Thursday Tales: Jessica Lauryn

Thanks so much for having me, Carrie!  I’m very excited to be here today on Romance With a Bite and even more excited to be sharing some of my favorite character-dates with your readers!

So, what was the best date you’ve ever gone on?  Was it a romantic candlelit dinner?  A moonlight walk on the beach?  If you’re like me, perhaps your favorite date is yet to come, as in, it isn’t something you’ve experienced yet, but is something you fantasize about, maybe on a rather frequent basis.  If you’re a writer, perhaps you enjoy bringing your fantasies to life, finding ways to incorporate your dream dates into your works in progress.  Or maybe you’re a reader, and you simply find no greater escape than an afternoon with a great romance novel, which just happens to include the perfect date.  Whether the hero and heroine’s date is planned or spontaneous, there are few things I find more exciting than accompanying them on their big night out…and seeing where the turn of events will lead.  As the personalities of hero’s and heroines often clash (sometimes exploding in fireworks!) it is common in romance novels for a lot of suspense to build to that first date.  A first date can be one of the most anticipated (and appreciated) elements in a romance!

One of my favorite scenes to write in my debut novel, Dangerous Ally, was Lilah and Lucas’s candlelight dinner.  In fact, writing this scene was one of the initial reasons I wanted to write the story.  With just a few ideas under my belt, I set out to create an opportunity for a candlelight dinner in this story, something really romantic with a strong element of seduction in the air.  And of course, the hero would be the seducer.  This eventually lead to a whole “seduction” theme for Dangerous Ally in which Lucas, hero and diamond smuggling kingpin, sets out to stop New York Times Reporter Lilah Benson from exposing his crimes.  His plan?  Get Lilah Benson into his bed…and keep her there…

The first thing I decided I needed to create this perfect date was a historic mansion.  Setting is key in romantic fiction and I take the settings of my scenes—especially for dates—very seriously.  Next most critical element: costume decisions.  For this scene, Lucas and Lilah are dressed to the nines in a gown and tux, which I just happened to have the opportunity to do, as they’re dining in the upscale sophistication of the Ramone Mansion.  Sounds silly, but the right setting and mood can make all the difference in a date scene.  And I’m sure reader and writer alike can agree that a romantic setting wins every time!

But the most important element in this date scenario?  Seduction.  That’s right.  SEDUCTION!  As the reader knows Lucas’s plan to seduce Lilah into his bed, the element of seduction is already set into motion.  And if Lilah doesn’t come to dinner already knowing what her suave hero has in mind, surely she soon realizes as he…sets out a delicious five course meal, lots of candlelight, and finally, he takes her for a walk on the balcony, complete with all the right smooth talk, a subtle slip of the arm, and at last the first kiss.  The first date doesn’t always need to end in sex, though, a seductive first date can certainly build to it. 

Or perhaps the first date does end in sex…

In my latest release, Dangerous Proposal, heroine Lena Benson fleas to the remote town of North Conway, in efforts to escape from under the thumb of her maniacal fiancé.  All seems to be going according to plan, until she meets Alec Westwood, local doctor and town heartthrob, who just might be the man her fiancé hired to track her down.  A midnight walk in the woods accidentally brings Lena face-to-face with the dark-haired scoundrel, Alec.  She should be afraid.  But instead, she finds herself placing her hand into his, following him to what he vaguely refers to as a “surprise.”

Alec, terrified Lena may be working with a band of criminals who coerced him into accepting an assassin mission at the age of nineteen, doesn’t know who to trust.  But he does know that the attraction he feels for Lena is far stronger than his fear.  On a whim, he finds himself leading the young woman through the woods, to a lake he frequented as a child.  Lena is awe-struck at the breathtaking body of water before her, and Alec goes in for the kill.  They share a steamy kiss, which leads to a very passionate night of lovemaking beneath the stars.  Not bad for a date that was never planned, hmm?

As a romance novelist, I find creating the perfect date scenario to be one of my favorite things to do.  The ideas come easily when you’re fantasizing about something you’d really like to be doing yourself, and with the infinite possibilities the imagination offers, the possibilities are endless.  I really enjoyed writing the dates scenes in Dangerous Ally and Dangerous Proposal.  I look much forward to writing more date scenes, with just as much spice and pleasure as these two!       

For ten agonizing years, Alec Westwood has been keeping a secret from the world. At nineteen, he nearly committed the most horrific of crimes—murder in cold blood—and narrowly escaped the assigned task with his life. When a stunning young woman crosses his path wearing the insignia for the underground organization that recruited him, he vows not to let fate get a second chance. But when the enchantress gives him a kiss that leaves him spellbound, Alec realizes the power she holds is greater than all his strength and fortitude combined… 

On the run from her psychotic fiancé, Lena Benson vows to forge a new life, even if that means befriending a witch, and practicing the craft of the devil. But when her new friend Jack tells her to stay away from Alec Westwood, the man she believes her fiancé hired to track her down, and the handsome stranger she kissed in a tavern, Lena vows to take matters into her own hands. Alec may have the charm, but she’s calling the shots this time, even if that means resisting the man responsible for giving her the most intimate kiss of her life, a man who’s eyes and touch rob her, literally, of sense…

   

An author of Contemporary Romantic Suspsense, Jessica Lauryn is most intrigued by dark heroes, who have many demons to conquer…but little trouble enticing female companions into their beds! She feels that the best romances are those where the hero is already seducing the heroine from that first point of contact. 

Jessica’s latest release, Dangerous Proposal, showcases the steamy love affair that takes place when fugitive Lena Benson crosses paths with dark-haired-devil Alec Westwood. The second edition to The Pinnacles of Power Series, the story takes place a few years prior to Jessica's debut release, Dangerous Ally.

When she’s is not writing, Jessica enjoys listening to as much 80’s music as possible, watching the same re-runs of Smallville...