I love miniseries. As a reader, I never get tired of reading them. Whether they are author generated (from Alison Kent’s classic gIRL gEAR to Isabel Sharpe’s fun new Checking E-Males) or Blaze staples (Wrong Bed, Forbidden Fantasies), I like seeing the carry-over of character or theme, savoring a little more from a well-loved set of characters or concept.

As a writer, I have a blast writing miniseries stories. When I generate my own series , I like revisiting a world I’ve built and the people I’ve created. Back when I wrote the Single in South Beach series, I was so sad to leave my Miami girlfriends! I felt like the secret heroine among that group of South Beach divas. I could attend their club bashes in my pajama pants from the safety of my living room, and I savored each stolen margarita sip vicariously.

When I write stories in the Blaze-originated series like Encounters or the Wrong Bed, I’m most excited to have a fun framework to write in. I know that I’ve either got to write short connected pieces, or a story that pits the hero and heroine in a very awkward meet. And that gives me a lot to work with before I even sit down to brainstorm. It’s like having a little bit of my workday done for me.

With the series I’m writing now, I’m getting to blend those two ideas. I’ve got an author generated series going in that I’ve created a fictional family of hot, wealthy brothers who are the sons of a resort mogul. They share a world that’s unique to them, growing up on Cape Cod in a hyper competitive environment that – perhaps- bears a small resemblance to the sports-minded ambiance that my three sons have lived and breathed since birth. So in that sense, I’ve come up with a lot of characters and a rich sense of place to return to over the course of five books. Awesome!

But even better, the stories are threading through some tried and true miniseries that I hope will draw you all in to read them. And I didn’t plot that in any kind of marketing genius, believe me. The connections just arose naturally out of the storylines. The first two books are Wrong Bed stories, and they’ll be out in September and October of this year. The next two books will be connected, but not under a formal Blaze miniseries banner, and they’ll come out next spring. The fifth book will take me to the Uniformly Hot! miniseries when I write one of stories of a brother who went into the Navy. That book will be out in September 2012.

So there’s a lot to love on my end. It’s fun to get to know these guys and watch the different brotherly dynamics between them. But most of all, I’ll be eager to start sharing them with you this coming summer.

In the meantime, I’ve been thinking a lot about my favorite Blaze miniseries and am working on a list of all the miniseries we’ve seen in our line. Care to help me flesh it out? Can you tell me some of your favorites or the most memorable ones you’ve read over the years? I blogged about connected stories a couple of years ago, but we talked about miniseries all over the lap, not just Blaze. As we gear up to celebrate Blaze’s tenth birthday this summer, I think it will be a fun way to toast a long tradition of sexy series!

Thanks in advance, and I’ve got a backlist Blaze of your choice for one random poster…

Who doesn’t love a miniseries? No romance fan I know. Writers enjoy the bigger world building a series affords. Readers love to connect with characters they’ve met in previous books, sneaking updates on the happily-ever-afters of heroes and heroines they already know and love.

Some writers we know take miniseries to a whole new level. I checked out one of Brenda Jackson’s Westmoreland books recently and couldn’t believe what an expansive world she’d built with this series for Silhouette Desire. (And in case you haven’t heard, you can look forward to Brenda Jackson in Blaze… check out Spontaneous in May 2010!) Big, sweeping miniseries are a wonderful benefit of category romance in general.

Blaze has been kind enough to offer its authors built-in miniseries opportunities for those of us who aren’t ready to plot out families as big as the Westmorelands. Take Uniformly Hot! For example. The joint miniseries lets lots of writers contribute to a bigger world. In this case, a military world filled with studly men. The writers got to pick a branch of service to write about and readers got a whole year of delectable military men. A great idea all the way around.

But my favorite new Blaze format for connected stories is Blaze Encounters. I don’t know about you, but when I read Leslie Kelly’s One Wild Wedding Night, I fell in love. And thanks to the format, it didn’t happen once. It happened five times… once for each yummy novella.

If you haven’t tried a Blaze Encounters, you are missing out, especially if you’re a novella fan. The Encounters offer multiple, themed stories all by one author. Tori Carrington came next with A Few Good Men. Heather MacAllister followed with Undressed.

Now, it’s my turn. I lobbied right away to write an Encounters when I heard about them. Ever since I finished writing Sliding Into Home, I’ve been waiting impatiently for it to arrive in bookstores so I could share it with readers. It allowed me to write connected stories in a succinct format and it provides world building for readers short on time. And no matter how much beach reading you manage to pack into your summer, I’m willing to bet there are other times—sitting in a carpool line, taking the train into work, a much-needed coffee break—where you’d really appreciate a quick read.

Frankly, I’ll be surprised if other lines don’t develop Encounters style books for their series. They’re fun, fast, and best of all, no waiting a whole month for the next installment. All you have to do is turn the page.

***Reminisce with me! Tell me a couple of your favorite miniseries—in Blaze or not—and I’ll giveaway a signed copy of the very exciting, super sexy, aforementioned SLIDING INTO HOME.***