Today I have a surprise guest for you – the fun & funny NCIS-loving Author Samantha Hunter, joining us today to chat about her books & publishing career. She’s also giving away books to one lucky commenter!

Because I can’t resist… take it away, Sam!

Thanks so much to Jamie for having me here today – I love The Variety Pages, one of the few blogs I check on a regular basis, so it’s fun to come by and chat.

I am an author of sexy romantic category novels, primarily through Harlequin Blaze, where I am approaching twenty books published (including upcoming work). One thing I love about writing for Blaze is that within the line, you can have so much variety. I can write contemporary (About Last Night /I’ll Be Yours For Christmas ), something light and rom-com(Make Your Move ), a heavier suspense/mystery(most of my backlist, LOL), and even paranormal(Untouched , Blazing Bedtime Stories ). I write cowboys, cops, Djinn, scientists, models, and just about anything else you can imagine. But sometimes you write something that goes around the bend, as they say, and might not fit anywhere within traditional publishing. For most folks, that meant stowing it away under the bed, but with Kindle it’s nice that we don’t have to do that anymore.

For instance, I was itching to write a mystery–a real one, with a murder, clues, etc and only a romantic subplot. So I did, and that lead to Past Tense , which you can now find on Kindle. I learned a lot writing that book, about how to structure clues, crimes, and how carry a story through on the shoulders of one primary character. I took that experience back when I wrote Hard to Resist , my Texas Ranger Blaze that was glowingly reviewed several times for its strong mystery element (as well as it’s hot hero *G*) I also learned that I could write a story people seem to enjoy, even though there isn’t a lot of sex in it.

I also wanted to write an erotic story that had been “haunting” me for a while, about a woman who has a near-death experience that changes her life, namely with her best friend, whom she has always loved, but never had the courage to tell. I knew it would be a short story, and that would be difficult to sell anywhere — it was even too short for an epub. That became Barely There , which was my first shot at writing an erotic short. It was my very first Kindle story, and it has done very well.

Still in the paranormal range, I took a story that is actually the follow up to my very first Blaze (Virtually Perfect ) and wrote a darker paranormal, still having that element of suspense, but with the sexuality pushed up a few notches. This became my Kindle book Dangerous Magic .

So while I very actively pursue my category and traditional publishing career–I love writing my books–it’s also nice to know I can take a little trip around the writing bend now and then, to experiment, and share those results with readers. Not everything will fit the lists of traditional publishers, but it’s nice that it fits somewhere, and honestly, I think writing these books helped me become a better writer overall, so that is a nice side-benefit.

I don’t know that I will actively do any more paranormals (aside of a second mystery, since most people who have read Past Tense have emailed me for when the next book is out), but I love having the option to give my imagination some room to wander, and then a way to share the books with readers. I hope you will give them a look. If you want to ask me any questions, about writing, Blaze, Kindle, or whatever, feel free, and I’ll drop back in during the day. I will also give away signed copies of my Spring 2010 Blazes to one winner Jamie can draw later in the day.

Sam

Thanks so much for joining us Sam! Always nice chatting with you.

Leave a comment for Sam by midnight tonight, and I’ll use Random.org to choose the lucky winner (will notify via email).