When you think of a kiss to build a dream on, what comes to mind?
Cowboys – pure and simple. 100% raw man, hat or not, crossing a field or dismounting his steed to sweep his darlin’ into his arms. Yep, what an image!
In all truth, romance can happen in any era, but Mary Connealy brings it wrapped in chaps and sporting a Stetson. Perfectly fine with me and it’s evident by the fact that I own every book she’s ever written (except the ones still stocked on her computer). From cowboys at Christmas, to gun slingers and singing hostages, or compulsive kissers who adopt orphans- you are certain to find adventure, romance, and humor between the pages of a Connealy Classic
To get more details about her books, check out her website at www.maryconnealy.com
Well, enough gushing from the fan, let’s lasso Mary in and ask her a few questions.
So, Mary, what do you think makes a good kissing scene?
I’ve always liked a kissing scene where neither party particularly wants to kiss but circumstances throw them together and they find themselves kissing with no plan to and no real understanding of what exactly came over them. I like the denial, the impulse, the attraction that gets out of hand.
One thing I’d done several times is some version of her saying, “Let go of me,” as if the man was the aggressor and the woman didn’t welcome the kiss. Then, when he lets go, it’s not all that easy because he has to help her unwind her arms from around his neck.
And I’m just sure you have a great excerpt for us to read?
Here’s an excerpt from The Husband Tree
Shorty woke Roy and the two of them left the camp quietly. Silas heard them go and 
lay awake until Belle, Lindsay, and Emma all came riding in. The snow had stopped and the night was sharply cold but not bitter. The women went straight to caring for their horses.
Silas pushed aside his blanket, stood, and walked over to Belle. He rested his hand on her elbow. “Let’s step away from the campfire for a second.”
Belle nodded and followed him as the girls worked their horses. Silas stayed where the sleeping girls and Lindsay and Emma working with their mounts were in their line of sight.
Silas whispered, “I just wanted to remind you that you have to show me a bit of affection from time to time to keep this idea in these men’s heads that we’re married.”
“What?” Belle’s shocked question rang out clearly enough to be heard down the whole mountainside.
Silas squeezed her elbow. “Shhh. What else? A wife gives her husband a kiss now and then. You’ll do it, too!”
“Silas,” she began sternly, but at least she wasn’t yelling, “I am not—”
Silas shut her up by kissing her, and when she melted against him it occurred to Silas that this was the most fun he’d ever had in his life. It was the plain honest truth that he was a happy man when he was tormenting Belle Tanner. He eased his lips away from her and said with his mouth a bare inch from her ear, “I’ll sleep with the men.”
Belle shuddered and Silas breathed softly against her ear again to see if she’d repeat the telltale movement. She did.
“Silas,” Belle said with reluctant protest, “what about the girls? They can’t see us behaving in a way that’s not proper. They’ll think—”
“I already told them what we had to do. They understand.” Silas leaned closer again and murmured, “Now think, darlin’, the yarn I spun these boys is the only one we could have told. When it gets down to it, me being along on this drive with you is about as improper as anything can be.”
“No, it’s not. The girls are better chaperones than a fire and brimstone preacher backed by a convent full of nuns.”
Silas grinned. “That is the honest truth. But I’m here as your husband while these men are with us. We have to make do as best we can.”
“But it’s all a lie, Silas. I’ll spend my night praying for forgiveness for this nonsense. All you had to do was be honest.”
He kissed her again because it seemed to quiet her down. “Now I’ve been calling you my woman and the girls my girls. I’ve been real careful not to say the word wife and daughters.”
“You told the girls to call you pa. Don’t try and pretend that’s not a lie.”
He was holding a smart woman in his arms. He found it suited him. “Well, I’ve already asked for forgiveness and I feel like God understands. Which means you’re more stubborn than God, and why am I not surprised?”
Belle jerked her arm out of his grip, but Silas caught it and reeled her back in for one last kiss. When she’d calmed clear down to being limp in his arms, he pulled back just enough to whisper in her pretty ear, “I think we’ve been over here long enough.”
He said it all scolding like, as if Belle was keeping him over here just because she wanted a few minutes of privacy to smooch. “Now you go on back to camp and behave yourself.”
Mary, I absolutely love the way you get inside Silas’ head. Love it. As usual, you had me alternating between a chuckle and a sigh. The humor, the romance, sneaking kisses…. Did I say kisses? They’re everywhere – and the more the merrier.
That’s why the Kiss to Build a SCENE On BlogFEST continues next week, starting off with another western, romance, and humor writer – Deeanne Gist. I’ll post the new lineup tomorrow – so stop on by for more!
Kissing Quote for the Day:
“A kiss can be a comma, a question mark, or an exclamation point. That’s basic spelling that any woman ought to know.” – Jeanne Bourgeois
Bible Kissing Quote for the day:
(This is one of my FAVORITES)
My dear lover glows with health—
red-blooded, radiant!
He’s one in a million.
There’s no one quite like him!
My golden one, pure and untarnished,
with raven black curls tumbling across his shoulders.
His eyes are like doves, soft and bright,
but deep-set, brimming with meaning, like wells of water.
His face is rugged, his beard smells like sage,
His voice, his words, warm and reassuring.
Fine muscles ripple beneath his skin,
quiet and beautiful.
His torso is the work of a sculptor,
hard and smooth as ivory.
He stands tall, like a cedar,
strong and deep-rooted,
A rugged mountain of a man,
aromatic with wood and stone.
His words are kisses, his kisses words.
Everything about him delights me, thrills me
through and through!
Her turn to check him out, eh? Her words, her praise, is cloaked in a fragrance of love. And I thought the ‘rugged mountain of a man’ part might compliment Mary’s scene 
We’re inside the bride’s head as she scans down the body of her lover. The phrase “his words are kisses, his kisses words” is absolutely lovely. Again, she’s painting a picture with visual imagery, smells, and touches. Fantastic and breathtaking.
