Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Michelle Buonfiglio on THE FIRST KISS

Welcome, Bella Michelle!

No introductions are needed, but Princess Kathleen (far left) will do the honors while Princess Lois (2nd from left) and Princess MicheleH (far right--by the way, these positions have nothing to do with any kind of politics whatsoever) bear witness in behalf of the rest of the Riders (outside keeping the car warm) to the fact that Bella Michelle is not ageless.

We know this only because this picture was taken at a recent birthday party given for her by her sweetheart. What a guy! He gave a party for his wife and a whole crew of her girlfriends and stayed around to keep the champagne glasses filled and the trays piled high with tasty treats.

Okay, one little word of introduction. www.RomanceBuyTheBook.com Technically not a word, but certainly THE book review site on the web, and Michelle is its diva. Her blog is a permanent fixture here on our "Blog On" list. But Michelle's work speaks for itself, so blog with us today--you'll want to comment because she's giving a PRIZE--and visit the sites that bear that ever so important message--BUY The Book! Now, heeere's Michelle ....

It’s Luuuuuv Day, and I’m so honored to get to spend it here with those of you riding with your collective tops down! Oh, my. That sounds a little suggestive. Yet, suggestive fits right in with what I admit I love most about romance novels: the hot stuff.

But before the hot stuff can commence, any romance worth its clinch cover has to lead up to -- in some luscious, painfully tantalizing, and madly erotic way -- the best part of the best part:

The first kiss.


Now, the best example I’ve read recently of this was a kiss that occurred on page 326 of a 327 page Inspirational romance novel. That’s a lot of chaste yearning to endure to get to a nearly-as-innocent payoff, but, man, was it well worth it.

Because the first kiss tells the romance reader everything’s gonna work out okey-dokey for those two crazy kids we’re rooting for. And, perfect or not, that first meeting of lips is symbolic of the escapist fantasy that is romance.



Admit it: doesn’t part of the reason you love romance have to do with how reading it elicits all those exciting, mushy, sexy emotions you remember from real-life new love?

Could be that fantasizing about romance novel first kisses is a way to imagine our first kisses were perfect and everything we dreamed they’d be.




My first kiss occurred just after my seventh-grade sweetheart presented me with the spoon ring he’d made in shop class. I’ll never forget that ring. Still, the first time my husband kissed me, I knew I’d marry him – and it was just a sweet kiss on the cheek.

What about you? How dreamy was your first kiss? What are your favorite romance novel or movie first kisses?

I’ll send one lucky commenter – what else – a Hershey’s Kiss romance prize package with chocolate kisses and romance novels!

38 comments:

Maureen said...

How cute is the kiss in the animated film Lady and the Tramp where they're sharing a string of spaghetti.

Helen Brenna said...

Welcome, Michelle! So fun to have you with us today of all days!

My first kiss was when I was eight, but then he was nine, so as an older man I think he took advantage of the situation! Don't think I'd call it dreamy, but cute fits the bill.

Happy Vday everyone!

Anna Destefano said...

Hey Michelle!!

Poppoing over from RBTB... I watched one of my favorite romance novels last night--Breakfast at Tiffany's... To-die-for romance and unrequited love, with lots of yummy character growth underneath. And the music is so haunting. Everything the senses need to feast on, now that V-Day is upon us.

Great site, RWTTD ladies!!!

Anonymous said...

Morning Michelle, ladies! I followed Michelle and Anna over from RBTB, but I'm enjoying your archives. What a fun group!

Ah, first kisses. I love them all. Books, movies, hot or sweet, there's so much hope and promise in them.

As for myself, first kisses rarely worked out for me.

My very first kiss was totally stolen in grade 8 by a guy who had an unrequited crush on me. He was dared to kiss me by the guys he sat with, walked up behind me (I was oblivious to the dare), called my name, and then planted one on me when I turned. The kiss itself wasn't half bad, but the mortification of being kissed in front of the whole class, well, it didn't improve his chances with me.

It kind of went downhill from there until I met and kissed my now dh. I finally got it right and kept him!

Happy Love day ladies!

Michelle Buonfiglio said...

Buongiorno! Thanks so much for having me here, you bevy of famous female writers, you!

I'm getting so in the Luv Day mood with your stories, especially cause they remind me that there are many first kisses to remember, no? The stolen ones like canadacole's. The cinema favorites like Anna's. Helen's ravishment by an older, more experienced man. And any with Daniel Day-Lewis is memorable, as kimw points out.

Laurie, your chilly buss reminds me of another first kiss (if it's with a different guy, it counts, Bellas) like that. The cold air/warm kiss was very exciting. But I love the sweetness of your story, especially the way you describe it. :)

Looking forward to hanging with you today!

Michelle Buonfiglio said...

Oh, yeah, maureen! Perfect! The puppies and the pasta...

CrystalGB said...

My first kiss was in first grade and it was a shock to me because it was a french kiss. The little boy who kissed me had older brothers who told him about french kissing and he decided to try it with me. Needless to say, I had no idea what a french kiss was and I was grossed out.

Julie in Ohio said...

Hey, Michelle!!
Happy Luv Day, one and all!

Ah, the first kiss. I was twelve and he was 10 years old. I was visiting my cousins in Florida and he was their neighbor. I made the first move. There was nothing graceful about it but it was sweet. We were both embarrassed afterwards but he went up to my cousin and ask him if I would do that again. :o)

tetewa said...

I can relate to crystal on this my first kiss was also a french kiss. (Yuck) at the age of 9 i didn't want no stinking tongue in my mouth. Like KimW said I love the steamy kiss in one of my all time favorite movies The Notebook, I think she's talking about the one where they kiss on the dock in the rain. Well Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Unknown said...

Michelle, my little elf, so glad to have you with us, opening our metaphoric eyes to the romance of first kisses.

One of my favorittttte Hollywood kisses--do you remember Meet Joe Black? When Pitt has fallen in love with the girl (but kind of has a crush on peanut butter too)? He has that sweet, little boy innocense in that ummmm...not so innocent body, and he can't quite figure out how to get his shirt off. I remember sinking down in my seat and being diffused with heat. Yikes. Maybe the only time I realllllly unstood the meaning of the term 'hot movie'.

Mona said...

My favorite romance novel kiss was from Something Wonderful for Judith Mcnaught.

traveler said...

My first kiss was when I was 10 years old and so was he.He was a kind and gentle boy. He gave me gifts and was crazy about me, inviting me over for meals and I thought that he was wonderful, which he was. After grade 5, it was over and done but it was a memorable experience.
The movie that I recall the best kiss ever was An Affair to Remember. Beautiful and memorable.

Kathleen Eagle said...

Happy Hearts hughug kisskiss!

I don't think I've told this kiss story in public, so this takes some nerve. Wait. Sipping coffee. Okay.

This wasn't the first time dh kissed me, but one of the first. We met when I was a college senior on a summer volunteer project in SD and he was a cowboy working at the boarding school run by the church where the program was held (Mission school had a small cattle operation and HORSES.) So I'm staying in a dorm with a bunch of teenage girls.

Okay, I'm getting to the kiss. Nightfall on the prairie. We're in the barn, just the two of us, got in from a ride, tended to our horses, taking time time time, and finally, we kiss. We're both covered neck to ankles in denim, but those SD mosquitoes can penetrate many layers. Our lips are locked in a lovely kiss. I have one arm around his neck and one trying to ward off the swarm, especially down the back of my thighs where the little bloodsuckers are killing me through my snug bellbottoms. (See why I'm no fan of vampire romance?)

I'm sure it looked silly, but the kiss was literally to die for, and who knew?

Only about half a dozen teenage girls peeking through knotholes in the barn walls and not making a peep. Got back to the dorm, and they were waiting for me. They didn't say anything, but two of them turned Marcel Marceau. Kiss kiss kiss, shoo swat smack.

Ah, what I did for love.

Michele Hauf said...

erm...first kiss? The guy had braces. I did not. We were sitting upstairs in his bedroom (yes, I was a little older), he asked me to wait. He left the room. I waited. I could hear him brushing his teeth in the bathroom across the hall. He returned. Kiss commenced.

I seem to recall it being about as romantic as above description. :-(

Michele

Debra Dixon said...

Hey, Michelle! Thanks for popping over and making us reveal the details of our first kiss.

Mine was the result of a little game called "Two Minutes In the Closet" with a Sadie Hawkins twist.

I think I was 12, might have been 13.

I can still remember the unbearable anticipation as the door of that closet clicked shut. And then the agony of walking back into the room full of snorting teenagers.

The girls got to pick but the boys could say "yes" or "pass."

Michelle Buonfiglio said...

Oh, my gosh! You are all killing me will sweetness and laughter! Debra, I'm feeling pretty lucky now that I was unpopular and never got invited to the cool make-out parties. I can only imagine the rejection I'd have faced in that game. I've also heard it described as "post office," though I'm not sure why.

Kathleen. That is such a funny story. And so new love, the discomfort we put up with to get the sensations.

crystalg: ew. Just . ew. you poor kid.

One of my favorite almost-kisses if from "Far and Away." I love that Reiner chose to make that movie so innocent, yet with so much romance novel-type anticipation.

Shannon said...

I do not remember my first kiss, but of course I remember my first kiss with my husband. We were in the movie theatre watching "The Sixth Sense" and we both sort of leaned in at the same time and it was very nice.

My favorite romantic movie kisses... hmmmmm... "The Princess Bride" & "Gone with the wind".

Yep, 2 classics.

Happy Valentines Day!!!

kim h said...

dream kiss, would be one that is unexpected and sweet.

Cindy Gerard said...

Hey Michelle. Great to have you here in the convertible. And these first kiss stories - oh man. I'm grinning from ear to ear they are all so sweet. I don't remember my first kiss (which kind of tells the tale about it) but I do remember my dh's first kiss. It was prefaced by a: "Want some candy little girl?" Not exactly original but I've been taking candy from that man ever since.:o)
Happy Valentine's day everyone!

Kati said...

Hi Queen Bella! Let's see, first kiss? Matthew Day at the 7th grade dance while dancing to Madonna's "Crazy for You." SIGH. I remember him very fondly even though he wasn't a very good kisser! I got in the car after the dance sure that somehow my Mom would know what I'd been doing. LOL!

Best movie kiss? LADYHAWKE at the end when Navarre and Isabeau are reunited. Best almost movie kiss? The end of the most recent PRIDE & PREJUDICE, Mr. Darcy striding across the field, greatcoat billowing. And stuttering out his feelings for Elizabeth and her replying, "Well then." They touch foreheads, and...swoon!

Helen Brenna said...

I love all these stories!

Playground Monitor said...

Oh my gosh, Cindy! You are so bad. *g*

I was totally un-cool throughout school and never had a date or kiss til I started college. I remember the first one and praying I didn't do anything stupid or awkward so he wouldn't kiss me again. Turns out he had another girl in the wings so things didn't last long between us. But there were other boys and other kisses and then my sophomore year I met the man I'm married to and it was love at first sight. We'll be married 34 years in May.

Of course kissing my newborn babies was special too. And all the sticky, gooey kisses I got from my boys through the years were special. Then they go through that awful stage where they don't even want the world to know they have a mother and you want to sell them to the gypsies. But around 20 or 21 they become human again and now my boys are publicly affectionate again.

And then there's kissing my sweet grandbaby. Oh what a joy indeed!

Hi Michelle, my Bella! And hey Anna! Hope you'll be at HOD's lunch this year.

Marilyn

robynl said...

I go with the movie Top Gun as Laurie mentioned. The sexual tension is great in the movie.
My first kiss was where the girls lined up and got to kiss the boy sitting on a stool; everyone took turns, not very romantic. Talk about young! Great prizes for such a day. Thanks.

Maria, Lover of All Things Romance said...

My first kiss certainly wasn't fabulous so I won't go there. My favourite movie kiss is the one where Colin Firth and Renee Zellwegger kiss in the snow at the end of Bridget Jones

Lois said...

Oh, another kiss that you just are waiting for and are really happy when it finally happens is Pride and Prejudice 1995 -- enough said. ;)

My first kiss was in front of the whole class in second grade. LOL It would be a prologue I think in a Vickie Lewis Thompson book because he was a nerd, long before I ever knew what a nerd was, and he was something like the only person around besides the school who had a computer. LOL

Lois

Kathleen Eagle said...

How about "Witness" for a great movie kiss?

Michelle, I remember Post Office, too. Is that the same as 2 Minutes in the Closet, which I don't think I ever played? I remember that whenever the suggestion for Post Office came up, nobody knew how to play exactly, but we knew kissing was involved. Spin the Bottle was a simple alternative, and you got to say "on the cheek" or "on the lips." Somebody got to say--can't remember whether it was the spinner or the spinnee.

Hubby loves to suggest playing Spin the Bottle at parties. First, he loves to get a reaction. Then he gives the rules. If the bottle lands on you, you have to tell a joke or sing a song. It's been a big hit at writers' conferences.

Unknown said...

First kiss - it's summer time, we're just around 13, we're by his outdoor pool, sitting, talking and he kisses me.

principessa said...

My first kiss took place in the dressing room of the drama department of our school. It was so wonderful and indescribable! A movie with a fantastic kiss is Rear Window.

flip said...

My first kiss was turning a spirited game of catch and kiss her. The boys were chasing the girls. I made sure that I was caught by the 13 year old blonde hottie with leaf green eyes. It was sweet, fun and innocent.

My favorite book kiss is my harder to decide. I think that it must be the kiss at the end of The Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer. I read this book at 12 years old. I loved Vidal. I still love Vidal and am very jealous of Mary.

Michelle Buonfiglio said...

I'm grinning like a love-struck fool right now! Oh, these stories, these stories. Would that I had enough chocolate kisses for you all.

Well, as the Bellas at my place are wont to offer tasty cyber-treats like cyberitas, here are some gooey, chocolaty cyber-sweet Hershey's kisses! yumz.

Michelle Buonfiglio said...

And, flip, that Heyer kiss is exactly the kind of innocent romance kiss that's worth the wait. I always wanted Nat and Kit in "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" to share a kiss, but they didn't, so I had to imagine it. Over and over. In the elaborate detail only a tween's imagination can create. I'm sure I imagined Barry Manilow music in the background...

Unknown said...

Michelle! So good to have you back here! And leave it to you to think of the best topic to contribute on. . . first kisses.

Mine was in a game of Spin the Bottle at age 14. The guy I chose had lips like Uniroyal rain tires. Rubbery and wet. Second kiss. . . same game. . . much, much better. Made me look at the guy in a whole new light. It was all I could think about for days.

sigh.

Movie kisses? Just saw "Music and Lyrics" with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. Somebody should have given them a few lessons on lining it up before sealing the deal.
Cute movie, though.

Betina

Michelle Buonfiglio said...

Just reading back through these and still smiling. It was so kind of you to share your special first kiss stories. Isn't it funny that we can talk about such personal topics en blog that we probably couldn't in real life unless we were with our best girlfriends?

That's what I love about this medium: we get to hang like close girlfriends, dishing all the while, yet never have to look in each others' eyes. See? Totally yummy, but totally blush- and embarrassment-free! Well, except for Kathleen's first kiss story. Can you believe she told that one?

Just kidding.

And, grazie mille once again for inviting me along for the ride today, you beautiful bevy of, well, beauties, you! I had a lovely time, and really am quite honored you asked!

Buonanotte, bella RwtTDers!

Jeanette J said...

My first kiss was just a quick peck on the lips from a boy that lived a couple of houses away.
I don't have a favorite movie kiss...I like too many of them

Michelle Buonfiglio said...

Laurie, you've won the sweet treat prize! Email me at mbuonfiglio@RBtheBook.com with your snail mail address. Felicitazione! And thanks again, everyone!

kim h said...

wtg laurie

Bridget Locke said...

Hello! I know, I'm a bit late but had to put in my two cents. :)

My favorite movie kisses are as follows: Drew Barrymore & Michael Vartan in Never Been Kissed, Lizzie & Mr. Darcy in Pride & Prejudice 2005, and the one between Daniel Day Lewis & Madeline Stowe in Last of the Mohicans. *sigh*

My first kiss wasn't horribly memorable, so I've blocked it out. LOL! The first one I really remember is with my very first boyfriend. It was sweet and good. *sigh*

Anonymous said...

... wha wha wha?!