Monday, December 9, 2013

The Art of the Tease

If you've read my books, you're well aware that I like to take my time getting to the "money shot." This is because I love, more than anything, the art of the tease. I love the chase, the pursuit, and that will-they-won't-they tension that keeps you turning the page. Maybe it's part of being a Scorpio, maybe being a redhead, maybe because I came of age nearly 30 years ago, but sex is all about the power of seduction to me. If I want wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am, I'll watch a porno to scratch the itch. But if I am going to fall in love with a couple (or a man) you gotta make me ache for it, or else I grow bored like a cat who killed a mouse with the first swat.

I learned to savor the chase a long time ago, when I first started watching soap operas. These storytellers, especially in the 1970s when I started watching, knew a thing or two about making their audience turn in day after day. You couldn't miss one episode because that day might be the one where the couple you rooted for finally consummated their attraction. Each near-miss was a delicious frustration that left me wanting more.



I started watching General Hospital in 1978, where I promptly fell in love with troubled teenager Laura Webber. I was invested in her journey to find happiness and love almost from the get-go. When she met Scotty Baldwin, I wanted her to get her happy ending because that was what she wanted. That is... until Luke Spencer rolled into town and turned us all on our ears. Luke was a bad boy, and even at the age of eight I found this titillating. (Still do.)



Scotty quickly bored me in comparison as I switched allegiance to #teamluke. The chase was on.

Thanks to 21st century technology, you are able to fall right into a L&L hole on YouTube, starting with that clip above. I caught up with them back in 2010, and I watched - obsessively - for a week or two straight, which was torture enough. In real time, however, each day was agonizing. And I loved every freaking minute of it. I couldn't get enough. I quickly forgot about the afternoon cartoons that followed GH every weekday. I lived for 2:00pm, Monday through Friday, so I could get one more hit.



The longer they made me wait, the more I wanted... needed... for these two star-crossed lovers to get together. And precious little stood in between me and my favorite show. By no coincidence, 1979 was the year I learned how to play hooky. Nothing was more annoying than wasting a "sick day" on a day that didn't feature my favorite couple at all. That following summer, when L&L went "on the run," it was absolutely Must-See TV. Every time they got closer and closer to consummating their love affair, my heart swelled with pre-pre-teen squealiness as I realized the romance was in the waiting. I felt every touch, tasted every kiss. I was enchanted.



From the time I started watching the show until they finally did the deed (the disco scene notwithstanding,) lasted from 1978 all the way to 1980. If you follow the playlists on YouTube, you have to get to part #292 in order to reach "the moment." This was agony at the time, but the payoff was ah-may-zah-zing. Short lived... but amazing. The writers at GH gave us our moment, but they quickly tore our young lovers apart for yet ANOTHER year and ANOTHER adventure. There was always something, somewhere, postponing their Happily Ever After. Somehow it made their love affair even more exquisite.



Stolen kisses were enough to keep us all on the line all the way up to their wedding in November of 1981, which - btw - drew in 30 MILLION viewers. Even all these years later, it remained the most-watched hour in soap history.

Not bad for a show that as on the verge of cancellation just four years before. From 1978 to 1981, Luke and Laura drew us in and saved General Hospital. I credit this all to the art of the tease. They gave us just enough crumbs to keep us coming back for more, day after day, week after week, year after year.

I, myself, stayed on that line until Genie Francis (aka Laura,) left the show, but I came right back in 1983 when she returned for a guest appearance. Even the reunion dragged out, but the payoff was worth all those years that Luke thought his beloved angel was dead and lost to him forever. (Long story.)



They rode off into the sunset together and I could finally put their love story to bed, figuratively speaking.

Fast forward to 1985 and I found yet another frustrating couple to champion... namely David Addison and Maddie Hayes.



You wanna talk about a lesson in waiting. Moonlighting kept us on the hook for three seasons before they put us out of our misery. Maddie and David were so completely mismatched yet their chemistry was off-the-charts hot. For more than two years we watched the "will-they-or-won't-they" until they finally DID... then after that no one cared anymore and the show tanked.

Guess I'm not the only one who likes the chase.

Needless to say, I learned these lessons well. When I was a pre-teen and working out my own salacious storytelling with the help of my cast of Barbie and Ken dolls, I took my time telling these stories that kept me so invested I didn't stop playing with my fictional people until I was 17 years old. I wanted to put my characters through the wringer because I suffered every agonizing moment along with them.

And I loved it.

When one of my Barbies got pregnant, I would - no lie - tape tissue to their bellies in increasing increments so they could experience pregnancy in real time. When my obsessed photographer, Kevin, kidnapped my married actress, Jenny, she stayed on that island her entire pregnancy. She returned home to her husband (Bobby,) who believed her dead, with their baby (Mindy) in her arms.

It was a beautiful reunion.

What I'm saying... I love the agony because it makes the payoff a bazillion times better. And I write like this to this day. Though many contemporary romances get to the boot-knockin', baby-makin', wall-bangin' scenes early and fast, I'm known to make you wade through half of a book full of near-misses until I let my folks do the deed. One of the better compliments I've received from a reader is that my books stand out because of this, and she loves the build-up in contrast to the flash and burn.

Mission accomplished.

The reason I'm telling you all this? Well... next year you're going to be introduced to a new series that celebrates this art of the tease like nothing I've written in the past. This series, like my Groupie series, will have several disclaimers... the biggest of which is that it is not a book about sexual conquest. You want that kind of book, read Raven Walks. That horny vampire hooks up often and well, with just about every human who strikes his fancy. But my Fullerton Family Saga, which begins in January with Enticed, will test us all how long we can tolerate the buildup. And I put a triangle in there, too... just to further complicate things. I'm going to draw it out as long as it makes sense to do so, and I've given myself three books to get it right.

If that isn't your thing, save your money for other books who give it to you hard and fast. Me? I like it slow. I want to tease and be teased until we're about to explode with anticipation. We're going to take our time this next time out and revel in the chase, in the angst, in the agony.

Join me... if you dare. ;)



EXCERPT FROM "ENTICED: BOOK 1 OF THE FULLERTON FAMILY SAGA"


We didn’t have much time before he would return, so Drew didn’t mince words. “I think you misunderstood exactly what kind of tutor I was seeking for my son. He is going to be a titan in business, following four generations of Fullertons before him. He needs to be prepared. You’ll forgive me if I don’t think measuring ingredients and shopping at the market qualify as the higher education for which I’m paying very good money.”

I placed the fork on the plate, my appetite totally obliterated. “You wanted me to teach your son, and I have done that. More importantly, I’ve reached him. He knows he can trust me, especially after I shielded him from that family debacle yesterday. This morning I gave Jonathan three different tests. In math, he was tested on fractions and word problems. The skills he learned with a simple cooking lesson or quick trip to the store helped him score in the 99th percentile. Likewise on the history essay, where he researched and wrote a thousand-word document on the Greystone Mansion and Park where we walked and explored, which – if I’m not mistaken – qualifies under your physical fitness requirement. I also tested him on the book he’s been reading for pleasure, with a questionnaire that helped him think critically about the material he was reading simply for the joy of it. It is a book that has been in my own curriculum for years, and I’m confident at least one student who has read it will go on and get an Ivy League education.”

His jaw clenched as he realized what I had done. I had taken Jonathan from a stale, unchallenging classroom environment with endless tests and bookwork, which had been crippling his curious and playful nature. By putting him in an entirely foreign setting, he learned how to do the things Drew wanted him to do, right down to the budgeting skills at the market, but in a new setting that would naturally keep him more engaged than the boring ol’ status quo. And he never even realized what I had done until I had quizzed him on it.

My green eyes glittered just as hard as his icy blue ones. “You may question my methods, Mr. Fullerton, but my results are indisputable. Considering I did all this in two days, even playing go-between between you and your ex-wife and your pain-in-the-ass brother, I’d say I’ve done a hell of a lot more than the previous tutors you have hired to do this job, with exceptional results.”

Normally I wouldn’t have cursed at an employer. But his elitist attitude really pissed me off. Did he really believe his son was too good to wash a dish or cook a meal, as if these mundane tasks held no value for such powerful, wealthy people? And if that was true, how did he regard anyone who had the misfortune of being born average? Did he think we were all beneath him, simply because we had no one to treat us like gods? The Texan was coming out, and he was either going to prove he could deal with that or he was going to send me home anyway. I had nothing to lose. In fact, the only one who had anything at all at stake was Jonathan.

“Now, if you don’t approve of my more unconventional methods, then you can gas up the jet and send me home tonight. But I’m willing to bet that you won’t find anyone else who can reach Jonathan the way that I have done. I have a connection with him. That was what you wanted. That is what you got.” I grabbed a glass of ice water and gulped it down. “Do with that what you will.” Before he could reply, Jonathan raced back into the room, wearing a new jade green kimono, and holding the entire box set of his favorite Anime program. “Thanks, Dad!” he said as he rushed to hug his father. “Let’s watch it together,” he pleaded hopefully. I used that opportunity to slide my chair back and rise from the table. “I think I’ll retire for the evening. Let you two catch up.”

Jonathan was crestfallen. “No, Rachel,” he said with a plaintive whine in his voice. “Please don’t go. You haven’t even had any pudding.”

“Pudding?” Drew echoed.

Jonathan nodded. “She made homemade Southern banana pudding.”

I shook my head. “You enjoy it. I’m stuffed,” I lied easily. “The dinner was excellent, Jonathan. You did a great job.” I turned to Drew. “It was very nice meeting you, Mr. Fullerton. I trust you’ll think about what I said and let me know if there has been any change in plans.”

Jonathan was panicked as he looked between his father and me. “Change of plans? You’re not leaving, are you, Rachel?”

“No decisions have been made,” Drew filled in before I could speak. “Why don’t you go get us some pudding, Jonathan? That sounds delicious.”

Jonathan nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. Drew rose to his feet and walked around the table to face me. “Obviously I’m not used to being spoken to in such a way in my own home,” he said, his voice hard but quiet. “But obviously I offended you. I apologize.” He offered his hand.

It was a gesture of civility, but his eyes were still lethal as they stared down at me. My hand shook as I placed it in his. His fingers closed around mine powerfully as he pulled me closer. I gasped as I stopped short mere inches from that massive chest. I hadn’t been this close to a man in many years, much less a man as intimidating. I was certain that he could feel the tremble in my grasp when my eyes shot to his and his face broke apart in a victorious smile. “Start over?” he asked softly. “Rachel?”

I gulped hard. I should have told him to gas up the jet anyway and just leave Beverly Hills in my daydreams where it belonged. Had Jonathan not been a factor, I probably would have done just that. But he was very much a factor, so I owed it to him to make it work with Drew, who now had five days to prove to me that I could work for him. He had to trust me and my methods, and respect the job that I was hired to do. So I tipped my chin again and said in as steady a voice as I could muster, “You’re the boss,” I said, adding, “Mr. Fullerton,” defiantly.

I pulled my hand from his and carried myself on unsteady legs all the way to the guest room.

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