Thursday, May 7, 2009

Intro - Annette M. Irby


Hey everyone! It's my birthday, so I thought it'd be fun to post and introduce myself. I'm new to this blog but I've been a White Rose author since 2006. I've been a blogger since '07 and I was really excited to find that White Roses have this forum for sharing our writing lives and our projects.

My White Rose publication is called Love Letters. Here's the blurb:

Jordan Ambrose is looking for passion. From her husband. And, as Randy Ambrose will tell you—she’s great at pushing his buttons. The problem? He’s hiding out from intense emotions, like passion. So their love life is lackluster. Well, except for those letters.

Jordan
discovered a box of love letters in her husband’s home office closet. Why doesn’t he act like the “R” from the letters, so clearly written to “J”? If she can drag him away from his writing desk, they can talk about it. But will Randy stop hiding and love with abandon?

There are reviews up at my website on the Fiction page. Colleen Reece and Betsy St. Amant had some nice things to say.

I wanted to write a romance which centered on a married couple and there were few houses taking them, so I was thrilled to meet an editor with Wild Rose Publishing as they were launching their new lines. Since that publication, I've been writing, writing, writing. Still waiting on word back for a few projects.

Here's a fun idea--leave a comment to win an e-copy of Love Letters. Comment about the best birthday present you ever received, the best one you've ever given, OR your dream birthday present. I'll draw names tomorrow and post the winner's name in the comment section here. And please leave your email address so I can notify you that way, too, if you win! Have fun.

Happy Thursday, Annette.

Check out Annette's other sites: www.annetteirby.com, www.annetteirby.blogspot.com and www.annetteirbyreviews.blogspot.com (for book reviews and interviews with authors).

15 comments:

Sharon Donovan said...

Hey Annette. Welcome. I love the sound of this book. And what a novel idea for a contest. Okay, you asked for it so here goes. My boyfriend kept telling me I was accident prone. So on my birthday, he shows up with this present, wrapped up so pretty. I opened it and it was a first aid kit. You can imagine my shock and disappointment. Then he told me to dig a little deeper and coiled inside the gauze tape was a diamond bracelet. But here's the best part. We went to a nice restaurant where there was a flight of steep steps coming out. I had on very high stiletto heels and missed the last one. He went to grab me a split second before I went down on my ankle. Instead of asking me if I was all right, he said, "Told ya we'd need that first aid kit before the night was through."

EditingSarah said...

Birthday parties are my favorite gift. I love being with friends. My e-mail is Editingsarah59@hotmail.com

Cami Checketts said...

Happy birthday!
I love the idea of writing about a married couple. We forget that's the best kind of romance.

Annette M. Irby said...

Sharon, LOL!! Very cute story!! And memorable. Thanks for commenting. Your name goes into the drawing.

Annette

Annette M. Irby said...

Editing Sarah, you must be an extrovert. :0) I've been studying the Meyer's-Briggs personality profiling, which is so fun for us writers when creating characters. And loving b-day parties equals extroverted (as compared to an introverts quiet night with one or two friends). Thanks for commenting. Your name's in the drawing.

Annette

Annette M. Irby said...

Me, too. So, Cami, tell me your birthday gift story . . . Best gift ever or best gift you've ever given to someone else or your dream gift.

Either way, you're entered, too. I'm just enjoying reading people's stories/preferences.

Annette

Pamela S Thibodeaux said...

Happy Birthday Annette!

The best birthday present ever?

The birth of my son (May 7th 1979) two weeks BEFORE my birthday (May 19th!)

But this year just may beat that if my grandson is born on or near my birthday. His due date is early June, daughter wants to induce May 27 but doctor said he doesn't think she'll make it until then so....we'll see. LOL!

Love to be in the drawing.
PamT

Kara Lynn Russell said...

Annette,
Don't enter me in the contest. I already have a copy of Love Letters and I'd highly recommend it to my fellow readers. It's definitely original - no "cookie cutter" formula romance here.

Actually Love Letters was the first White Rose book I read, back when I was just discovering TWRP and deciding whether I wanted to submit my work to them.

Happy birthday Annette. It's good to have you in the group!

Linda Strawn said...

Happy Birthday, Annette!
I received the best present ever on my 40th birthday. It wasn't so much the gift itself, as it was the presentation. My birthday fell on the very same weekend as our church's women's retreat. I figured we'd celebrate later, but my hubby had different plans. On Saturday evening, when everyone gathered for a snack after the last workshop, my husband shows up with a massive cake, a block of wood, and his jigsaw. I was so surprised, especially when he arranged to have one of the women sing the same song we danced to at our wedding. As if sharing a dance with my husband in front of 80+ sobbing women weren't enough, he handed me the jigsaw and instructed me to cut this 4X4 piece of timber in half. To my amazement, he had carefully hallowed out a section inside and glued the wood back together. After I successfully cut the wood in half, I discovered a small velvet box tucked inside which contained a beautiful one carat diamond ring!
This happened 11 years ago, but my heart still skips a beat thinking about all that my husband went through to give me a special 40th birthday.

Annette M. Irby said...

Pam, I love that your son was born on my birthday (different year). Very cool. Happy birthday to him. He's the big 3-0 this year!

You're entered in the drawing!

Annette

Annette M. Irby said...

Kara Lynn, Thank you so much for your kind words. :) I'm glad my novella was your first with Wild Rose. How cool is that? You blessed me today with your warm welcome and comment.

:) Annette

Annette M. Irby said...

Wow, Linda, I loved your story of turning 40!! Beautiful! So, us romance writers can't help getting gushy over our husbands or boyfriends doing some pretty cool stuff for us on our special days. :) You're in the drawing.

:) Annette

Martha Eskuchen said...

Happy Belated Birthday Annette! I like the premise for your novel. Sounds interesting and a bit different. I'm not a huge celebrater of birthdays maybe cause mine falls 2 days after Christmas. But 5 years ago we threw a surprise family reunion for my Dad's 80th BD. It was wonderful!! One of my brothers did a neat video slide show that we all enjoyed.

Annette M. Irby said...

Martha E, I understand with your b-day falling so close to Christmas, that's a challenge. But I imagine that first time around you were quite a holiday gift to your parents! :)

You're in the drawing.

Annette

Annette M. Irby said...

AND THE WINNER IS...LINDA STRAWN!!

Congratulations. Please email me at annette [at] annetteirby [dot] com and I'll send you the e-file of the book.

Thanks for commenting everyone!

Happy Friday,
Annette