Passion, secrets and chocolate. You'd think that would be a golden combination for a paperback romance. And yet, while it seems safe to say that secrets and passion are universally represented in romance fiction, chocolate is probably most frequently a bit player, with few scenes (if any) and little or no direct connection to plot.

Readers who have a taste for both chocolate and romance, however, will probably find themselves on the same page, so to speak, as American Fork resident Shari Thayn, author of the recently published romance fiction novel "The Chocolate Heiress." It's her first published novel and Thayn -- who said she's written about 14 novel-length manuscripts, but only became "serious" about publication in the last couple of years -- draws the connection to confection in the first line.

"It was official," the book begins, "Zoe Jones was now bitterly certain that chocolate was not an adequate substitution for true love. Which was monstrously unfair when you thought about it."

Zoe, a leggy blonde who fascinates the populace of tiny Grand River, may or may not find true love in the arms of Martin O'Neil, a widower and father whose late wife was (mild scandal alert) Zoe's college roommate. Their story involves amnesia, deception, Martin's adorable daughter, Riley, and, of course, the sweet stuff.

Thayn, who's 47 and single (but loves to dote on her nephews and nieces), said that she's wondered why there aren't more romance novels with chocolate-dipped plots. The idea for "The Chocolate Heiress" was a burst of inspiration fueled by a visit to one of the most famed chocolate landmarks in America.

"I took a tour of the chocolate-making process at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco," she said, "and the story just kind of came to me."

The toothsome plot hook was a grabber for Oregon-based Black Lyon Publishing. As Black Lyon publisher Kerry Jones put it, "The Chocolate Heiress," which was published in July, has "a premise that revolves around chocolate and true love. It's pretty hard to have a better combination than that!"

Jones also praised the unique flavor of "The Chocolate Heiress."

"Shari's mix of humor and quirkiness jumped out from the first paragraph," she said. "She makes her characters offbeat and likeable."

And, as is the case with most publishers, you only make it to print if they really like you. Thayn's manuscript passed through a serious winnowing at Black Lyon, which signs about two percent of the authors who send queries. "At least in our collective opinion," Jones said, "Shari's work was better than 98 percent of the submissions we see."

A lifelong reader and writer

That kind of talent didn't materialize overnight. Thayn said that she's been reading and writing more or less since the beginning. "Seriously," she said, "I think I popped out of the womb with a tiny little book in my hands."

Thayn said her earliest memories are of listening with rapt attention as her mother read Dr. Seuss books. "I've always loved to read," she said, "and went through the classics early on." Favorite books include Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time," "The Outsiders," by S.E. Hinton, and Norton Juster's "The Phantom Tollbooth."

A mostly lifelong resident of Utah, Thayn said that she doesn't have any advanced degrees, but "I'm a voracious reader of many subjects and audited a lot of college courses and have taken lots of online courses."

By day, she operates a local business called Grammar Punk with her nephew, Adrian Thayn, and author and high school English teacher (at American Fork High School) Sam Beeson.

Grammar Punk's core product is a dice game that teaches the grammatical dos and don'ts of American English, and Thayn said that she does a little bit of everything for the company, including sales, service and writing.

It's a full-time job that doesn't leave a lot of time for a sideline in sweet-toothed romance fiction. "I write the way I've always written," Thayn said. "Every chance I get. I always have a pad and pen with me, and have been known to write a chapter here and there standing in line."

She's also a member of the Utah chapter of the Romance Writers of America and said that lovestruck aspiring authors should definitely join. As Thayn put it, "I never stop learning, and the RWA has been invaluable."

Kim Finnegan, treasurer and membership chair of the RWA's Utah chapter, Heart of the West, said that the group has 55 members who meet together monthly and also interact frequently via e-mail.

(Heart of the West, which will hold its annual conference Oct. 3 to 4 in Park City, can be found online at www.utahrwa.com.)

Finnegan said that the publishing industry is often a bit of a "dog-eat-dog" environment, but that romance writers tend to be welcoming and supportive. "In the romance industry," she said, "it's the norm to find camaraderie and supportiveness between the authors."

Finnegan said that Thayn is an enthusiastic writer, and "quite dedicated to her work."

Thayn said that she just loves to write -- maybe a little bit too much at times. Her biggest challenge in honing "The Chocolate Heiress," she said, was "keeping my characters from running away with the story. I get to know my characters so well they often get bossy and like to tell me what they would or wouldn't do in a set situation."

"Romances should be romantic"

Whenever she's not writing about romance, Thayn is still an avid reader. "I tend to read a minimum of three or four books at the same time," she said. "I usually have one non-fiction book -- lately I've been interested in the Tudor period (of British royal history) -- I love mysteries and, of course, a romance novel."

Physical activity also is high on her list. Thayn is a biker and hiker who enjoys rambling and riding in American Fork Canyon or southern Utah. And, naturally enough, she has a strong liking for chocolate.

"I have expensive taste," said Thayn. "I love Godiva chocolates, especially the ones with the almonds and toffee bits; simple is just not my style."

Speaking of her style, "The Chocolate Heiress," its author said, does have some steamy content -- mildly steamy content: "Zoe and Martin are passionate about many things: her factory, his kid, each other and, of course, chocolate.

"Compared to most romances, my scenes are pretty tame."

It's not surprising, given that Thayn, like Anita Stansfield and Rachel Ann Nunes, is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Her romance fiction is not, however, LDS-themed or LDS-targeted.

Thayn thinks her writing mostly soft-pedals the sweaty details, but ... "I've always thought romances should be romantic," she said.

And she doesn't detect any conflict between her faith and her fiction because "romance is a part of life, a wonderful part, and that is what my books are ultimately about."

And it's not as though nobody in squeaky clean Utah Valley is reading romance fiction. Carla Zollinger, adult services and reference manager at Provo City Library, said that the library's romance collection, with 11,239 volumes, including numerous titles from major romance publishers like Harlequin and Silhouette, is "one of our more popular collections."

The library doesn't publicize its romance collection much, Zollinger said -- and it doesn't have to. "As soon as we buy something there are holds on it. People love the genre, and they're really proactive about finding what they want."

For romance readers who want more of Shari Thayn after they've tasted "The Chocolate Heiress," satisfaction is coming. The new kid is currently at work on what she calls a "mystery-comedy" set in a family-owned mortuary, but she hasn't abandoned the realms of true love.

Actually, she's already sold three more romance novels: "A Convenient Cowboy," coming from Wild Rose Press; and "Worth Waiting For" and "Hide and Seek," due from Red Rose Publishing.

"Shari has such a strong voice," said Jones. "Her writing is infused with humor, and she has a way of turning a phrase that really stands out. Her style is fresh, and I think readers will enjoy that."

• Cody Clark can be reached at 344-2542 or cclark@heraldextra.com.

'The Chocolate Heiress'

Author: Shari Thayn

Publisher: Black Lyon Publishing

Date of Publication: July 1, 2008

Length: 244 pages