About I WANT IT THAT WAY:
Nadia Conrad has big dreams, and she’s determined to make them come true. But between maintaining her college scholarship and working at the local day care to support herself, dating’s the last thing on her mind. Then she moves into a new apartment and meets the taciturn yet irresistible guy in 1B….
Daniel Tyler has grown up too fast. Becoming a single dad at twenty turned his life upside down—and brought him heartache he can’t risk again. Now, as he raises his four-year-old son while balancing a full-time construction management job and night classes, the last thing he wants is noisy students living in the apartment upstairs. But one night, Nadia’s and Ty’s paths cross, and soon they can’t stay away from each other.
The timing is all wrong—but love happens when it happens. And you can’t know what you truly need until you stand to lose it.
"A tender, sweet, and sexy story about how life—and falling in love—can never be planned."
—Jennifer L. Armentrout, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wait for You
I WANT IT THAT WAY on Goodreads
Other Books in the 2B Trilogy:
As Long As You Love Me (9/30/14)
The Shape Of My Heart (11/25/14)
About Ann Aguirre:
Ann Aguirre is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author and RITA winner with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. Ann likes books, emo music, action movies, and she writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens, published with Harlequin, Macmillan, and Penguin, among others.
Interview:
Where are you from?
I’m from the Midwest. I grew up in a farming town, across from a cornfield. Now, I live in Mexico with my family.
I’m from the Midwest. I grew up in a farming town, across from a cornfield. Now, I live in Mexico with my family.
Tell us your latest news?
Including I Want it That Way, I have 5 books releasing in 5 months. Mortal Danger, the first in my new YA
horror trilogy released earlier in August.
Havoc, book 2 in the Dred
Chronicles, will be out on August 26th. The next two books in that 2B trilogy, As Long As You Love Me and The Shape of My Heart, will be out in
September and November.
I have a variety of
appearances coming up, including two tour stops for the 2B trilogy in Denver
(August 27) and Austin (August 28). After that, I’ll be on the Fierce Reads
tour from September 16-24.
When and why did you begin writing?
When I was eight, I wrote a
story for a school writing competition called The Mystery of the Gold
Doubloon. This seminal, self-illustrated work was about two best
friends who went to Florida on vacation and busted an illegal treasure hunting
ring. I won the contest. I went to the state finals and met Shel Silverstein, who read
to a bunch of us from Where the Sidewalk Ends. In that moment, sitting on
my square of carpet, I thought, they pay him for his words. this is what I
want to do. Later that same year, my teacher told me writing wasn’t a real
job and I should pick something else. As it turns out, I am stubborn beyond the
point of common sense, as I never did choose another career.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I wrote my first novel at
fifteen. I sent it to NY. At sixteen I got my first rejection. This pattern
continued at nineteen, and again at twenty-one, although I did interest an
agent that early. Unfortunately, the historical romance I had written was too
dark for the market, though the editors all agreed I could write and that I had
talent. I wrote more. In the meantime I got married and had some babies. I kept
writing. More rejections. I hit my thirties, signed with an agent, and got more
rejections. By this point, I had, oh, eight books that had been rejected. In
utter despair, I wrote a SF novel. I decided, you know, if I’m never going
to sell, then I am going to write the novel I want to read. I’m going to write
for myself, for fun, for pleasure, and without regard for market. The
result was Grimspace. Unfortunately, my agent at the time thought it sounded
unsellable. I had to choose between my book and my agent. It was a terrible
decision, but I believe so strongly in that project that I gave notice. I went
back to cold querying. I was 36 by this point. My current agent pulled me out
of the slush pile–and that was the start of a really magical career.
Laura Bradford is a romance
specialist. (I thought I’d written a romance with futuristic elements. Turns
out, no.) But she loved Grimspace so much, she learned the
market, just for me. She said, “I’ve never sold SF but I want the challenge, so
if you’re okay with that, I’m offering you representation at this time.” I
chose passion and enthusiasm over experience. I signed with her on March 31,
2007. We pitched Grimspace on April 11, my husband’s
birthday. Within a couple of weeks, we had a nibble. An editor loved it
and was taking it to acquisitions. She updated the rest of the editors, who
were then motivated to read faster. Before we heard from the first editor, we
had an offer from Anne Sowards. Since she’s my dream editor–she edits so many
people I’ve read and admired–I cried in excitement and disbelief. This sale was
over twenty years in the making, closer to thirty if you count the story I
wrote when I was eight. We accepted the offer at once, and since then, we’ve
sold over twenty projects together in the last four years. It’s been a long
time since I had a day job, and it’s my plan to write for the rest of my life.
Believe me, I know how lucky I am to be living my dream at long last.
Wow, that was a really long
answer. In short, I’ve always been a writer. It just took me ages to make a
living at it.
What inspired you to write your first book?
I was reading a lot of YA
right then. I started with The Outsiders, ran through all of S.E. Hinton and
Judy Blume, then I waded into other YA titles, at the time published by
Silhouette. I’ve forgotten the name of the imprint, but I read tons of those
titles. Eventually I decided I could do what these people were doing, and I
went at it on a typewriter my parents got me for Christmas one year.
Do you have a specific writing style?
No. I have genre
ADD, which means I need to switch it up frequently so I’m always tackling
something new. I will admit that I gravitate toward first person, however. It’s
so much more intimate, although you lose the versatility of being able to
include so many other points of view.
How did you come up with the title?
I used Backstreet Boys song
titles for each book in this trilogy. The songs
themselves don’t actually have anything much to do with the stories. It’s kind
of an Easter Egg, actually, because when I was on tour with Jessica Brody and
Leigh Bardugo, we listened to a lot of BSB to get jazzed up before a signing.
While we were traveling, I was also germinating the 2B trilogy, which I started
writing pretty much as soon as I could after I got home.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
You can’t plan love or pencil
it in for later, and sometimes the best things happen when you have the courage
to go off-road from your life plan.
How much of the book is realistic?
I drew a lot on my own college
experiences when writing it, though I updated it for today. Some readers have
said there’s less drama than they’ve come to expect in NA, and I’d say that’s
true. Drama isn’t the same thing as conflict, however, and I tried to write about
the normal, daily struggles students face. I’ve heard from quite a few people
that the narrative felt authentic, so I’d say it’s as realistic as romances
ever are. *g*
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
I
lift dialogue I've overheard in real life sometimes, but I don't base my
characters on real people. At most, there may be a trait in common.
What books have most influenced your
life most?
I spent my allowance on books
as a kid. After I got my first job, I put part of the money in my gas tank; the
rest I spent on books. In college, I was much the same, but there were certain
authors I would buy instead of food.
Sharon Shinn was one of them.
So clearly I can remember how
I felt when I discovered her books for the first time. I was in a dungeon of a
shop in Muncie, Indiana. I didn’t really want to be there because, frankly,
they sold gaming stuff: Dungeons and Dragons, sourcebooks, dice, graph paper,
and pewter miniatures. I wanted to be in a proper bookstore because I had a
little money to spend. (My part-time job as a pharmacy tech paid all of $4 an
hour.) But I had gamer friends (and I played too, but my great love has always
been fiction), so I was hanging around the store, waiting for them.
As I wandered, I eventually
came upon a wire book rack. It mostly had TSR novels (Drizzt, Forgotten Realms,
Dragonlance) and maybe a few White Wolf stories. I was spinning it listlessly
when this fey cover art caught my eye.
Hm, what’s this? I asked
myself, plucking the book from the rack. The Shapechanger’s Wife. I read the
back and it sounded wonderful, so I bought it at once. While they finished
shopping, I hugged the paper bag to my chest and couldn’t wait to get home to
start reading. In short, I devoured that one in a few hours and then from that
point on, I would buy whatever she released, even if I had to dine on ramen… or
nothing at all.
The coolest thing about Sharon
Shinn is that so many years later, I’ve had the pleasure of her reading my book
for a blurb—and then I met her. After that, I cried tears of pure joy over a
dream come true. It’s so wonderful when your idols turn out to be even more
amazing than you dreamed. Since then, we’ve developed a relationship and I am
honored to call her my friend.
She’s inspiring to me because
when I found her books, she was a woman living in the Midwest. She didn’t seem
to be famous or connected to publishing. She earned her publishing contract
through her beautiful writing and through persistence. She gave me hope that I
might be able to do it someday, too. If not for her, shining as a beacon of
hope for another Midwestern girl, I might’ve given up on my dreams. I’ll never
stop thanking her for blazing a trail that I pictured myself following.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
See above. Sharon Shinn. She
has been incredibly kind and generous to a girl from the corn field. I’m proud
to call her my friend.
What book are you reading now?
Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah
Fine is the one I’m actively reading, one delicious nibble at a time. I’m
pacing myself, doling out her words in reward for writing my own.
On deck, I have:
Skylark by Meagan Spooner
Gates of Thread and Stone by
Lori M. Lee
Between the Spark and the Burn
by April Genevieve Tucholke
The Girl from the Well by Rin
Chupeco
Thorn Jack by Katherine
Harbour
The Kiss of Deception by Mary
E. Pearson
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Lori M. Lee and Rin Chupeco.
Their books are definitely intriguing me, and I can’t wait to read them. I’ve
also loved debuts by Paula Stokes and Mindy McGinnis. MM writes as dark as they
come while PS is pure sunshine. And I love both.
What are your current projects?
Currently I’m writing the
sequel to Mortal Danger, tentatively
called Public Enemies.
What would you like my readers to know?
Thanks for hosting me! I write because I love telling stories to
entertain and I hope visiting my world(s) for a while leaves you better
situated to return to your own.
One last thing, where can your readers find you (please provide
links): Website: http://www.annaguirre.com/
Twitter: @MsAnnAguirre
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ann.aguirre
Tumblr: http://msannaguirre.tumblr.com
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