Summertime love is always the sweetest. These eight sweet tales of summer romance are the perfect companion for a day at the lake or the beach.
I asked the authors from the Summer’s Sweet Embrace anthology released by Roane Publishing this question: what two elements do you like to include in a romantic scene? Sit back and read their answers.
Michelle Ziegler, author of Truly Paradise:
I love anticipation. The knowing they will kiss, or whatever, but having to wait for it for several sentences and letting the excitement build. I don’t like to drag it out, but I love the subtle and meaning foreplay to make a romantic scene last.
Romance. Is that a duh moment? No really. If I am going to have my characters be in a romantic scene, I want believable romance. In real life, stolen kisses are rarely anything to make someone else swoon. So adding details that no one in real life would normally notice, like gazing into someone’s eyes or your breath hitching at each touch makes a scene more romantic for me.
Laurie Treacy, author of Ocean Dust:
Oh, I like this question! I like to include what I consider the ‘little things’ like touches and looks. And the other element I like to include are kisses. Tiny to full-blown lip locks.
Christa MacDonald, author of The Beach Rose:
Dramatic tension, definitely. As a reader there is nothing more boring than the perfectly happy couple having a perfect date ending with a perfect kiss. Snore… I love characters that clash despite their attraction and scenes that challenge them. Not that they should be debating politics while free-climbing a cliff or something, but there has to be an element of tension that moves the scene, that keeps you reading.
Vulnerability. I like to show that for the characters, this is real. They have real hearts they’re worried about breaking, real insecurities to fight, and scars from old wounds to deal with. A romantic moment is an emotionally vulnerable one and I think a good scene shows that.
Jaylee Austin, author of Love’s Nectar:
I enjoy writing the love/sex scene, building up to the moment when they’re connected in their relationship.
It’s fun listening to the characters internal talk when they have doubts about the other person.
Niki Mitchell, author of Love’s High Tide:
In a romantic scene, I include a catalyst and a personal reveal or insight to bring the couple closer.
Melissa J. Crispin, author of Linger:
One element I always try to include is the main character’s emotional state. As things are happening, each action should evoke a meaningful reaction and cause the couple to feel more drawn to each other. I do my best to capture that.
The second element would be the main character’s heightened senses. I feel that this helps to add a deeper dimension to the scene. Whether it’s the smell of the hero’s cologne, a meaningful song that’s playing in the background, or the taste of a kiss, I want to give the readers a strong image of what’s unfolding, with enough detail that it can be pictured like a movie playing in their minds.
Sheryl Winters, author of Above Reproach:
Understanding and tension. The first element is definitely understanding. Without understanding a character, has no depth of feeling and no reader will ever get into the scene. A reader has no reason to care about them. Tension must also be present, either from anger or from sexual tension but without tension even the lightest scene will fall flat.
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Link for Summer’s Sweet Embrace on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25999205-summer-s-sweet-embrace
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