Welcome to
our first official In Character chat! We got together with a few ROSA
members and their characters to find out about that all important romantic
moment – their first kiss!
Our thanks
to Tanya Wilde, Marianne Lomberg, and Peter Barker for letting us get a glimpse
of their characters’ lives!
Tanya
Wilde writes fun, sassy historical
romances inspired to ignite your inner heroine. As we all know, every heroine
deserves an adventure! You can find more characters like Ophelia at www.authortanyawilde.com
Marianne Lomberg published her
debut novel, Through Your Eyes, in 2021 and hasn’t stopped smiling
since. She writes stories about strong, imperfect women with exciting careers
and deep longings who find the love we all deserve. You can find Marianne on Facebook
at https://www.facebook.com/MarianneLombergAuthor
Peter Barker has been a member
of ROSA for the past five years. He has served on the Executive committee as
treasurer. His publications include Cupid Mislaid, a full-length romance
novel, and has contributed three short stories to Flambé, A Silk Tie murder,
and the Rooibos Baby, a mixed genre anthology that was put out by the Sharp
Pencils Writers group. Peter embarked on a writing career after retiring as an
accountant in the travel industry. He is married to Audrey.
Hello, I’m Lady Ophelia Thornton, heiress and only
daughter of the Earl of Rhodes. By far, my most favorite pastime is to put
skirt-sniffing fortune-hunters in their place. I never miss an opportunity to
do so!
You can read about my attempts in Not Quite A Rogue.
Hi!
I’m Akheela. Akheela Edwards. Evolutionary biologist in the sci-fi romance, Where
The Light Rests, due for publication in 2022. As you read this, I’m on the
moon. Yes. I just said that. I am part of the world’s first civilian mission to
the rock that reflects our sun, spending my days studying the tardigrades,
tiny, prehistoric animals, found trapped in the lunar ice. And my nights trying
to reconcile myself to the fact that I live with a fucking humanoid robot
butler who can see everything I do.
Hi Penelope, this must be a bit
unusual for you, as a journalist. Usually you’re the one asking the questions.
Now you’re answering them.
Yes, it does feel a bit strange. I
was created in the imagination of Peter Barker or PG Barker as he calls
himself. Peter used to work as a freelance journalist while still a high school
and university student, so my life experiences are based on that. His genre is
romantic suspense. This WIP is slightly different. He has me dealing with the
subject of corruption which is quite endemic in this country.
Everyone
has a very special, sometimes awkward, occasionally bittersweet first kiss
memory. Let’s find out about Ophelia's, Akheela's and Penelope’s!
My first
kiss was, dare I say stolen, on the most trafficked street in London. I, for
one, never saw it coming. Had I an inkling of that man’s intention, I’d have
surely dashed for the Thames!
Then
again, what can an unattached lady do at the callow age of twenty?
Peter doesn’t mention anything
about my high school love life other than someone I had a crush on. In my back
story there is David with whom I had an idyllic romantic relationship.
David was special to me. He was
someone I fell deeply in love with. Unfortunately, once campus life was over,
David went home to Livingstone in Zambia and I returned to the fictitious town,
renamed Amagquma on the East Rand.
Wow, you jump right in, don’t
you? It’s okay, Marianne warned me about this.
My first kiss was with the class hunk in 6th grade. His name was
Patrick. He was tall and, well, I mean, he was sweet enough, but I only liked
him because all the girls were supposed to. Susan kissed him, and so I had to,
you know? I mean, my mom always told me the only way a girl with an afro was
going to get the same things as the pretty, white girls, was by taking them. So
during Shelley’s birthday party, while the movie was playing on the TV in her
parents’ lounge. I just slid over to him on the couch and slapped my lips on
his mouth. Then I froze, until he put me out of my misery by kissing me back. I
mean, that’s the story of my life, really. Jumping in, then freezing and
thinking shit.
The kiss wasn’t bad, I guess, as
twelve-year-olds’ first kisses go. And I did end up living with a guy who
looked a lot like Patrick. So, you know. Maybe he was more than just the boy I
kissed because Susan did, after all.
That
would be Harry Spencer, the rogue Earl of Avondale. By Jove! That jackanape
kissed me on St. James Street in broad daylight! Had I not been disguised as a
gentleman myself, I might have been thoroughly ruined! And therein lay the
shock of it all. He kissed me while I was
disguised as a man. Caught me quite off guard!
To this day, the tips of my
fingers still go numb whenever I recall that scandalous scene. Though, between
the two of us, who was more scandalous at the time, is still up for debate.
Although
there can only ever be one very first kiss, every romantic relationship has a
moment where you share your first kiss. Let’s explore your present romantic
interests!
I married
that scoundrel Avondale. God forbid another reckless youth tries to steal a
kiss. I’ve run out of places to hide the duelling pistols!
Any
suggestions, dear reader?
His name is Geoff Brickhill. My
boss sent me to interview the head of the Department of Health procurement
division which had been set up in our little town. That person was in a meeting
so I got passed on to Geoff who was an official there. I was blown away by his
good looks as soon as I met him. He was very passionate about rooting out
corruption, and that became the focus of our relationship at first.
After one of our meetings I
asked him out of a date. That was something I’d never done before. He was
impressed. He thought I was progressive and he liked that. I took him to a new
restaurant and at the end of the date he walked me to my car, hugged me and
kissed me as we were saying good night. I was surprised to find how
electrifying his kiss was, particularly as I had been in a relationship before.
Avondale
has been my only kissing partner. That’s not to say we don’t keep matters of
the lips thrilling. These days, I have been fantasizing about kissing Avondale
while riding atop a horse. I suspect, however, that for the position that I
have in mind, I’d be wearing breaches again or drag my skirts above my knees. .
.
Heavens,
my cheeks suddenly feel quite hot! In
any event, the likes of this scene ought not to be painted for the eyes of
others! Not from my lips. Let us leave the details to the author.
Ugh. You had to go there. Fine.
Tom. I kissed Tom. And no, not only because I’m a Star Trek fan and he has
dimples and has the same name as Tom Paris from Voyager. Here’s the rub though:
our kiss should have been perfect. It should have led to seriously good sex.
Because maybe it’s the purified air, or maybe it’s the slightly lower air
pressure out here, but orgasms are pretty intense. I was kinda looking forward
to sharing one with someone else.
But I couldn’t do it with the
bloody android staring at me. I couldn’t even focus enough to tell you if I
enjoyed the kiss we’d been building up to for eight weeks when it finally
happened.
And the fact that both Tom and
the android looked at me as if I was the delusional one, and asked what worried
me about a computer with a human shape being in the same room, when I was
surrounded by computers while having sex on earth, didn’t warm me to either of
them. Arseholes.
Would it
be that I had more love interests to compare my husband’s ki—
“More what?”
“Harry? When did you arrive? Why
are you glaring at me? Have you been hiding there the whole time?”
Forgive
me, dear reader. I should have foreseen Avondale lurking in the shadows of this
interview. He put on quite the sulk when I did not invite him to join me today.
I’d not have gotten a word in otherwise!
As for
the matter of more kissing partners . . . I’ll just leave that for your
interpretation.
Not at
present, no, but I do declare today has been a delight! Next time, I shall be
sure to arrange for a more private setting.
For now, I shall be off. A brooding male is waiting to be appeased. And what
better way to soften one's spouse than by demanding wanton kisses!
YES! I’d like to be able to park
the fucking robot butler in a deep, dark closet, preferably one where its
energy cells would deplete totally. I never asked to be watched twenty four
hours a bloody day!
…
Although. The thing is, my
android understands me in a way I have never experienced with any human romantic
partner. And no, we haven’t kissed. We can’t. It has sensors for a mouth. But
in the middle of the night, when my demons wake me, its arms surrounding me and
its solid, humming warmth behind my back makes me wish that we could. That
someone who spends every moment of their existence working to understand me,
could be human enough for me to be allowed to fall in love with them.
I have feminist sympathies and I
felt quite proud of myself for initiating the first date. However deep down in
my girly of girly heart, it would have been nicer if he had initiated the first
date.
Geoff has made up for it. The
hugs and kisses are coming at full tilt.
Now that
you’ve met some of our ROSA members’ characters and learnt all about their
first kiss experiences, share your thoughts in the comments and if you’re
feeling brave, share your own experiences of first kisses!
If you'd like to find out more about creating characters with sizzling chemistry, writing romance that leaves readers wanting more, and have an opportunity to network with industry professionals, join us at ROSACon 2021.
