heidi's blog

look what you could win!

Thought I was finished posting about the RWA Conference in Atlanta?

Nah. I'm just slow. :-)

But I finally unpacked & organized enough to put together this gift pack that I'm going to give away to one of you lucky bloggers.

The prize pack will be a black Silhouette Nocturne tote bag filled with four great books that I picked up while I was there: Deep, Dark, & Dangerous by Jaid Black, Trouble in High Heels & The Barefoot Princess by Christina Dodd (one of the keynote speakers for the conference), & Nothing to Fear by Karen Rose.

A winner will be chosen from those who leave comments over the next little while. Haven't decided on a time period, it will just be after a couple of weeks when I think about it again & am ready to get the books & tote in the mail. :-) That give you plenty of time to browse around & leave comments to upcoming posts.

Good luck!

posted by Heidi Betts at 4:49 PM 10 comments  

sleep eludes me...

Well, here I am at 5am, way earlier than I usually wake up. But I darn well couldn't sleep, & got sick of tossing & turning, so I decided to get up.

Of course, part of the reason I couldn't sleep was because a cat was sleeping smack-dab in the middle of the bed & I had to sort of contort myself around him. But wouldn't you know, the minute I got up...so did he. He's now sleeping on the window seat in my office right behind me. :-p

There's also nothing on television at 5am, did you know that? Oh, there's paid programming (i.e. info-mercials) galore, but the only other thing I could find was Miami Vice & The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. So of course I picked Winnie the Pooh! Love that silly old bear, & am even wearing a Pooh & Piglet sweatshirt.

I'm also surprised by how many lights are on in the neighborhood already. Either no one else in town can sleep, either, or they start getting ready for work really, really early. :-P

Since I am up so early, I ought to use the time wisely & try to get some work done.

posted by Heidi Betts at 5:01 AM 2 comments  

I am in love! (& you get a sneak peek)

I've mentioned before that I'm in the (very slow process) of redesigning my website. Okay, I'm not. I'm clueless when it comes to that sort of thing, but I've hired someone who isn't quite as technophobic to do it for me.

Well, she just sent me a sample design & I am over the moon in love with it! I don't know how long the link will last, but if you want to see it, go here: http://www.code718.com/heidibetts/index.html#

Keep in mind that it's a rough draft only. The picture at the top is a littel fuzzy & not as detailed as it will be. (For instance, the woman is holding a book, which you can't really see in this version.) We're also not sure about the entire set-up, but you get the idea. But I love it, love it, love it, & cannot wait to work some more on it to get is really slammin' & going live. Yippee!

So stay tuned...one of these days I'll get to announce the actual launch of the redesign. And then it will be party time for sure!!!!! :-D

posted by Heidi Betts at 12:06 PM 4 comments  

is it just me...?

Hi, all. Hope you're having a good weekend.

Here, it's raining cats & dogs, & has been since sometime last night. The power even went out...then on...then out...then on a little longer...then out a little longer. Sigh. And is it just me, or do you hate having to run around resetting all the clocks after that happens? Clocks, VCRs, stove, microwave... Ugh.

So I'm writing today, with Ever After: A Cinderella Story on the TV in the background. (Or would that be foreground, since the TV is in front of me?) Anyway, I love this movie, but am I the only one who finds it amusing that the story is supposed to be set in France, while everyone speaks with a British accent? One of the characters even makes a remark about something only being done in England, & I can't help but think, "You'd know." LOL

All right, I have to get back to the writing now. No more dilly-dallying!

posted by Heidi Betts at 5:15 PM 4 comments  

nobody tells me anything

Well, this is certainly a nice way to start the weekend!

I just found out that SEVEN-YEAR SEDUCTION & MR. AND MISTRESS were nominated for Best Silhouette Desire of 2006 in CataRomance.com's Reviewers' Choice Awards back on August 16th.

No one ever told me, & apparentlyI've been living under a rock, because I never heard about it, either. Usually these lists circulate or you hear whispers of stuff online, but you can tell how much attention I've been paying lately. :-P

I'm pretty sure the winners have already been announced, & I suspect I didn't win or surely someone would have contacted me then. But I don't even care! I'm thrilled just to know that they thought enough of my books to nominate them for this honor.

How exciting! I say this is cause for celebration, even after the fact. It will have to be a quick celebration, though, because I have another book to finish, & my editor won't be nearly as impressed by my turning it in late as she will be by the award nominations. :-D

posted by Heidi Betts at 10:38 AM 4 comments  

whoops to my whoops

Well, this is a fun turn of events. I just jumped back a few chapters in FORTUNE'S FORBIDDEN WOMAN to layer in the information I thought I'd left out the first time through. And it turns out it's there, right where it should be, exactly how it should be.

Guess I'm better at this writing business than I thought I was. LOL

So that means I didn't make a mistake, but because I thought I had, my dialogue is a little off in the scene I started yesterday. It won't be a problem to fix that at all, & then I can continue forward in exactly the right vein. Yay!

Wish me luck. And no more imagined goofs. :-p

posted by Heidi Betts at 12:37 PM 2 comments  

whoops

Well, it occurred to me last night that I took a bit of a wrong turn with one of the plot points of FORTUNE'S FORBIDDEN WOMAN. It's not a huge problem, but it will take a little time to go back & smooth things out in previous chapters. Then I need to remember to move forward with the correct information as I finish the book.

So that means I'll be spending a bit of time at the computer this afternoon, instead of running off to write on my AlphaSmart. But thank goodness I discovered it now, on my own. I'd have had to commit hari-kari if I'd sent the manuscript to my editor with the big, glaring error. Aack!

It also looks like it's going to rain, which means I'll probably have to run around closing windows before long. :-) I can't believe it's almost Autumn already. It seems like just yesterday I was lying around in a heap, complaining about the heat. LOL And now I'm cold as often as I'm warm & digging out my Fall clothes.


Currently watching Still Standing
Currently reading Key of Light by Nora Roberts

posted by Heidi Betts at 12:13 PM 2 comments  

the proof of my shame arrived in the mail today

I did a bad, bad thing, & I hang my head in shame.

Columbia House was having this really good sale, see. And not only were DVDs priced really low, but they were also offering free shipping, see. And they caught me at a weak moment, see.

That was my best impression of an old gangster movie. LOL But it's true, I got suckered in by a DVD sale at Columbia House. I'd even forgotten about the lapse until a box arrived in today's mail. Then my shame came rushing back. (Not that I'm not happy to have them. *g*)

I got Cellular, which is one of my favorite new movies. Wimbledon--ditto. Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous, 'cause even thought it's not as great as the first one, it's still good. Team America: World Police. The Punisher. Resident Evil: Apocalypse,which I actually liked better than the first one. (Could be because Oded Fehr was in it & even I would be willing to battle disease-riddled zombies to get close to him. *g*) All of Me. And The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

You're all going to laugh yourselves silly at my taste in films, aren't you? Sniff. I consider it eclectic. I like a little bit of everything. And even though it's Burt Reynolds & Dolly Parton, can you honestly tell me that your toe doesn't start tapping at the songs in that movie? I even own the soundtrack!

Okay, maybe it's just me. :-P

I have no idea when I'll get around to watching any of these, but I'll rest easier knowing they're now a part of my collection. Wouldn't you? *vbg*

posted by Heidi Betts at 9:15 PM 4 comments  

quote of the day

Got 7 pages written yesterday & am zeroing in on the end of another chapter. Yay!

Also yesterday, I got a very nice note from a bookseller thanking me for the bookmarks I'd sent her to share with her customers. And at the bottom of her e-mail was a quote I just love, so I thought I'd share...

Everyone has talent; what is rare is the courage to follow that talent. ~Erica Jong


Currently watching Will & Grace
Currently reading The Billionaire Boss's Forbidden Mistress by Miranda Lee

posted by Heidi Betts at 11:25 AM 4 comments  

new artwork--finally!

It's taken me a while to find a version I could post here, but now that I did--here it is! The brand new cover for my November Silhouette Desire, BEDDED THEN WED.

What do you think?

I have to admit, when I first saw it, I didn't like it very much. I'm a fan of sexy clinch covers, with the characters half-dressed & plastered to each other. *g* With this one, the hero & heroine are sort of separated--both physcially & emotionally, from the look of it.

But here's the kicker...the pose actually suits the story really well, right down to the expression on the heroine's face.

So like I said, as soon as I saw it, I was a little disappointed. But, being slightly obsessive-compulsive, I carried it around with me for a while, studying, mulling...trying to decide what I really thought. Until last night, I was still undecided.

And then my web designer e-mailed to let me know the updates to my site were done. I had to check them out, of course. The first thing I saw when the home page came up was that cover, & the first thing I thought was, "Oh, my gosh, I love that cover." I had to laugh when I realized what I'd said to myself, because up to then, I didn't think I liked it very much at all. Apparently, though, it's grown on me. :-)

But I really would like to know what you think. It's readers who see these things on bookstore shelves & often make a split-second decision of whether or not to buy, so tell me if this is one that would (or will) draw your attention.

posted by Heidi Betts at 11:35 AM 5 comments  

working my way thru the weekend

Haven't been at the computer much this weekend.

For one thing, I've been writing, writing, writing. Whew. Got 10 pages done one day, 4 pages yesterday. (Hey, no one ever accused me of being consistent. :-p) The funny thing is that only two days ago, I was starting to get really stressed, thinking, "I'm never going to make it. I will never have this book done by my deadline." Then I hit a page count that seems to make me feel better, because I'm suddenly thinking, "I'm totally gonna make it." We'll see which of my personalities turns out to be right. *g*

Also yesterday, I had to make an office supply run. They were having a sale at Staples & I had a coupon. Plus, the cupboards are so bare around here, I didn't even have enough supplies on hand to print this manuscript when I finally do finished it. So...

Today, I'll be writing, of course. But I also need to do a little research & put some information together for the planned redesign of my website. It ain't easy! I can't decide exactly what I want, & I'm not sure if what I'm leaning towards is what I should go with. :-P But I'll come up with something, & hopefully it won't take much longer because I really want a new look for my site. :-)


Currently watching Project Runway
Currently reading Cover of Night by Linda Howard

posted by Heidi Betts at 10:44 AM 2 comments  

Save a Writer, Buy a New Book!

I got into a discussion this morning with friend & fellow Harlequin/Silhouette author, Susan Gable, about the demise of the Silhouette Bombshell line & many of the other changes going on in publishing in general.

She brought up such a good point that I asked if she'd write a short piece about it & let me post it here. Susan graciously agreed, so here it is:


Save a Writer, Buy a New Book!
by Susan Gable

The recent demise of yet another Harlequin line--this time the kick-butt heroine line Bombshell--got me to thinking, which, as anyone who knows me will tell you, is always a dangerous thing. I heard from a number of readers who were surprised by the closing, because they had friends who just "loved that line!"

I've also heard things like this: "I can't believe they closed that line. I loved that line. I read those books every month at my library."

Before I go any farther with this discussion, I have to offer up a disclaimer. I love libraries. Especially as a child with a voracious appetite for story, I borrowed armloads of books from my local library. I love bargains, too. I shop like men hunt or play sports. It's a victory when I score a bargain. (New black cocktail dress, originally $79, marked down to only $16. SCORE!) Used books are great bargains. Swapping books, another great bargain. The new websites online, where you can "rent" a book, in a system similar to NetFlix, are also an interesting bargain. Good grief, even the airports these days have a program where you can buy a book, read it, then sell it back to them. What a bargain!

But did you realize that those bargains could be putting your favorite line or your favorite author out of business?

It's a difficult, touchy subject for authors to discuss. We don't want to appear anti-used books ('cause we're not--not entirely, anyway), or make readers think we're money-grubbers, always harping on them to buy our books. We all know (believe me, we KNOW--most writers don't make anywhere close to as much money as people think we do) how tight money can be sometimes, especially with the rising costs of gas and heating fuel, and food, and taxes, and well, you know. Everything.

We've been known ourselves to sometimes borrow and trade books, or buy used. Or go to the library.

But publishing these days is a strictly by-the-numbers business, which means if the numbers don't live up to the publisher's expectations, a writer can kiss her slot/line/future contracts goodbye.

"Where's So-and-So's latest book? Why hasn't published another story in that series that I love so much?" If you find yourself asking that question, it could be that your favorite author got cut loose because the numbers of his/her last book in the series didn't do as well as the one before that. How did you get your hands on that last book? Did you buy it new, contributing to the continuation of the series, or did you bargain read it?

Writers, especially those of us at the "lower echelons" of the publishing world, need our readers more than ever. Without you, there would be no point in what we do. (Well, okay, there's a certain satisfaction in telling yourself a story, but it's the audience that makes it truly special. It's a shared dream.) But now, because of the numbers, we need your support even more.

Our careers, our lines, even our publishers, live and die by the numbers.

So please, where and when you can, save a writer. Buy a new book. We'll all thank you for it. And that way, you'll have more choices of books in the future.


Susan Gable thanks her fans for buying her books. Her latest book, The Pregnancy Test, sold well, thanks to them. It was also awarded the National Readers' Choice Award for Best Long Contemporary. Visit her at www.susangable.com for excerpts, contests, and more.

posted by Heidi Betts at 4:25 PM 4 comments  

question of the week

What is your beverage of choice--coffee or tea?

I'm a tea drinker myself. There are some coffee flavored foods I like...ice cream comes to mind *g*...but I don't drink the stuff. Instead, I drink iced tea by the buckets. My favorite is when I make my own mix of naturally decaffeinated green & black tea. Yum. :-)

posted by Heidi Betts at 5:55 PM 10 comments  

bye-bye bombshell

Sorry for not posting sooner, but I was away yesterday, then had trouble logging into Blogger when I tried this morning.

I have a bit of industry news to pass along today. I know I mentioned something along these lines recently in the write-ups of my week at RWA National, but Harlequin/Silhouette announced officially today that the Bombshell line is closing. January 2007 will be the final publication date for books that have already been contracted.

I know this has to be very sad & upsetting news for all of the Bombshell authors, & for readers who enjoyed that type of story. Hopefully, though, everyone will land on their feet all the way around.

There's also some scuttlebutt going around about the Luna line narrowing its scope, but nothing official, so I can't say for sure. And don't tell anyone I'm starting rumors, cuz I'm not! :-P

posted by Heidi Betts at 6:37 PM 5 comments  

quote of the day

"I don't stand on protocol. If you will just call me 'Excellency,' it will be okay." --Henry Kissinger

posted by Heidi Betts at 11:18 AM 4 comments  

dinner at two urban licks

As I mentioned before leaving for RWA, Mary-Theresa Hussey, the Executive Editor of Silhouette Books, called & invited me to have dinner with her at the conference, since my own editor wasn't attending this year. So Thursday night, I met her & two other Harlequin/Silhouette authors--Tessa Radley (Desire) & Judy Fitzwater (Bombshell)--in the hotel lobby.

Other than the fact that we would be eating somewhere, I really didn't know what the plans were for the evening. We ended up taking a taxi to a restaurant a few minutes away from the conference hotel called Two Urban Licks. Interesting name, huh? But then, it was an interesting place. The music was loud, but the inside was great, sort of like a rehabilitated warehouse, with terrific artwork on the walls. The menu offered a lot of unusual, but tasty dishes, too. I ended up having a pomegranate mojito (yummy) & the pork dish with a side order of the most delicious macaroni & cheese I've ever tasted. *g* Everyone else's orders looked good, too--they got steak, scallops, & mussels. Even though my meal was great, I still coveted at least a taste of everything else at the table. :-)

And Matrice was terrific about answering all our questions & filling us in on some of the things going on at Harlequin right now. We pretty much ganged up on her & picked her brains as thoroughly as we were cleaning our plates. *vbg* Thankfully, she didn't seem to mind.

I didn't learn anything terribly exciting from the conversation, mostly just the reinforcement of some things I already knew. We talked about the different lines, editor/author relationships, & she gave us a little more background on the guideline changes for Desire, reiterating what my editor had already told me they're looking for these days. The line is also undergoing some cover art changes, & I guess the biggest ones will go into effect at the beginning of 2007. I'm not sure what they'll be, though. Will there be a complete overhaul to the entire look of the line, or just some tweaks? I don't know! But BLACKMAILED INTO BED is a February 2007 release, so I guess I'll be finding out. :-)

Since Judy is a Bombshell author, Matrice also talked a little about that line. I guess it's not doing quite as well as they'd hoped, because while the storylines are kick-butt (pun intended :-)), the fact that they're not romances & don't have that guaranteed happily-ever-after ending seems to be making an impact on the romance & category readers who want that sort of thing. Though it's not a line I read very often, I have read a few of the Bombshell titles & enjoyed them well enough, but I have to admit that I'm one of those who like romances best of all & really do want the love story/HEA. If I remember correctly, they're re-evaluating certain aspects of the line to see what they can do to make it more appealing to a broader spectrum of readers.

After dinner, we took another taxi back to the hotel...it took a while for the cab to show up, though, & we ended up standing outside the restaurant in the rather intense heat & humidity waiting for it. But we survived! LOL And as soon as we got back to the hotel, Matrice & I headed for the National Readers' Choice Awards reception. Unfortunately, we were running a bit late, & by the time we got there, the ceremony was over. Too bad; I attended last year & it was really nice. Plus, this year I was actually up for one of the awards. But I didn't win, so I guess it didn't matter if I was there or not. In fact, maybe it was better that I missed it. LOL

posted by Heidi Betts at 11:00 AM 4 comments  

let's talk about...

...WHEN THE LIGHTS GO DOWN. (Since Jennifer brought it up. *g*)

This may sound like a totally self-serving topic, but I really am curious about what people who have read this book think when it comes to a recent discussion...& ongoing argument...I had with a friend about LIGHTS.

It all began when Ethan's and Gwen's story began to final in all these contests...four at last count. I'm very excited, of course, but considering I had three Desires out in the same year, I found it a bit odd that this book is the one suddenly getting all the attention.

So I started asking myself, "What is it about this story--as opposed to the others--that is apparently hitting so many right notes with readers?" And the answer I came up with seemed obvious: it's the only Desire I've done so far with a Cinderella theme. The heroine is shy and a bit frumpy, but undergoes a personal transformation that brings out her inner swan.

That had to be it, right? I definitely thought I'd hit the nail on the head with my theory.

And then a friend of mine...I won't tell you who because it might make you want to bop her on the head...picked up WHEN THE LIGHTS GO DOWN & started reading. I'd told her my "Cinderella theme" hypothesis, & for about five seconds, she was with me. But when I saw her at a recent conference, one of the first things out of her mouth was, "I just finished WHEN THE LIGHTS GO DOWN, & the reason it's so popular is not the Cinderella thing. It's the sex! That book is hot; it has to be at least 50% sex scenes."

Okay, it so is not. I'm not saying there aren't sex scenes...I'm not saying they aren't hot...I'm not even saying they're not possibly the warmest I've done so far within Desire. But the book is not 50% love scenes. My love scenes tend to run about 10 pages each--including set-up, foreplay, & dialogue--& there are three, I think, in LIGHTS. Four at the most. So that makes it maybe 15-20% of the entire book. Right? If my math skills are up to par.

But I want to know what you think. If you've read WHEN THE LIGHTS GO DOWN & have an opinion on the subject, please let me know. Cinderella or sex? You be the judge!

posted by Heidi Betts at 2:34 PM 4 comments  

when I'm killed in the conference hotel, bury me near Margaret Mitchell

Well, I'm embarrassed to admit that I just woke up from a nap I didn't intend to take. I was writing, doing pretty well, if I do say so myself, when the needy kitty started whining & pacing. So I put him on my lap to settle down. That usually works, though I never know how long he'll stay...sometimes it's just a few minutes, but sometimes it's hours. Today, of course, it turned out to be hours.

As I've mentioned before, it can be hard to write around the kiddos, so I read a little instead, hoping it wouldn't take him long to run off & find something else to do. But before that happened, I started to nod off. Next thing I knew, I was waking up two hours later. Sheesh! Talk about a waste of time.

I blame the cat, totally & completely. Hopefully I can still get some good writing done before bed, though. I've been on such a roll, I don't want to spoil it.

But you're probably wondering why I gave today's post such an odd title. That would be because, one of my first days in Atlanta, I was almost killed. Literally.

It was in the conference hotel. I forget what I was doing, exactly, or where I was going, but I was walking across the lobby area of the Garden Level, where they had a little eatery & plenty of seating for people to gather & talk.

Now, something I should mention is that this particular hotel was very open. Even on the public levels, you could look up & see the railings for all of the room levels. And from the hall outside the rooms, you could see the glass elevators racing up & down, or look down & see people milling around thirty floors below. Nice, but a little dizzying at times.

So I was walking through the Garden Level, on my way to the elevators, I think, minding my own business. I most certainly was not looking up--but I really should have been.

There were people around, but nowhere closet to where I was walking, & next thing I knew, there was this CRASH!!! I immediately stopped in my tracks & just sort of stared at the sixteen pieces of broken broom on the floor in front of me. Another step, & I swear to God it would have hit me in the head. Probably killed me, at the rate it was going, because when it hit the floor, it positively shattered. I've never seen a broom break into so many pieces. LOL

I still don't know where the thing came from...probably fell out of a cleaning cart from, like, the forty-second floor. I'm just glad I wasn't walking any faster or I might never have made it through the entire week. That's the closest brush I've had with death in quite a while. *g*


Currently reading Countdown by Iris Johansen
Currently watching Man of the House

posted by Heidi Betts at 6:09 PM 2 comments  

I flew all the way to Atlanta to watch HBO

Got 7 1/2 pages written yesterday. Pretty good for me. And I was able to finish chapter 5 & start chapter 6. I just love starting new chapters; it makes the story feel like it's moving right along. :-)

In the continuing saga of RWA in Atlanta, the hotel had HBO, & I spent a fair amount of time watching it. *g* I even stayed up a couple nights to finish watching movies when I should have been catching up on my sleep.

But I ended up watching War of the Worlds & The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Virgin was funny. Only one part near the very end made me laugh out loud, but it was still amusing. And War, I thought was just a waste of time. It seemed to have potential at the beginning, but by the end, I just didn't get it. And I've seen other War of the Worlds remakes. I don't remember them making me scratch my head quite as much.

Of course, now I'm back & trying to catch up on all the stuff I recorded while I was away... Multiple episodes of The Big Valley, Simon & Simon, Diagnosis Murder, House, Numb3rs, Criminal Minds, My Name is Earl, etc.

Yes, My Name is Earl. I know I posted once before that I didn't really watch this show, but I've made a point of trying to catch it lately, & it's quickly becoming a favorite. I wish I'd realized how funny this show was when it first came out, but I'm glad summer is giving me a chance to catch up on repeats. (You were right, Julie, it's hilarious!) I even had a bunch of my friends howling one day at the conference when I told them about one of the episodes that just about had me rolling on the floor.

Okay, time to write, write, write. I want to see how quickly I can finish chapter 6 & move on to chapter 7. :-D

posted by Heidi Betts at 12:14 PM 2 comments  

a very productive weekend

Got some really good writing done over the weekend. I'm still not quite halfway through this book that's due next month (my "Dakota Fortunes" continuity story) but it's coming along & I think if I really hustle, I can get it done on time.

I also mowed the yard last night. It really needed it...I hadn't bothered since before RWA, so the grass was getting kind of high. LOL I'm also hoping this particular cut lasts until after I get FORTUNE'S FORBIDDEN WOMAN turned in, but I don't think I'll be so lucky. :-p I did get it done just in time, though, because it's raining this morning. Not a lot, but enough.

Also over the weekend, I finished reading Amy Fetzer's Out of Uniform. Very good. I love a sexy military hero. :-) I was going to pick up a big book afterwards...a romantic suspense or paranormal, but Uniform got me so in the mood for Desires that I grabbed up another one of those instead. They are, after all, the best books out there. *vbg* So now I'm reading Secrets in the Marriage Bed by Nalini Singh. I've still got Countdown by Iris Johansen and Kill the Competition by Stephanie Bond going, too.

And now it's time to get back to FFW. Only a few more pages until I can finish chapter 5 & start chapter 6. Yay! :-)


Currently watching House
Currently reading Secrets in the Marriage Bed by Nalini Singh

posted by Heidi Betts at 10:41 AM 6 comments  

new DVD releases that have me all aflutter

Taking a little break from conference recapping to mention some new DVDs I'm eager to get my hands on.

For one, the first season of Diagnosis Murder is being released in September. I'm surprised you couldn't all hear me shrieking when I heard about that. Yippee!!!! Finally!!! Of course, the show was on the air for, like, eight seasons, so it will take a while for them to release them all & for me to collect them all. But not to worry, I'm up to the challenge. *g*

For another, I just found out that The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. is now available on DVD. Do you remember this show? It was on Fox, I believe, starred Bruce Campbell, & was just fabulous. The collection is kind of pricey, but I still suspect I'll end up buying eventually. I loved that show!

Another short-lived Bruce Campbell series that's out is Jack of All Trades. I'm pretty sure I watched this one, & I even think I liked it, but I just can't remember much of it at the moment. I need to figure out what it was about & whether I really, really enjoyed it before I go to the bother of buying it, but it is on my "keep an eye out" list.

And I was very excited to find The Pretender, Season 4 waiting for me when I got home from RWA. I still haven't gotten the chance to sit & watch Season 3 yet...maybe not even Season 2, I can't remember. Well, guess I'll just have to start over from the beginning. :-) But I'm very happy to have it & will watch it, one of these days.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

posted by Heidi Betts at 2:07 PM 3 comments  

if you read it, she will come

As I may have mentioned, the book I took with me for the plane this year was See Jane Die by Erica Spindler. Normally, I take a handful of Desires or other categories because they move so quickly & I love feeling like I'm getting through a bunch of books instead of clomping my way none too quickly through a thick one. But this time, I had Jane started & was only about a quarter of the way through, so I thought the prudent thing would be to take it along & see how much further I could get. Maybe even finish it before I got home, though that was kind of a tall order for me.

I admit it: I should have written on each & every one of my flights. I had my AlphaSmart in my carry on & really did intend to work all the way to Atlanta & back. But the flights were so short, & I was so tired. (Yes, even before I got there, I was already running on empty.) So I ended up just reading; on the planes & in the airports...read, read, read.

It was totally worth it. *g*

But here's the fun part. After I got to the hotel & registered for the conference, I was going through the workshop program & discovered that Erica Spindler was actually going to be there, giving a talk about speedbumps on the road to success. How cool! I'd always wanted to meet her, & since I didn't see her at the Literacy Autographing Wednesday night...she may have been there, I just didn't see her...I decided to sit in on her workshop one of the following mornings. I figured that might be as close as I'd ever get to meeting her, & since I've always enjoyed her books, I figured she'd have some interesting advice for the rest of us.

Well, I was right, but that's not actually the fun part yet. The fun part is that Friday night, at the Harlequin party, I actually bumped right into her. Okay, not literally--thank goodness, we both had drinks in our hand. :-) But I was moving around the room when she happened to pass in front of me & I just reached out to touch her arm & introduce myself.

She was so nice & actually stood chatting with me for several minutes. We talked about her books & romantic suspense in general, & even Desire because that's where she started out. I can only hope to have a career like hers someday. :-)

So you see, sometimes you really do bump into the author of the book you're currently reading. Yes, I had to fly to Atlanta & mingle through a room of about a hundred other romance authors to do it, but whatever it takes, right? *vbg*

posted by Heidi Betts at 10:21 AM 2 comments  

...& then disaster struck

Of course. I mean, conference week couldn't go off without a single hitch, right? (This is my life we're talking about, so the answer is a resounding No. :-P)

Everything was going pretty well. My agent had finally flown in, so we did breakfast & even sat together for the Awards Ceremony Saturday night. Then we were at the post-Awards party where all the winners get together to celebrate over alcohol & chocolate. *g* We sat & chatted with Audrey LaFehr (an editor at Kensington) for a while, then some of my friends came over & we talked some more.

I forget why, exactly, but the topic turned to the HOTTER THAN HELL anthology I'll be doing with Kim Harrison & several other big-name authors for HarperCollins. Now, the last I heard, I was simply approved for being involved. (Yippee!) But I hadn't heard a single thing since. And I wasn't worried, because I'd been warned that it was a slow process & was just in the planning stages when I got the news.

But then I'm sitting there, minding my own business, thinking all is right with the world, when my agent says something about the stories being due September 15th.

Huh? Excuse me? I swear, I think I did one of those squeegee things with my ear to make sure I'd heard him correctly. The stories are due when? Of this year?!?

I probably wouldn't have been so stunned--or panic-stricken--if it weren't for the two deadlines I'm currently under. They're a bit tighter than I'm used to, & having to take a week away for the conference didn't help matters. So the idea of throwing another deadline into the mix made me want to curl into a fetal position & wish for death. :-p I did bury my face in the tablecloth & whimper a little.

But my agent, ever coming to my rescue, started jotting notes on a napkin & made me promise not to lose sleep over it until he'd gotten back to the office & made some phone calls. And I did promise, because there was absolutely nothing I could do about it until I got home, anyway. I immediately decided to crawl deep into my cave of denial & not come out until Monday night, when he would hopefully have an update for me.

Even though I'd promised not to worry & did a pretty good job of blocking out the possible crisis, I admit I did think about it occasionally. I even started to come to terms with the fact that I might have to squeeze three stories into the time it usually takes me to write one. Thank goodness two would be fairly short. The HOTTER THAN HELL novella only has to be about 5,000 words, so I could probably, conceivably fit it in between everything else.

In case I haven't mentioned it recently, though, I have a fabulous agent, & he was right when he told me not to panic. There was a message waiting for me the minute I walked in the house Monday evening. He'd talked to The Powers That Be, & though they're still not sure why I didn't get the information before, we discovered two things. Number one, the September 15th deadline has proved problematic for a few of the other (much bigger name) authors, too, so they'll most likely be moving it back to the end of the year. (Whew, such a relief, even though the story is a short one.) Number two, they thought my story was already finished & turned in.

See, before I was even invited to participate in this collection, I worked up a novella proposal to show them what I could do. HOTTER THAN HELL is going to be a very sexy paranormal anthology, & since I've only done some westerns & Desires, I knew my name wouldn't be the first to pop into people's heads for that type of story. Well, here everyone thought the proposal I turned in was my finished story. LOL So technically, I not only met my deadline, but had my work done before everyone else & before I even got the offer to participate. ROTFLMAO.

However, I never really thought of that proposal as my finished story, so I would like to tweak it a bit & make sure it reads the way I really want it to. That's why I'm still hoping for the deadline extension. I might not technically need it at this point, but I'd feel better if I had it.

So...disaster diverted, thanks to a great agent & a bit of advance preparation on my part, & the conference technically ended on a positive note, after all. :-)


Currently reading Countdown by Iris Johansen
Currently watching The Pacifier

posted by Heidi Betts at 11:17 AM 5 comments  

Sherrilyn Kenyon likes my hair & Kim Harrison wants me to e-mail her

That about sums up the highlights of my trip. *vbg*

I didn't do a very good job of taking notes this year, so I'm just going to have to post stuff as it comes to mind. And the first things that did were that A.) Sherrilyn Kenyon is a sweetheart & once again liked my hair--bright red as it was :-), & B.) Kim Harrison is also lovely & wants me to e-mail her. Whoopee!

How did these two revelations come about? Well, I ran into Sherrilyn at a book giveaway for Pocket. I wasn't actually there for books, but wanted to chat with her since I hadn't seen her at the Literacy Autographing Wednesday night. And, of course, she was all out of copies of Bad Attitude by then, anyway. :-) But she commented on my hair & we had this fun discussion about the half hour of scrunching that had taken place just to get the curl to stay, & how the Georgia humidity was taking its toll on all of us. (The hotel wasn't as cool as it could have been, either, which didn't help.)

And I didn't even know Kim Harrison was going to be at the conference this year. I was just wandering around a few minutes before the Literacy Autographing was about to start & happened to see her name plate. Aaack! Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh. I hope I didn't come across as too spastic, but I had to meet her. So I went up & introduced myself, telling her we shared and agent & were going to be in an anthology together soon. She was very nice, but I could tell I'd caught her off guard & she didn't really know who I was. That's okay; not only did I not expect her to know who I was, but I get that a lot. LOL

A day or so later, I ran into her again. Quite by accident, I swear, & at another of those publisher signings/giveaways. I said hello again & even got her to sign a book for me, but by that time I was pretty sure she thought I was stalking her. (Not to worry, she had "the guy in the leather jacket" with her for protection, so even if I had been up to no good, I doubt I'd have gotten past him. *g*)

But then, Friday night at the Harlequin party, my agent showed up with Kim & "the guy in the leather jacket" in tow. He brings them up & introduces us, to which I said, "Yes, we've met. I'm actually afraid Kim thinks I'm stalking her." Turns out I was right, though, about her not making the connection of who I was, that we share an agent & are doing a book together & such. And, hey, maybe she didn't want to. But apparently at dinner, before the party, Richard had explained who I was & it had finally sunk in. From that point on, Kim & I had a nice little chat. We talked about the HOTTER THAN HELL anthology, about her experiences at RT...where people apparently wore wings to meet her LOL...& even shook our moneymakers on the dance floor for a while. Then, just before she left, she leaned in & said, "You have my e-mail, right?" Um, no. "It's on the website. E-mail me!"

So, oh my gosh, Kim Harrison wants me to e-mail her. I haven't yet, but I'm totally going to. And as soon as she was gone, I tracked down a friend who is also a huge fan. I grabbed her arm & said, "Oh, my God. Kim Harrison told me she's 'delighted' we're in the Harper collection together & asked me to e-mail her!!!!!" We squealed a little, but my friend is totally bummed she didn't get invited to e-mail her, too. LOL

What can I say, these small incidents were not only the highlight of my conference, but are pretty high on my list of the most exciting things to ever happen in my life.

There's more to report, of course, I just haven't remembered it all yet. *g*


Currently watching Dr. Phil
Currently reading Out of Uniform by Amy J. Fetzer

posted by Heidi Betts at 11:20 AM 2 comments