Kisses. Hot, steamy, sweet, funny, chaste. They come in a hundred different varieties, and I love reading about them all. Who doesn’t? (Well, my husband, for one, but I’d guess he’s in the minority in this audience!) However, as much as I enjoy reading “the kissy bits,” as a good friend of mine labels these moments, I certainly don’t write them all. That’s because I write young adult fiction, and kissing serves a different purpose here than in adult romances. In particular, kisses are an opportunity for me to take my character on an emotional journey of “firsts,” and my goal is to pull the reader along for that ride. Does that mean that kisses in YA fiction are any less swoony or emotional? I hope not! Instead, I’d argue that although kisses in YA novels have a different feel, they can be just as enjoyable. Exhibit A. Callie and Logan’s first kiss in FORGET TOMORROW, where I focus on her feelings rather than the mechanics: His lips touch mine, as light as a moth dancing on a breeze. I’m lost. In school, we learned about the butterfly effect, that something as insignificant as the flapping of insect wings could…