Amelia James takes inspiration in the form of Jamie on 'Outlander'

Amelia James, author of Tell Me You Want Forever (out now!), shares how one look at Jamie Fraser portrayer Sam Heughan in a kilt changed her mind about Scottish heroes.

Amelia: There's nothing wrong with temptation, especially when he's a man who can cook. Indulging in a tasty dish inspires all kinds of delicious drama. Temptation and obsession have led me to write some sizzling books, but my best ideas often come when I'm not looking for them.

While writing my new release, Tell Me You Want Forever, I knew I needed to create conflict between Austin and Jane, but I had no idea how. Jane is a chef, and I can't cook. Write what you know? That'd be a very short book, so I write what catches my interest. I'm hooked on The Food Network's cooking competition Chopped. Four chefs are given a basket of oddball ingredients, such as baby octopus, Swiss chard, beer and a chocolate Easter Bunny, and instructed to make something appealing out of all that craziness. Watching these guys (I noticed most chefs are men) try to come up with an edible dish fascinates me. I can't cook a decent chicken breast, something even a novice chef can do, so the challenge sparked my curiosity. And I admit checking out the tasty men at the stove is always inspiring.

While watching every episode I could find doing research for Jane's dishes, I spotted a young man who reminded me of my favorite book boyfriend, Outlander's Jamie Fraser. I love historical romance novels, especially Scottish historicals. To me, there's nothing hotter than a man in a kilt carrying a big sword. If a book cover has plaid on it, I'm all over it. But I'd never read Outlander. It came out when I was in college during the height of my romance-reading addiction, so I knew about it, but avoided it for years because I'd heard Claire was married. Twice. At the same time. Although an MFM threesome is my favorite fantasy temptation, all parties must have knowledge and consent, so I let the misconceptions put me off.

My editor and my romance author friends had all read it, and they laughed at me when I told them about my reservations. Then I started hearing about the Outlander TV series, and when I saw pictures of Sam Heughan in a kilt, temptation got the best of me and I downloaded the e-book. Yes, Claire is married to two men — at the same time — but watching her handle that enticement created a fascinating conflict, something my book lacked.

An idea I wasn't looking for started to simmer. In the series' first book, Tell Me You Want Me, Austin learned to handle temptation, but Jane hadn't faced it at all. And who better to tempt her away from her bad boy than a Scottie hottie with badass skills in the kitchen? I named him Finn Munro, but he earned the nickname Chef Temptation. I'm sure he'll get his own book, but I need to watch more Chopped and finish reading the Outlander series first.

No, I don't see a thing wrong with being tempted by decadent food or a hot man in a kilt. Giving in to temptation stirs up trouble in real life, but bad choices make good fiction. Does Jane give in to the bad boy who loves her or the chef who arouses her passions? I'm not telling.

Here's the blurb about Tell Me You Want Forever:

Bestselling romance Tell Me You Want Me gets a steamy sequel....

Notorious heartbreaker Austin Sinclair vowed he'd never fall in love, but all that changed when he met his Janie. They're living their happily ever after... until an unexpected threat tears them apart.

Austin is desperate to get Janie back, but fails miserably. He's said 'I love you' so often Janie doesn't care anymore, and getting her in his bed to prove it seems impossible. His old life beckons. Could he be that guy again?

Jane scored big when she landed Austin, but now she faces a temptation she never expected—one that makes her question what she really wants from love. Staying in a relationship with him requires all the strength she has. She's tired, and giving in to someone else would be so easy.

Each hopes that something will change, that the other will give in, but it's going to take both of them—together—to overcome this obstacle. Can they make their love last forever? Or has their fight been for nothing?

Find out more about Amelia and her books at trashystreasures.wordpress.com.