A Kiss to Build a SCENE On with Kaye Dacus

by | Feb 22, 2010 | Fiction Book Reviews | 8 comments

Menu For Romance…er…Kissing? 

Appetizers – One peck on the cheek

                        A nibble on the earlobe

                        Slight touch of lips with a hint of warmth, but not overdone

                       A hooded eye-gaze might accompany this dish, but isn’t necessary for total fulfillment 

Main Course – Deep prolonged kiss, usually steamed. Can be served medium well or well;

                             with two sides: necking & galloping heartrate

                                    Breathing is optional

                                    Precaution – this dish has a tendency to melt any other items nearby

                                    Best served when angry, desperate, passionate, in need, or ecstatic 

Dessert –         Slow, gentle kissing a la mode

                             Best served directly after the main course to bring the full experience of the  meal to a satisfying conclusion. 

This meal is dine-in only.

So to serve us up our kiss for the day is author Kaye Dacus. Kaye runs the gamut of time periods from her contemporary Brides in Bonneterre Series to her Regency romances The Ransom Trilogy, proving that a beautiful love story can happen during any era. She’s a fellow Tennessian too 😉 To learn more about her books visit her website at www.kayedacus.com 

Now Kaye… 

What do you think makes a great kissing scene? Why?

For me, a great kissing scene is not about the kiss itself—it’s about the emotional and intellectual tension that leads up to the kiss, especially a couple’s first kiss. The best kissing-scene writers create such an air of expectation and anxiety in the reader (and the characters) that the reader sits on the edge of her seat, every muscle tight, every nerve tingling—like a pressure cooker at full steam—waiting for the only thing that can release that pressure. Then, when the characters’ lips meet, releasing the tension, salving the anxiety, and meeting the expectation, it’s a blissful experience. And it’s one of the main reasons why I read and write romance novels! 

PLEASE provide a short excerpt of a kissing scene you enjoyed writing. 

Excerpt from A Case for Love

Setup: Forbes and Alaine have run into each other at a coffee house and are having coffee together, and Forbes just mentioned his upcoming twentieth high school reunion. 

            “The girls from your high school class like to gossip about you?” Oh to be a fly on the wall at that reunion.  

            “Yeah—about how horrible of a boyfriend I was or how I haven’t been able to have a long-term relationship, ever.” He smoothed out his section of the newspaper and re-folded it. 

             Alaine’s heart gave a trill like a piccolo. “They don’t know what they’re missing.” 

             His eyes, almost as dark blue as his shirt today, snapped to hers. She couldn’t believe she’d said that aloud. She couldn’t do this, could she? Yet if she walked away, would she be giving up the only chance she might have for falling in love? She held his gaze, not caring if her indecision showed. 

             “You know,” Forbes leaned forward and lowered his voice, “falling for your parents’ lawyer isn’t the worst thing you can do. No matter what that woman from Channel Three said to you last night.”

             “How did you—”

             “Meredith called me last night to ask me what was going on. I didn’t tell her much. Just that we’re friends, and that I’m doing a favor for your parents. She doesn’t need to be dragged into the middle of this.” 

             “I agree. But Forbes, did she tell you how truly vulgar Teri’s insinuations were? Other people are bound to wonder the same thing.” 

             “Let them wonder, then.” He reached across the table and took her hand in his.

             Her pulse pounded through her head in dizzying waves. “You don’t understand. As a representative of the TV station, and especially because of the nature of my show and my primary viewers being stay-at-home moms and senior citizens, I have to protect my reputation as much as I can. If a rumor like that were to sprout legs, it could create a scandal; and the last thing we need is negative public attention on what we’re doing.” 

             His thumb made slow, soft circles on her palm. “You worry too much about what other people think. What do you feel, Alaine Delacroix?”

             All she could feel right now was the way her body tingled in response to his rubbing her palm. “I. . .”

            Before she could think, before she could react, Forbes leaned across the table and kissed her. Soft, gentle, undemanding, and too quickly ended. Her hand spasmed in his.

             “Need more time to think?”

 Yep, I’d stop thinking too. Handsome, rich, somewhat mischevious lawyer with a penchant for a kiss??? Wow, sounds like a great main course to me. Oh and btw, Menu For Romance is the second book in Kaye’s Brides of Bonneterre series. To read a review of Menu For Romance follow this link: http://pepperbasham.wordpress.com/2009/07/25/menu-for-romance/

For a review of my personal fav of Kaye’s books, Stand-In Groom, follow this link:

http://pepperbasham.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/stand-in-groom/

 Thanks for being a part of this, Kaye. I can’t wait to get my hands on Forbes’ story.

 Kissing Quote of the Day:

 “The soul that can speak with its eyes can also kiss with a gaze.” – Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

 Inspirational Quote of the Day:

 6 Place me like a seal over your heart,
       like a seal on your arm;
       for love is as strong as death,
       its jealousy [a] unyielding as the grave. [b]
       It burns like blazing fire,
       like a mighty flame. [c]

 7 Many waters cannot quench love;
       rivers cannot wash it away.

Song of Solomon 8:6-7

Quick note here: A seal is a mark of belonging or even security. An assurance or guarantee. When God chooses us, He places His seal – His mark upon our hearts. He seals our souls with his love – a love as unyeilding as the grave. Wow, nothing is quite as certain as death, but here in Scripture it states that love is ‘strong as death’.

The flame of true love cannot be quenched like a natural fire, becuase it burns fromwithin our spirits, alight by the light of God’s perfect grace. When two people are sealed by the bond of His love the ‘trinity’ braid of bride, groom, and Creator is an unbreakable seal and a beautiful example of Heaven on Earth.

8 Comments

  1. sherrinda

    Oooo, Pepper, I love your menu today! How creative!!!! And whew, I have got to get my hands on Kaye’s books! I loved it when she let her heart-and indecicions-show in her eyes and didn’t care if it did. I loved the slow caress of her palm, sending her mind into distraction. Sigh…gotta love the build up! Yay, Kaye! This is GOOD!!!!!

    Reply
    • Kaye Dacus

      You’d never know I’ve never had that happen to me personally, would you? 😉

      Reply
      • pepperbasham

        Kaye,
        You are certainly the queen of imagination, then!!
        Wow!
        Thanks so much for being a part of this kissing fest.

        Reply
  2. Julie

    VERY nice scene, Kaye — thumb-circling gets me EVERY single time, I have to admit!

    And I LOVE your covers! Is it just me, or does the guy on the Stand-In Groom remind you of Dermot Mulroney in The Wedding Date with Debra Messing? Do you think this was intentional, because if so, it’s pure genius!

    Pepper, LOVE the buildup intro, especially “Main Course – Deep prolonged kiss, usually steamed.” Whoo! Kind of makes the oatmeal I had for breakfast taste like mush … 🙂

    Hugs,
    Julie

    Reply
  3. Casey

    Love the menu!! 😀 And I love these weeks, you really can’t go wrong on kissing! (not that I have any experience, except from the novels I read. LOL!)

    Love it Kaye! I really need to try your books!

    Reply
  4. Jason

    Kaye’s fantastic! She certainly knows how to craft a great kiss. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Regina

    That scene melted me completely, I think, because it took me by surprise. And what a nice surprise it was. It was a treat, along with the rest of the book. Talk about a novel that leaves you smiling! Great treatise on kissing, Kaye! 😉

    Reply
  6. Renee

    Hahaha I definitely agree, the thumb circles are great lead ups to a great smooch and really who wouldn’t lose their train of thought when with Forbes? Hubba hubba 😛

    Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. On a Happier Note . . . « KayeDacus.com - [...] And I discuss what makes a good kissing scene . . . and share one from A Case for…

Leave a Reply to Jason Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Meet Pepper

Subscribe to Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This