My Favorite Things with Ann Aguirre

They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with Ann Aguirre, who is publishing not just one, not just two, but four books this year! Her latest release, Heartwood Box, comes out tomorrow, July 9th from Tor Teen!

What does Ann love when she’s not writing about epic paranormal fantasy, sci-fi fugitives, or terrifying towns? Spoiler alert: a Netflix show that packed quite a punch, an ARC of a book so amazing she can’t wait for you to read it, a game that will absolutely consume any free time you have left, and a modern take on Choose Your Own Adventure Games. Curious? Read on to learn more!

Thanks so much for having me! It’s so fun to talk about things that I love, so let me get started doing that.

Dark: This is a German Netflix original series that incorporates all the things I love. Family mysteries, time-travel, a creepy villain, unsolved murders, a terrifying little town that’s insular and full of secrets, surrounded by dense forest right out of a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. While everyone else was going wild over Stranger Things, I was falling head first into Dark, and the wait for the second season has been excruciating. The reveal was truly shocking toward the end, but also heart-breaking. I don’t want to say more because if you haven’t watched this year, you should experience it for yourself. It’s so good that I’ve watched it multiple times (and I’m not one to constantly consume the same entertainment.) I can’t wait to glom the second season; I hope they can keep up the intensity. I was on the edge of my seat watching the first season! PS I’ve since watched Stranger Things, and it was very good too.

The Never-Tilting World by Rin Chupeco: I got a hold of an ARC and this book is so incredible! It doesn’t come out until October, but I inhaled my copy while I was traveling this summer. Everyone should be reading Rin Chupeco. I’ve been a huge fan of her work since The Girl from the Well. Really, you can’t go wrong with any books by this amazing author. I love her writing, and I adore the way she builds worlds that are eerie, and grim, but also beautiful, like moonlight falling across a sea of gravestones. I love her fantasy novels, and I can’t wait for everyone else to get to read The Never-Tilting World. If you can’t wait, you could check out her other work. In fact, it would be a shame if you didn’t!

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey: I’m kind of abashed by how much I love this game. No game company besides Bioware or Bethesda has ever gotten me to this level of investment, but now I’m making heart eyes at Ubisoft. Prior to Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, I had never played an Assassin’s Creed game and I had only the barest idea what it was all about. I watched the movie because my husband wanted to and that didn’t clarify anything. But I found out that you could play a woman for the first time in AC:O, and at Christmas time, I found the game on sale in the Playstation store, more than half off, so I figured why not give it a try? My son was home from university and we often tag-team games together, passing off the controller when we need a break or when it’s a game point outside of our wheelhouse. (I’m good at sneaking and sniping. My son is the one you call when you need a bunch of minions ruthlessly curb-stomped.) From that day forward, I could scarcely get anything done for weeks. I was obsessed with AC:O! And I’m still playing it, off and on. You don’t know how rare that is with me. Usually I get obsessed with a game for a few days, maybe a week, and then I’m done, ready for the next shining thing. The story in AC:O is deep and compelling. It’s beautiful and fun and… I’m gushing. The cool thing about all this? I recently went on a two week vacation, starting in Venice, cruising around the Mediterranean, and guess where I visited?! KEPHALONIA. Yes, that is the starting point for AC:O. I took pictures, so many pictures, and my son and I were totally geeking out the whole time and I even found a bush to crouch in to whistle (but I did not murder anyone).

Bonus: Choices and Choice of Games: These days I’m really into a game called Choices. The stories can be spec-fic but sometimes they aren’t. These are basically Choose Your Own Adventure games with some graphics: a simple background scene, you design how your character looks, buy outfits and pets along the way. I wish they had more spec-fic options, so my fingers are crossed there. Choice of Games is a Choose Your Own Adventure interactive novel, no graphics. Super fun, though, and with a huge variety of stories to choose from. Highly replayable, too. You check both options out.

Finally, I’ve been obsessed with K-dramas since 2012 and that hasn’t changed, though in my opinion, China is starting to catch up in terms of original scripts and productive value. Taiwan is also doing fantastic things, and I’ve started checking out a few Thai Lakorns as well. At first, just the remakes of Korean stories I loved, but since then, I’ve watched some originals and they’re very good.

Well, that basically covers what I do when I’m not working: Netflix, books, games, and K/T/C/T-dramas. (They make them in Japan too but the endings tend to be sad or even tragic. It’s harder to find a drama where everything works out well in Japan, so I usually go elsewhere.) Thanks so much for hosting me!

Ann Aguirre is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author 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. She likes books, emo music, and action movies. She writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens.

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