There had to be action and dialogue and forward movement, not just a bunch of well-wrought images and emotions. But then I realized I was going to have to let go of some of my expectations, because this was a novel, and I had to make things happen. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and Charles Simic-poets who have this amazing command of image and language-and at first I was striving to make every poem in After the Kiss something similar. My actual writing background started in poetry, and I studied it fairly seriously in college. Writing a novel in verse was really tricky though. I jumped up, started writing down some thoughts and ideas, and After the Kiss was born!

We talked about some other ideas too, including love triangles, and about half an hour after that I was sitting there working on some decoupage, and suddenly I started to get this idea of a love triangle story where the three characters involved spoke in three different types of poetry. One of the most intriguing things she suggested was a novel in verse, which I hadn't actually considered before. So I went to my trusty editor, and she had some ideas in mind for me. My ThoughtsĪfter I finished the final proofs of Pure, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to work on next. Too bad that new boy is Becca's boyfriend, Alec.Ĭamille and Becca have never met, but their lives will unravel and intertwine in surprising ways as they deal with what happens after the kiss. 'This is an extraordinary novel about letting go and holding on that you won't easily forget.' - The Compulsive Reader Then a new boy in her new town catches her off guard with a surprise kiss. He's a brainy jock with a poet's heart-in other words, perfect for her.Ĭamille is careful with her words and protective of her heart, especially since Chicago. Becca has been head-over-heels for Alec from the instant they met.

After the Kiss by Terra Elan McVoy