SEARCHING FOR ALWAYS by
Jennifer Probst
The Elements of Sexual
Tension
I adore a romance novel with tons of sexual tension.
In fact, I admit it’s my favorite part. That delicious push/pull
between the hero and the heroine. The flutter in my tummy at their verbal and
physical foreplay. There is nothing as much fun as a great relationship between
the hero and heroine before the sex even starts.
In Searching for Always, my heroine Arilyn and my hero Officer
Stone Petty, are enemies. They’ve met before, exchanged heated words, and
silently recognize they may be sexually attracted to one another, but they
DISLIKE each other.
Oh, yeah. As a writer, this was my greatest challenge. How to get them
to fall in love? How to get them to stay in the same room together!
When Officer Petty is mandated to take anger management classes and
finds Arilyn is his teacher for six weeks, everything falls together. All I needed
to do is step back and watch the fireworks explode.
Many readers and aspiring writers have asked how to notch up the
sexual tension in a romance. Here are some main elements I always try to
interweave in my stories to keep them off kilter!
1. Banter – it’s all about the
dialogue. Banter is sexy. It’s foreplay using the brain, and everyone knows,
women are majorally turned on by brain power. Make sure you create a witty,
strong heroine and match her up. Their volleys are legendary in Searching for
Always and readers will be counting each scene with who won. Fortunately, they
both end up winning in the end!
2. Differences – opposites attract is a blast to play
with. Think about everything that is important to the heroine, and then match
her up with the opposite type hero. Arilyn is a vegetarian, passionate about
animals, charity, helping people, and taking care of her body since she is a
yoga teacher. Stone Petty loves meat, hates dogs, trashes his body with smoking
and junk food, and is a workaholic cynic.
Yeah. That’s good tension right there and they haven’t even said a
word to each other yet!
3. Sex – Great sexual tension works best when
the hero and heroine are attracted to each other but don’t want to be.
Think the forbidden fruit trope. Make it clear to the reader by using all five
senses clearly to ramp up the physical connection, then bring the mind into
play when rationality snaps back. Do that again and again and watch how
frustrated the reader becomes. In a good way.
4. Payoff. If the payoff isn’t spectacular, a reader is going to get pissed.
If you rev me up, you better make it worth my while. When they finally kiss, it
should reach out of the page and make a reader feel swoony.
I truly hope you enjoy the sexual tension between Arilyn and Stone
Petty in Searching for Always!
Do you love sexual tension in your books? What’s one of your
faves that demonstrates great tension?
Searching
For Always by Jennifer Probst
Searching For, #4
(June 30, 2015, Gallery
Books)
BOOK SUMMARY:
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Jennifer
Probst sparks a blissful mind-body connection as her “sexy,
satisfying” (Kirkus Reviews) new series continues!
She’s an expert in
helping others de-stress, but Arilyn Meadows is running on fumes. Along with
her job counseling singles seeking soul mates at the Kinnections agency in
Verily, New York, she’s a yoga teacher,
animal shelter volunteer, anger management therapist, and helping hand to her
beloved grandfather. No time to find Mr. Right—but
after discovering her yogi boyfriend in a compromising asana, Arilyn would
rather dog-sit for her honeymooning friend Kate than risk her heart on another
downward dog. And when police officer Stone Petty—radiating
masculinity and bad-boy attitude—is
sent to her for mandatory lessons in cooling off when the job gets too hot,
Arilyn vows to ignore his seductive glances and sexy grin. But there’s
no halting their sizzling flirtation—a
red-hot, high-speed chase that’s breaking
all the limits.
Author
Information
Jennifer
Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read
it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married,
get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English
Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again.
She
makes her home in Upstate New York with the whole crew. Her sons keep her
active, stressed, joyous, and sad her house will never be truly clean.
She
is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of
sexy and erotic contemporary romance. She was thrilled her book, The Marriage
Bargain, was ranked #6 on Amazon's Best Books for 2012. She loves hearing from
readers. Visit her website for updates on new releases and her street team at
www.jenniferprobst.com.
Giveaway...
Help pet rescue shelters by posting a picture of your rescued pet, or sharing your favorite shelter, and using the hashtag #SEARCHINGFORRESCUES. 4 shelters will get a $50 prize (winners choose) and 1 additional person will receive a prize pack from Jennifer Probst.
Swag pack Giveaway
US only
Great guest post! I love Jennifer Probst's books! I agree sexy banter, forbidden fruit, and opposites attracting rev up the sexual tension between a couple. What a fun post :)
ReplyDeleteLindy@ A Bookish Escape
I enjoy the give & take that the tension provides.
ReplyDeleteGreat giveaway! I honestly entered just for the shelter donation opportunity. The prize pack would be an added bonus.
ReplyDeleteExchanging fantasies!!
ReplyDeleteIt's a fabulous thing your doing for the animals.
ReplyDelete