Ann Aguirre

I dedicate this post to the people who read, not just my books, but any books. All books. Without you, authors would be a mighty lonesome bunch.
Too often writers get caught up in fame games, buy into their own PR, and stop realizing they don’t really matter as much as they think they do.

See, there are thousands of other writers out there who are eager to have somebody read their stories. When you come right down to it, I’m nobody. My stories matter. The words I write matter. But me? I’m the invisible woman.

A year or two ago, I read this on Amie Stuart’s website, as part of her bio page.

Last but not least, I’m a storyteller and a writer, and I’m here to entertain you.

Yeah. Me too. I work for ya’ll. I’d write the stories anyway because of all the voices in my head, but without you readers, they’d have nowhere to go. In the old days, they’d have drilled holes in my skull, trying to let the evil spirits out, so I’m lucky I live in more enlightened times.

I am beyond blessed because on a daily basis, I receive wonderful letters like those from Ginger, Jenny, Denise, Ann, Sara, Kelly, and many more. I wrote back to each of you because it means the world to me that you took the time out of your lives to tell me how my book made you feel. You didn’t have to do that, but I’m so glad you did.

That’s why I write. Not for reviews, or recognition, or even money, although my agent thinks we should get paid. I write for that one moment when I know I moved somebody; words I wrote made someone else laugh or cry. That’s magical. And ya’ll can snicker at me if you want to, but I get misty over those letters. I look at them with awe and disbelief. Who am I to be this lucky? To have people reading what I write? Well, I’m nobody, of course. The words are everything. Thank you for reading them.

Readers everywhere, I salute you.

Today QB invented a new meme. Go Bev! To quote her, it’s “kind of the pervy version of America’s Most Wanted.”

Here’s how it began. I visited Bev’s blog to see the luscious man-pics she posts on Tuesday. (I love the pretty faces, Bev, but I could stand to see less peen. Just sayin’) Yes, I know I should’ve been writing, but I’ve already done 4K today! After heaving a dreamy sigh, I mentioned the pic to Dionne in an email, who being fond of studmuffins, immediately reposted it. But we don’t know who this delicious creature is. He must have a name!

WHO IS THIS GUY? Does he have other pictures, preferably where he’s not wearing any clothes?
Look at those eyes, such a crystalline blue, and his delicate, almost elven features. *cue deep, heartfelt sigh*

PS — If you don’t know who this guy is, post his picture on your blog, then come back here and post the link in the comments. Maybe one of our readers out there will know who this mystery man is.

The Party Train has arrived. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTo7BXlqcHs] Why? Well, it’s June 25th, and that means Your Alibi releases today!

I’m sure you knew there would be some kind of contest going on up in here. To enter, just post your favorite song from the 80s in comments. Prize is a copy of Your Alibi, and a $30 Amazon Gift Certificate. Winner will be drawn randomly this time next week. But you have to play to win!

Meanwhile, let’s get down on it.

Want more Annie? I got around this weekend. You can find me here, here, and here.

Whenever I read a book I love, I run off to my blog to tell people about it. This has been a longstanding tradition for me. The fact that I haven’t done it in a while just means I’ve been writing more than reading lately. However, I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of Making Chase by Lauren Dane.

Here’s the blurb.

Tate Murphy is a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. She grew up a million miles away from the easy life Matt Chase has had. She’s spent her life pulling herself and her siblings up and out of that trailer by the railroad tracks and she hasn’t looked back. Matt Chase is a dream of a guy and she’s certainly not going to turn down a short fling with one of the most handsome men she’s ever seen!

Matt Chase has watched each one of his brothers find love and he knows he’s ready for that too. It’s all a matter of finding the woman who captures his heart. He’s certainly sampled his fair share of them but none has moved him the way Tate Murphy does when he goes to her shop to thank her for some cookies and a thank you note.

But as Matt gets to know Tate and appreciate her strength and unique beauty, he also realizes she’s got some big self esteem issues about her past. To build a future, he’s got to find a way past some big road blocks.

Dude. Making Chase was un-put-downable, exactly the kind of book I love. It reminded me of the most heart-warming of Nora Roberts’s family sagas. In fact, some of the interactions between Tate and Matt reminded me a little of Eve and Roarke. I don’t mean it’s derivative, just that these characters have that same perfect chemistry, married to marvelous banter. Tate isn’t all melty-girly; she’s more likely to say, “Then fuck me, bub” than anything more subtle. No hearts and flowers for her. She’s a realist, not a romantic.

I didn’t mean to devour it in one sitting; I really didn’t. I opened the file to make sure the pdf downloaded correctly, and lost the whole morning. I was supposed to be writing, dammit! I want to read the first three now, but I cannot buy any books until I finish WANDERLUST, because as I have just demonstrated, I have no willpower.

I love Lauren’s writing–she has such a charming style. A couple of my favorite bits were “the visual donut” and her creative cursing. Of those inventive phrases, I giggled most heartily over “fuckadoodledoo.”

You don’t want to miss this one.

Dionne has an important post up on It’s Not Chick Porn. Go read it; I’ll wait.

Good cause, right? I support this antho 100%. I’ll be writing a short story for it, but that’s not all I’m doing. I received a wonderful fan letter about my fantasy novel, Stone Maiden. This reader wanted to know if there was any way she could get the book in print because she loves it so much and she has read it over and over. Since the book is out of print, and I can do whatever the heck I like with it, I promptly went to Lulu and set it up so she could, in fact, get the book in print. I set the price low because I just wanted to hook up a fan.

So this is what I’m going to do. In addition to the short story I’m writing for this initiative, I’m also putting the Stone Maiden link here. I set it so I only make $1 for each copy sold. Each copy ya’ll buy, I’m donating the $1 I earn to Equality Now to dovetail with the Nothing But Red antho. So for your money you get a fantasy novel and make a contribution to a better world.

It just doesn’t get sweeter than that, does it?

I admit it. I’m susceptible to marketing campaigns. When you put a dozen beautiful women on screen flipping their long, shiny hair around, I become curious. It’s not that I think I’ll be transformed into a tall, slim model, but I do wonder what the shampoo can do for my hair. Is it better than what I use now? Really? When you put it in a cute pink bottle and tell me the formula contains pearl proteins and cashmere for superlative shine, I am yours. See?! It’s pink! So I switched to L’Oreal Elseve Nutri Gloss shampoo + conditioner. I’m innately lazy, so why do in two steps what I can do in one? It’s still wet so I can’t tell whether I now have marvelous supermodel sheen, but it hasn’t stopped me from flipping my hair around in proper fashion. I almost put out the cat’s eye. It does feel lovely, though, and silky smooth.

What marketing campaigns sucker you in?

I needed another way to screw around! No, really. I seriously did. I don’t waste nearly enough time on my own. Still, this thing is so much fun to play with. After I got home from grocery shopping, I made Jax.
If ya’ll decide to play around with Meez too, use my name (annaguirre) and we’ll both get Meez loot to buy more pretend gear for our virtual dollies!

PS - If you haven’t already commented, hit The Bradford Bunch. My contest runs until Wednesday morning.
Don’t miss out — act now!

My post is over here today. What’re you waiting for? Go win some shit!