Today I'm talking to author and fellow Aussie, Sami Lee. She's the author of Born Again Virgin and Fijian Fling, both of which were 2007 releases. Join me while I discover what Ms. Lee has coming out next, what she's working on now and a few things about her you might not have known.

Thanks for joining me today Sami, grab a cuppa and pull up a pew.

First, let me say congratulations on both your books doing so well and ask you how does it feel to be published at last?

It feels fantastic. I've always enjoyed creating stories in my head and putting them down on paper, but for a long time, frankly, what I wrote just plain stunk! It's great to finally get some reward for all my years of tinkering with words and reading how-to articles.

When the reviews started coming in you must have been pleased, FAR did give both books 5 Angels and we all know an angel doesn't lie, but how much pressure does that put on you for your next book?

My overarching response to the positive reviews was relief. I've learned to like what I write but there's no guarantee anyone else will, so when FAR gave both books such great comments I was just glad to know someone saw merit in what I was doing. And pressure? I don't know. Of course I'm hoping whatever I next have published will be as well received, but even a less favorable review is good constructive feedback. It's all part of publishing.

So what is your next book? Can you give us an insight into what you're working on now?

I'm working on a few things at the moment, jumping between manuscripts, a habit I'm trying to get myself out of. I spent some time working on a longer manuscript last year that I had hoped would be my next release, but I've discovered it needs a lot more work yet. For now I'm sticking to a couple of shorter projects - two erotic novellas which I won't say much about yet in case they fizzle on me! I'm also re-writing a sweet romance I wrote a rough draft of a couple of years ago.

What can we expect to see from you this year? What releases should we be looking for?

As for 2008 releases - I'm not sure yet (see above). Hopefully I'll get something short and not-so-sweet published later in the year.

How long did it take you to get published? Are you glad you did?

I started writing as a hobby in high school - a good twenty years ago - and I had dreams of getting published. Of course, back then I had no idea how hard it was to get your work out in the public domain. Life intervened and I stopped writing for a long time, because I figured I had to get a 'real' life. I took it back up about ten years ago. That's when I actually started learning by reading about others' experiences, and when I started targeting my work to specific publishers.

Unfortunately I spent a lot of time writing the wrong type of book for my voice because I thought I should write whatever was popular in the market at the time. It's a common mistake writers make in the beginning, but its all part of the learning experience. Of course I'm glad I got published, and most days I'm even glad it took so long because of what I learned along the way. Most days!

How much time do you spend writing? I know you have a daughter, how hard is it to juggle the writing and being a mother?

Let's just say I wish I hadn't taken those long blocks of writing time I used to have for granted. I can no longer afford to wait for the mood to strike. If I manage to get Princess down for a nap, I practically race to the lap top and I start writing straight away. This is a skill I didn't have before I had a child; I thought I needed time to 'warm up'.

Time spent actually writing varies. The catch 22 of it all is that once you get published you have less time to write, because writing time gets swallowed up by promotional efforts. I write whenever I can, when my daughter naps and at night if my brain isn't too fried.

Okay, here's a tough one. Is your partner supportive and does he read your work?

Oh, my husband is very supportive. He's never questioned my desire to write nor complained about the time it takes away from 'us' time. He occupies our daughter when he can so I can get some writing done, and didn't even mind when I went to the RWA conference in Sydney last year, leaving him to be a full-time Dad for four days. And yes, he does read my work - only after it's published, that's my rule. It's definitely not a critiquing relationship.

Let's get away from the writing for a minute, if I gave you a ticket to anywhere in the world where would you go and why?

I always find these kinds of questions are so tough! There are so many magical places in the world I'd love to visit. I'd love to sail the Caribbean or the Mediterranean, see snow in somewhere like Canada, drink Guinness in Ireland. I'd love to go on a wildlife tour of Alaska, too. There's some place you can go (I can't remember the name of it) where you can see grizzly bears feeding on salmon in the wild. It's hideously expensive, but I think that would be one of the most awe inspiring sights.

Even for a question like this it's impossible for me to pick just one place!

I read on your website that you've lived in many places in Australia, which would be your favorite?

I lived in North Eastern New South Wales for most of my adolescence and my early twenties, so to me the area always feels like home. It also has the advantage of being a beautiful part of the world, with lush green hills abutting some of the best beaches in Australia (THE best, in my biased opinion).

If you could have anything you wanted for your next birthday, what would you ask for?

What I'd really love is a Blackberry or something like it. Something I could program to YELL reminders at me about appointments and bills and returning emails and phone calls, all the stuff that slips my mind with ever more alarming frequency. I could take my e-books with me everywhere and I could also check my emails while I'm waiting at traffic lights. That's probably illegal I guess.

Tell us something about yourself that no one would ever guess, you know, a phobia of snails or you hate mini skirts.

I have some pretty normal phobias - spiders, heights, enclosed spaces. One weird thing about me is that I can't stand touching newspapers. I won't read them because I hate the inky feeling on my fingers. It gives me the heebie jeebies.

Back to the writing, where do you get your inspiration from? When you have that idea do you plot it out or fly by the seat of your pants?

Inspiration comes from everywhere - news events, magazine articles, other people's lives. The old technique of asking 'what if?' Ideas come to me all the time, and when one pushes to the forefront I turn it around in my head for a while before I write anything. Then when I do, I'm definitely a seat of my pants type of writer. Plotting is a waste of time for me because I never follow the outline. That being said, if I'm aiming for the story to be a certain required length, I do jot down scene ideas on index cards, just to make sure I have enough to carry it through to 50,000 words or whatever is the target. Then I can mix the cards around and chose one at random if I'm ever stuck for what should happen next in a book.

A lot of authors have ADHD when it comes to their writing, having multiple projects going at once, is this how you work or do you have to finish one before you can even think of another?

I wish I could stick to one, but I tend to waver between two or even three manuscripts. This is not the most efficient way to work I'm sure, but when I get stuck on one book I work on the other and invariably the solution to the problem I had with the first one will present itself. This way I almost never have writer's block because there's always something to work on.

I love your website and blog, they both have a very romantic theme and the photos on there are gorgeous did you take them yourself?

Thanks for the compliment. My husband designed the website and the blog's my baby. Photography used to be a hobby of mine but it became too expensive and time consuming. I wish I could say I took the photos but most of the images I used came from istockphoto.com.

I noticed you mentioned on your blog that you were put into the genre of erotic romance and this was a surprise as the publisher didn't consider it one of their redhots. Obviously you didn't think it was an erotic romance, as a writer is it difficult to decide where to aim your work?

It can be difficult when labels like 'erotic' or 'spicy' can be interpreted differently. I never considered Born Again Virgin an erotic romance because the protagonists' relationship doesn't develop chiefly through their sexual interactions, which is what I understand erotic romance to mean. I thought it was a straight contemporary romance with some spicy/hot sex scenes. But one person's spicy is another's erotic and I certainly don't mind the label - it's all a matter of interpretation.

I think aiming your work at a certain publisher or 'line' is more about the type of story you've written, regardless of the sexual content. If you have characters and a storyline that fit into a certain publisher's expectations, the sex and or language could always be toned down or emphasized to fit in with guidelines for sexual content. I think it's the underlying story and the character types you're writing about that determine where you should aim your work. Is it funky and urban, undeniably modern, or does it have a more homey feel? Is it a bit dark or a light hearted comedy? Publishers are looking for very specific things and sexual content is only one of these.

I also saw that you've sent a MS off to Mills and Boon and are waiting to hear back from them, any news on that front?

No, no news yet. Harlequin, as many an aspiring romance writer will know, take an agonizingly long time to consider a full manuscript - or to pick it out of the slush pile!

Now that you have a few books under your belt what are your plans for the future? Do you have a set number you'd like to do a year or are you happy to go with the flow and see what happens?

I'd love to complete two category length novels a year or one longer novel, and perhaps one or two novellas as well. However, family comes first and unexpected things come up, and I also work at my day job, so with such limited writing time I know I have to be flexible on that goal and give myself a break if I don't achieve it. It's kind of the dream result. As long as I'm producing something that's the main thing for me. It means I'm always practicing my skills.

Is there more pressure to write a good book now that you are published or during the time before?

I feel a lot more pressure now. When a reader pays for my work I think they're making an investment in me, and they have a right to be repaid in the form of entertainment, or escape, or whatever they're searching for when they buy a book. I don't want to let them, or myself, down by putting out something that's not the best I can do. In that way I do put a lot of pressure on myself, which can be debilitating sometimes. I become my own worst enemy. I'm still wrestling with the inner critic.

Lastly, is there anything we've left out that you want people to know?

I'd like to thank all those who've bought my books for their support. There's nothing quite like the feeling that people have taken the time to read something I've written, and hopefully enjoyed it, too. I'm still getting used to it, but by all means, keep it coming people! There's nothing like owning the print version of a much loved e-book - wink, wink.

And thanks to you too Rachel, for the great interview questions. It was lovely chatting with you.

Well, Sami it's been an absolute pleasure spending time with you. Now that we've spent some time together I'm heading off to grab a copy of your books to see what I'm missing out on.

Interviewed by: Rachel C.