What do Buffy/Spike, J.R. Ward and Scotland have in common?

Today's featured authors: Rosalie Stanton, author of Flip Side of Sin; Trina Lane, author of Love's Return; and SA Welsh, author of Purrfect Protector. They're sharing favorite TV couples, vacation destinations and keeper books. (Answer to the question posed in the headline: They all have this post in common. Is that cheating?)

Rosalie Stanton, author of Flip Side of Sin

My favorite TV/movie couples:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Buffy/Spike. This will be a surprise to no one who really knows me. This pairing shaped me beyond any other. They were fabulously complicated, at times heartbreaking and endlessly romantic. Not to mention, their relationship touches upon my favorite tropes: enemies to lovers and bad boys redeemed by love. In my head and heart, they eventually found their HEA.

• Frasier's Niles/Daphne. One of my other favorite tropes is unrequited love, or love from afar. Where others in the '90s lived and died with Ross and Rachel, I wanted nothing more than Niles to get the girl. I have watched the episode where Niles finally confesses his love for Daphne more times than I can count, and each time, I wait on the edge of my seat.

• The West Wing's Josh/Donna. You don't expect to tune into a political drama for the love story, but Josh and Donna's complex relationship spoke to the romantic in all of us. From Josh pelting Donna's window with snowballs (it's OK, he's the good cop) to Donna confessing she wouldn't stop for red lights if Josh was in trouble, there was little I wanted more than for these two to find their way to each other.

About Flip Side of Sin:

She's the only woman he's ever loved, and the one woman he can't have.

Since her inaugural venture to Earth, Cassie, Virtue of Chastity, has been lost in a sea of doubt. All of Heaven knows how badly she botched her first job. So when the Almighty gives her a new job—one in Sin City—no one is more surprised than she.

Ira, Sin of Wrath, requires only a drink, a cigarette, and a warm girl to keep him happy—which makes his new Vegas assignment a very welcome trip. Ira might be there to work, but that hardly means he won't find time to play… And when he spies a gorgeous blonde wandering through a casino, he knows she'll make the perfect playmate. Until, of course, he discovers she's off limits—not to mention, the enemy.

The strain between Heaven and Hell intensifies by the day, as does Ira's struggle to keep his hands off Cassie's chastity. With a job to do, and a Virtue stretching Ira's ability to control his devil-born lust, maintaining priorities has never been harder. And Ira discovers, come Heaven or Hell, he's just waiting for an excuse to show Cassie how good being bad can be.

Find out more at rosaliestanton.com.

Trina Lane, author of Love's Return

Three of my favorite vacation destinations:

• The Rocky Mountains. I am very much a woman of nature. Growing up each summer my parents would pack us up in the family van, stuff the interior and rooftop with camping gear, and we would head to the mountains to explore for our vacation. I love hiking, rafting and sitting by a campfire. There is nothing so fresh in this world as breathing cool pine-scented mountain air. It is one of the most humbling experiences to stand at the base of a 14,000-foot mountain, and the most powerful sense of freedom to stand at its summit. Although I may live in the Midwest, my heart belongs to the mountains.

• Ireland/Scotland. I've never actually been there, but it is on my bucket list. For years it's been a dream of mine to visit the land that nurtures my family roots. I can't wait to have the opportunity someday to explore land that has inspired centuries of folklore and fairy tales. I want to explore crumbling castles and dream up stories of the people who lived, loved, fought and died there. I want to walk through a field of heather and wonder if there really is a place as special as Brigadoon.

• The beach. There is nothing quite like walking beneath a diamond-studded sky down the beach, the cool sand squishing between your toes and hearing the sound of waves crash upon the shore. Warm sun beating down on tan skin while sipping margaritas and watching nearly naked attractive men play a vigorous game of volleyball comes in a close second.

About Love's Return:

Critical care pediatrician Dean Whitten spends his days working with pint-sized people who hold the power to bring him great joy or, when the situation takes a turn for the worst, break his heart. He finds himself having a rare day off and he really wants to make the best of it. However, it happens to be Valentine's Day and Dean hasn't had anyone special in his life for a very long time—fifteen years to be exact. Dean is resilient, though, and is determined to make the best of the day alone. Cupid, however, decides to give Dean a little surprise when his past comes back in a big way.

Just out of the Marine Corps, Eric Sparks is starting over in life. When he decides to break from preparing for his new job by going to the movies, he isn't expecting to encounter the boy—now a grown man—who stole his heart as a teenager.

Fifteen years ago, Eric left the country with his military family, ending his and Dean's budding relationship. The two quickly discover that their dormant feelings are erupting again, especially once they're back in each other's arms. But Dean is settled in his life and Eric is scheduled to move across country in a matter of days. Will love and life give them a second chance?

Find out more at www.trinalane.com.

SA Welsh, author of Purrfect Protector

Three books on my keeper shelves?

Only three? OK, here it goes …

• The Lord of the Rings 3in1 edition (I'm being sneaky) by J.R.R. Tolkien. Anyone who has seen my Facebook page will know that I am partial to a certain bow-and-arrow-wielding elf. However, the intricate Middle-earth world calls to me because it is complete with triumph, loss and the oldest question of what kind of person you are at the core when faced with such adversity.

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. I do have a weakness for this series, and the last book beautifully concludes the Harry Potter journey in a way that is true to the characters and the aspirational moral of the story that background and circumstance do not matter, only the type of man/woman you choose to be.

• Lover at Last by J.R. Ward. This was one book I looked forward to since the second in the series. After eight books of sub-narrative foreplay, my investment as a reader in the Qhuinn and Blay relationship and the agonizing "will they or won't they?" status quo was truly something I couldn't put down. The way the BDB brothers interact is so endearing and funny. I re-read them before every new release.

About Purrfect Protector:

Never play cat and mouse with a saber-tooth tiger.

When Kale Andrews gets disturbing mail from an obsessed fan, his brother drags him to Shifter Protection Specialists Inc. Kale reluctantly agrees to have a bodyguard, but when a tall, muscular blond walks into the office emanating power and a sexy dose of danger, Kale's doubts about needing the man with him twenty-four hours a day quickly disappear.

The easy babysitting job Aleksi was promised quickly changes from strange mail to threatening deliveries, so Aleksi has to become creative to keep his protectee out of danger. Everyone knows models are self-centered and shallow, so why does being with Kale make him feel like he finally has a home? Since he's a saber-tooth tiger and naturally dominant, most people aren't strong enough to be with him in a relationship or even as a friend. Yet Kale seems to calm his beast, simultaneously exciting the man in Aleksi.

Neither man expects nor wants a relationship with strings, but as they grow closer, Aleksi realizes that Kale might be his mate. With an obsessed fan escalating toward murder, Aleksi isn't sure that even his tiger can keep his mate safe.

Find out more at www.sawelsh.com.