Probably like most people, whenever I hear the term “wrapping things up” I think of finishing something. Bringing it to a close. But despite the title of this blog, I’m not here to talk about how to put the finishing touches on a steamy sex scene.
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I sold my first Harlequin Duet in March of 2000. I was so thrilled to have met my goal…I’d sold to Harlequin. I’d been targeting the company for quite some time, sending back-to-back manuscripts to both Duets and then to Silhouette Romance. They’d reject one, and I’d immediately send the next. I figured I’d eventually wear them down , and that day in ‘00 I did. Three months later, I sold to Silhouette Romance. A sale–it’s the goal every writer works towards. But after…well, after a day or so to bask, it’s back to work. And there’s a whole host of things most new writers don’t think about–or at least I didn’t think about. Revisions being one. So, as I worked on the revisions for that first Duet, I Waxed My Legs For This?, my editor said, “You need to rework the love scene.” Oh, gee, what was wrong? “She didn’t have a good time.” LOL Welcome to my first battle with the dreaded love scene.
Now, I have four kids, so it’s not that I don’t “know” how it works. But by natural inclination, I write very G books. When I wrote for Silhouette Romance, they were totally G rated. And I write for Avalon Books as well as Harlequin…a G rating there, too. The editor at Avalon once told me I wrote a kiss too hot and to please tone it down. I walked around all day feeling rather smug in my hotness…me and my hot kiss! LOL But most of the books I write require a love scene. It’s not a line requirement, or even readers’ expectation, but it’s more of a story demand. The characters in that particular book need that love scene…it’s important to the book. Now, even when I write a love scene, they’re very PG. So, how does a writer with a G inclination write a love scene?
