Welcome to my little corner of the gay erotic romance universe . . . well, half of it, anyway. (You can find the other half at RachelHaimowitz.com.) This is the place to come for sneak previews of new projects, release information, and the occasional M/M book review. I'll also share thoughts on the industry on occasion, and I hope you'll come share yours in return.



Thursday, April 14, 2011

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!

26 comments:

  1. I love angst in a story - as long as everything ends well (and happy)!

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  2. I'm with you Marie. I was born without the chick gene too. I don't watch many movies, but your comment about crime drama reminds me it's been a while since I let a Columbo marathon run while I worked. "Just one more thing..."

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  3. Um, are you me? I'm with you on the testosterone addiction, the wrestling, the football (well I watch rugby - similar)action movies and Karl Urban...

    As for angst - depends on my mood. Sometimes I want a low angst/high explosion ratio. Sometimes I LIKE to ball my eyes out over a book (Damn you Ian McEwan and Atonement. Kinda lets out all the pent up stuff, then I'm back to freeze framing Eomer and watching action flicks hoping for more explosions.

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  4. Jason: A good cheesefest on Syfy is probably the next best thing.

    diannakay: The HEA does make a difference.

    Pia: I don't think I've ever watched Columbo. Isn't that odd? I don't know why not.

    Julia: Hehe. All I can really is, yummmmm Eomer..... mmmmm......

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  5. LOL, you are a treasure, Marie! No chick gene here either, and find that your "re-chargers" are the same as mine!

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  6. Yup XP HEA is a must when I read angst or not I will not even read it. Cause it will surely make me cry if they have no HEA after all that angst T_T

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  7. Intriquing excerpt, there's nothing better than a little angst between guys.

    Ro

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  8. You are my kind of movie watcher! lol

    I read you and a couple others for my angst. lol

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  9. I loooove angst. It's an excellent aphrodisiac!

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  10. I heard Karl Urban...mmm Karl Urban, the only thing that made that dreadful RED movie worth watching. That and shit blows up.
    No chick flicks for me either, but I love angst. I loved Sherlock Holmes for the angst. Supernatural is chock full of angst and Jensen Ackles, okay, Dean Winchester is the poster boy for angst. Great topic. Shutting up now. Oh and speaking of Karl Urban...go watch Xena Warrior Princess, he did a great Julius Cesar.(and Cupid)

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  11. I like to have some good angst in a story...but I ain't jonesin' for it. Humor to balance it out is always good.

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  12. Angst, I loves it. I love wallowing in it and I love writing it. But, I'm another one who likes to throw in some humor because I wouldn't want depress myself too much.

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  13. I am a total angst whore. Love the stuff. The more suffering, the better (Dean Winchester, and Cal Leandros, I'm lookin' at you!). Except, then there better be an HEA at the end.

    LOTR? Really? I cried buckets over books and movies both. The ending of an age; Frodo leaving; the elves fading away...

    On the other hand, I love action adventure movies with big, bizarre special effects and explosions and gun fights and all that good stuff. One of my personal faves for an adrenaline high is the original Die Hard. Not the sequels, although the last one was okay. But the first one, man, when I went to see that it had the whole theatre cheering out loud. Good stuff. Loved the first Terminator movie, too, when Ahnald was the bad guy and Michael Biehn was naked. . .

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  14. Oh! Watched TV and took a nap, and missed a bunch of you. Thanks to everybody for stopping by! I'm glad to see some who love angst and some who maybe have a love/hate relationship with it as I do.

    Also, more Karl Urban fans. Hooray! I haven't seen Xena or Red. Now very curious.

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  15. @Riverbella: Funny. Maybe there are different types of angst, and only certain types get to me. Cal Leandros and LOTR don't hit my angst bank. They're more about kicking ass in my mind, somehow. Oh!! But your Michael Biehn comment reminded me of one of my BEST recharging movies EVER: Aliens!! Only the second one, with Biehn and Bill Paxton. Perfect for refilling the bank!

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  16. For angst I love My Beautiful Laundrette with Daniel Day Lewis.

    Great post. Thanks for offering Marie's new book!

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  17. Wow, looks like you folks are having fun over here :D

    I think it goes without saying that I'm a GIGANTIC angst whore myself, though I like mine with a great big dose of hurt/comfort. Well, okay, hurt. The comfort I can take or leave ;-p (Though it can be ultra-yummy sometimes for sure.)

    As for recharging my angst bank? I'm a big fan of anything Paul Walker's ever done. The movies are terrible, but they KNOW they're terrible. It's like, "Here, isn't he pretty? Now watch--an explosion! Fist fight! Car chase! Paul Walker's abs!" Yeah . . . that's the stuff :D

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  18. Rachel, I love your synopsis of the Paul Walker movie!

    I did mean to comment on what dddpop said about humor - a really great way to balance out the angst.

    Thanks to jayhjah and Lasha, too for stopping by!

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  19. I don't like uber-angst. I don't consider what you write to be that. Sure you have some and some is good, but not curled up in a ball on the floor in the fetal position sobbing angst. No thanks. And don't make it last too long. Okay, bad stuff happens it's sad, but don't drag it out for 5 years and 200 pages before he gets his HEA. Of course since I'm reading romance I know there will be a HEA, but I don't want to be so depressed that when it finally comes I don't even care anymore.

    Never seen The Notebook either. Nor will I.

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  20. Mmm, Karl Urban. I've love him in "Chronicles of Riddick", and he was fun in "Red" too. (That should be right up Marie's 'adrenaline testosterone explosions' alley.)

    Count me in. =)

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  21. I have to be in the mood for super angsty stories. I'm not lacking in the chick-flick gene (yes, I have seen the Notebook. Once was enough, though, TYVM. Same for Titanic. And Forrest Gump.)

    If I need to recharge, the action flicks are nice, but I like teen comedies a lot too. (Matthew Goode in "Chasing Liberty" is FINE, AND he looks a lot like the IT manager in my office...)

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  22. Tam: Yes, I know exactly what you mean. That's how Wraeththu was. SO good, but lord, like 800 pages of them being apart, one thinking the other's dead, and then that he doesn't want him, and then becoming a whore. Thirty years later, they get back together and I'm catatonic on my couch. Still haven't recovered.

    Adara: Oh yes, watched Riddick the other day just to see Karl. I must hunt down this Red...

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  23. And the winner is: Sue Laybourn!!!

    Sue, email me at msexton.author@gmail.com. Let me know which book of mine you'd like, and in what format. You can see a list of my works here:
    http://mariesexton.net/book-list-and-timeline

    Thanks to everybody else who stopped by, and to Rachel for hosting me!!

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  24. Thanks to Marie and everyone else for stopping by--it was a pleasure to have you! And congratulations to Sue :)

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