heidi's blog

finally, some success

Oy, am I tired. Stayed up until 6am last night...er, this morning...working on BEDDED THEN WED, then had a cat wake me at noon because he wanted moist food. (Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled!) I could definitely have used another couple hours of sleep before crawling out of bed.

But it needed to be done. That two weeks of no writing while I ironed out my computer troubles really set me back. I had been 2 chapters ahead & now I'm 4 chapters behind. :-( I'm catching up, tho, thanks to sleep depravation. LOL (Yeah, I definitely see a nap in my future.)

Anyway, I got 6 1/2 pages done last night, finishing chapter 7 & beginning chapter 8. Yay! (Like I said, I'm not as far along as I'd like, but I'm making progress.) And as slowly as the story might be moving for me, writing-wise, it's at least moving smoothly. That's always a plus.

I also finished filling out the art fact sheet for BEDDED this week. Can't wait to see what kind of cover I get. I'm betting it will be a good one. I've been blessed with so many great Desire covers already, I can't imagine they'll go wrong. :-)

And now, it's off to get some breakfast. (Yes, breakfast at 2:30pm...welcome to my world.) Then I need to get some more writing done. The current scene has me intrigued; I can't wait to get back to it. :-)

posted by Heidi Betts at 5:27 PM 2 comments  

you know you've baked too many Christmas cookies when...

My mother has been baking for about two weeks straight. Every day, all day. Dolly Madisons, peanut butter blossoms, sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, raisin-filled cookies, snowballs, rosettes...

She claims to enjoy it, but I think she finally snapped.

Why? Because yesterday, she brought me a plate of cookies, & this is what was on it...



No eyes, no mouths, no noses, but hooters & wee-wees busting out all over.

And I am going to eat them, I just have to figure out how to bite into them without blushing. :-P

posted by Heidi Betts at 6:40 PM 2 comments  

question of the week

I've run out of holiday-themed questions, so I'm simply going to ask...

What are you reading?

Something Christmas-y in honor of the season? Or something else entirely? (Hey, I'm probably not the only person who can be found reading a bloody, gory romantic suspense on Christmas Eve, right? :-))

I just finished two holiday collections: Merry Christmas, Baby, with stories by Erin McCarthy, Lucy Monroe, et al, & Burning Bright, with stories by Maggie Shayne, Anne Stuart, & Judith Arnold. Really liked Maggie Shayne's story, which centered on Wicca. You don't find that very often, & I've always the Wiccan religion very interesting.

And now I'm reading... Well, Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix, of course. But I'm making progress! Only 213pgs to go. :-) Then I also started Don't Tempt Me by Julie Ortolon & The Very Daring Duchess by Miranda Jarrett.

How about you? Let me know what you're reading & how you're enjoying it...I may just have to add some titles to my To Be Read list. :-)

posted by Heidi Betts at 4:35 PM 3 comments  

Serenity out on DVD

Yee-haw! Today is the day I've been waiting for. It's marked on my calendar in big, red letters.

Serenity--the Firefly movie, for those of you who have missed my past ravings & rantings--is being released on DVD today. Run, don't walk, to your nearest retail outlet & buy a copy now! Hell, buy 2 or 3 or 6 & give them to everyone you know for Christmas.

All right, I say that when I have no intention of getting dressed & going out in the cold myself. Well, I might, if the pressure becomes too intense, but because I knew there was a chance I wouldn't get out today, I actually pre-ordered my copy of Serenity...& now I just have to wait patiently until it arrives. Lord, I hope the postal service is quick this week!

I'd like to believe that if first week sales of this DVD are thru the roof, it will inspire even more Firefly/Serenity installments. (Thus the pressure to "go, buy, now...show them how much we love this show!") However, I just read an article in Entertainment Weekly that said the movie didn't do quite as well in theatres as they had hoped, & that Joss Whedon likely won't be doing any more with this cast of characters.

Oh, that is for to weep. Seriously, this is such a great show. (What is wrong with people for not watching it & making it a huge hit?!?) It breaks my heart that Fox cancelled it & that there may not even be any more films made in the continuing saga. Yes, I'm grateful that I have the entire series & soon the movie on DVD to watch any time I like, but I want to see more of the Serenity crew, I want to know what happens next.

Sigh. I may be depressed for the holidays, after all. Especially if I have to start worrying about the same thing happening to Arrested Development. :-( Oh, man, I can't take it. Will someone please put me in charge of what's on television!

posted by Heidi Betts at 5:02 PM 0 comments  

just for fun

Today, I thought I would post a quiz some of you might like to take. I love the television show Monk & have more than a few little idiosyncrasies in common with the obsessive-compulsive detective. Just about every episode, I come away thinking, "Oh, my gosh, I do that, too!" Sad but true.

So I was delighted to discover a quiz on the USA Network website that rates just how Monk-ish you are.

http://www.usanetwork.com/series/monk/monkish/

Try it out, it's a blast.

And for the record, this quiz may only rate me as "a little Monk-ish" but I'm really quite Monk-ish in a lot more ways than the quiz asked me about. Trust me on this. :-)

posted by Heidi Betts at 9:51 PM 4 comments  

quote of the day

"If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it." --W.C. Fields

posted by Heidi Betts at 2:27 AM 2 comments  

I'm finally catching up (knock on wood)

I hate to say anything for fear I'll jinx myself, but I think my computer problems are behind me. Knock on wood, knock on wood, knock on wood.

I've got all my programs re-installed, all of my files added back onto the sytem, & even though it took me an extra week of hair-pulling anxiety, I also think I've got my e-mail back on track. (Knock on wood.) I lost two weeks of writing time, tho, which is very frustrating. So now my main goal is to get back to work & make some major progress before Christmas. Wish me luck. :-p

I also just found out that my brother & his girlfriend will be visiting for the holidays. That will be nice--& it saves me having to mail their gifts. :-) They only have a few days off from work, so we just have to hope the weather is decent enough that the roads will be safe for driving, otherwise they may not be able to make it, after all.

On the reading front, I am still working on Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix. I'm about 3/4 through now, & I will say that it's begun to pick up. Thank goodness. No offense, but the first half was a snooze. And how ironic that it took a computer fiasco--with many hours spent in front of the computer, but not being able to actually use it--to help me make a dent in this book. LOL

posted by Heidi Betts at 5:50 PM 2 comments  

easy breezy red sauce

All right, here is my recipe for red sauce to go with those vegetarian calzones...or just about anything else, for that matter. This is literally the simplest red sauce you'll ever make; it's almost easier than opening a can of Prego or Ragu. :-) But you can use it for anything--pasta, pizzas, calzones or strombolis...

Here it goes:

1 can (15 oz.) Hunt's tomatoe sauce
1 can (6 oz.) Hunt's tomatoe paste
1/4 cup sugar

In a small saucepan, mix sauce & paste over low heat until smooth.
Slowly stir in sugar.
Heat to desired temperature before use.

Okay, does it get any easier than that? I mean, really. My mother picks on me by saying that's not technically a "recipe." But it is! (Wait until I post my Jell-o or brownie recipes; talk about non-recipes!) All of my favorite recipes are that simple, & I invented this one myself based on the sauce used at a local restaurant. It's delicious, & the owner offhandedly mentioned what was in it one time, so I came home to start experimenting.

I just love this sauce because it's sweet & very un-spicy. I hate the spicy or acidic stuff. That's actually one of the biggest reasons I don't order Italian dishes when I eat out. Of course, you can use whatever brand of sauce & paste you want (I just happen to prefer Hunt's) & flavor it to your own personal tastes with spices. My mother does like spicy sauce, so she usually ends up adding Italian seasonings to hers. But then the two versions have to be quarantined & can't come within three yards of each other or they both have to be terminated. :-D

posted by Heidi Betts at 4:10 PM 2 comments  

question of the week

Last week, I asked what one gift you most wanted to receive this holiday season. This week's question is:

What gift are you most excited about giving this holiday season?

Did you get something really special for a friend or loved one? Something you just know is going to make them yip with glee and dance around the room. Or something they've been wanting or needed for a while & will be extremely relieved to finally have.

There are a couple of things I'm happy to be giving this year, but I can't mention them or the recipients might find out & it will ruin the surprise. :-)

posted by Heidi Betts at 3:39 PM 6 comments  

I'm running behind...can we please move Xmas to January?

The computer situation is moving forward. I'm not sure it's improving by great leaps or bounds, but I am making progress. (Knock on wood.)

Got iTunes downloaded again. Getting my songs transferred back was a whole different story. Honestly, I don't understand why computers have to be so darn complicated. If I take files from a particular location on the hard drive, you'd think I could simply return them to that same spot later. Right? Ha! If only. Ran into this problem with both my internet & e-mail programs, & iTunes. But I finally did manage to squeeze the files in somewhere & get them to work. I'm not even sure exactly where or how I did it. I do know I couldn't manage it again on a dare. Let's just call it a Christmas miracle & leave it at that. :-P

Then today, I signed up with a new Internet Service Provider. Like I didn't have enough problems, I have to go & get a whole new e-mail address! LOL But it was time. The service at my old ISP wasn't great...I ran into a lot of problems logging on & staying online, & getting someone on the phone to help me out wasn't always easy. But the final nail in the coffin was Friday when I called to get help setting up my e-mail account & access after the hard drive reinstall. Turns out ownership of my old ISP was partly sold to a new party; it was twice as hard to get in touch with a human being as it used to be, & then the tech guy who tried to talk me thru the set-up didn't know what he was doing. (I discovered this only after the woman I like--& who really does know her stuff--called me back later that same day & talked me thru the set-up again. As she was giving me instructions, I could see how the other guy had gone wrong.) Anyway, when the guy couldn't help me, he ended up telling me that if I wanted to get online before "next week," I'd have to call another internet provider. So you know what? I did. :-)

Once the girl called me back & got me online again, I was no longer in a hurry for internet access, but I still liked the idea of switching. And between the time the guy told me to go elsewhere & she called, I had actually dug out the phone book, flipped to the Yellow Pages, & called another internet company. The people at the new place were super-nice & could not have been more helpful. Plus, they have customer service people there 365 days/year...gotta love that.

So now, in addition to getting all my other programs up & running again, I also have to get everything switched over to a new e-mail address. Fun, fun. But the good news is that I'll have the two ISPs overlapping until the end of December. Rather than cancel my old account immediately, I'm going to let my subscription run out. That way, no matter which ISP receives messages on my behalf, I'll be able to access them.

But the worst worst thing is that I still haven't gotten Christmas & Hanukkah gifts wrapped & mailed to my editor & agent. Aaack! Oh, my gosh, I am so late. I'm never very good at getting these things done on time, anyway, but with the postal slow down at this time of year, I really should have done a better job of planning ahead. So today is going to be my big day for getting that done... even if it kills me.

I know exactly what I'm sending them, it's just a matter of wrapping & packaging & getting to the post office. Okay, there's a little more involved, but I can't say what or it might ruin the surprise. I mean, I don't think they read my blog, but I don't know for sure, so I can't take any chances. I just have to hope that being close to New York will be a benefit...that the postal service has a light delivery load the day my packages show up...& that neither of them take off for the holidays a few days early.

I think I'm going to need another Christmas miracle. :-p

posted by Heidi Betts at 6:19 PM 9 comments  

vegetarian calzone recipe

All this week, while I was being driven batty with computer problems, I at least had a healthy & filling meal to fall back on--vegetarian calzones. I don't cook very often because it can be so time-consuming, but I do occasionally whip up a meal or dessert, & this is one of my favorites.

Thought I'd share the recipe with you in case you'd like to try them, too.


CALZONE DOUGH--
In saucepan, combine:
1 2/3 cups milk
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
1/4 cup oil or shortening

Heat on low until bubbles appear around edges. Set aside.
Measure 3/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F) into large bowl.
Add 2 packages yeast. Stir until yeast is dissolved.
Add lukewarm milk mixture.
Add 3 cups flour. Mix well with wooden spoon. Add 3-3 1/2 cups more flour.
Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead 5 minutes.
Place dough in large, greased bowl. Turn over. Cover with damp cloth.
Let rise in warm place (85 degrees F) for 1-1 1/2 hours.


While dough is rising, prepare CALZONE FILLING by combining the following ingredients:

1 large (46 oz.) container Ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 small onion, chopped (can carmelize first in frying pan with a little oil & water, if preferred)
1 cup small fresh broccoli florets
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 cup grated or thinly sliced fresh carrots
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms--or 2 (4 oz.) cans
dash of salt & pepper to taste (can also add basil, oregano, or other spices, if desired)

Check dough. When double original size, punch down. Let rise for another 30 minutes or until once again almost double in size.
Punch dough again, then turn onto lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 8 equal portions.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll a portion of dough into a 9-inch circle
Add approximately 1 cup of filling on half of circle
Fold dough over filling. Bring edge of lower portion up over top portion. Pinch edge to seal.
Place on greased or parchment-covered cookie sheets. Poke tops of calzones with forks to allow release of steam

Repeat with 7 remaining portions of dough. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown

Serve with heated marinara sauce on top or on side, if desired. (I've got a great recipe for extremely quick, delicious red sauce & will try to post it next week in case you want to make some to go along with the calzones.)

Once baked, calzones can be refrigerated & later reheated.

(Note: frozen bread dough can be used instead of above dough recipe; 1 loaf = 4 calzones, 2 loaves = 8 calzones. Other filling ingredients--such as chopped green pepper, red bell pepper, cauliflower, etc.--can be used, as well, depending on preference.)

Enjoy!

posted by Heidi Betts at 11:53 PM 2 comments  

my brain was seeping out of my ears...but I'm feeling much better now

I'd like to say that I haven't been here the past couple days because George Clooney showed up in his jet to whisk me away for the weekend. Boy, would I love to say that. But, alas, reality can be so much more brutal. And George Clooney is never around when you need him, darn it. :-p

You know that virus my computer contracted? Well, it turns out all the trouble I (& the Dell tech guy) went thru last weekend didn't quite take care of the problem, so I had to call back & we ended up completely formating the hard drive & reinstalling the system. What a colossal pain in the butt. For one thing, I had to make sure I had everything I needed & wanted from the computer completely backed up. Yeah, like I have a clue how to do that. But I did what I could & the second tech guy talked me thru the rest.

And, as usual, destroying the system wasn't nearly as difficult as building it back up. That required another phone call so they could talk me thru the reinstallation of drivers & such. I also had to download a lot of programs over again on my own, which took forever. Believe me when I say that my eyes are permanently crossed & my gray matter is the consistency of liquid Jell-o. But I actually managed to get just about everything running again. Okay, so I still have some stragglers to go, but I'm feeling confident.

Or I was until I opened up my e-mail program & started looking around. All my folders & e-mails were there, when I hadn't been sure they would be. My address book entries, however, were missing. At first I thought I just hadn't imported them correctly. And then it dawned on me: Oh. My. God. I forgot to save them.

This is where my brain began its meltdown & started to drip out of my ears. And now, I'm simply laughing hysterically. You know, that too-high, too-fast laugh that you hear from wicked witches & escaped mental patients.

Actually, I'm okay. It wasn't the smartest move I've ever made, & I'm sure I've lost some contact information that I'll need down the road, but I'm just going to take a deep breath & put my address book back together in bits & pieces as best I can. There are probably a few people out there who will be glad I lost their contact information, anyway. LOL And this isn't even the first time this has happened to me; the last time it was a hard drive crash that took everything else with it, too. Compared to that, this is a no sweat issue. The good news is that I do have a lot of that stuff written down in my other address book--you know, the old fashioned kind made out of paper that you write in with a pen or pencil.

So now, after scooping up my liquified brain & pouring it back into my skull, I'm off to relax. Maybe watch a movie or read while I attempt to get my eyes to uncross. Wish me luck. :-)

posted by Heidi Betts at 11:24 PM 5 comments  

Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire

Went to see Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire last night before our local theatre takes it away & brings out something else.

It was good. I enjoyed it, just like I've enjoyed all the others. But I must say, as I was watching, I remembered nothing from the book. This is really strange for me, because I usually remember just about everything. With the first three films, all while I was watching, I was remembering the same scenes from the books & how much more detail there was, or how what was in the movie wasn't quite the whole story.

With Goblet, I felt like an amnesia patient. When I started reading Order of the Phoenix, I was clueless about what had happened in Goblet. The only way I could follow what was going on was to rely on Order's backstory. And any time it mentioned something that had happened previously, I would nod & think, "Okay, if you say so." I absolutely could not remember a single thing.

So I was excited about seeing the film for Goblet, hoping it would jog my memory & make the reading of Order even more enjoyable. Ha! The entire time I was watching, I was thinking, "I don't remember this. I don't remember any of this." The only parts that seemed familiar to me were those that had been rehashed in Order. I didn't even remember what the Goblet of Fire was, for heaven's sake. How pathetic is that?

But I still enjoyed the movie, & you just know I'll buy it when it comes out on DVD to add to the rest of my Harry Potter collection. :-P

posted by Heidi Betts at 3:21 PM 0 comments  

question of the week

With Christmas (& all of its associated holidays) right around the corner, today's Question of the Week is theme-oriented:

What item is at the top of your Wish List this holiday season? The one thing you're really hoping to find in your stocking, under the tree, wherever.

You already know what I want most...& I already know I'm getting them because I placed the order myself. :-D Serenity & The Magnificent Seven on DVD.

But how about you?

posted by Heidi Betts at 5:23 PM 2 comments  

new release date for BEDDED

Got a new release date for BEDDED THEN WED today. It's been switched from September 2006 to November 2006.

I think my editor was worried I'd be upset with the change, but I'm not. I'm totally fine with it. Yes, it means there will be six months between releases, which isn't fabulous, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it. If I'm actually given any down time because of the move, I'll try to use it wisely.

Frankly, I like the idea of having a book out in November. For one thing, it's my birthday month, & I've never had a book out for my birthday before, so that will be fun. For another, Septembers never seem to go very well for me, so I'm just as happy to avoid it this time around. :-D

And now, I must run. I've got a hair appointment in twenty minutes--I'm starting to look like Cousin It!

posted by Heidi Betts at 6:54 PM 2 comments  

if it had been a snake...

Did you ever have one of those moments where you think, "Well, duh. Could I get any dumber?"

Had one today. Aren't they fun? :-)

On Saturday, the guy from Dell told me there were a couple things I should probably do before someone else from Dell called me back later in the week to check on the progress of my virus situation. One was to find the reinstall CDs that had come with my computer--just in case they had to wipe out the entire system. (Yeah, like I have a clue where those might be.) The second was to back up all of my music files--just in case they had to wipe out the entire system.

Well, I did finally find the discs. That was a miracle in & of itself. And I'd already backed up all of my other important documents & files--manuscripts, photos, etc.; the ones I knew how to back up.

But those music files, they're tricky. For one thing, you have to find them & I didn't really know where they were on my computer. For another, they're big & take up a lot of space on a disk. And since I now have hundreds of songs in my iTunes folder, I was going to need a buttload of disks to save them all.

I tried doing this yesterday with four zip disks & ran out really quickly. Then today, I decided I was going to play it smart. I'd go thru my music library & save only those songs that I'd either bought from iTunes or ripped from CDs I no longer have. (I got a little overly excited about the whole iTunes/iPod thing & getting rid of things I no longer needed. Bad, bad idea. I should have hung on to them for at least a while longer.) This, too, filled up the disks pretty quickly.

And then I had a brainstorm. Or rather, after two days of fiddling with this & getting nowhere, my heel-of-the-hand-to-my-forehead "duh" moment. If I have an iPod...& have most of my music on my iPod...& can send my entire library of music files from the computer to the iPod...then wouldn't it only be logical that I could also send music from the iPod to the computer? (Yeah, now you're getting the duh part.)

Just to be sure, I visited the Apple website, & sure enough, there were instructions for doing just that. Sheesh. I'm telling you, I am a master at finding ways to waste time. Without even trying. When I am trying...man, get out of my way. It's procrastination as you've never seen it before. But even without trying, I've wasted probably two days on this little side project. (And just watch...because I've gone thru all of this in an attempt to prevent my personal files from being lost, my system will never actually need to be completely wiped out & reinstalled. Almost makes it worth it. :-P)

Thankfully, while all of this has tapped into my Tylenol supply (:-p) it hasn't interrupted my writing schedule. Not too much, anyway. Got another nice chunk done last night before I finally went to bed. Managed to finish another chapter & am hoping to get a good start on the next one tonight.

I might even listen to all that music on my iPod while I do it.

posted by Heidi Betts at 12:02 AM 0 comments  

I've contracted a virus & may die

Well, yesterday was a complete bust.

I woke up late because I'd been up writing the night before--6 1/2pgs, yay!--& went straight to the phone to call Dell tech support because my computer's been acting funny lately. Slow, a few errors & freezes, etc. I figured things just needed cleaned up & compacted, but since I don't know how to do that stuff, I've been putting off calling for help because I knew it would take all day. Usually with those things, I end up on hold for at least 45mins before even getting the chance to talk to a tech support human.

Surprisingly, my call went thru really quickly. That's the good news. The bad news is that when I described the problems I was having, the woman told me she was pretty sure I had a virus on my computer, which we all know can be nasty. And, of course, the tech support/warranty agreement I have only covers hardware issues, while this was a software issue, so I would need to pay extra for added support. Of course. Why am I even surprised?

You know, my horoscope said this would happen. My monthly horoscope for December warned that I would encounter an unexpected expense; nothing I could predict or see coming. But who knew it would show up only three days into the month? :-P

Anyway, I got all that squared away & she transferred me to someone who would (hopefully) be able to help me get the virus off my computer. Once again, I expected to be on hold forever, but the wait was surprisingly short. This is the first time I've owned a Dell computer or had to call their tech support line, & I can say that so far, I'm impressed with the service.

So I get on the phone with Jason...nice guy, very friendly & helpful...& sure enough, he says I have a virus, too. He even thought he knew which one it was from the symptoms I described, so we began checking things, downloading programs, running programs, etc. And I'm on dial-up, remember, so this took f-o-r-e-v-e-r. At one point, a program was going to take so long to download & install that he scheduled a call back. This was nice, since it gave me the chance to go get some lunch; I hadn't had anything to eat yet & my brain was ready to pop. :-)

The upshot of all this is that we think the virus has been removed. He told me to use the computer for a couple of days & he'd arrange to have someone call me later to see how things were going & if the issue had been resolved. And so far, the system does seem to be working better. He even recommended that I download & start using Mozilla Firefox & Thunderbird for my internet access & e-mail instead of Outlook Express & Internet Explorer. (My brother has been telling me that for years...he is so going to say "I told you so" when he finds out!) So I did that, too, & I think I like it. It's a little different & is going to take some getting used to, but the two programs actually have some nifty features that OE & IE didn't.

So maybe I (or my computer) won't die, after all. And I didn't lose any information from my system, which is a huge relief. The last time I had computer trouble, my hard drive fried--it literally had a soot streak down the side from where it exploded--& I lost all my information. OMG was I in a fix then. Thankfully, I've been better about backing stuff up since then, & I didn't actually lose any files this time around. That's the important thing. If I'd lost a manuscript file or any of the book I'm working on right now, I'd have had to drown myself in the nearest lake.

posted by Heidi Betts at 5:07 PM 4 comments  

why I think the Weaver family should win The Amazing Race

I just last night got a chance to watch Tuesday's episode of The Amazing Race & was once again struck by how much the Weaver family deserves to win.

Yes, they can be annoying. Yes, at times they're a bit snotty to the other players. They actually started out as just about my least favorite family. But then other teams moved ahead to become even more annoying & less deserving.

What I like about the Weaver family & why I think they deserve to win the race, is that they're nice to each other all the time. The other families gripe & snipe at each other. That family of jocks are plain old jerks & those "desperate housewives" remind me of jackals, picking on the weakest member of the group until it runs off into the bush to die alone. At any minute, I expect to see them rip the skin right off of the one who cries all the time. But the Weavers are nice to and encouraging of each other all the time, whether they're winning or losing. Whether one of them is doing a good job or messing up.

The Weavers have also bravely faced two challenges that brought up painful memories of how their husband/father was killed. I'm not sure I could have done it. (And the other groups made fun of that, which is one more reason they deserve to lose!) Frankly, I think it was cruel of Race coordinators to have any challenge at a race track--let alone two!--knowing that one of the families had lost a loved one that way not so long ago. Shame on them. It would be different if they had designed challenges that touched on the fears &/or grief of each team in some way, but this season seems to be all about picking on the Weavers.

So I say "Go, Weavers!" I'm rooting for them to win the big bucks.

Who am I hoping will be eliminated next? The Linz family with all those jerky, immature jocks who think they're so much cuter & smarter than everyone else. (I feel sorry for the sister, having to put up with them because she seems practically normal.) Ugh. Isn't there a spot in Siberia we can send idiots like this so the rest of us can live in peace?

posted by Heidi Betts at 4:04 PM 0 comments  

my next Desire is on the drawing board

It's after 1pm already & I just got up. How sad is that? Well, I got up an hour or so ago, but I'm not quite awake yet.

Yes, I stayed up past 4am writing, writing, writing...finished one chapter & launched into another, which I love...but this whole staying up late thing is really throwing me off my game. It just doesn't feel right to wake up at almost or past noon. Then...well, I don't know if you've noticed this or not, but it gets dark really early these days, so I end up experiencing maybe four hours of daylight. It's very weird. I should just move to Alaska or someplace where it's dark most of the time...maybe then I'd at least feel like I fit in. :-P

But the good news is, I did get approval for my next Desire idea from my editor. This will be the first book I'll be writing according to the new guidelines, & it's actually going to be a sequel to the one I'm working on now, so things have gotten a little tricky trying to tie the two together. But she likes the general concept of the story I pitched to her and with a few tweaks, I think it will really come together. At this point, I just need to nail down enough details that I get the set-up right in this book.

Oh, and even though it very well may change down the road, as a teaser, I'll tell you that my working title for the next book is BLACKMAILED INTO BED. Isn't that great? I think it will tie in nicely to the one I'm working on now, which is officially titled BEDDED THEN WED. And the "blackmailed" part has got my mind racing already. :-)

posted by Heidi Betts at 4:21 PM 2 comments