On Thursday, May 1, nominations for the 41st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced, and “Days of our Lives” star Eric Martsolf (Brady Black) received the happy news that he’d received his first ever nomination, although in the most unusual of ways. “I had forgotten that they were announcing it. I had an early call time and I’m in the shower at 6:00 AM,” the actor recalls of the time news began rolling in. “I get out and my phone’s just going nuts. There I am soaking wet standing there in the bathroom. I look at my Twitter, and sure enough, I found out through some fan,” Martsolf states with a chuckle while nonchalantly apologizing for the visual. For reference, “The tweet read, ‘Congratulations on your Emmy nomination, Eric Martsolf’ and that’s how I found out.”

Justin Gaston has joined the cast of “Days of our Lives” in the contract role of Ben, a guitar playing “country boy,” per a casting call from last summer.

Even though she’s on “Days of our Lives,” hosts “The Biggest Loser,” and graces the covers of countless magazines, the world just can’t seem to get enough of Alison Sweeney (Sami Brady). And now fans of the busy mom of two have another venture to look forward to: Her new book, “Scared Scriptless.”

If you’re looking to set some resolutions for 2014 and need some inspiration, look no further! Soap Opera Network asked “Days of our Lives” and “General Hospital” stars to open up on how they hope to improve themselves and their lives in the year to come, and they were none too shy to shed some light on the ways they’re setting out to achieve greatness. Bonus: They also threw in some opinions on how their characters should approach 2014, as well! Read on for the fun, and happy New Year from Soap Opera Network!

It’s been quite some time since Soap Opera Network last brought its readers a weekly breakdown of what’s going to happen during the upcoming week of soaps. With our new sense of direction and focus as we get ready to enter a new year, and a new phase for the site, we thought it would be a great opportunity to get back into the previews game.

Whether it’s parties or church events or cooking (oh my!), shopping or wrapping or snow shoveling (oh why?), the stars of “General Hospital” and “Days of our Lives” will be quite busy this holiday season! But don’t worry: Before the casts took off for their fun-filled Christmas break, Soap Opera Network managed to catch a few actors and get the scoop on how they plan to spend the next two weeks ahead!

Filmed in mid-August, episodes airing during the week of November 25 and on Monday, December 2, 2013 of NBC’s “Days of our Lives” found Gabi Hernandez (Camila Banus), Kate Roberts (Lauren Koslow) and Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney) seemingly unite for the first time as they worked overtime to hide their role in the apparent death of Nick Fallon (Blake Berris). Just before being hit over the head with a rock, Nick was trying to instigate sexual relations with Ms. Hernandez, who then made it clear that not only wasn’t she interested, but it wasn’t the time nor the place to get busy. In a recent interview with Soap Opera Network, Koslow gushed over the amount of effort that went into producing the episodes, particularly the river set. “It was kind of amazing what they created on the set,” the actress said. “It’s like the 90s, because in the 90s we had huge sets. I remember being on a raft, and the raft was on shocks. So we did some crazy stuff back then, and they recreated it for this story. It was actually an adventure.”

The rest of the country may have been preparing for Thanksgiving by sending out dinner invites, planning menus, buying turkeys, selecting table settings and betting on the day’s big game, but Soap Opera Network has been getting ready for the celebratory day in a different way: Reaching out to several of your favorite “Days of our Lives” stars and getting the scoop on what they’re most thankful for! Read on for their answers and then join in on the fun by leaving a comment below telling us what you’re most grateful for this holiday season!

During the east coast broadcast of NBC’s ” Days of our Lives” on Wednesday, November 27 fans will get a chance to watch the show while tweeting live with actress Lauren Koslow (Kate ), who wants tweeters to provide her with their best and most creative idea of what her character is texting to Hope Brady (Kristian Alfonso) during the episode. The lucky person whose idea is selected will win a follow from the actress on the social network.

Today marks the 48th anniversary of “Days of our Lives” and the cast will celebrate with their biggest fans via social media beginning no earlier than 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT as they share some onset photos, videos and more as well as answer some of your questions when using hashtag #AskDAYS on Twitter (make sure to follow @NBCDays @DaysofourLives to keep up with the latest). The festivities are expected to last no later than 6:00 PM ET/3:00 PM PT.