Julie Lessman - ROMANCE-ology 101: Writing Romantic Tension for the Inspirational and Sweet Markets

ROMANCE-ology 101

Bookmark: Copyright

Published by Julie Lessman, LLC.

Copyright 2013. Julie Lessman, LLC.

Cover by Lessmark, LLC

ISBN: 1490955771

ISBN-13: 9781490955773

This ebook is licensed for your personal use only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author through her website at http://www.julielessman.com/contact-julie/ .

Excerpts from Revell are used by permission for each of the following books:

Julie Lessman, A Passion Most Pure , Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, copyright 2008.

Julie Lessman, A Passion Redeemed , Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, copyright 2008.

Julie Lessman, A Passion Denied , Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, copyright 2008.

Julie Lessman, A Hope Undaunted , Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, copyright 2010.

Julie Lessman, A Heart Revealed , Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, copyright 2011.

Julie Lessman, A Love Surrendered , Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, copyright 2012.

Julie Lessman, Love at Any Cost , Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, copyright 2013.

Julie Lessman, Dare to Love Again , Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, copyright 2014.

ROMANCE-ology 101:

Writing Romantic Tension for the Inspirational
and Sweet Markets

Julie Lessman

Julie Lessman, LLC

2013

Dedication

My deepest thanks to Revell Publishing for
allowing me the use of all excerpts utilized in this book.

To The Seekersfriends and authors extraordinaire:
Mary Connealy, Janet Dean, Debby Giusti, Audra Harders,
Ruth Logan Herne, Pam Hillman, Cara Lynn James, Myra Johnson,
Glynna Kaye, Sandra Leesmith, Tina Radcliffe, and Missy Tippens.

I treasure both you and the awesome God
Who brought us all together.

And to Vince Mooneythe Seeker friend responsible
for me writing this bookyour brilliant mind
never ceases to amaze me.

Table of Contents

CRACK! okay, people, sit up straight, hands on the desk, and cell phones off. My name is Mrs. Lessman and playtime is O-V-E-R . The new semester begins today and you may as well know right off the ruler that this is no chump course, got it?

Good. Because as a die-hard advocate of Romance-ology, theres nothing more annoying than a pupil who doesnt give his or her all to the major component in a romance novel: the kiss.

I mean, heaven forbid! Would Gone with the Wind be the same if Rhett gave Scarlett a handshake on top of that dusky hill? Of course not! Would Ryan Gosling give you palpitations if he pushed Rachel McAdams to the wall in The Notebook to save her from a falling ceiling? Puh-leez! oh sure, and I suppose the sigh factor would go through the roof if George Peppard kissed the cat in the rain instead of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffanys !

Come on, people, this is romance, not womens fiction... which means the kiss matters. A lot! And contrary to Mr. Herman Hupfeld in his song As Time Goes By , a kiss is not just a kiss nor is a sigh just a sigh. No, maam, a kiss oughta make you tingle to the tips of your curled toes... just like in the movies.

Now, does this mean that a bona fide lip lock is the only way to up romantic tension? Absolutely not. Romantic tension can be just as high with the non-kiss or the almost kiss, so dont get your knickers in a knot. But one thing is for dead sure, whether a kiss takes place or notromantic tension does hover around the hope of a kiss. A hope grounded in a God-given longing to be loved, and a hope instilled by the very God who created passion. Why? Because passion is important! Not just to romance readers, but to everyone on the planet. We were created that way by a passionate God who analogizes His own depth of love for us in a very passionate love letter called Song of Solomon.

BANG! Miss Carol Moncado, spit that chocolate out right now...

So listen up, everybody. Anybody can warm up the pages with blatant bedroom scenes, but it takes a real pro to heighten the romantic tension in a book with only a look... a kiss... or even a non-kiss. In the following pages, youll learn tried-and-true tips on how to do that, along with some truly unique kisses that are tame enough for the inspirational/sweet markets, but romantic enough to raise the sigh factor. Of course, Principal Mooney insisted we utilize excerpts from my books, so what could I do but acquiesce? After all, the man signs my paycheck!

KA-POW! Miss Andie Tubbstwo demerits for shooting spit wads, and put that pea gun away!

All right, studentsshoulders straight, eyes on the board, and Miss Amber Perry, your hair looks lovely, so I suggest you put the comb and mirror away, capiche?

On your mark, get set... PUCKER UP!

Chapter 1

Getting Inside the Heros Head with Internal Monologue

Okay, class, raise your hand if you think the heroine is the most important feature in a romance novel.

CRACK!! Well, youre wrong, people, because its not the heroine who lures over 74.8 million people to read at least one romance novel a year (source: RWA Reader Survey 2008). Nope, its that big, strong, hulking-male-type who tempts the female readers (ahem... women account for 91 percent of sales) to lay down their hard-earned cash for a little bit of romance.

Why? Because each female reader IS the heroine in her own eyes, exploring the bonds of love and romance vicariously through the heroine in any romance novel. A woman who just wants to be loved like the hero loves the heroine.

Lets face itthe male is key. His feelings/reactions revealed through his internal monologue (i.e., his thoughts) generate readers feelings/reactions even more so than the heroines because his desire translates into the desire every woman wishes she could elicit.

In this scene from book 3 of my Winds of Change series, A Love Surrendered, Luke McGee just discovers his wife, Katie, is secretly being tutored by her former fianc and determines to coerce a confession. The first example is the beginning of the scene from Katies point of view (POV) to give you a sense of how much tension youre missing without the male POV, and then the second is the entire clip through Lukes POV. After you read both, try to imagine the entire scene in the heroines POV instead, and Ill bet you seven chocolate kisses from the teachers candy jar that the romanceand the tensionwould not be near as palpable!