My current Blaze, Mine Until Morning, part of the three-book 24 Hour: Blackout miniseries, allowed me to work with an idea I had been rolling around in my head for a while. I was fascinated with the idea of writing a blind character, especially since I have a good friend who lost her vision in her thirties, and it was a crushing blow for her back then, but while difficult, it not only opened new doors for her, but pushed her to do even more with her life than she might have otherwise. She went on to finish her PhD and has since become a college professor, world traveler and activist. So, writing a blind character wasn’t about focusing on the disability, but on the possibility. How could I use my character’s lack of vision to open up the world for him?

I decided my hero, Jonas, had to be in a career that was actually dependent on his vision, so I made him a bodyguard. How can a person be an effective bodyguard without their vision? How did he lose his vision in the first place? What if the heroine, Tessa, was the cause of his blindness? That’s where I started out with this story. When Brenda asked me to write it for the Blackout series, the idea became even more rich for me, since both of my characters would be “in the dark.” A lot can happen in the dark in a Blaze.

I don’t want to give too many bits of the story away, but writing a blind hero was a challenge–if you think you have to check and double-check your manuscript for details with a normal hero and heroine, you have to do that even more closely when one of your characters can’t see a thing. It’s natural for me to refer to things I can see and to describe scenes visually for a reader, so that they can see it, too. I had to be very careful in the book to make sure Jonas never accidentally saw anything or referred to anything in such a way that it would suggest he had use of his eyes.

More than that, I had to make sure he was using his other senses — for everything. This ended up leading me to writing some of the sexier scenes I think I’ve written. It was also kind of poignant for him, since Jonas wanted to see Tessa very much, but could only use his other senses.

It was an interesting writing challenge, putting certain limits on what my character could do, and what I could do as a writer, but also opening up possibilities. His blindness, which was in part the thing that came between him and Tessa at the start of the story, binds them together throughout their blackout adventure, navigating Philadelphia during a bad storm.

I hope you will enjoy meeting Jonas, my blind bodyguard. Post any questions, comments, or thoughts you have, or just come by to say hello, to be entered in a drawing to win a signed copy of Mine Until Morning, along with handmade Mine Until Morning honey-almond soaps, edible honey dust (just like in the book!), and solid perfume all made by Latherati. I will announce the winner on Monday. Have a great weekend!

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…

Everyone likes something free. This week, we’re taking some time to go to the New York State Fair, one of my favorite annual events, and while Fairs can be expensive, the State Fair also has tons of free stuff and entertainment. I went this past Sunday and saw a wonderful belly dancing show, the women were so gorgeous and graceful, and tonight, we’ll go to a free concert (.38 Special — my age is showing, but I love them), and have dinner while we watch.

One of the things I have been enjoying about my Kindle is that more publishers, Harlequin being one of them, are offering books for free for the Kindle. I have discovered Richelle Mead’s new fae series, and I also discovered Karen Marie Moning, to whom I may now be addicted, through downloading their free books. Sometimes we think the things we get for free won’t be as good as the things we pay for, but these books rocked, and they sell for full price elsewhere, so it was a real deal.

Of course, authors give away free books all the time, and it’s no different with the new “Dressed to Thrill” miniseries that I am a part of, with authors Tawny Weber, Karen Foley, and Lisa Renee Jones. The premise of the stories is “Wrong Costume” — four heroines order online costumes for various events, and they get the wrong ones in the mail — a life-changing mistake. The books are sexy, fun, and offer some very cool free reads you should know about.

First, there is my free online read at eHarlequin, running right now. The online story, with a chapter offered each day, is titled Caught by Surprise, and is a spin-off story for my Oct “Dressed to Thrill” book, Caught in the Act. During the online read, I am also giving away a weekly copy of Caught in the Act, as well as one full miniseries set at the end of the four weeks.

In addition to that, the miniseries books have a very unique feature: a mini-romance about the clerk at the costume shop. The story runs through Prologues and Epilogues of each book, so you have to read all four to get this fun extra read, but it also adds a little something to the main stories, because you get a “behind the scenes” peek at why all of those wrong costumes keep being mailed.

Then, starting Sept 7, the four of us, along with Friday guest writers, will be write a “Dressed to Thrill” mini-romance on Twitter, round-robin style! There will be one new story each month, Tawny in Sept, Sam in Oct, Karen in Nov, and Lisa in Dec, so you’ll have FOUR more free reads from us, and it should be a lot of fun, since with round robins, who knows where the stories can go?

Each Twitter story will be another spin-off story from our books, starting with Tawny’s “Feels So Good” that begins on Sept 7. Each day, we will post 5 new tweet installments of the story, and to follow, all you have to do is have a Twitter account and follow @BlazeDTT. Discussion cannot be held on that account, it will be for story tweets only, but you can discuss the account at #BlazeDTT, or a thread that will be set up at eHarlequin, or on the Facebook group for @BlazeDTT. If you do not have or don’t want a Twitter account, you can also read the stories each day at this website.

So, how’s that for free fun? SIX free reads associated with this series, and if you take part, you can be sure there will be more free stuff along the way. I hope we’ll see you there. And just for fun, I’m going to collect some free goodies at the NYS Fair this week, and I’ll pack them up with a copy of Caught in the Act and send it to one commenter on this blog, selected at the end of the day. Just share any thoughts on free stuff, what’s the best thing you’ve gotten recently for free.

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.***