Sunday, May 1, 2011

Hit Me with Your Best Shot

Here’s Word Whore, Marcella Burnard’s, new book hanging out at the pool bar with a margarita, looking sexy. Enemy Games, sequel to the fabulous Enemy Within, comes out on Tuesday. Kidnappings, xenobiology, sex, romance and insect alien life forms – I know you can’t wait to get your hands on it. Like I have.

Enemy Games has been traveling around with me this week, joining me and the man on a little road trip from Santa Fe to Phoenix to Tucson and thence to the beach in San Diego. Tune in on my personal blog tomorrow for more of our young book’s adventures.

Yeah, she turned a lot of heads, everywhere we went.

I remember quite clearly the first time I was hit-on. It was one of those vague drive-by styles. I was maybe twelve or thirteen, walking down the sidewalk, when a group of guys in a car hooted at me and yelled those incomprehensible things guys shout at girls that they seem to think will make us take off running after them, desperate to jump in the car and LOVE ON THOSE MENS.

I mean, they must think something along these lines, right? Else, why bother to whistle, howl or hoot?

I remember being surprised because I really didn’t see myself as hoot-worthy at that point in my life. I barely had a figure, was teetering on the edge of learning to be passably cute while balancing childish habits with new adult interests and desires. I couldn’t imagine what they’d seen to move them to howl approval. I was also a little pleased along with the embarrassed. Even the wolf whistle is flattering, on some level.

Since then, I’ve learned that it never matters how I look. I can’t recall a time that I’ve been hit on when I thought I looked hot, much less when I wanted to be. No – instead I am most frequently hit on at the grocery store, usually when I have on sweats and no make-up.

It’s the approachable look?

I mentioned this phenomenon to a few women and they agreed – they get hit on most often when they look like hell, in odd locations, like the local 7-11.

It’s notable that, in romantic comedies or romance novels, the romantic partners almost never meet because one hit on another. Or, if they do, there’s some kind of twist to it.

I’m not sure it really works all that often.

Still, I’m always up for feeling flattered.

9 comments:

  1. My copy of enemy Games is in the mail! I'll be atalking the mailbox every day till it gets here.

    As for being hit on: my owner used to get hit on by guys much younger than her when she was in her teens/early twenties and she hated it.

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  2. The weirdest time I got hit on when my DD was a baby. Here I was hauling around an infant, and some guy -- much younger -- came on to me with "When you're through playing house with your little sister, maybe you could play house with me." And this in the grocery store parking lot. Sheesh.

    The only thing I could figure was that he was practicing his mad pick-up skillz on what he assumed must be an appreciative target. *rolls eyes*

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  3. Ooh, and doesn't Enemy Games look lovely - I'd like a piece of that action, lol.

    Linda - that is a winner line, for sure. That guy sounds smoooth.

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  4. Sullivan - she's right, it's really annoying.

    See, Linda? The grocery store! What IS it about the grocery store?? But that's an exceptionally skeezy line.

    She is lovely, Kerry!

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  5. So, how many men stopped to hit on Enemy Games while you were canoodling with da man? I bet it fluttered its pages at the cabana boy. Such. A. Flirt.

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  6. :-D Congrats to Marcella--party week!!! A book that drinks margaritas, I like it!!! Jeffe, though, is that book old enough to be drinking yet?

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  7. YAY! Can't wait to get my copy of ENEMY GAMES. Hope you had a fabulous trip!

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  8. You know, I think if anyone deserves a shot of tequila, Jayleia in that book qualifies. :)

    Glad you guys had a sunny, relaxing trip, Jeffe. And thanks for carting along the extra baggage.

    As for being hit on? Y'all just didn't hang out in right places. Or maybe you did, now that I think that through...all of my hits were (and don't tell DH) still are geek venues. Cons, gaming events, comic shops. I don't know whether I should be flattered or horrified...

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  9. KAK - she was SO all over those cabana boys. Such a dirty girl.

    Linda - she told me she was old enough for *anything*! I didn't ask for ID...

    I had a lovely trip - thanks Laura and Marcella. As for being hit on by geeks? I think they have other terms for that. Not pretty ones.

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