How about a little snippet from the first chapter of The Tattooed Barista, Book 3 in my Lone Star Sweets series? I mean, I can’t imagine that you’d mind reading a little bit. It’s fun, a smidge different than the previous two books, but then, that’s what makes each story in a series unique. (more…)
I think I spend more time getting the tone right for my character’s first kiss than I do inventing positions for their lovemaking. (Okay, for my character’s it’s more like no-holds-barred, battery-aided monkey sex but since I intend for them to fall in love, we’ll call it lovemaking.) I live for that first moment of surrender, when two people get close enough to each other to let their barriers down and admit that they are feeling a weakness for each other. I stare at the screen, paging through my little black memory book, until I come up with a ghost from my past to inspire me. I don’t use the actual lover or the kisses, mind you – my life hasn’t been that exciting. But I do tap into the emotion, sometimes just for a second, and then it’s on.
One kiss I might never use for inspiration – unless I start writing romantic comedy – is my first kiss. It took place at a football game when my older sister took me to “Kiss Me I’m a Frosh.” I was wearing a poster board around my neck, a green and white striped shirt and purple eye shadow. My eager suitor signed the board, and I said, “Go for it.” There must have been a wicked gleam in my eyes…because he did. His tongue slid into my mouth and his braces hit my teeth before his lips touched mine. Actually, I’m not sure our lips ever touched because I gave him a forceful shove, utterly disgusted.
After that I gave up the sport for about a year. Then I met a boy who gave meaning to the Bull Durham concept of “long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.” Hallelujah! He broke my heart but he taught me to kiss, and he drifts through my mind every time I write a first kiss scene. Totally worth the anguish.
So what kinds of kisses do I give my characters? In Bottoms Up, the hero and heroine engage in D/s play before they kiss, and Johnny admits to himself he’s not usually into kissing…but he can’t wait to kiss Destiny.
Johnny leaned down to kiss her. Her lids dipped, but stayed open. He caught the back of her head, hand tangling in her dreads to angle her mouth perfectly for his. “Stay the night,” he whispered against her lips. “There is so much more fun we can have together.”
Johnny’s already hooked, but the kiss seals the deal.
In SoloPlay, Alisa and Mark test out a remote, battery operated sex toy in a restaurant before they kiss (hmm…I’m sensing a pattern here) but their kiss makes up for lost time.
She met him halfway and sighed as his lips took hers for the first time. His kiss was different from Eric’s sloppy invasion and Crystal’s deft exploration. Mark’s lips made a demand. Alisa felt like his mouth was asking her a very basic question. Do you want to come again?
Will it ruin the surprise if I tell you Alisa says yes?
Here’s a sneak peek from Hook Up, the third story in the Come Again series. It’s unedited and may change, but Ryan dares Crystal to kiss him.
His arms gentled into a seductive caress and his lips settled over hers, whisper-soft as they sought a response. She had expected an onslaught of lust, not tenderness. Oh, shit, she couldn’t handle sweetness, not when his lips reminded her of what it was like to be skin-on-skin on a hot summer night with no walls, no barriers and nothing to hide.
His mouth opened, coaxed her lips apart, and his tongue touched hers, retreated. She held her arms behind her and dug her long nails viciously into her palm, hoping the pain would keep her focused on her shield. Instead, it added to her awareness of the sharp ache between her thighs. She shifted her feet, lifted one stiletto heel and brought it down squarely on her instep.
As she shifted, his hands caught hers, drew them up to his shoulders and he lifted her onto the counter, never losing contact with her mouth.
Their kiss goes on for a page and a half as Crystal and Ryan reacquaint themselves with the desire that has lived dormant inside them for ten years. *shiver* Now that’s a kiss!
Yes, kissing is a great sport and it’s one I think people, both fictional and actual, should practice regularly. What about you? Would you like to share a first or memorable kiss experience? Or weigh in on the topic? Or share a book recommendation for a great first kiss? One lucky commenter will win a bar of Lush brand Lust Soap, scented with jasmine, and a set of Romance Trading Cards for Bottoms Up and SoloPlay. *blowing a kiss* Please leave your e-mail address in the comments (with a few extra spaces to fool the kaspammers) so we know how to contact you. The giveaway is International!
Thanks for having me on your blog, Lissa! Mwah! 😉
About Miranda Baker
It makes me chuckle to think about all the romantic short stories I wrote in my rather too literary creative writing classes in college. If only one of my professors had steered me toward popular fiction! On the other hand, if I had discovered my calling back then, I wouldn’t have gone to culinary school, I wouldn’t have met my husband, we wouldn’t have had three children and I wouldn’t have turned to erotic romance to get my mojo back during all this hair-raising kid raising. If you’d like to chat about romance, writing or recipes, please visit http://www.mirandabaker.com
