• Make Your Move
  May, 2010
  Jodie Patterson's posh bakery is all about satisfying cravings. Her signature aphrodisiac cookies have been flying off the shelves...and giving Jodie some delicious ideas of her own.
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• I Wish He Might...
  March, 2010
  Nina Larson has a personal genie...seductive, sexy Alec! Her every wish is his command...and does she ever have some X-rated wishes!
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• Caught in the Act
  October, 2009
  The outfit was ridiculously revealing. Still, food writer Gina Thomas needed a disguise for the costume party so she could sneak into Mason Scott's office and steal a few photos to save her sister.
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• Hard to Resist
  July, 2009
  Like every woman with a past, she's trying to quit testosterone—but Jarod seems to know exactly how to break her willpower.
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• What I Did On My Summer Vacation
  July, 2008
  Edie Stevens is shocked when überhottie property owner Joel Roberts appears at her vacation cottage because of a mix-up with the dates.
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• Talking in Your Sleep...
  December, 2007
  Tightly wound Joy Clarke can't explain what's brought on these sizzling "somniloquies" about a complete stranger, no less. There is no rest from her wicked, wicked thoughts.
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• Pick Me Up
  August, 2007
  Only a very wicked woman would stop for a hitchhiking cowboy. But Lauren Baker is no good girl, not anymore. Playing it safe never got her anywhere, except alone and broke.
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• Untouched
  January, 2007
  Superheroine Risa Remington once had the power to read thoughts and emotions with a stroke of her fingertips. Until a lab accident changed everything.
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• Hide&Seek
  August, 2006
  Jennie Snow, aka former mafia princess Maria Castone, lives a secret life. In exchange for her testimony, the Witness Protection Program gave her a new identity--and a new job.
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• Flirtation
  February, 2006
  EJ Beaumont is one big flirt. Not exactly the best trait for a cop but it's an asset on his current undercover investigation for the HotWires team.
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• Friction
  January, 2006
  Sarah Jessup is supposed to be taking some R & R. A former hacker, she's now legit as a member of the crack HotWires team, investigating computer crime on Uncle Sam's dime.
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• Fascination
  December, 2005
  Sage Matthews's fascination with hacking into computers and creating bugs got her into deep trouble. Just ask special agent Ian Chandler.
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• About Last Night ...
  March, 2005
  Miranda Carter needs to jump-start her love life. Or make that jump sexy Colin Jacobs. Her best buddy is the perfect man, but the studious prof needs some...encouragement.
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• Virtually Perfect
  July, 2004
  Raine Covington has found the perfect lover -- online. When Jack's sexy words fly across the computer screen, he can seduce her in a heartbeat.
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Jack, with a gleam in his eye: I've been waiting for this, after everything we had to go through in that book &mdash I mean, seriously Sam. . .stalkers, fights, arguments. . .I thought I was getting into a romance novel not an action movie when you first thought me up.

Sam: It is a romance novel. You found the woman of your dreams, right?
Jack: I sure did, but still. Anyway. . .you want us to ask you questions?
Sam: That would be the idea, yes.
Jack: Okay. Actually, I have two... First of all, Raine and I meet online in Virtually Perfect, and you met your husband online, too? We always liked that, that you wrote our story, but you knew what it was like, to have a real, online romance.

Sam: I did meet my husband online, back in 1993 before there were any online dating services or the like. We met at a place much like you and Raine did, a virtual environment where people acted out fantasies in character &mdash it was a great way to meet. We've been together almost 15 years now, and going strong.

Jack: That's fantastic. I noticed you have a new webpage, and with it, a new author tagline &mdash Love's A Mystery. Not that I disagree with that sentiment, but why did you choose that tag line, along with the nifty-looking retro chicks in the left corner?

Sam: I went with Love's a Mystery because as I write more books, I tend to include mystery/suspense elements into almost all of my stories. Not all, but most. It's become something I really enjoy. I'm also working on writing a mystery novel that hasn't been published yet. Your book was partly a mystery — we had to figure out who was stalking Raine, remember?
Jack: How could we forget? I got the snot knocked out of me there at the end.
Sam: Well, I never promised you it was going to be easy. ;) But I love reading and writing romance and mystery, and I plan to do more of it. So, the new tagline made sense for me.

Colin(About Last Night March 2005), cuts in: It's true that you never promised it was going to be easy, but you really do like to mess with your characters, don't you? I mean, we didn't have to deal with stalkers, but what you put me and Miranda through, not to mention Penny and Travis...man.
Sam: I know, I know. But what's your question, Colin?
Colin: How many Blaze you have written after us? And what else are you writing? This room is getting pretty crowded (looking around at other characters waiting their turns).

Sam: In 2009 my 11th and 12th Blaze novels will be on the shelf, so yes, we've all formed quite a large group in the last 5 years. Soon you'll meet Lacey and Jarod, from Hard to Resist (July, 2009), and Mason and Gena, from Caught in the Act (Oct, 2009), and then three more Blaze couples in 2010. Jarod is a Texas Ranger, and you can be sure these characters will have a lot to talk to you about in terms of going through the ringer to get to their happily ever afters.

Colin: Are you as hard on all of your characters as you were us?
Sarah (Friction, January 2006): Hey, she said one question, and anyway, puh-leese. You guys have no idea. The bunch of us from the Hotwires series, we really had to pull our weight &mdash it was Sam's first 4-book romantic suspense series, and people were shot, kidnapped, all kinds of stuff. I mean, there was everything from computer hackers to mafia after all of us at one time or another.
EJ (Flirtation, February 2006) steps between Colin and Sarah: Guys. We're supposed to ask questions here.
Sam smiles at EJ: Thanks, EJ

EJ, winks: I'll speak for the group of us to save time. You know I like to cook, and in fact, many of your heroes are capable in the kitchen &mdash do you cook? And does your husband?
Sam: Thanks for asking EJ. I love to cook &mdash my mom was a great cook, and she even catered professionally, which I did with her and on my own for a few years in my twenties. I love to try new recipes, though we try to eat a little healthier these days. My mom is gone now, but I love using her recipes and the lessons she taught me in the kitchen. And yes, my husband does cook. I do most of our daily cooking, but he helps with events, and he can make amazing lasagna, stews, bread, and baked a fantastic cake for my birthday this year. I think men who cook are sexy, so that's why you see a lot of them, like you, in my books. It's also about caring for another person &mdash cooking is a great way of showing you love someone.

Lauren and Brett (Pick Me Up, Aug 2006): We have an easy one for you, Sam &mdash how do you choose locations for your books? Ours was in a desert canyon in Arizona, but that was really different &mdash we noticed most of your stories are set in the northeast.

Sam: You have asked one of my favorite questions! As you know, I have a Master's degree in Geography, so setting is very important to me in books. I like to make sure I am as accurate as I can be, but also show how people are connected to places, and how the place contributes to the atmosphere of the romance.

The setting for Pick Me Up, as well as Rafe and Joy's (Talking in Your Sleep, Dec 07), are the only books I have set in the West. Both were inspired by a trip to San Diego I took a few years ago. I've never been to Arizona, but I did visit the Anza Borrego Desert while I was in California, so I worked from that experience and did as much research as I could into Arizona, ranches, and cowboys (which my friend, Superromance author Jeannie Watt, who actually lives on a ranch, was extremely generous with).

Other than that I tend to choose locations I have visited and know relatively well. I'm even working on a few books set right here in Central New York. A few upcoming books set in Florida and Chicago, and who knows where after that? But, I have also returned to favorite stomping grounds, especially Boston and Cape Cod, where Edie and Joel's anthology book ("No Reservations" July 08) was set, of course.

Daniel and Risa (Untouched, Jan 07): Our book was set on the Cape, too!
Sam: Sorry guys, you're right. Didn't mean to overlook you. Do you have a question?
Risa: Yeah, are you going to write any more books with paranormal components like ours?
Sam: Absolutely — in fact, I have two books coming out with Blaze, one in March 2010 that is part of their Bedtime Stories miniseries, and the hero is a genie, or a Jinn, as some people call them, and my May 2010 book is about a woman who sells cookies with icing that has a magical (and sexy) effect on the people who eat them.
Ian (Fascination, December 06) quirking a skeptical eyebrow: You mean... like he can grant wishes?
Sam: Yep. Among other magical surprises. . . .

Edie: That sounds like so much fun, Sam! Our book was just a little summer fling romance, but why do you write so much mystery and suspense in your other books?
Sam: Well, mostly it's just fun. Really, I don't mean to torture you guys, but I love to put characters in dangerous situations because it creates external pressure that heightens the emotions, but it also gives the reader two stories in a book, not just one. Still, it's nice to lighten up every now and then and just do a fun little story like yours and Joel's, or the Christmas Blaze I wrote for Rafe and Joy. Um, I could keep going here, but I think we'll stop now, and wait for future characters to come along, and add their questions in. What do you think?

(murmurs of agreement...)

Sam: Okay, then, thanks for helping out with this guys — you can get back to your lives, and I hope people who haven't read your books will run out and get them, and keep an eye out for the new characters on the way.
Logan (Friction, Jan 07): Hey, readers who want good, strong characters in exciting, sexy stories, they won't go wrong with any of your books, Sam. I know I, for one, am very happy with our story, and the way things turn out. We can't wait to see who will be here next time...
Sam: "Thanks Logan!"
Sarah (snuggling into Logan and laughing): You are such a suck-up.....