OMGYAY! (Or, Marie Sexton Is IN DA HOUSE, Giving Books Away!)

I've got a special treat for you folks today: a one Ms. Marie Sexton (of #MILFMarie fame on Twitter ;-D) is here to discuss, well, angst. And how important it can be to both books and life. In Marie's case, it's about her new book in the popular Coda series, Paris A to Z. And also her love of explodey things.

Speaking of love, Marie's giving away a title of choice from her backlist to one lucky commenter. So spread the love, and who knows, maybe you'll get lucky! (Or, you know, crabs.)

Before we delve into Marie's take on angst, let's begin as always with a blurb.

Zach Mitchell and his lover Angelo Green are headed to Paris (along with their Coda friends Matt and Jared) to attend Jon and Cole’s wedding. Matt will have to face Jared’s former lover, and Angelo will have to spend an entire week with Zach’s ex-boyfriend. Between Matt’s jealousy and Angelo’s temper, Zach thinks they’ll be lucky to get through the week without one of the grooms being punched. But Zach soon realizes he should worry less about Angelo and more about himself. Facing the bittersweet memories of his past and his own guilt over breaking Jon’s heart is harder than expected, but Zach will have to find a way to leave his past behind if he’s to have any hope of the future he wants with Angelo.

And now I'll turn the floor over to Marie, beneath the jump.

Angst.

My MacBook’s built-in dictionary defines angst as, “a feeling of deep anxiety or dread, typically an unfocused one about the human condition or the state of the world in general.”

Wow. That seems pretty broad. I guess I tend to think of it more in terms of romantic angst. My personal, unofficial definition would be, “the amount of personal, painful, pointless anguish a hero must go through to find his Happily Ever After.”

Some people love angst. Some people hate it. I suppose I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with it. As a reader, it’s not my thing. I’ve read some books I would consider to be high-angst, and they shredded me. They left me a blubbering mess on my couch for a day or more, or caused me to throw things across the room. While on one hand I can commend those authors for eliciting such strong emotions in me, I must confess that I came away reluctant to pick up other books by those authors. I just didn’t want to risk putting myself through the emotional wringer again.

As a writer, I think that a bit of angst is critical to a good romance. And by that, I don’t mean to imply that without it, the romance will suck, but I do think that a bit of angst can really play up the emotional impact of the book.

Are my own books high angst? I’m honestly not sure. But I know that those scenes that feel angsty (fuck you, spellcheck, of course that’s a word!) are the ones I concentrate on the most. I go over them again and again and again in an attempt to get the emotional impact just right. But at some point, I’ve just had enough. My Angst Bank has run dry. And you know what refills it? Not more angst, that’s for damn sure. What I really need is:

Adrenaline.

Testosterone.

Explosions.

Not necessarily in that order.

I honestly think I might be addicted to testosterone. I just don’t have that “chick flick” gene. I have never watched The Notebook, nor do I ever intend to. A saw A River Runs Through It and Legends of the Fall, and despite Brad Pitt, I hated them both. And here’s my biggest dirty secret: ~whispering~ I don’t read romance. The truth of the matter is, the entire balance of my relationship Angst Bank is used up on my own work. When I finally get some time for my own entertainment, the last thing I want is more angst.

So what do I turn to? Well, there are a few options. Pro football is always good, but of course football season only lasts about five months. A good crime drama on TV will work, although I like it to have some humor in it, too (my personal favorite is The Closer). Pro wrestling will do in a pinch (don’t judge me!). But the best thing by far is a good old-fashioned, action-driven movie. Which is why I was psyched to find out that Rachel has a movie review section called Movie Reviews for Pervs. I’ll definitely be checking that out.

My personal favorites for recharging my Angst Bank are:

•   Transformers

•   Star Trek (the new one, with Karl Urban)

•   Twister

•   V for Vendetta

Back-up:

•   Jaws

•   Armageddon

•   Any of the X-Men movies

•   LOTR movies (Especially Two Towers and Return of the King, because they have Karl Urban in them.)  (Yes, you may detecting a trend.)

Also in my frequent rotation list, although it’s nothing like the others, is Orange County (not to be confused with that TV show, The O.C.). This movie is juvenile, I’ll admit, but it’s about being a writer, and the way writers find inspiration, and I find that I really, really love it.

So, do you love angst or hate it? Do you have an Angst Bank? And how do you recharge it? And what other movies do I need to add to my play list? 

* * * * *

Marie Sexton lives in Colorado. She’s a fan of just about anything that involves muscular young men piling on top of each other. In particular, she loves the Denver Broncos and enjoys going to the games with her husband. Her imaginary friends often tag along. Marie has one daughter, two cats, and one dog, all of whom seem bent on destroying what remains of her sanity. She loves them anyway.

Visit Marie’s website at http://mariesexton.net, follow her on Facebook and Twitter, join her mailing list, and absolutely don’t forget to check out her tumblr. (Tumblr NOT work safe.) And there’s always her email.

And don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a book of your choice from Marie's backlist!