I am beyond thrilled today to be hosting Jade Lee and grateful that she has taken time out from her busy schedule to give aspiring writer’s advice on “How to Write the First Kiss”.
Remember to leave Jade a comment on how you write to win a copy of her latest book “Wedded in Scandal”. You can also download a free copy of Jade’s “Engaged in Wickedness”.
Jade Lee, welcome and thank you.
First kisses are awkward, difficult, and sometimes just plain messy. Oh wait, I’m supposed to talk about WRITING the first kiss. Okay, let me switch gears from my adolescent nightmare to a how-to on first kisses in a romance novel. Well, they’re awkward, difficult, and sometimes just plain messy.
There are as many first kisses as there are characters who kiss, so that’s a lot. How do you make yours special? When starting this blog, I had a whole list of considerations, but they all boiled down to one thing:
BEGIN HOW YOU END. In my mind, the first kiss always reflects how the characters end up. Sex in the middle of the book tends to be more about issues that the relationship faces. We’re frustrated with each other — angry sex. We’re coming together after nearly dying — life-affirming sex. We’re exploring each other’s wild side — fun, unpredictable sex. That’s in the middle of the book and those physical scenes give dimension and extra layers to the characters. That’s great, but it’s not the first kiss.
For the first kiss, I like to have an echo or a foreshadowing of how they’re going to end. Not a direct copy, but a hint.
Let me explain — At the end of your book, the couple is going to live happily ever after. Duh. But HOW? There’s going to be a dynamic to the relationship that is unique to that couple. Is he the long suffering male with the wacky heroine? (You can restate that as is he the only one who GETS the heroine?) Then that first kiss has to be EXACTLY what the heroine needs at that moment. And no one else would possibly think that she would need that kiss.
Or is your couple the dominant vampire alpha with an equally alpha female? Then that first kiss has to be a struggle for control, for dominance. Usually the alpha male will initiate it, but that’s not necessarily true. In that dynamic, the heroine usually gives into the passion first (gives way to the alpha male), but afterwards the alpha male feels completely stripped of his power. That foreshadows that at the end of the book, he will give up all his considerable power and dominance to serve her needs.
What if your couple is the mind vs. emotion dynamic? Usually that’s the incredibly intelligent geek man with the emotional sensitive heroine. At the end of the book, they balance each other out. Their first kiss should startle the hell out of him, but then his emotional side takes root and it rocks his world. For her part, it should begin as an impulsive act that she later thinks and analyzes to death. What that shows is that the first kiss gives them both a sudden dose of what they haven’t got — either the emotional side or the thinking side.
So that’s it in a nutshell, but there is infinite variety within that structure.
So now it’s your turn. Ask me questions, talk about your current WIP.
One lucky commenter will win a copy of my latest novel WEDDED IN SCANDAL by Jade Lee.
But EVERYONE gets a FREE copy of the prequel novel ENGAGED IN WICKEDNESS.
Engaged in Wickedness free!
Click here and follow the instructions!
Jade Lee’s Books
Jade Lee Bio
A USA Today Bestseller, JADE LEE has been scripting love stories since she first picked up a set of paper dolls. Ball gowns and rakish lords caught her attention early (thank you Georgette Heyer), and her fascination with the Regency began. And as a Taurus, she lives to pit a headstrong woman against a tortured hero just to watch them butt heads on the way to true love.
Now an author of more than 30 romance novels, she finally gets to set these couples in the best girl-heaven of all: a Bridal Salon! This way she gets to live out all her wedding fantasies, one by one. (Let’s be honest, what girl has only one idea for her dream wedding?)
And don’t forget Jade’s other name, KATHY LYONS. That’s Jade’s lighter, contemporary side. She writes for Harlequin Blaze merging hawt sex and funny relationships into really great reads.
For more on Jade Lee and her books, visit www.jadeleeauthor.com
