Though it’s not part of the Blaze line, three of us “Blaze Babes” have a Harlequin anthology coming out in just another week or two, called SUN, SAND…SEDUCTION!

First, let’s drool, ‘kay?

I know, I know, I probably should have downsized that picture. But I’m sorry, my vision was a little too blurred by all the steamy, wet male yumminess to do so. And hey, if we’re going to have a big picture to gawk at, what could be better than drippy, taut, hunky male? (Fanning self…sorry…I digress…)

Okay, everybody suitably impressed by the super-fabulous cover?

Well, hopefully you will also be impressed by what’s between the pages!

When I was asked to do another sexy-summer-sizzler anthology with Harlequin, I immediately signed on. I did one a couple of years ago and had a great time. A sexy read with a beach setting? You got it! This time, though, the request was a little more specific. A sexy beach read with an exotic beach setting. Whoop! Sign me up! (My last summer sizzler setting was Rehoboth Beach, Delaware…a nice summer weekend destination. But exotic? I don’t think so!)

This time, I chose the island of St. Lucia. I wish I could say I had to whisk hubby off for a week-long vacation in order to do all the proper research required for a story of this magnitude. Sadly, though, I couldn’t justify it…or, well, my bank account couldn’t justify it.

Fortunately, I have been to St. Lucia. It’s been a long time, 15 years or so, but I vividly remember how gorgeous and amazing a place it was. I like the Caribbean (who doesn’t?) but hadn’t realized just how lush and tropical it could be. St. Lucia has incredible white-sand beaches, but it also has volcanoes and thick, dense forests. Beautiful lagoons, amazing blue skies…everything you could want from a beach vacation. Or a setting for a romance novel!

Here’s a pic from that long-ago vacation:

My story, Propositioned, is about Liz Talbot, a bartender at an oceanfront dive, who moved to St. Lucia to escape her cold, empty life after an ugly divorce. While she gets tired of the typical sleazy tourists who ask her for “sex on the beach” with salacious wags of their bushy eyebrows, she still knows she’s found the place where she wants to live out her life. It’s nothing like her past. But suddenly, her past shows up in the way of Jack Beaumont…the handsome millionaire who’s had a thing for her for a very long time.

This story was pure romance–rich man sweeping away the down-to-earth girl. And I loved writing it. Stephanie Bond and Lori Wilde are booth fantastic writers and their stories are terrific! Stephanie’s is full of her typical wit, with a harried heroine trying to deal with an incredibly sexy, laid-back pilot. Lori’s is set in beautiful Costa Rica with a super-sexy hero trying to hide out from the world and a journalist heroine who’s determined to find him.

I do hope you’ll enjoy SUN, SAND…SEDUCTION! In the meantime, tell me about your best “exotic” beach memories.

PS: I am also counting down the days until the release of my first Leslie Parrish dark romantic-suspense novel, FADE TO BLACK. I so hope you’ll give my alter-ego a chance! It’ll be in stores the first week of July.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under Leslie Kelly. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.