Click on the BOTN cover to order a SIGNED copy from Constellation Books
Whew, and I thought the first "essay" was thrilling. Below, all my #TEAMkilt friends and all the #intheshower fans will be just so delighted!
Jeri Smith-Ready was so wonderful during the YA Sisterhood's Summer Crushin' Tournament, and she provided
SHINE teaser after
SHINE teaser. They were wonderful and you can find them all here. But, yes there is a "but," the BEST, most EXCITING, most FANTABULOUS
SHINE teaser involved, you guess it, #intheshower! Now, since this is just a teaser and the final book is not out until May (I absolutely can't wait for it by the way), I have very little knowledge of what all is going on in the book at the time of this scene. However, it involves a shower, so there is no need to say more. After the first #intheshower "essay" I promised to provide an examination of both #intheshower scenes. That would be
SHINE and
BRING ON THE NIGHT #intheshower scenes. The same disclaimers apply.
There may be spoilers! I've tried to keep them to a minimum and have even excluded names. If you don't like little details being revealed DO NOT KEEP READING!
BRING ON THE NIGHT is an Adult novel and does contain sexual content and detailed descriptions. I refer to the sexual content in this post, so if you do not like this DO NOT KEEP READING!
The
SHINE scene referred to in this post is an unedited teaser version of the scene provided by Jeri Smith-Ready. This also means there are no page numbers yet. You will have to read the book to find the scene, but that will be an extremely pleasant experience. The final book will be available in May, so you should order it. I'm just sayin'. You may view the scene
here on Jeri's blog if you haven't read it. The scene from
BRING ON THE NIGHT takes place on pages 155 - 158.
So, here we go #intheshower fans:
TO THE SHOWERS!
First, I must thank Jeri from the bottom of my ever-shower-lovin'-heart. I will never think of a shower in the same way again. Bless you darlin'!
How do I begin to compare these two scenes. I love them both. They both make me want to run home and hop in the shower (with my own husband of course). I was thinking every book should have a #intheshower scene, but then I thought harder and NO! Only Jeri could write the perfect #intheshower scene. And with both of these scenes, she has shown how truly fabulous a writer she is. YA and Adult scenes call for very different approaches. You have to consider your audience very carefully and write accordingly. Jeri excels at this.
As I've said before, the #intheshower scene in BOTN is HOT. It's steamy literally and figuratively. It's truly an Adult scene. The sexual content is high, it is SHOWN, not told, and it is explicit. For all you writer types out there, you know what I mean by "shown not told." I'm talking vivid visuals while reading. No need to fill in the gaps. With the SHINE shower scene, it's more subtle but just as steamy. There are no explicit details, so the reader can fill in the blanks with her (yes I'm being sexist) own imagination. I have arguments for both types of scenes, and I truly LOVE each one. The SHINE characters are not quite as forward as the BOTN characters are in their scene, but they are just as excited for each other, and this a major difference in reading YA versus reading Adult. I enjoy visual sexual content as much as the next girl (hey, a girl needs to live a little) but I have such a love for the YA characters that are just finding themselves and each other. It's a sweet type of interaction that brings back the feeling of teenage innocence, and then not really losing that innocence, but of changing it into something more, something to share with the other person. (Was that too sappy for this essay?)
Both scenes are spawned by a separation of sorts. In SHINE it's a previous, self-enforced separation, and in BOTN it's an impending separation caused by outside events. These separations lead the male characters to pursue the female characters and in both cases the guy takes control. And in bizarre twist, there is NO clothing in the SHINE scene and there IS clothing in the BOTN scene. Crazy, I know!
For me, the most notable difference in the shower scenes is this: there is no removable shower head in the SHINE scene! For those of you who know me, you know I am very fond of the removable shower head in the BOTN shower scene. So much so that I have one as my twitter avi. (hides face with hand) I know, I'm so screwed up! But even without the removable shower head, the SHINE scene is fabulous, and sexy, and sweet all at the same time.
I am SUPER DUPER ECSTATICALLY EXCITED about SHINE and reading this scene in context. Along with all the other steamy, melty, romantic scenes that I am sure will accompany it. I am also TOTALLY FANTASTICALLY INCREDIBLY PUMPED about LUST FOR LIFE book 4 in the WVMP series, which is set to be released next October. I need more! Much, much more, and I know Jeri will exceed my expectations! So, as each of these releases approaches, I promise to bring more enticing and exciting features right here at Living Fictitiously. I hope you all enjoyed my little essay. Stay tuned in the coming months... I just might tackle some more scene comparisons.
~Britney