Ann Aguirre

Never have I had a story come to me, fully fledged, so I knew what would happen every step of the way. Seven Days came as pure inspiration. Usually stuff flips or evolves, but I had this, day by day from the jump.

I layered a lot of myths together, but I think it works. Here’s what happened… I started thinking about Judao-Christian mythos, then as I was in my downstairs bathroom, I started thinking it looked like a nun’s cell. It’s very plain, bare plaster, nothing on the walls…

From there I leapt to the beginning of Seven Days. I adore this story. And heres a secret…I’m a soft-hearted sap, and I bawled so hard when I wrote certain bits. You’ll know them when you come to them.

Anyway, in this post we’ll be hearing from readers who’ve enjoyed a sneak peek of this story and/or anthology for various reasons. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s what four different readers had to say:

Lainey:

WOW…AWESOME…F’N GREAT. Really unique concept. I sat to give it just a glance this morning and wound up still in my jammies an hour later. I don’t generally think of those type stories as my cuppa, but you meshed the real with the unreal so cleverly and penned her temptation so well, I couldn’t pull myself out of the story. Terrific, and way more depth than your average ’short’. I felt as though I was in Dev’s POV by times, his actions and dialogue were so poignant. Again: WOW.

Ella / L:

I didn’t know what quite to expect from Boundless when I started reading it. I mean, I knew the cover was awesome, but I didn’t let my hopes get too high. Anthologies always seem to leave me a bit disappointed. I have worked out so many crack-pot theories on why, but it doesn’t lessen the blows to my long-suffering reader’s soul.

Anthologies, they terrify me. Many brilliant authors I love seem to think nothing of just publishing awful drivel in an anthology.

Who reads them? they ask in chortling tones.

And alone in the dark, one voice cries out, “I do! For ten bucks a pop I do, you bet your sorry ass! May all the gods of literary finances show mercy and refrain from smiting.”

But lo, look! There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Didn’t take me long to say, “Screw it” and devour the whole thing in an afternoon’s worth of time.

Did I have to do some eye-brow raising while reading Boundless?

Yes, on account of the things I learned about nuns. I did a lot more laughing and sympathizing and cheering on behalf of the characters, and it’s on my keeper shelf.

Erm, on my…internet keeper folder.

It’s somewhere important, that’s what I’m saying.

Boundless features three women yearning for change, any change, that might make their lives more full than empty. And each got her change all right, though, in ways they most certainly were not expecting.

This is a sentiment I related to easily, and I saw pieces of myself in each heroine.

Teresa, who yearns for something more and pure to put the past behind her; Marie, who wants the tide of loneliness to recede and find companionship in another; and Kitty, who takes a wild ride to find out what it feels like to be someone else.

That’s not to say that the men don’t shine. From Dev, tortured and endearingly sweet (for being an incubus); to Sam, Marie’s dream man come true (and mine); to Jack, a worldly cynic (a man after my own heart) who gets a whole new view on possibilities.

Though each tale held its own drawbacks, these characters, both the normal and…not-so-much, have found themselves chained down by something intangible and unable to be more than they can be until fate it seems steps in, and helps them out by letting them find each other and a little faith in miracles.

Boundless, I think, is a solid buy to introduce readers(who are like me, always the last to know about stuff like this) to three great writers who will hopefully keep churning out more books. Some of these ladies have frightfully small backlists, I know, but maybe plots will multiply like bunnies and they won’t hear a thing about it from me. Maybe.

No, not really.

Joan:

I was really excited when Ann asked me if I wanted an ARC of Boundless if I would read it before the release and give her my reaction. I don’t even know where to start. The stories are erotic, but it’s a subtle sensuality sometimes, and they’re underpinned with the most delicious intensity. The ladies have imbued their heroes and heroines with so much yearning, but at the same time, like in Waking Kitty, there is a sense of displacement and of longing for home. The writing is just beautiful. Bonnie Dee has such a gift for imagery, she brings fall to life for me. And Sam is just so… I don’t know what to say. I wanted him for myself. I think you should buy it. This is the best anthology I’ve seen all year. Usually there’s a weak story, but I liked all of these.

Kelly:

Ok, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this because I don’t like paranormal stuff. I know that makes me weird, but I hate vampires and werewolves, and I can’t stand stuff where there’s a lot of magic and foofy crap. I didn’t even really want to read this tbh but it was a free book, so I said what the hell. And the first story has a freakin’ heroine who is about to turn into a nun. But she got me, I’m not sure how. The descriptions were really vivid and moving, and pretty soon she was getting naked and teasing him. Dev was great, he seemed so desperate to be human and yet…not. He just wasn’t. I don’t know exactly how she did that fine line, but it was there. And I didn’t even mind it.

Once I started liking that one, the rest of them were just good. I mean, the second one had magic in it and I still liked it. Bonnie Dee writes a hell of a sex scene. The last story was the weirdest one yet, but it was so funny, omg. And Jack was just grungy enough to make me think I’d date him. You guys should get this, even if you don’t like these kinds of stories. They’re magical but in a good way.

And there you have it. Boundless is bound to please. Buy a copy. And then tell everyone you know about it. There’s just something special about these stories. I couldn’t be prouder to be part of it, and I can’t wait until I can sign copies of this for people, show off the gorgeous cover that April designed, and say:

“Hey, look, I have a story in this book, along with two of the best writers I know. How cool is that?”

Yesterday I had a great telephone conversation with Eileen Wilks, wherein we made some good progress in planning our workshop for RWA 2008.

One thing we touched on (and I think is worthy of its own blog post because we’re not covering it as part of our panel) is how writers can sometimes fixate on process. So-and-so does this, and she sells a bazillion books a year, therefore I should do it too.

Personally, I think that’s bollocks.

Truly I think each author needs to find his or her own method and go with it. Same with subject matter, same with stories. I don’t think it’s possible to maximize your own potential if you’re emulating someone else. This is a helpful tool to learn how to write, but after a while, it becomes imperative to develop your own style.

That goes for process, routine, and voice. I’ve attended seminars where the speaker talked as if her method was the only one and if you don’t follow her steps, then you’re doing it wrong. That drives me crazy because it’s so patently not true. Don’t panic if you don’t outline. Don’t panic if you do.

Some writers use outlines, character cards, storyboards, and a whole lot of tools that seem impossibly complicated to me. I have a friend who was flabbergasted to find out I don’t plot anything.

She said, “Do you not outline ahead of time? Are you one of them lucky folks who can just sit down and write? Not me. I need the whole thing, chapter by chapter outlined and plotted. Otherwise, mermaids and shit start popping up all over the place and it’s a straight contemporary.”

Shit, sometimes I don’t even have character names, basic story, nothing. It just comes while I write. I know the important components of a story and how they are constructed (exposition, rising action, etc), but I don’t break it down or deconstruct what I’m doing to see how my work fits the four act dramatic structure. I just write.

For other people, that would not work at all. They would find it impossible to keep track of various plot threads without having it all diagrammed. I would suppose that’s because they’re more visual than I am, and they need to see their scenes laid out to get a feeling for the flow of the book. Both ways are good. Both ways work.

So don’t let anyone convince you that they’ve worked out a foolproof way of doing this or that. Your system is fine. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re doing it wrong. There’s no one right way to do this job. Paraphrasing Nora Roberts, whose Q&A was the best I attended at RWA this year: whatever way works for you is the best way.

From a novel point of view…

Turn down the contrast, turn down the sound
Turn down the TV in the background
Sit here with me, bring me to life
Just listen close — and don’t plagiarize, don’t plagiarize me

(Chorus) But I can’t make you plot me if you won’t
You can’t make your brain do something it don’t
Here in the dark, in these final hours
I will not mention deadlines or the fact you don’t shower
But you don’t, no, you don’t
And I can’t make you plot me, if you won’t

I’m just a promise, not even words on a screen
But when you thought me up, you were jacked on morphine
Morning will come and you will be fucked
When your editor calls you are shit out of luck.
Yeah, you are shit out of luck.

(Chorus) But I can’t make you plot me if you won’t
You can’t make your brain do something it don’t
Here in the dark, in these final hours
I will not mention deadlines or the fact you don’t shower
But you don’t, no, you don’t
And I can’t make you plot me, if you won’t…
(slow fade)

Today is my birthday. Woohoo! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I’m home alone, at least until the maid gets here at 10. Anybody who has kids (or even roommates) can appreciate the lovely feeling of being left to your own devices.

We had a big family party on Saturday, where I ate an awesome burger, danced, drank some Chivas and listened to some really funny stories. The celebration went on for some six hours, so I’m okay to chill this fine Monday. We’ll probably go out to dinner somewhere tonight, but otherwise it’s business as usual for me today.

I’m on page 255 out of 283 in my Good Touch revisions, but it’s the last bit here that needs the most work. However, I think I’ve just about figured out how to fix the rough parts. I’m nearly done with the accompanying proposal as well. It would be a grand birthday present to myself if I managed to get the project back out the door to my agent today, but we’ll see.

Anyway, contest news: I have a new one running over on the Bradford Bunch, one you won’t want to miss. The prize is pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. Go check it out.

We have a contest winner over here too! L has won an e-ARC of Boundless. Blam! Her first time commenting on my blog, and she racks up a win. Email me, and I’ll hook you up.

Finally, I have a contest running on my loop, but I can’t talk about it here. If you were a member of my inner circle, you’d already know what it was all about, and you’d probably have entered by now. But don’t despair. If you hate feeling left out, just put your email in the box up in the sidebar, and you can still enter. It closes on Aug 29, midnight. I hope you’ll join us.

And for those of you who, like me, could never get enough of Mr. Hut from Life on a Stick, I bring you this very special Happy Birthday Dance. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pnXGJvNAls] The look on your face is thanks enough.

I worked so hard on that post yesterday that I’m just gonna coast today. Slice up some silliness from my life and serve up with a side of, “Gosh, I really am a dork, but I’m here to amuse y’all.”

Do your eyes ever play tricks on you? I glanced at my inbox and saw I had four new messages. My brain translated the senders as:

Loowis the Loose Bowel (*snickers* It was three Loose Id promo emails.)

and

Wolverine (Don’t I wish! For all of 15 seconds, I was like, Woohoo! Was actually Weaveraine, which is how Raine Weaver’s name appears in Gmail for some reason. It was cool to hear from her, but she ain’t Hugh Jackman.)

This is my office, where I do all my work. The fookin’ cats fight over my chair. I get up to go to the bathroom right next door, come back, and they’re sprawled on it like, “What? You left, dude. We got dibs now.” I then relocate them to the yellow armchair. You can see part of the chair (and one lazy cat) in the first shot.

From this very office, I often send my husband IMs in the middle of the day. I offer a sample of onesuch where we’re talking about Good Touch for your enjoyment:

me: What do you think about books 5 and 6?

Andres: What about books 5 and 6?

me: I’m not sure she has archenemies. I mean, just people who have a grudge against her. Normal type grudges. They’d like to see her dead, but in a direct way.

Andres: Yes, no Lex Luthor for her.

me: Not in a behind the scenes I AM MANDARK way.
(Five minutes later) Sorry, google went loopy on me.

Andres: ’s okay.

me: what do you think about a confrontation with a father she hasn’t seen since she was seven for book six?

Andres: That could work.

me: that’s the final loose end anyway. the only thing i can think of. so… anyway, laura told me that synopses are more selling points than promises. so this is all just my best guess, and they won’t care if the story comes out different, as long as it’s still GOOD and in the same vein as I sold to them.

Andres: Right.

me: i mean, i can’t suddenly decide to make her a sumo wrestler

Andres: No sudden changes with her being the chosen one from outer space. Heh heh.

me: Or that. :D

Andres: As long as she does not suddenly become an expert martial artist that can shoot two guns while doing a backflip, you’re good.

me: Yep. She’ll never go there. I thought it was pretty funny to have Corine pitch grenades because she used to play softball, and she can’t be trusted with a gun. Btw, Laura sent out my contracts. YAY!

Andres: Very nice, honey.

me: I know!! Now I can fax it to SFWA to make my membership official.

Andres: Yep yep.

me: *dances* When I’m famous, you can be my armcandy. I’ll buy you some tight pants.
With a salsa ruffled flare on the bottom.

Andres: Heh.

me: Hehe. *grins* And you must wear your white shirt. The very fancy one.

Andres: You just like the frills.

me: Duh. My trophy husband must personify the stereotype of the hot Latin lover. *smirk*

Andres: *snorts*

me: But you would look pretty sexy in a pair of stretchy black tight pants with flared bottoms. *grins*

Andres: Yes, yes I would.

me: You’re so cute.

There you have it. If you see us at cons, I’ll be the one with the tight-pants wearing flamenco dancer on my arm. Have a great weekend, y’all.

This post is going to be a mishmash of stuff I need to mention, but which aren’t worthy of a whole post. Therefore, expect this to be more disjointed than usual.

First, I am in no danger from the hurricane. I am touched and heartened by the outpouring of concern via email, but Cozumel is a good long way from Mexico City. Think Ohio to Florida. However, I feel all Sally Field about it. “You like me! You really like me!” Well, maybe some of you hope I’ll get swept out to sea, but it ain’t happenin’ this week.

Second, I added a bunch of new links to my blogroll, people whose blogs I visit regularly, and who stop by here often as well. If you haven’t been added yet, it’s not because I don’t love you. Just email me, and I’ll make it happen. I don’t have any of that mystic backlink magic other people possess. If you read my blog quietly, decide it’s becoming a favorite, and add me to your sidebar and/or blogroll, I won’t know unless you tell me. I don’t have any inclination to track that and have five red lights go off in my inbox each time Google does something with my name.

Third, Deena has added a couple of new pages (FAQ and Appearances) to my Ann Aguirre site. Check it out, especially the FAQ page. If something isn’t covered, ask in comments, and I’ll make sure my answers are incorporated in the new batch of updates.

Fourth, I got my RWR for August this afternoon (like a month behind everyone else), but I got it. Yay! I love getting this. I think I’m gonna buy an ad for Grimspace on the front inside cover, full color. Just because. And I’ll beg April to design it. Anyway, inside this issue, there’s something called “Calling All Workshop Presenters”, so I read it. And they’re taking applications for workshops / panels in SF next year. The deadline is November 1. Part of me says, “Oh no. Not just no, hell no.” But another part of me says, “You know, it would be good experience. You should put something together.”

Well, this is not a completely asinine idea. I was President of Thespians, for goodness sake. I was on the debate team. So I’m not a novice at public speaking, although it’s been years. I’m also doing panels at OmegaCon in March, so I’ll have gotten my feet wet once before RWA. Whether that’s good or bad, I have no idea.

So do you guys think? Should I do it? Never mind the fact that I need to have a 6 book series proposal done by Sept 15, along with requested revisions on the first book. And never mind that I have a novel contracted that needs to be finished by Dec 1. And surely let’s don’t mention all the marketing and publicity stuff, or the stuff my kids keep expecting me to do. Like feed them. Hehe.

No, really. I’m a master of getting shit done, so I’m positive I can put together a panel before November 1. But should I? Part of my hesitation is that I’m not sure who to invite to participate in it alongside me. But ok, if someone else has something already cooking and you need another author, email me! I’d totally love to hitch a ride on your presentation. Er, I mean collaborate with you on whatever you like. Cos I’m easy like that. Well. Y’know.

To recap, post questions in comments that you’d like to see answered on my website. Asking anonymously is fine. And get back to me on the SF RWA panel thing. I need guidance. I am a little lamb lost in the wide…yeah, whatever. You get it.

Whew. I think that’s enough for one day. If there’s more, it’ll keep.

PS — a random commenter will win an e-ARC of Boundless. You’ll get it on my birthday, August 27, a full week before anyone else can read those yummy stories. How nice am I? I’m fixin’ to give someone else a present on my big day. Get commenting!

Not reviews, per se, but a review of my vacation books, a roller coaster ride of reading fun. I won’t go into detail, just my basic reactions.

I think you may be surprised by what I devoured in one short week. Ready? This’ll go fast. You sure you’re set? K, hang on tight, here we go!

Ebooks

By Bonnie Dee
The Warrior’s Gift Meh.

Moon Over Bourbon Street Fun. Gabriel Knight in book form. Recommend.

Home Bound Crazy-hot. And kinda wrong. But hot. Recommend.

Blackberry Pie Holy crap, was this hot. Too short. Wanted a whole damn book. So hot I got a sunburn. And so beautifully written it brought tears to my eyes. BUY THIS.

By Charlene Teglia
The Gripping Beast Good writing. Fun way to kill a few hours. Plus…VIKINGS. Minus points for weird title that made me think it had hentai in it.

By Lauren Dane
Giving Chase Fresh baked bread, wholesome. Great heroine. Minus points for making me fall in love with one brother, and then turning him into a dick. Kinda suffered from dual hero syndrome. But worth reading.

Taking Chase Great! But it wasn’t a keeper because Shane was such an ass in book 1 that I couldn’t forgive him too readily. If you read these back to back as I did you may have the same problem. Cassie’s issues were written beautifully. Warm chocolate chip cookies feeling from reading it and a happy sigh at the end. Even if I was still kinda mad at Shane.

Chased Not as powerful as book 2. Worth reading, though.

By Pepper Espinoza
Mad World Crap on a cracker, this is the shit. But dark, terrible, ugly, and dysfunctional. Hero is a corrupt cop just this side of insane vigilante and the heroine is a sociopathic hooker. KEEPER! Not for the faint of heart.

Rayne of Love Meh. Good idea, shaky execution. Writing was engaging, needed tighter editing.

New Frontier Hello, genuine frontier story. Outlaw, pioneer woman, Old West, hot sex? What could be better? I liked.

By Dee Tenorio
Betting Hearts Rocked me. SEP, look out. Fuckin’ loved this. Buy this one!

Paperbacks

Still Waters
Tami Hoag
Tired, dated. Everybody smoked. The only interesting character, well, I won’t spoil you. But meh. Yawn.

Moonshine
Rob Thurman
Better than the first one. Didn’t make me sing out in awed delight like Patricia Briggs, but readable.

The Scent of Shadows
Vicki Pettersson
Gack.

Private Arrangements
Sherry Thomas
A very pretty, artfully written historical romance. Clever. It was a sugar cookie, a Quinn, not a Kinsale. PS — haha! I have it and you don’t.

You Belong to Me
Patricia Sargeant
Good writing. Great hero. Romantic suspense, and I’m not prone to love those. But I enjoyed it.

Forever Odd
Dean Koontz
Love the characters, love his writing and sense of humor. Hated the plot/story. I won’t give up on Odd Thomas, but the first book was the best to date.

Got questions? You can ask in comments or email me. Feel free to disagree. As always, this is only my opinion, which doesn’t matter for shit.

Well, I’m back from vacation, and I’ve been catching up on email since Saturday night. I’ve gotten a lot done, and I’m feeling good about said diligence.

Today I have to shop for groceries, pay bills, buy school supplies and new uniforms (because the kids go back to school tomorrow), and pick the animals up at the vet where they’re boarding, recuperating from their spay and/or or neuter surgeries. We’re talking one female dog and two male cats. So I have a full day planned, and it’s a good thing I spent the day working yesterday, as I won’t get much else accomplished this fine Monday.

Yesterday I wrapped up three contests and named winners, as promised. My author loop currently has 69 members. I know, right? I swear I didn’t plan it that way, but it’s oddly apropos.

I’ll be starting another contest shortly. It has to do with the amazing release Boundless, coming out Sept 3. With Bonnie Dee and Dionne Galace in it with me, you won’t want to miss this paranormal treat, trust me. And how hot is this cover?

Later this week, I have some great posts planned, such as where you can get free books.

For now, I’ll leave y’all with this. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, this will tell you everything you need to know about my week in Cozumel.

Yes, I took these pictures.