Intimacy is something very personal, it's hard to define the word and the feeling. The closest thing to it is that Intimacy makes you feel protected, at peace, when in the company of the person you love - or a friend or family member.

Now, speaking about sex... Sex is not the same as intimacy - if you think it is... please speak to a friend, or someone you trust, because you have it wrong. Sex can lead to more intimacy between some couples, if the encounter has love involved.

When it comes to books, whether you're reading a Nora Roberts' romance, or a George R. R. Martin saga, there's sex scenes - in some more than others. Now, are the sex scenes important in ALL genres? Yes and No.

Since, for me, sex is a sign of intimacy, I would/will only write a more descriptive sex/love scene IF it made sense for the characters involved. If you've read my stories before, you won't find anything too detailed about such an intimate moment. Obviously, I will write something a bit more... spicy, if you will, if and when it makes sense.

Just like a fight scene, or a kissing scene, the love scene should be about a moment where the characters change; it has to be something meaningful, a moment of revelation that will set the tone for the rest of the book.