If you've been watching "Passions" lately, you know that each and every story has been heating up in a major way. And according to "Passions'" creator and headwriter, James E. Reilly, this is only the beginning. In this exclusive interview, Mr. Reilly reveals why you can't miss a minute this summer on "Passions!"

Can you tell us what we can expect this summer?
This summer is going to show major movements in every story. Three couples that have never made love will make love. And one of them is a couple that I bet no one in the audience will guess! We'll see the death of a beloved character. Sheridan will return to Harmony and we'll see what happens when she returns. The whole dynamic has to be played out between the two brothers. She has to choose one over the other and we'll see how this affects them. We're introducing a new character that will be rather unique to daytime. I don't think we've seen a character like this before. Julian and Timmy return to Harmony, but only after Theresa's execution. Tabitha gets into more and more hijinks. Charity is rescued from the block of ice, which leads to a life and death struggle between Charity and Zombie. And we also have the action at the racetrack, which we did on location. Both Diana and Antonio are in danger in that situation. In fact, there's danger for so many characters-Charity, Sheridan, Antonio and others. And as I said, one of the major characters will die.

The pace of "Passions" has really picked up this spring and going into the summer. Was that a conscious choice?
Absolutely. You have to give the audience time to know the characters and know what makes them tick. You have to take time to build romances. We couldn't go too quickly with Sheridan and Luis forgetting each other and moving on. These two people had such a great love that transcended centuries, so they couldn't just turn around and forget the other. Also, we had to spend time building up the relationship between Diana and Antonio. We had to make this relationship strong so it could compete with the Sheridan and Luis relationship. Once we laid that foundation, we could really move the story faster. I'm currently writing stories that go into October and we're still maintaining that fast pace. It's not just this summer.

You mentioned in "TV Guide" that the whole summer is one night. How do you feel that enhances the storytelling?
You usually wouldn't want a day to go on that long because of production values, like wardrobe. But we had to because every show ends in a way that it has to be played off in the next show. There's such urgency and immediacy at the end of every show that we couldn't go to another day. The stories were moving so quickly, and with such intensity, that we had to keep it all in one day!

Fans have been very vocal about wanting Luis and Sheridan back together. Do you listen to what they have to say?
I always say to go back to your childhood and remember the fairy tales you were told. The wonderful thing about the fairy tale is the ending, "and they lived happily ever after." But to get to "happily ever after" the couple has to go through horrific times. We want to see their love transcend even death-and that's what we do with Luis and Sheridan. And there's a major payoff when Luis and Sheridan finally reunite. Just imagine how wonderful it will be for those fans of Luis and Sheridan to see them get back together!

You have done homages to a number of different movies. Are you a big movie fan? Can we expect more of that in the future?
I think everyone is a big movie fan. They contain stories and plots you remember. And you think about how you can use that to entertain the audience. We'll definitely see more of that in the future. The minute you see "The Wizard of Oz" you recognize the characters. Everyone is very familiar with it-so when we do spoofs, it gives the audience extra enjoyment. It's entertaining to see Julian paired up with Timmy in outrageous costumes, as they face possible death.

Are you excited about the addition of Kathleen Noone to the show as Mrs. Wallace?
She's wonderful in everything she does. I think her character will shock the audience. I don't think anyone else has ever pulled some of the stuff she pulls. What she does to manipulate her daughter's life-and to keep her daughter housebound so she'll take care of her-is funny, but also cruel.

How did you decide to put Timmy and Julian together?
We wanted to bring Julian back as early as we could, but we didn't want him coming back to Harmony because of the Theresa story. And then we had Timmy on this mission a la Pinocchio and he meets up with Julian! The way I measure if I think something is going to be good is if I laugh out loud at it or if I wonder if I'm going too far. I did both for the pairing of Timmy and Julian especially with some of the stuff that happens to them on the road! It's just so much fun.

Hecuba will be returning to the canvas this fall. What can we look forward to?
Hecuba returns as part of the Tabitha and Timmy story. In one of the turns we take, Hecuba comes back in order to facilitate evil in the lives of the people of Harmony.

You have said in the past that the stories we've seen on air have all been part of the original bible. Is that still the case?
Some of the stories have gone past where they were mapped out in the bible, but in some of the stories we still have a long way to go. I'm particularly thinking of the Theresa and Ethan story that's in the bible. There's a lot more to go!

From a headwriters' perspective, does it concern you when pivotal roles have to be recast, such as Ethan or Chad?
Always-because you want to give the audience as much continuity as you can. We wanted to keep both of these actors, but they wanted to explore other areas in their career.

Are you excited for the summer?
I think it's the best summer yet, in terms of so many things--pacing, surprises, romance, threats to major characters, and emotions. There is no possible way for us to have gotten more into this summer! Everything just keeps on burning and burning.

What are your goals for "Passions" fourth season?
I want to make the show even more entertaining. The story is going to be exciting, with lots of twists and turns. There will be several weddings, pregnancies, people in jeopardy, fun and hijinks. It will be an even better year than the last.