the earth moved

The earth moved on my honeymoon. You would think that would help when writing love scenes.

In my first manuscript, I kept the the hero and heroine waiting to consummate their passion. Someone was reluctant to go there and it wasn’t them. When I finally released the hero (after we’d made a pact in which he could do as he liked, as long as I could keep my eyes closed) he went on for forty pages. Do not expect to read it. It is hidden in a drawer, from which moans break out in the dead of night.

To be honest, the mechanics of A, B, and C are much the same for everyone, aren’t they? And if that isn’t right, don’t tell me about your X, Y, and Zs. I don’t want to know--not wanting to raise expectations in my readers, or my husband.

Rule number one of writing love scenes is don’t let your characters shed their characterization along with their clothes.

Rule number two is take Angela Knight’s workshop on writing love scenes and don’t ask me for any more rules.

I always write love scenes with my eyes closed and I have no idea what anyone is actually doing, unless they fall off the bed or trip when getting out the bathtub. That is my story and I am sticking to it, just in case my mother is reading this. Some of my favorite books have no sex in them at all. But I didn’t write any of those.

The earth moved on my honeymoon. Yes, I’m going to let it all hang out here. The earth moved literally. It was appropriate at the time, but scary as hell. We had earthquakes, forest fires, and snakes on our honeymoon. But the earthquakes were weird, as if someone was watching. It happened twice! And after the first time, I was leery of going to bed again. When we got home, a long way from earthquake prone Greece, there was an earthquake early the next morning. Whoever is in charge of earthquakes has a sense of humor, and I wish he’d stop watching me. Paranoid? Me? I hope the earth moves for you and then you’d have more sympathy.