Today I’m delighted to welcome Ann Everett, an author friend and fellow Texan. Ann’s a great gal, open, honest and fun. I met her a few years ago through our local writers’ group. We hit it off immediately. The first time we had lunch together I think we talked nonstop for at least three hours. We were both in the process of getting our first book published and had lots of notes to compare. Since then we get together every chance we get.

Iced Tea and chitchat with Ann Everett
Ann Everett embraces her small town upbringing and thinks Texans are some of the funniest people on earth. When speaking to writing groups, businesses, book clubs, and non-profit organizations, she incorporates her special brand of wit, making her programs on marketing, self-publishing, and the benefits of laughter, informative and fun.
An award winning author, she’s also a member of Northeast Texas Writers’ Organization and a top twenty reviewer on thenextbigwriter.com

When Ann’s not writing, she spends her days listening in on people’s conversations at the local Wal-Mart, beauty shop, Goodwill, and numerous other gathering spots. She draws from that research to pen her romantic suspense novels full of southern sass and Texas twang. For her new adult romance stories, she blends her dramatic writing style with a kick of humor.

Here is something I swiped from another author’s blog, because I love the answers it prompts. Five things you won’t know about Ann by reading her bio.

1. She’s been married to the same man since dirt.
2. She loves shopping at thrift stores.
3. A really sharp pencil makes her happy.
4. She hates talking on the telephone.
5. She’s thankful wrinkles aren’t painful.

Tell Me A Secret

Excerpt: From Tell Me a Secret

“Why do you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Go from girl to girl. My mother was promiscuous because she tried to make up for everything wrong in her life—no relationship with her family, a kid she didn’t want. But you have the most wonderful family in the world. And you have friends—and talent. I don’t understand what you’re trying to compensate for.”
He didn’t say anything, so she said, “You don’t have to answer. I shouldn’t have asked. I just finished telling you to stay out of my business and now I’m butting into yours.”
“It isn’t that I don’t want to answer. It’s—I don’t know the answer. Maybe it’s evolutionary psychology. You know, spill your seeds and all that crap.”
“You’re kidding, right? That theory has to do with finding the best candidate for breeding to produce the best offspring. It isn’t an excuse to screw every female in Texas. Unless you’re saying you want to impregnate women to create a bunch of little football All-American’s?”
“Hell, no. My policy is no glove, no love. I’m saying, could be, men aren’t supposed to be monogamous.”
“You’re speaking for your entire gender?”
“Yeah.”
“So—your dad could have women on the side and that would be okay.”
“No! All right, you’ve made your point. Some men can be happy with one woman.”
“But not you.”
He rolled up on his elbow and rested his face in his hand. “I don’t know how to say this without sounding like a complete jerk. I guess I do it because I can. From the time I was in junior high, girls have thrown themselves at me and all I’ve done is take advantage of it. I’ve never lied to get a girl to sleep with me. I’ve never told one I loved her or promised forever. I don’t even spend the night. They know what to expect from me.” He flopped back down. “Maybe I’ve slept with more than my share, but I don’t consider myself a bad guy. Do you?”
“Does it matter what I think?”
“Yeah.”
“Well then, I think you’re just as emotionally unavailable as I am. I avoid men because I’m afraid I’ll lose my heart, and you go from girl to girl to keep from giving yours away.”

Tell us how long you’ve been writing.

About ten years and the New Adult Romance, Tell Me a Secret, it actually the first book I ever wrote. Since it was my first attempt at a novel, it needed ten years of re-writes before it was decent enough to publish!

I’ve read Tell Me a Secret and you did a great job with it, Ann. I love your characters.

What song or artist always makes you want to cry?

Oh, it doesn’t just make me want to cry…it makes me cry…every single time. I’ll be Home for Christmas. I’m getting teary-eyed just thinking about it…and I ain’t kidding!

Same here, Ann. For those of you who don’t know what song we’re talking about, here’s a little history. It was written to honor soldiers and recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby. The lyrics are the words of a WWII soldier stationed overseas, writing home to his family He tells them he will be coming home for Christmas and includes requests for “snow”, “mistletoe”, and “presents on the tree”. The soldier ends with “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.” The thought is so touching I can’t even write about it without tearing up.
What is the thing you like best about being a published author?

Knowing that long after I’m gone, my books, my words, will still be around and someone might be reading them.

Give us an interesting fun fact about your book…one we couldn’t possibly know.)

Although every female character I write has a little bit of me in her, and every male character has a bit of my husband, none are totally based on us. I recently had a reader email me and ask if Jace and Maggie (from Tell Me a Secret) were in fact my husband and me when we were young! I wrote back…NO! Tom was never that hot and I was never that smart!!

I love it!

What is something we’ll never catch you doing?

Skydiving. I have so many fears…heights, water, fire, snakes, skunks…and the list goes on and on, so there were quite a few answers I could have given here. But I can promise you, I’ll never jump out of a plane by choice!!

I used to say I would love to be able to skydive just once, but at my age I think I’m over it.

If you met a genie, what 3 things would you wish for?

I don’t remember who said a woman has six stages of happiness, but the stages stuck with me. In our teen’s we want friends. Our 20’s, love. In our 30’s, family. In our 40’s, security. In our 50’s, health, and in our 60’s, cash!

So at my age, my wishes would consist of:

1. Perfect health until I’m run-over by a reindeer.
2. Not to be rich, but have enough so I’d never have to balance my checkbook ever again.
3. I’d save this last wish, just in case there came a time when I was faced with jumping out of an airplane!

Thanks so much for being here today, Ann. And my thanks to all of you who’ve stopped by to join two Texas gals for a glass of iced tea and chitchat. For a practical, down to earth and witty look at life, pick up one of Ann Everett’s books today. You’ll be glad you did.

Email: ann.everett@rocketmail.com

Ann Everett page on Amazon http://amzn.to/11D7bQ7
Website and blog: http://www.anneverett.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TalkinTwang