Elena blogged yesterday about the first time and I’m blogging today about the Meet Cute (with or without a hyphen), the very first meeting of hero/heroine.

Although Wikipedia defines it as an element of screwball comedy or romantic comedy, I think it’s a staple of romantic fiction, because it determines the elements of hero/heroine interaction. Rarely do a hero/heroine meet and find that everything is compatible between them straight away. Austen gives us a prime example of the Meet Cute when Darcy first encounters Elizabeth: She is not handsome enough to tempt me.

So we get Elizabeth’s and Darcy’s reaction to each other, their misconceptions about each other, and, miraculously (if we knew how Austen did this academia would grind to a halt, the mystery solved) their attraction to each other despite themselves.

Since I have a sinus infection that is making my nose look like a banana (misshapen, not yellow) I’m going to invite you to share your favorite Meet Cutes of all time in romance, and share with you the Meet Cute from my WIP. I think this scene will stay, although I’ve just figured out the plot and a lot of stuff has to be rewritten:

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.. there is someone sprawled on a chair. He wears plain black—very fashionable for a gentleman, of course—but on this man it looks as though he intends to fight a duel and possibly conduct the funeral service over his unlucky opponent all in the same day. His dark hair is unruly, also eminently fashionable but in a way that, along with his unshaven chin, suggests he has but recently risen from his bed.

Goodness.

He is lean, dramatic, handsome as the devil, and I suspect the bed was not his.

A rake!

Will my reputation fall around me in tatters if I approach him?

I regard the soggy handkerchief in my hand and regret that the bosom of my gown, fashionably brief, does not allow for extra cargo.

While I have been staring at him I have in fact been moving toward him, like a mouse fascinated by a snake, so I arrive in front of him as he looks up—his eyes are shadowed, naturally, his eyelashes dark and lush, his face lean and bony—and gazes straight at my bosom.

He yawns.

And hop over to History Hoydens today where our very own Amanda McCabe is talking about sixteenth century navigation!

The next chapter in my mess-in-progress is a deflowering scene. Yes, my heroine is a virgin and I feel a bit out-of-date, given the popularity of courtesan and widowed heroines. I enjoy those stories, but I can’t help it. The heroine of this story just is a virgin, though not for long. 🙂

I’ve been thinking about other “first time” scenes I’ve read in historical romances and also the comments I’ve read on review sites and reader discussion boards. They are all over the place! Some readers can’t believe scenes in which the heroine is nervous and traumatized and the hero apologetic. At the opposite end, some readers say it’s not believable for a heroine in a historical romance (or sometimes even any woman) to really enjoy her first time.

I’m guessing some of these attitudes trace back to those readers’ personal experience. Me, I have my usual response to any credibility issue: It depends.

The physical experience must have varied then as it does now.
As for the heroine’s emotions, that could depend on how much she knows. A while back we discussed the question of What did they know? and concluded there were some ways young women could learn about sex, though some likely came to the marriage bed ignorant. How the heroine would feel would also depend on how well she knows and trusts the hero, and how far they’ve gone already. Also on the spontaneity of the scene; in heat-of-the-moment sex, she wouldn’t have time to get nervous the way she might on a wedding night.

I find a little anxiety very natural. Even if the heroine hasn’t been warned it would hurt and advised to “think of England”, even if she trusts the hero and is hot for him, she might still have the normal fears anyone could have when doing something for the first time. Will it be fun? Will I be good at it?

I think a bit of nervous anticipation can make the sex more exciting. I can believe that a heroine is eager, but I find it harder to believe if she is bold and skillful, without some interesting explanation of how she got that way. A little vulnerability makes things more real and therefore hotter. And as for virginal heroes, they can be a blast. So horny and so very anxious to please… 🙂

I think some of this still applies to couples in which neither is a virgin. If it’s their first time, or even their first time after a long separation in a “second chance at love” type of story, there’s still that tension of how it will go and where it will lead. And there’s another kind of heat when people are good at it, and know it.

So what do you think? What sorts of first time sex scenarios do you find believable? Most hot? Or not?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

Virginia and JC, you have won signed copies of Tempt the Devil! Contact Anna at anna@annacampbell.info

It seems to me that most dedicated readers are passionate not only about books, but about books — so let’s talk books!!!

So…how do you prefer yours?

Do you prefer the way hardcovers stay open in your lap?

Do you like the lightweight portability of mass-market paperbacks?

Do trade paperbacks (that is, the larger paperbacks) seem to you the perfect compromise?

Do you ever smell the paper of your books?

Pet the covers?

Line up all the books on your shelf perfectly evenly?

And while we’re on the subject, how do you read?

Do you break the spine of your paperbacks, to make them stay open? Or do you prefer a near-pristine book?

If you’re in the pristine book category, have you ever read a library copy of a book you already own, so you could keep your own copy undamaged? 😉 (I confess that I have!)

And do you like to eat while you read?

Drink tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate?

Lie in a hammock? Relax by the fire? Sit on a sunny park bench?

All answers welcome!

Cara
Cara, who has smelled many a book in her time…

We’re happy to welcome back today Anna Campbell! Comment for a chance to win a copy of Tempt the Devil…

Risky Regencies: It’s been a while since we’ve “seen” you here at RR, Anna! What have you been up to?

Anna Campbell: Hiya, Riskies! Thank you so much for having me back to visit. I love it over here, as you know! But where is Bertie? You know I hang around here mainly to flirt with that a la mode paragon. Don’t tell me he has found another ballroom to grace! I shall weep into my Mechelin lace handkerchief! Although I won’t blow my nose in it. Euch!

2008 did not feature a new Anna Campbell book on the shelves in America, but I’ve definitely been busy in the interim. I wrote my next book, which as yet is without an official title. I’m currently calling it the “Manderley book” because the hero has a lovely old house on the Cornish cliffs. It’s out in November, and features a runaway heiress and a PTSD knight in shining armor here. Standard angst-ridden Anna Campbell fare!

I had my first 2 short stories publisjed in a really big magazine here in Australia. That felt like a huge achievement for someone who didn’t think she could EVER write a short story. You can find them both here–just go to the bottom of the page and click on either title.

I shall control my blushes and say my biggest moment for 2008 was the double-RITA final. That was one of my writing dreams that came true! It was such fun visiting San Francisco and wearing those green ribbons at conference. Actually, it was just fun to visit San Francisco. What a great city! Another special moment was when Claiming the Courtesan was nominated for Romantic Book of the Year here in Australia.

RR: You call Tempt the Devil a “Regency noir Affair to Remember.” Sounds intriguing! Tell us more about that. How did you come up with this idea?

AC: I suspect I’m the only person who will see the connection! An Affair to Remember was my late mother’s favorite film so I watched it a lot! One day I was thinking about those characters in a Regency setting and realized that Terry is a kept woman, i.e. courtesan, and Nicky is a rake, if not a gigolo! For these sophisticated, jaded characters, falling in love is a disaster. They’ve got life pretty well sorted out. Then wham! Love takes them over and they’re stuck doing all sorts of things they wouldn’t have dreamed of doing. I also loved the way both Nicky and Terry used wit as a defense against the world. That part of An Affair to Remember definitely translated to Tempt the Devil.

RR: What are the famous historical women you used as inspiration for Olivia?

AC: Olivia was very much her own person, but I did steal a few details form actual women to round out her character. Some of the research I did for TTD was just too good to be ignored!

In appearance, she looks very much like a young Lauren Bacall. I wanted someone who wasn’t a conventional beauty but could still stop traffic. Some of her behavior is borrowed from George Sand, the French novelist, who was such a scandalous and charismatic character in 1830s Paris. My book is set in 1826 so it didn’t seem too much of a leap. Sand was an amazing character–althought I’m not sure I would have liked her very much. These days she’s mainly famous as Chopin’s lover, but she was a strong, dynamic, self-willed woman of genius who supported herself with her pen when that was almost unheard of. She regularly wore men’s clothing and smoked in public, and led an extremely torrid love life!

I borrowed a few minor details from a famous courtesan in the Victorian era called Skittles (apparently because as a child prostitute she plied her trade outside a skittles alley). Her real name was Catherine Walters and she became the mistress of Edward VII as well as a number of the best and brightest of the time. She never kissed and told, and all reports indicated she was a sparkling, joyful, compassionate companion. I think I would have liked her! She was also a famous horsewoman and used to have herself sewn into her riding habit for rides in Hyde Park so her superb figure was shown to best advantage.

RR: And what’s next for you?

AC: I just started my 5th book for Avon. I always like the early stages of a book–anything seems possible! It’s set in London and will have a similar atmosphere to Tempt the Devil. Or at least that’s the idea so far. I find out the stories change drastically from conception to actual writing!

RR: This week we’ve been talking about some of our favorite reads for 2008. What are some of yours?

AC: I actually had a great reading year! Some new authors I discovered are C.S. Harris who writes Regency romantic mysteries featuring a charismatic hero, Viscount St. Cyr. On the complete opposite of the spectrum I discovered a wonderful Harlequin author called Kathleen O’Reilly who writes amazingly textured books full of emotion and sensuality. I’d recommend her stuff to anyone. I discovered the Inspector Lynley mysteries by Elizabeth George late in the year and have since read 7! I read my first J.D. Robb and disovered what all the fuss is about. One of my Bandita friends, Jeanne Adams, wrote a great romantic suspense as her debut book, Dark and Dangerous. I really enjoyed Deanna Rayburn’s Silent in the Grave and Silent in the Sanctuary. As far as old favorites go, I really enjoyed books by Christine Wells, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Madeline Hunter, Annie West, Tawny Weber–too many to mention, really!

You can read more about Anna Campbell and her books at her website!