(as featured in the April 2007 Newsletter)

Interview with Jamie Sobrato…

Can you share any exciting career news?

Yes! I have a new Blaze novel out this month, Sex As a Second Language. It’s set in Italy and is part of Blaze’s new Lust in Translation miniseries of books with international settings.

How do you describe your writing?

I try not to if I can avoid it. Heh. But if you want to torture me, okay…I guess it’s usually on the sexy, fun side, though I have a book coming out in June that’s darker and more angsty, and that was a lot of fun to write.

Your writing process?

Procrastinate, get an idea, write about it in a frenzy for a day, look at it the next day and think it sucks and that I was crazy for thinking it was good. Maybe send it to my editor if I need a contract. Then she tells me to write a proposal on it. I procrastinate, get desperate, write it in a frenzy, think it sucks, send it to her anyway. By some miracle it sells. I procrastinate, then I get desperate and write the book in a frenzy, think it sucks, and send it to my editor anyway… And so it goes.

How long have you been writing romances? How long were you seriously writing before you were published?

I wrote romance seriously for about five years before I sold my first book in April 2002. Holy cow, has it been ten years?! It has.

I need a drink now.

What drew you to write hot, sexy books?

Ahem. I like sex?

Who is your favorite hero you’ve written?

Hmmm. Maybe Zane Underwood from Some Kind of Sexy. The cover of that book does NOT do him justice. He was a rebellious scruffy bad boy who secretly kept journals and had the soul of a crusader/poet.

Do you find it hard or easy to fall in love with one of your own characters?

Easy. I love them all.

What do you do to prepare yourself to write a hot love scene? Do you have a ritual, special music, candles, etc.?

See process above… I procrastinate, write it in a frenzy, then think it sucks, and so on… I’m not much on ritual or routine. My only routine seems to be procrastination.

Are there any books, websites, or tips you offer writers who want to write hot, sexy stories?

Hmm. I actually don’t know of any online resources. Nor have I ever consulted a book on how to write sex. I think the key ingredients to writing good sex are liking sex, being comfortable with it, thinking about it creatively, and honing one’s writing skills in general.

Please include a brief bio, including recent and upcoming books and your contact information (website, etc.).

Jamie Sobrato writes for Harlequin Blaze and lives near San Francisco with her two kids and too many books to count. A former Rita finalist and Golden Heart winner, she has sold 14 novels and counting.

You can learn more about her and her books at http://www.jamiesobrato.com or chat with her on her blog, The Naked Page, at http://jamiesobrato.blogspot.com.