Louisa George on First Kiss!

Today I invited New Zealand author Louisa George to tell us a little about her debut release ONE MONTH TO BECOME A MUM. And she came up with....... what???!!! Can you believe it? First Kiss!


 First Kiss
Hi Riya! Thanks for inviting me here today!

I’m often asked (by people who don’t write) whether writing a romance novel is dictated by a series of rules that make it easier for us authors to ‘churn’ them out. How I wish this was true- and if anyone has a list of those rules I’d be really grateful if you could send them on to me. Also, whether romance stories are based on personal experience! (If that’s the case, then having read a few paranormal romances I’d have to say that those authors have a wildly vivid imagination, or a very unusual life!). 

 In the case of my debut book, One Month to Become a Mum, I can honestly say that I made it all up! None of it is based on my life or anyone that I know. And I had no rules to follow, only guidance from my lovely editor.

 Except… I think there must be an unwritten rule that every romance MUST have a first kiss. The moment where the hero and heroine can fight their attraction no longer. That single sizzling second where they choose to put all conflict aside. A meeting of souls, a moment of unbridled passion and intense emotion. Or it can be fun, flirty, snatched and unexpected. It can be one-sided, embarrassing, awkward. Borne out of laughter or anger or just plain lust. Who makes the first move? Will they kiss back or be horrified? What are they thinking? It’s not so much the actual physical act, it’s the build-up, the tension that makes them such fun. I LOVE writing and reading first kisses, they always take the relationship to another level, making the reader turn the pages wondering what happens next?

In One Month to Become a Mum, Jessie and Luke’s first kiss comes as a result of a dare.  The heat has been slowly notching up, the attraction between them increasing, denied, growing…but neither of them believe they can have a happy ever after, so both pull back. Until a hot moment in a treatment room where Jessie has to tend to Luke’s injured hand. He dares her to kiss him. She refuses. He dares her again…

And here’s where I blush. Maybe some of my books do have snippets of my life in them after all…Yes, I once had a kiss that was the result of a dare. A long, long time ago, way back at uni, with a boy who I’d had a crush on forever. At the end of a disco, he dared me to kiss him and I did. Sadly- it wasn’t as wonderful as I’d dreamt it could be. But I will always remember the excitement as he said the words…I dare you…

 See the below EXCERPT and read about the dare!



‘You want to kiss me, but you won’t, not unless I make you.’

‘I do not want to kiss you.’ Her pulse jittered, her voice little more than a groan. ‘And you can’t make me.’

‘I can and I will.’ His hand touched her shoulder, his words a warm breeze on her skin. ‘I dare you. I dare you to kiss me.’

‘Right here? In the clinic? Are you mad?’ She turned to face him, caught in the glare of his dangerous gaze, his eyes dark and filled with a need for her. Her legs almost buckled. Yes. Yes, she wanted to kiss him.

‘Mad, crazy. Out of my skull. Jessica Price. Double dare. Kiss me.’

She giggled. ‘Seriously, how old are you?’

‘Thirty two, but you make me feel like a teenager.’ His smiling face grew serious. ‘And I’m definitely old enough to know what I want.’

‘Which is?’ She forced the words out of her closed throat, wanting and not wanting to hear what he had to say.

‘You. Now. Here. I dare you. Just one. One kiss.’

She swallowed hard as warmth spread from his fingers to her shoulder, her gut. Tingled up through her throat, her cheeks, until her body hummed with his heat.

She’d missed this. God knows, she’d tried to put cold distance between herself and anyone else. But she missed contact, touching, warmth.

She missed wanting and being wanted.

She missed kissing. She missed loving.

Most of all she missed loving.

Surely she deserved a small part of what everyone else in the world had? One small kiss wasn’t a promise she couldn’t keep. One small kiss couldn’t hurt.

Besides, it was just a dare. Silly. Cute. Fun.

And if she was going to kiss anyone for a dare it would definitely be Luke McKenzie.

Her heart thundered. She stared straight into those blazing eyes, took his face in her palms, pressed her lips gently against his mouth. ‘I’m such a sucker for a dare.’

‘I just knew you would be.’ His mouth opened to hers, broadened into a smile.

He palmed the back of her neck and pulled her closer, pressing his hard body against hers, his lips smooth and soft, wielding and wanting.

And still she couldn’t stop herself smiling, grinning like an idiot as his hard heat pushed against her.

She’d done it. Taken something for herself. Made something beautiful. A simple kiss. To treasure.




Buy Links:

Mills & Boon    Mills & Boon eBook        Amazon UK

Amazon                          The Book Depository


Louisa George on the Web:

Website    Blog      Facebook     Twitter         Author Page

28 comments:

  1. It's a good idea for a post about a romance, the first kiss, because that's a crucial moment in any romance. Depending on how it goes, nothing can ever be quite the same again. Whether the concerned people decide to go for the relationship or not.

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  2. Hi Maria!

    Yes, the first kiss is a defining moment for any of us, right? LOL! It changes everything, if you were best friends before it's hard to go back if the kiss doesn't 'work' for you! And in a romance it's absolutely pivotal. Thanks for your comment!

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  3. Lovely! Oh how I love that moment in a romance!

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  4. I'm loving Louisa's book! Go and get it everyone. You won't be sorry. :)

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  5. Hello Riya. Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting on Ann's post. I just did a one-day novel writing course where the rather unfortunate tutor said you always wrote about what you know and you base your novel on those you know. I couldn't disagree more, lol!

    Denise

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  6. Hi Rebecca! Thanks for stopping by- glad you enjoyed the excerpt- I really loved writing it! I had so much fun with these characters!

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  7. Hi Deniz! Nice to see you over here! So glad you enjoyed Jessie and Luke's first kiss- it had been a brewing a long time! It's such a lovely moment in a story, isn't it! I always enjoy reading first kisses!

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  8. Emily! WOW- thanks so much! *blushes*, glad it arrived safely! My second book, Waking Up with His Runaway Bride is due out in July, so hope you enjoy that one as much, too!!

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  9. Hi Denise! Thanks for hanging out with us here! Can I just say how much I love these gravatars! I can see who everyone is! Fabulous to put a face to a name! Anyway, if I just wrote what I knew you'd all be bored to death with laundry and teenage son rants! We've got to have make-believe too, right? Although- writing what you know is a great jumping off point, then you could turn that scenario into write what you'd like to happen, or what you'd hate to happen...and so a fictional story begins....

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  10. Great excerpt! Good luck with your new book!

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  11. Great post and excerpt. :)

    Many times the first kiss is my favorite scene in a book.

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  12. I absolutely LOVE reading about first kisses, especially if they've been a long time coming!

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  13. Hi Louisa!

    Great kiss! Lol! A challenge or dare kiss would be so tempting to refuse!

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  14. Love this kissing scene! One of the best kissing scenes I've ever read. One I'll remember. Best of luck with your debut book, and I hope you keep churning them out, even without that list you're hoping someone will send you! LOL! I have a feeling you don't need that list!

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  15. Love the First Kiss between Jessie and Luke, Louisa!!


    Amanda Gardner
    ang_1985 (at) hotmail (dot) com

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  16. Riya! Hope you're keeping safe with all that flooding! If there's anything you or your family need just let us know. Keeping you all in my thoughts and sending love and hugs xxxx

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  17. Hi Sharon! Thanks for coming by, glad you enjoyed the excerpt. I always think it's good to get an idea of what someone's writing style is like!

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  18. Hi Medeia! Glad you popped in! I think it's interesting how different authors approach a first kiss scene- but I always love reading them!

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  19. Hey Susan! Nice to see you here! Sometimes you can get taken by surprise and a kiss happens before you know it- but I love a long build up!

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  20. Hi Nas! Hope you're keeping safe and dry! Glad to see your technology's working again! (What would we do without our internet?). Unfortunately/fortunately I'm always one for a challenge and a dare was just too good to resist!

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  21. Hi Lyn! Thanks so much for your kind words. Sometimes I really wish there was a list!! It would make days like today -where I stared long and hard at a blank page and wondered what the heck was going to happen next- a lot easier!! LOL!

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  23. I love the first kiss moment in a book! Fabulous excerpt!

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  24. Hi there, Amanda! Nice to see you here! Glad you enjoyed Luke and Jessie's kiss!!

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  25. Hey, peggy! Thanks for coming to read my excerpt! Glad you liked it!

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  26. Hi Louisa,

    Thanks for sharing about the kiss.

    The excerpt from One Month to Become a Mum is interesting.

    Congratulations on it's release.

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  27. Hi Laura, Thanks for taking the time to read my first kiss! And thanks for the congrats!

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