When I first started writing Demon By Day, I put a lot of thought into what a demon would be in the context of my story.  I was working in a complete fantasy setting, building my world from the ground up, but also borrowing some ideas from mythology and religion.  A lot of the names of the demons in the book are derived from names of demons and angels in Christian mythology (and yes, I’m going to call it mythology because I’m Buddhist, so to me it is a myth).  I decided that the demons in my book would be incredibly beautiful but also incredibly cruel and arrogant.  They had been condemned by a mother goddess to live below the earth or else risk being burned to death by the light of the sun (thus the conflict raised in the title of “Demon By Day”).  Their fall from grace mimicked the same fall that Lucifer and his fellow rebels took, and their ensuing plots to take control of the earth above also shadowed Biblical myth.

At the surface, it didn’t sound very original, but rest assured, I didn’t just only rely on the Christina religion for inspiration.  In fact, my first and main inspiration was one of my favorite authors, Tanith Lee.  Her novel, Delusion’s Master, is still one of the best and most beautiful works of fantasy that I’ve ever read, and her main character, Azhrarn, Night’s Master, was the inspiration for Orziel in Demon By Day.  However, where Azhrarn was the mightiest of the mighty in the realm of demons, I made Orziel the lowest of the low – a bastard, half mortal, with barely any magical power to speak of.  I wanted a real under-dog to take on an established hierarchy of vicious demons, and that (I hope) is were the originality of the story lies.

So that’s my take on what a demon is.  A few weeks back, I did a give-away contest for Demon By Day on Brenda Williamson’s Romance Party where I asked readers to tell me how they define a demon.  Here are the responses I got:

From Dawn M.
I like to think of demons as beings of another dimension rather than creatures of Judo-Christian hell. Not necessarily bad / evil though perhaps having a different concept of moral norms. So I like that this gives authors a chance to take stories in different directions out of the "norm" of paranormal creatures. They can explore demons from the basis of different religions or purely as a paranormal creature and thus it gives them a wide ranging basis to work from and more imaginative story lines.

From Joan R.
I think that demons can mean different things to each person.  I think that there is good in everything but you just have to hunt for it. I would like to get another type of look on demons to see how you bring the good out in your demons.

From Amy R
What are demons?  Why do I like reading about them?  Basically evil supernatural beings.  Tired of vamps and common weres/shifters.

From Cynthya
I think demons are the ultimate tortured heroes.  I love to read about them because they have to battle the dark sides of themselves in addition to outside forces.  
 
From Ashley A.
I think that Demons are supernatural creatures that have the ability to make anyone lust after them, to cause havoc when they so choose, and make life difficult because they find it fun.   I love to read about them because I find them sexy, and I like to see what "mischief" they can cause!!

From Tina
I think demons are misunderstood mythical creatures that are a little naughty and are in desperate need of love to curb their natural bad boy tendencies..

From Leah
I like reading about demons because they're different.  Vampires and werewolves seem to be the more popular paranormal.  Demons just seem to be very unpredictable!
 
From D.N.
I think demons are the darkest of souls incarnated in bodies that suit their crimes. I like to read about demons because it stirs up the possibility of evil in everyone, no matter how purist they are, when they read it.

From Carrie
Man what a question - I have tried to think what exactly Demons are before. If you believe in heaven/hell then one could think they were the devil's work - But if you don't then maybe they are half breeds - once upon a time there were a lot of full aliens or something & then they started getting it on with full humans.  I like reading them because they have powers that are not always thought of - more of a taboo kinda cause they can look like humans more then say were's.

So, lots of different answers to my question.  How close did any of these ideas come to my idea of a demon in Demon By Day?  Some were dead on, I’ll tell ya that!  Read the first chapter of Demon By Day here and see for yourself.  And if you have any ideas on what demons are, or why you like to read about them, leave a comment!