heidi's blog

Okay, my timing is a little off, & I wasn't quite able to mimic eHarlequin's "Free Book Friday." But tomorrow is Friday, so I'm close. :-)

Good luck! (And thanks, Jennifer!)

The Good
Well, I'm home from the library talk. I think it went well, but of course you can never really tell. There was a time while I was talking that I thought everyone's eyes looked rather glassed over & felt like I was sinking, but afterwards they all came up & told me it was great, so who knows? One woman even said she was "riveted." That's a good word, right? LOL

The Bad
After the talk at the library, I actually had an orthodontist appointment. (This is typical of my post-deadline life; I go nowhere for months while I'm working on a book, then as soon as I'm finished, my schedule is filled practically back-to-back with trips & errands & appointments that I put off the whole time. LOL)

I've been having trouble with my teeth for a while now, & it turns out I have what's called an "open bite." Apparently, even after six years of braces & retainer wear, teeth can still shift & move around & go wherever the heck they want. (Who knew?!?) Turns out I actually need braces--again!--& oral surgery. Aack. Was kind of hoping they could just tweak my old retainer a bit & solve the problem that way, but even though the doctor said they could do that, it wouldn't fix the problem.

So I spent quite a while at the office while they did molds & took pictures & x-rays. Fun, fun. But my orthodontist is very cool, & I handed out books to a bunch of the ladies in the office (& even one to the doc for his wife *g*) to help pass the time.

The Sticky
Have you ever had molds taken at the dentist or orthodontist? Yuck. That stuff tastes awful & sticks everywhere. I think I may still have some of the pink gunk stuck at the corners of my mouth. :-P


Currently reading See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson

I'm getting ready for my talk at the library tomorrow, so I'm a little frazzled. The God's honest truth is that I haven't even begun to make notes about what I'm going to say. I'm clueless & continue to draw a big, fat blank.

It's supposed to be a so-called "review" of my latest book, which would be BLACKMAILED INTO BED. But they're used to having speakers who have written factual or historical accounts of the area & stuff like that...stuff you can really get into by saying, "Oh, during the research for this section, I traveled on a riverboat down the Susquehannah..." or whatever.

My research for BLACKMAILED would be much less interesting. Um...I've been to Reno, which is near & similar to Las Vegas, where most of the story is set. And I was once propositioned...though not by a multi-millionaire who was bent on revenge.

ROTF. Oh, my goodness, I'm in trouble, aren't I?

So then I thought that I'd touch a bit on the actual book...or maybe a couple of books...& then talk mostly about how I got started writing & what it's like to be a full-time writer. But I've gotta tell you, that's kind of dull, too. I mean, my daily routine involves never changing out of my pajamas & staring at a computer screen for hours on end. George Clooney has never popped in to check on my progress, & I don't even get to take a "Diet Coke" break at 10:30 to stare down at a hot & sweaty, half-dressed construction worker. (You all remember that commercial, right? Big sigh.)

Basically, I'm saying that the talk tomorrow could get ugly, & since we'll be in a library, there are a lot of very heavy books that the crowd could pick up & throw at me. If you don't hear from me for a while after this, it could be because I'm in the hospital, recuperating from a nasty concussion. :-P

Or, hey, maybe I'll think of something, after all, & the speech will go off without a hitch. Stranger things have happened. *g*

Here it is, the new artwork for my June Silhouette Desire, FORTUNE'S FORBIDDEN WOMAN. Also the sixth & final book in the "Dakota Fortunes" continuity series--yay! :-D

I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed. It's a nice cover, but it's a bit darker & more bland than I was hoping for. I've been so spoiled by all my great Desire covers that I think I was expecting something with more flair. Like BEDDED THEN WED with the wedding scene, or BLACKMAILED INTO BED with the bottle of champagne.

And when the heck am I going to get a cover with the hero & heroine just rolling around naked in satin sheets? Okay, that's totally unrelated, but I've always wanted a cover like that...I ask for one just about every time I fill out my Art Fact Sheets...& I'm still waiting rather impatiently. :-P

But even though these two aren't naked on the cover, they do manage to get naked plenty in the story. That counts, right? *g*

And it's my idea of a good time. LOL

Since I tend to lock myself away for months on end when I'm working on a book, the minute I finished one, I want to get out & go shopping or go to the movies or just get out & do some of the things I didn't get to do over the past months.

Because I finished CHRISTMAS ON HIS ROYAL BED Tuesday, I spent Wednesday & yesterday doing lunch, hitting the mall, & just basically decompressing & having a good time. Didn't buy much, but it did give me the chance to dress up a little, do my hair, wear some jewelry...a nice change from my usual pajamas-only dress code. :-)

Of course, the joyful abandon will be short-lived. The book isn't truly done until it's polished, printed, & in the mail--& let's not forget actually on the editor's desk--so that's what I'll be doing this weekend. It's not my favorite part of the process, but the sooner I get started, the sooner I can really breathe easy knowing my deadline has been met.

Oh, & I got the new artwork for my June Silhouette Desire, FORTUNE'S FORBIDDEN WOMAN, so I'll post that soon!

Yippee!

I finished CHRISTMAS IN HIS ROYAL BED this morning. Yes, it's only the rough draft--which ends up being pretty close to my final draft--& will need some polishing, but the hard part is always just finishing the book to begin with.

To decompress & celebrate, I sat down & watched Flightplan with Jodie Foster. I thought the beginning was a little slow, but the end was fabulous! Totally worth the price of admission. *g*

Then I also started watching The Brothers Grimm, & so far, so good.

Over the weekend, I went through a bit of a reading frenzy. I seemed to be near the end of all my books at the same time, so I managed to finish Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich, the Mysteria anthology, & Mistral's Kiss by Laurell K. Hamilton.

All pretty good. Motor Mouth was not my favorite thing I've ever read by Janet Evanovich, but there was a scene near the very end that cracked me up. My favorite story in Mysteria was the one by Gena Showalter, & Laurell K. Hamilton's books are always compelling. I already can't wait for the next installment of her "Meredith Gentry" series.

And that's about it for me. Mostly, I'm just really, really excited to have another book finished & almosts ready to turn in. I really liked the last scene & am hoping it reads just as well the second time through (during the revision/polishing process) as it did while I was writing it. :-)


Currently watching The Brothers Grimm
Currently reading the Kick@ss anthology

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

One of my favorite holidays of the year, even if I don't own a single item of clothing in kelly green. :-P

So if you're out partying today or tonight, raise a pint for me. In the meantime, I'll be tuning in to QVC & HSN to see what kind of gorgeous Celtic jewelry they're offering this year. *g* Don't know if I'll actually buy any, but I love to look.

Got some good news this morning...

BEDDED THEN WED is a finalist for Colorado Romance Writers' "Award of Excellence." Yay! Mitch & Emma have come through for me again.

Now, whether or not they'll end up winning is a whole other story...& I'm not going to get my hopes up too high, just in case. But it's very cool, all the same, & I know my agent & editor will be thrilled when I tell them. :-D

I also just got the Spanish editions of this book in yesterday's mail, which is too cool. The Deseo line seems to have undergone a bit of a makeover & the covers look better than ever. Imho, anyway. If I get the chance, I'll scan & post one for you to see. Or even two, so you can compare the new cover design to the old one. :-)

Ha! How's that for some fancy abbreviating? *g*

Translated, that would be the Art Fact Sheet for CHRISTMAS IN HIS ROYAL BED, which is what I spent much of my time working on this weekend.

I try to be good, I really do. As soon as I have a story plotted out & have a pretty good idea of what's going to be happening in the book, I start filling out the AFS. Less work later for both myself and my editor's assistant who has to make sure all of these things are done on time.

But, alas, even though I start the darn things ahead of time, I rarely remember to actually finish them before the assistant calls or e-mails & says they're due the following week. Sigh.

That's what happened again last week. I'd put in all the information for the characters' appearances...hair colors, eye colors, occupations, etc., but I'd stopped before it came time to describe actualy scenes from the story that might lend themselves to decent cover art. Probably because I hadn't actually written them at the time & I didn't know what might pop up. (See, that sounds entirely logical, doesn't it?!?)

So that's what I was scrambling to take care of over the weekend. I think I came up with some good ones, tho. And the truth is, the art department doesn't always use my ideas, anyway, so I may have wracked my brain for nothing.

Whatever I end up with, though, I'm guessing it will be good. :-D I've been exceptionally pleased with all of my Desire covers so far, and I don't expect Harlequin to start dropping the ball now.

"I may have to pee every forty-five minutes, but at least I get to pee in a gold toilet."
~Jon Lovitz as "Dickie Roberts's" agent in Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star

(Can you tell what I've been watching this morning? :-))

I know, I know, I've fallen asleep at the wheel again. But, seriously, nothing is going on. Everything has been kind of slow & quiet around here.

I've been writing. (Always a good thing.)

Been reading a little. (Mistral's Kiss is good, as is the story I'm reading in the Mysteria anthology right now.)

And I'm enjoying the current respite from frigid winter weather. Not sure how long it will last, but the snow is melting, I was able to turn the heaters off in my office, & I even changed into some lighter pajamas. (Spongebob & Patrick pants--Spongebob says, "Do I look like I'm kidding?" & Patrick says, "I have issues." I can relate to both. LOL And a little pink top with rhinestone kissy lips that says, "Flirting will get you everywhere." It's not exactly a matched set, but the colors match & I like them. :-))

I also got the final galleys for my HEAT WAVE novella "SHAKEN AND STIRRED." It's my last chance to read through the story & make any changes or corrections before the story goes into production. Luckily, the copy was nearly perfect. I only found one typo...a spot where the word "make" should have been the hero's name, "Mike." And all my changes from the last stage, line edits, got in without a blip of trouble. When I turned in my one, single correction, even my editor said she thought it might have been the easiest set of changes she'd ever had to request. :-D

And that's about all from my neck of the woods. Nothing happening, nothing to blog about. Just looking forward to a lovely, relaxing (knock on wood!) weekend. Hope you all get to enjoy the same!

Three words: Blue. Corn. Chips.

Have you discovered these yet?

I have, & I'm sorry to say I'm becoming something of a connoisseur. Every time I see a new brand, I buy a bag to compare them to the others I've tried. And, yes, I have my preferences.

There's a brand you can find at Weis (if you have any Weis grocery stores in your area) in a yellow bag with ears of blue corn on it. Can't recall the brand; for all I know, they could be called "Weis Blue Corn Chips." I just look for the bag. :-p These are good.

Then there's Tostito's brand "Natural" blue corn chips, made with organic blue corn. Can't always find them everywhere, since they're kind of new, but they're very, very good.

But my favorite so far is Archer Farms organic blue corn chips from Target. I think they may actually be distributed by Target, which would mean that's the only place you'd be able to find them. Totally worth the trip, though, even if you don't normally shop there. :-D They are exceptionally good, & I love that they're organic.

The only problem is that they're so good--all of these brands--that once I start eating them, I don't want to stop. I have to grab a small handful, then close up the bag & walk away, or I'll devour them all!

But all the same, if you ever see me near a bag or bowl of blue corn chips...it might be safer not to come between us. You know, in case you wanted to keep all your fingers. *vbg*


Currently watching Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Currently reading Mistral's Kiss by Laurell K. Hamilton

...it's the burning bunnies from Hell.

Or so my friend Kim Harrison would say. *vbg*

Got a surprise package of goodies from her this week, which included toe tags for her upcoming hardcover debut, For a Few Demons More (March 20, 2007). Too cute & creative! And I think she's giving them away via her website for the price of an SASE, so if you're interested...

She also sent me a couple of burning bunny stickers & an adorable burning bunny lapel pin. (Go here to read the story behind Kim's "burning bunnies." Then you won't be saying "Huh?!?" anymore. *g*) I cannot wait to wear it at conferences, right on my name tag holder. But I may have to get her to send me another one to stick on my office corkboard. I mean, I have burning bunnies to contend with, too! :-D