Welcome Guest Blogger Hebby Roman

"I've been writing since around 1990. I was print published in the late 1990s through 2001, then I came back to writing early last year and have self pubbed and published with Wild Rose Press. And yes, my writing process has changed alot over time, and I actually have a blog about the changes, entitled: Obsessive Compulsive vs Seat of the Pants. " 

Writing Emotions into Love Scenes

            Have you ever read a love/sex scene that seemed to be a catalog of moving body parts? I have, and to be brutally honest, I've written scenes like that. Not to say that a spirited recounting of the poetry of making love won't steam up your bifocals or contact lenses or whatever … LOL

            When I was a beginning writer, I made certain that every kiss and caress was recounted explicitly and with as many sensory cues as possible. But beyond body parts and sensory cues, what is the richer subtext of a love scene? Short answer: it's what is going on in the minds and hearts of the heroine/hero. Think of love scenes in your favorite books that were particularly satisfying. In those scenes, you knew exactly how the characters were affected from the initial meeting of their lips, through each caress, and to the ultimate joining of their bodies.

            To give a clearer picture of their feelings, I often change point of view within a love scene and tell one part from the hero's perspective and then end with the heroine's feelings. While point of view is a powerful tool that gives the reader an intimate thermometer of what the h/h are thinking and feeling, it's just another layer leading to the final and most important component, the emotional content that rises from the main conflict between the characters.

            Let me give you some examples of what I mean.

In my contemporary romance, THE BEST BET, the heroine has a hard time trusting herself to love and commit to a serious relationship. She's attracted to the hero and wants to be intimate with him, but he wants more. The hero is wise enough to recognize her fears and when they come together physically, he never says a word about love or marriage. Why? Because he doesn't want to scare her off.

            In one of my historical romances, TEMPT FORTUNE, one side of the hero's face has been disfigured and despite a marriage of convenience, he avoids physical consummation with the heroine, believing she despises his disfigurement. When they finally come together, the pivotal point of their love scene is when she strokes his disfigured face and tells him that her love for him has blinded her to his scars. With her declaration of unconditional love, the hero's fears and doubts melt away.

            From my recently published medieval, THE PRINCESS AND THE TEMPLAR, the hero is a Templar monk sworn to celibacy and bastard born. Based on his medieval code, he's far beneath the Irish princess in his care, and he shouldn't desire her. When their mutual attraction ignites, he restrains himself and gives the Princess pleasure while keeping her virginity intact.

            All of these examples illustrate the emotional conflict that is at the heart of the story and by weaving those same emotions into the love scenes the story will be richer and more satisfying.

Blog by Hebby Roman. Please see her latest contemporary release, THE BEST GAME, at Amazon.

THE PRINCESS AND THE TEMPLAR BLURB

Raul de Porcelos, a dedicated Knight Templar, is duty bound to bring orphaned Irish Princess Cahira O'Donnell to wed the Earl of Orkney, Raul's lord. But Cahira has a mind of her own and resists the handsome Templar, refusing to relinquish the castle and lands that her family died to protect. 

Thrown together by fate, they come to know each other and a forbidden passion is kindled. Who will be the first to surrender to desire, the warrior-princess or the warrior-monk?

Amazon buy link: http://amzn.com/B00GVKRVP0