Destinations to fuel love's fires: authors of the romance genre offer their favorite spots.

Planning a romantic getaway? Want an ideal place for a romantic interlude? The writers who create the steamy scenes readers enjoy often place their characters in exotic locales throughout the world. Black Issues Book Review asked a dozen writers for recommendations. Some cities that made the list are as surprising as places that did not. Paris, France, the backdrop most associated with romance, did not make the list, while Venice, Italy, did. You won't find Jamaica or the Bahamas on this list either, but you will final the British Virgin Islands, the Texas Gulf Coast and a Michigan beach.

Rochelle Alers, The Long Hot Summer (Silhouette, February 2004)

Savannah, Georgia

I've a[ways been drawn to Savannah. The oak trees draped in Spanish moss, the cobblestone streets, the many squares and Factor's Walk--all contribute to its beauty and history. My novel Reckless Surrender, and two novellas, "Stand-in Bride" in Going to the Chapel and "From the Heart" in Island Bliss are set in Savannah and nearby Sapelo and St. Simons Island.

Brenda Jackson, A Family Reunion (St. Martin's Press, September 2001)

St. Augustine, Florida 

St. Augustine, the location I used for Syneda and Clayton Madaris in Eternally Yours, is my romantic choice. It has a rich history as the nation's oldest city. It has horse-drawn carriage rides, and a magnificent lighthouse overlooks the ocean.

Edwina Martin-Arnold, Jolie's Surrender (Genesis Press, April 2002)

Kauai, Hawaii

My husband and I went to Kauai to celebrate our tenth anniversary, and we were so giddy that I thought the atmosphere was mostly self-created. So we returned for our twelfth.

It's absolutely beautiful and not so hot that you can't get out and enjoy the scenery. And because it's not as commercialized as the other islands, there's room to see things and obtain privacy. Kauai's nickname is "The Garden Island." It's abundant with plant life. There are wide sandy beaches and gorgeous waterfalls. John and I love to be near a beach at sunset. We listen to the surf in the red-gold light of the setting sun, while smelling the flowers; we are in paradise.

Lynn Emery, Kiss Lonely Goodbye, (HarperTorch, July 2003)

Jefferson Island, Louisiana and New Orleans

Moss-draped oaks, the beauty of flowers in bloom, and the mystique of local lore make Jefferson Island a truly romantic setting.

But the Crescent City has many places for lovers to feel its magic. The hotels in the French Quarter or along St. Charles Avenue offer intimate dinners. Nothing is finer than listening to blues of jazz in a dimly lit nightclub, then strolling along the Riverwalk with a view of the great Mississippi River. If you're lucky, a street musician will serenade you.

The restaurants not only have the fabulous cuisine Louisiana is famous for, but also romantic atmosphere; the many choices will make you dizzy. Olivier's on Decatur in the French Quarter is a favorite, founded and still owned by one of New Orleans' old Creole families. For a truly wonderful breakfast the morning after a night of passion, Cafe Du Monde can't be beat.

Leslie Esdaile, Sisterhood of the Shopaholics, (St. Martin's Press, October 2003)

Cancun, Mexico

Cancun is beautiful and romantic, hosting flawless beaches, great nightlife, and historic pyramid ruins. But it also offers a sensual, lush, private experience. You can walk along manicured lawns with free roaming peacocks, experience the luxury of a gourmet meal complete with table-side serenaders, or find a private little jazz salon with an intimate dance floor seemingly made for two. And there is nothing like a moonlight dip in water the color of semiprecious stones. My husband and I honeymooned in Cancun ... and for the experience, there are simply no words.

Carmen Green, Atlanta Live (BET Books, February 2003)

Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

I've always loved the British Virgin Islands because they're private, pure and cahning, I especially love Virgin Gorda, the second largest island. Ten miles long and two miles wide, its name translates into the "fat virgin." From a distance, the island looks like a woman lying down, with a protruding stomach--or so Columbus thought.

Primary activities are centered on the outdoors. You climb through rocks to get to the springs, and the most famous attraction is the Baths, a unique rock formation of huge granite boulders and hidden natural pools. It is right out of a tropical dream.

Gay G. Gunn, Everlastin' Love (Genesis Press, April 1996)

Venice, Italy

Venice is as architecturally breathtaking as it is aesthetically tantalizing. Romance abounds, beginning with the perfect marriage of medieval and modern. Venice is meant for strolling. Connected by watery canals and narrow pedestrian-only streets, the city forces you to meander around centuries-old shops, over ancient bridges, inside elegant palaces, under a profusion of geraniums dripping from window boxes.

And when the sun sets, the moon shimmers as you board one of the many gondolas and ride along the canals of the ancients.

Beverly Jenkins, The Edge of Midnight (HarperTorch, February 2004)

Western Michigan Coast

I love the coastal region of western Michigan. Before we had children, my husband and I would often drive to Holland, stop in at the state park there and then travel up beautiful Port Sheldon Road to the state park at Grand Haven. On the way, you can stop at Tunnel Park and Kirk Park. From Grand Haven, it's up the coast to the state park at Lower Muskegon.

There's nothing like being on the beach when no one else is there! You can walk, hunt for rocks, fly kites, and we've gone up in all kinds of weather. Standing on the beach when the snow is a foot high and the waves are breaking over the frozen lake is awesome.

Evelyn Palfrey, Everything in It's Place (Atria Books, August 2002)

Texas Gulf Coast

The Gulf Coast of Texas is ideally romantic. Corpus Christi is the home of the waterfront Texas State Aquarium, and spending a halfday there sets the tone for a marine weekend. A few miles up the coast road, a visit to the most famous aircraft carrier in U.S. naval history, the USS Lexington, provides a little pre-beach excitement. A stop in Aransas Pass for fresh jumbo shrimp would be next. Turn off the air conditioning and roll down the windows for the short ferry ride across the bay to Port Aransas. Then take Beach Road 1 to Mustang Island State Park, where there are sand dunes and the beach is a real treat.

Francis Ray, Trouble Don't Last Always (Strange Fruit, [Dupe] January 2004)

San Francisco, California 

My husband and I went to San Francisco for our fifteenth wedding anniversary. Ten years later, when 1 was working on Fallen Angel, I wanted the hero and heroine to have a beautiful yet sensual setting for their first meeting, a place where they could return when they were ready to take the next step in their relationship. San Francisco is definitely that place.

Deirdre Savoy, Not the One (Arabesque/BET Books, November 2003)

Martha's Vineyard

I grew up in New York, but spent summers on Martha's Vineyard. I first started writing romance there, as a teenager. It was the perfect setting for my first novel, Spellbound.

Janice Sims, Desert Heat (Arabesque/BET Books, September 2003)

San Francisco, California

San Francisco, a multicultural Mecca, has been the setting of "To Love Again" in the Love Letters anthology, All the Right Reasons, and most notably, A Bittersweet Love.

I've sent my fictional couples for a stroll through the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park or on a motorcycle ricle across the Golden Gate Bridge at night. They've gone on romantic assignations at the historic Fairmont Hotel. My characters are oftentimes quirky and feel right at home in San Francisco. Where else can you find a church that was founded in 1971 by a jazz fan who experienced a religious conversion while listening to John Coltrane play the saxophone? When you go to St. John's African Orthodox Church make sure you take an instrument with you. Visitors are encouraged to play while they worship. San Francisco's my kind of town.