Tour: To Russia With Love by Chris Almeida & Cecilia Aubrey (Guest Post/Giveaway)

Please give a warm welcome to author, Chris Almeida, who is joining us with her recent release written with Cecilia Aubrey, To Russia With Love!

Show vs. Tell in Love Scenes

The skill of writing good narrative is as important as the skill of “showing” the reader the scene, making the reader feel the emotions the character is feeling at that moment, smell, taste, hear what’s around the character so one can close his or her eyes and imagine oneself in the character’s skin.

The balance between show and narrative needs to be right. Not too much of either and a balanced scene will pull the reader into it without asking first, holding on to one’s attention until the very last twist and turn of events.

Writing action packed scenes with that in mind can leave us, the writers, breathless, heart pumping, frustrated, angry, because we feel what we write. Each show, whether is from a fight scene or a simple conversation, should draw emotions from the reader the way they evoke emotions from us while we write them.

The same concept applies to love scenes but on a much higher level. The majority of the love scenes we have on our books were role played by Cecilia and I. This means we wrote those scenes while playing Trevor and Cassandra, while in their “skins”. We do that often for fun, but we also do it to gauge the experience the readers will have while in the scene, the moment. To give the best display of what the scene “feels” like. What makes them different is that they are a true manifestation of Trevor and Cassandra’s emotions and experiences evoked in us when we used ourselves as “guinea pigs” of sorts to write them. The end result is that the reader experiences their love, arousal, and emotions during their moments together in its entirety and from both sides.  

In love scenes, the intent is to make the reader feel each stroke, each touch, smell the scent of arousal in the air, hear the sounds of accelerated breathing, of skin against skin, to feel the twinge of desire at the same time as the character does, to want to be the one under or on top.

I have a little saying we use often. As Erotic Romance writers, if what we write do not arouse us, makes us squirm in our seats, makes us sweat, we are doing it wrong. We rewrite. Because of the use of our Role Play experience, rewriting doesn’t happen often and there have been plenty of days where we have taken breaks in editing because the scenes were quite intense.

We hope you feel the intensity of the scenes the same way when you read our stories and that you do enjoy experiencing them as they develop.

Sláinte!

Chris

To Russia With Love is the second book of the Countermeasure Series.

In the second novel of the COUNTERMEASURE SERIES, Trevor and Cassandra Bauer are starting a new life across the pond where they continue their search for Trevor's parent while he still works as an NSA consultant. When George Miller, his best friend, comes across what looks to be a new piece of information on his parents' case, they embark on a new adventure following a digital trail to Saint Petersburg.
They are encumbered with the task of infiltrating a Russia Mafia's stronghold and recovering stolen files in exchange for that new clue. As they dive in the job, Trevor becomes bound to a Russian mafia crime lord. What started as a simple data file recovery turns into a dangerous game of cat and mouse deep in a world of betrayal, hidden identities, and secret agendas.
Cassandra will do anything to keep Trevor safe. When everything goes FUBAR and she finds herself on the run, her sole focus is finding Trevor even it if means she has to depend on those who might not have their best interests at heart.
Stephan Connelan, Brennan Enterprises' CEO and Trevor's Parents' friend, has fought his desire for Jessica Forrester since the day they met at Trevor and Cassandra's wedding. Events in his past stop him from giving in to temptation, a temptation that would cause them both regret and hurt. But how long can he resist something so powerful as his attraction for the little vixen who has crowded his thoughts for months.
Jessica knows what she wants. Their age difference won't stop her from having the man of her dreams. She is determined to find a way to reach the heart he has locked away behind high walls. Little does she know that her greatest obstacle is Stephan himself.

Excerpt:

After a few moments, her voice exploded over the link. “What the hell?! That is from pretty high up. Really good view, but really high up! How the hell did you accomplish that one, Trevor? Hold on a second. Where are you right now?!”

“Setting the cameras?” He feigned innocence.

“Get your ass out of there on the double!” Anxiety bled through her words.

Her fear beat at him. He sobered immediately. “I’m on my way down; I’ll be out of here in no time, Cassie.”

Trevor swung his leg back over the gate. Suddenly a deep growl blasted his ears and a heavy weight slammed against the fence, knocking him from his perch. “Umpf!” he exclaimed as he hit the sidewalk. Pain seared through his entire body. His vision dimmed and ears grew muffled as he exhaled in shallow breaths to ease the radiating agony. The low menacing growls and barks from at least two dogs penetrated his haze. Move your arse, man! he grimaced to himself, rolling instinctively up against the wall into the cover of shadows. Sucking in a deep shaky breath, he held his position and tried to regroup.

“Trevor! Report!” Cassie’s frantic voice demanded in his ear.

Winded, he couldn’t squeeze out the words to comfort her. A commotion inside the gate forced him to press tighter against the wall, hoping his dark clothing would help as additional camouflage.

“Trevor! Report. Now!”

“Here!” he gasped out with a groan.

A voice behind the wall yelled. Trevor smirked. The guard blamed the dogs’ barking on a stray cat.

Someone else cursed at the dogs to shut up.

“I would like that, too, thank you very much!” Trevor mumbled to himself as he completed an internal assessment. The pain was fading and, although nothing seemed to be broken, he had landed on his back and on the small toolkit box in his backpack. That’s going to smart in the morning. Confident he hadn’t blown his cover since he wasn’t kissing shoes or facing gun muzzles, he finally responded to Cassie’s frantic requests.

“I’m okay. Just sore. All cameras placed. I’m heading back.”

“If you think you can just scare the crap out of me and walk home like nothing happened you are very wrong, mister.” Cassie’s voice, although steady, was now seething with anger. “What the hell happened out there, Trevor!?”

Trevor checked his surroundings, crawled closer to the gate, and popped his head around the corner of the wall to check the house. Again, loud growls echoed in his ears and the gate shook under the weight of a body butting up against it. The dogs were right in his face, doing what they were trained to do—guard the property.

“Dogs, Cassie…big dogs happened.” He pushed to his feet and leaned back against the wall. Concern worried at his heart and, to avoid leading a possible tail directly to Cassandra, he decided to take the longest route back.

He headed in the opposite direction from which he had arrived. “ETA, seventeen minutes.”

Contest Info: (U.S. & Canada Only)

Chris and Cecilia are offering a DAILY prize of a signed copy of Countermeasure (Book 1) and swag to one random commenter. Please leave a comment or question for the authors on this post with your email address for your chance to win.

A grand prize of a signed set of both books and swag is up for grabs to one tour follower. Readers may enter daily for this, up to 5 entries. Please fill out the form below.

Follow the tour for more chances to win:

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