The Art of a Kiss
One of the things I have to do as a writer of erotica romance is describe the art of a kiss. After all, a kiss is everything. It brings two people close together. It conveys emotions through lips. It can be punishing or accepting. And above all, it has to be believable. The dictionary defines a kiss as to join lips in respect, affection, love, passion. There is a Chinese Proverb that says “kissing is like drinking salted water, you drink and your thirst increases”. After all, a first kiss represents the spark of love, the hope of the future, quivers in the belly, and tingly sensations all over the body.
It should be easy, right? Writing a kiss should be the easiest thing in the world for someone like me. But capturing the beautiful act of kissing can be extremely difficult to describe. A written kiss has to be just the right blend of romantic and Oh la la! with no hint of being wet, sloppy or smacking (as I’m sure we’ve all experienced at least once in our lifetime!)
Also, writing such a monumental step as a kiss in the love story of two people has to be stimulating for the reader. It’s my job to not only write a believable love scene, but to bring that love scene to life. So sometimes dragging out that first prolonged moment can be sweet torture.
In “Invincible”, my hero and heroine haven’t seen each other in twenty-two years. He’s ready to kiss and make up, while she is hesitant. There’s a lot of unsaid emotion between them. So when he goes in for the kiss, she turns her head and his lips land on her cheek. It’s a bittersweet moment for both of them.
So how does a writer write a kiss? We close our eyes and jump back to that first moment, when we experienced that soul shattering kiss that changed us forever. We write them from our heart, from our hopes and wishes, we draw them out from every movie and book that turned us on. We study kisses, deconstruct them, fantasize about them. And we read…a lot!
While there are many ways to write a kiss, and many different scenarios to engage in a kiss, perhaps the most rewarding is that kiss when the happily ever after starts. Love stories start with a kiss, and though they may not end specifically with one, the reader knows that the kiss is there, waiting in our imagination when we turn the last page.
About the book!
Lee Masterson is a gun for hire. He’s shut himself off to almost everything, existing with the memory of a woman he loved fiercely but had to let go for her safety. But his carefully constructed walls are shattered when a threat is made against Lidah Wilcox’s life, sending him back to Kentucky in an desperate effort to protect her.
The hole in Lidah’s heart never fully closed when Lee died, and when he suddenly resurrects from the grave, she’s overwhelmed with emotion and memories. Twenty-two years of emptiness lie between them, and she’s unprepared for the love that comes surging back to life.
Lee will do anything to protect Lidah, yet he can’t walk away for a second time. Danger brought them back together, but can they keep each other safe when it stalks them again?
Now for an Excerpt:
He headed into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge, popping the top before making his way to the living room. The cool marble tile gave way to plush, cream colored carpet and he sank down into his comfortable, cushiony sofa before toeing off his shoes and propping his feet up on the coffee table. The sparse decoration fit his lifestyle, since he was constantly on the move. He took a long swig of beer and leaned his head back. Exhaustion descended over him and he closed his eyes. The thought of how much longer he could continue in his line of work was an abstract concept that solidified with every job completed. The simple fact was he was getting far too old for the same old shit.
“Lidah?”
“Yes, Lee?”
“Play the tape.”
A second later, a soft voice came through his speakers. A memory from long ago that always managed to soothe him whenever weariness took root in his soul. For an infinitesimal moment, the world fell away to transport him back in time. He could still see her, the one woman he could never forget, frozen forever as a teenager who looked up at him with love in her eyes.
“Hi Lee, it’s Lidah. I was wondering if you’d like to, um, go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with me. ‘Cause, you know, girls have to ask boys. All right. No worries if you don’t want to. Um. Okay. Bye.”
Of course, he’d accepted. He had a crush on her the moment he’d laid eyes on her his first day of high school. If life had dealt him a better hand, he would have married her one day, and the thought still broke his heart.
“Lee,” Lidah the computer said, breaking into his melancholy memory. “You have a message coming through from an unknown IEP.”
Lee opened his eyes and sat up a little straighter. He placed his beer on the coffee table. “Spam?”
“No. It’s encrypted.”
“From JD?”
“No.”
“Viruses?”
“None. It is addressed to you, marked as urgent.”
Suddenly wary, he dug out his phone from his front pocket. “Send it to my cell.”
His phone beeped, and he swiped it to check the message. A black screen appeared, and a sentence rolled across it. “They say you’re invincible.”
Lee frowned. “What the hell?”
The screen went dark, only to be replaced with a picture. A photo of a woman, and although time had brought maturity and wisdom to her face, Lee recognized her immediately. Lidah! Layered red hair looking like fire in the sunlight. Kindness shining from her brown eyes. The living Lidah had developed into a beautiful woman, but just as that thought flashed through his head another message came through.
“Is she?”
About the Author:
I like writing about the very ordinary girl thrust into extraordinary circumstances, so my heroines will probably never be lawyers, doctors or corporate highrollers. I try to write characters who aren't cookie cutters and push myself to write complicated situations that I have no idea how to resolve, forcing me to think outside the box. I love writing characters who are real, complex and full of flaws, heroes and heroines who find redemption through love. I love to hear from readers so I’ve made it really easy to find me on the web:
https://twitter.com/BethDCarterhttps://www.facebook.com/bethdcarterauthor
https://www.instagram.com/bethdcarter/
http://bethdcarter.blogspot.com/
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/beth-d-carter
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/BethD.Carter/e/B00EOTD1T0/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1385417145&sr=8-1
Buy Link:
https://www.evernightpublishing.com/invincible-by-beth-d-carter/
