to meet with him — he had discussed with Brad that they didn’t have any story for me over at ‘B&B’ — and he asked me to come back to ‘Y&R.’ I said yes, of course — that was back in May.”

Although Eileen has only just returned to the “Y&R” set, she picked up right where she left off. “It was great to be back. I’ve been shooting scenes with Peter (Bergman, Jack Abbott), Beth (Maitland, Tracey Abbott) and Billy Miller, the new actor who plays Billy Abbott.”

Although Eileen’s time on “B&B” might have been shorter than expected, she definitely does not have any bad feelings about leaving. “My leaving was more story-line dictated. I know Brad had big plans, and I don’t take it personally. The story went someplace else — that happens all the time.

“I think of it as a cool turn of events: ‘Y&R’ let me go, Brad picked me up, and now I am back at ‘Y&R.’”

There is always a chance that Ashley will be back in L.A. for shorter visits, as she has done in the past when the story line necessitated it. “I hope so,” Eileen admits. “I really like working there.”

Eileen remains tight-lipped about Ashley’s future in Genoa City, but not because she is being evasive. “There is only so much I know,” she explains. “They are keeping the story line under wraps, even from the actors.”

She is excited that Jabot seems to be coming back to the forefront for the Abbott family, with Jack planning his maneuver to wrestle the company away from Jill and Kay. “I love that. Jabot has been there longer than I have — it always plays a signature role on the show, and it should.”

With Eileen’s return, viewers can expect to see a slightly different Ashley. “Ashley has gone through a lot of different things — her character is kind of reborn a bit.”

Eileen herself has been reborn a bit, in a way, as an author. In her free time, she has written “Death in Daytime,” a murder/mystery set in the soap world. “It has a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff. It’s really tongue-in-cheek and was a lot of fun to write.” (Buy it here on amazon.com.)

Eileen co-wrote the book with mystery writer Robert Randisi. “Writing is my first love,” Eileen says, “and I am being paid by Penguin to learn how to do it. I am also lucky that I have Bob to write it with me. My husband (Vince Van Patten) had written a book with him about the poker-playing world (‘The Picasso Flop: A Texas Hold’em Mystery’). We were having dinner one night and I said that we should write something about the soap-opera world. We just kind of went from there.”

Whether she will be writing more novels in the future, Eileen hesitates to say one way or the other. “I’m really taking it one day at a time. We’ll see how it sells, how it’s received. My daytime job is very time-consuming. With my children and my husband, I have a very full life. But I’d never count anything out.”

Ashley Abbott Is Back in Genoa City

Eileen Davidson (Ashley Abbott, YR and BB) is coming home to Genoa City, and this time it is not just for a visit — this time she is here to stay.

Eileen left YR about a year and half ago, due to no story line and budget cutbacks, and was quickly picked up by sister-soap BB, with much fanfare. However, after only a few months of front-burner story line, Ashley was quickly relegated to the background and eventually bumped down to recurring status.

Since the departure of YR head writer Lynn Latham, Eileen's old soap has jumped at the chance to get Ashley (and Eileen) back in Genoa City.

The Young and the Restless, which is now being penned by Maria Arena Bell and co-head writer Hogan Sheffer, already has a major story planned for Davidson's return, but they are tight-lipped about the details. However, news has leaked that Davidson's return will coincide with the show's on-location shoot in Paris, France. The top-secret plot also involves Eric Braeden (Victor Newman), Sharon Case (Sharon Newman), and Joshua Morrow (Nicholas Newman).

Eileen's first airdate is Sept. 26.

Y&R Celebrates Two Milestones

The Young and the Restless reached 1,000 consecutive weeks as the #1 rated daytime drama series against regular scheduled programming, according to Nielsen ratings for the week ending February 29, 2008. The streak began more than 19 years ago in December, 1988.

ALSO

The Young and the Restless will celebrate 35 years on the air on March 26, 2008. Y&R’s 35th anniversary storyline revolves around Restless Style Magazine, a print and Web-based magazine run by Nick and Phyllis Newman (Joshua Morrow and Michelle Stafford) and Jack and Sharon Abbott (Peter Bergman and Sharon Case). In the March 26 episode, a launch party is thrown by the magazine during which surprises occur, former favorites return and old rivalries are renewed. Fan favorite Michael Damian, who played Danny Romalotti from 1981-1990, 1993-1998 and 2002-2004, returns for several episodes, and actors Eileen Davidson and Lesli Kay cross over from sister show The Bold and the Beautiful as their characters attend the Restless Style party. Tatyana Ali appears as Roxanne, Patty Weaver appears as Gina Roma and Entertainment Tonight Correspondent Thea Andrews appears as herself.

Y&R Casting Updates

Don't miss The Young and the Restless Feb. 26-28, as John McCook and Eileen Davidson cross over from The Bold and the Beautiful when Jack and Sharon travel to Los Angeles to promote their new magazine to Eric Forrester. However, I have a feeling that Victor might try to destroy their plans for magazine sponsorship, ya think?

Also, on Feb. 18, Signy Coleman appears as Hope, and has some good news/bad news for Victor. How will this affect his family back in Genoa City? Stay tuned!

Eileen Davidson Comes To "The Bold and the Beautiful"

In a "Daytime Dial" exclusive, I can confirm that Eileen Davidson (ex-Ashley, "The Young and the Restless") will be joining "B&B" as Ashley Abbott. Her first day on the set is this Thursday, Feb. 8, and her first airdate will be March 9, confirmed by Eva Demirjian, spokesperson for "B&B."

The premise for Ashley's arrival (since we last heard she was on her way to Hong Kong), Brooke calls Ashley and asks her to come to L.A. to help develop a signature scent to go with the Forresters' new clothing line. No word yet on whether daughter Abby will come with her.

Here is an excerpt from the interview I just conducted with Eileen that will run in newspapers Feb. 16:

“Brad (Bradley Bell, ‘B&B’ head writer and executive producer) called me out of the blue,” Eileen tells me. “I was really thrilled that he called. After ‘Y&R,’ I didn’t really put any feelers out (for new acting work). I spent that time getting through the holidays — I have a 3-1/2-year-old, plus I have 11- and 13-year-old stepsons. I figured I would contemplate my next move in January. I thought, ‘The first week in January, I’ve really gotta think about this.’”

This whole situation was new for Eileen. “I’ve never been out of work before when it wasn’t my own choice.”

But it was also a chance to spread her wings, along with Ashley’s. “What’s so cool is I’ve done so many things in daytime television, but this is a whole different thing. The second time around (playing Ashley on “Y&R”), Ashley never really got to live to her full potential. But now she’s in a whole new arena, without all the baggage she had on the other show.” Maybe the third time will be the charm.

So tune in March 9 for Eileen Davidson's debut on "The Bold and the Beautiful." I know I will!

POLL: Which Show Would You Like To See Eileen Davidson On?

Free Poll from CWT

Eileen Davidson Scoop

You "kinda" heard it here first. While, I am not at liberty to tell all the details, YET, I can tell you that I'm going to end all speculation that Eileen Davidson (ex-Ashley, "Y&R") might be coming back to "Days" as Kristen Blake.

She won't. At least not in the foreseeable future.

But she has just signed a contract to join another daytime drama. Soon. Only I can't tell you which one. Yet. I'm interviewing her later this week to get the scoop for my Daytime Dial interview column. And when I'm allowed to spill the beans, you'll be the first to hear.

Stay tuned! (And fwd this to your friends!)