heidi's blog

Well, we're back from the veterinarian. Odd experience, since the diagnosis of Indy's little nasal malformation was basically, "Um...I don't know."

The doctor looked this way & that at the spot. Poked & prodded a little. It's not an infection or abcess, as there's not...you know, puss. :-p And he did mention the c-word (no, not that c-word...get your minds out of the gutter, people!), but he doesn't really think it's cancer. Instead, he thinks it's pretty much what I thought it was--a scratch that didn't heal properly.

No pills, no ointment, nothing for me to do but keep an eye on it & hope that it clears up on its own. The bump, however, he said might never go away. It could be a keloid-type thing that's developed & now my poor boy will forever have a bumpy nose. (He looks like one of those horned vipers, but just on the one side. LOL)

Now that we're home, I'm going to grab some lunch & get back to writing. I'm also thinking of sticking the air conditioner in the window because it's starting to get darn hot. I think Summer is finally officially here.

Just got back from a nice, brisk walk up to the chiropractor. It's totally cool to have one just up the street. And even more to have one who offers a plan that allows me to drop in three times a week, if I want. Of course, that just means that I'm suddenly way more aware of my little aches & pains. Stuff that I would normally ignore or go to the chiropractor for maybe once every other month now has me running up there like my hair's on fire. LOL

Took my iPod along, too, so everyone would think I was singing along with music instead of simply talking to myself, which is what I normally do. *g* Then I stopped in the store (which is also right up the street, along with the post office, laundromat, & hardware store...how cool is the town I live in?!? *vbg*) for some bananas & a six-pack of Adirondack water. That's another new fave of mine; similar to Fruit2O, it's flavored spring water. In addition to the usual flavors, like lemon, orange, rasperry, peach, etc., this brand has some nifty, more unique flavors, too, like pomegranate & white grape.

So, anyway, I'm back now & have got to get some writing done. Tried to write yesterday, but ran into a minor crisis. One of my cats, Indiana Jones, is suffering from a deformed nose. LOL I noticed he'd scraped it...or more likely, he'd done battle with the little one & gotten clawed for his trouble...so I dabbed disinfectant on it & never gave it another thought. Well, yesterday, I happened to notice that the scrape is not only still there, but his nose is all swollen. No wonder he has breathing problems, huh? (And, yeah, I've already put myself through the ringer for being a bad mother & not noticing this sooner. :-p)

It's probably just a slight infection or abcess, but the vet probably needs to look at it. So I called & made an appointment, & the earliest they can take us is tomorrow. The only problem with that is that I'd had plans to run a bunch of other errands on Thursday. Of course, Indiana comes first, so I shuffled my plans & ended up running around like crazy yesterday.

And since I was already in town, I decided to stay & see Shrek the Third. Has anyone else seen this yet? (I purposely waited until after opening weekend to avoid the crowds. :-)) I loved the first two Shrek movies, but have to admit I was disappointed by this one. It was okay; there were a couple things that had me rolling with laughter. But all-in-all it just didn't feel like the same type of really cute, creative movie as the previous two. Not to mention, I can't think of any great, funny lines from Shrek's or Donkey's character that are worthy of repeating & working into my everyday conversations, which was one of the best parts of Shrek & Shrek 2. You know what I'm talking about, right?

If anyone else saw it, let me know what you thought. I can tell you this...&, yes, it requires a giant SPOILER ALERT!!!...the part that had me absolutely cracking up & was worth the price of admission was near the very end when Prince Charming's guards surrounded the Gingerbread Man with all those swords & he pooped a gumdrop. I just about fell out of my chair laughing & missed the next three or four minutes of dialogue, I swear.

Oh...& it may just be my state of mind at the moment, but I was completely distracted all the way through the movie by the thought that Shrek really needs braces. LOL

Whoo-hoo! They're gorgeous, let me tell you.

My novella in HEAT WAVE, "Shaken and Stirred," is dedicated to one of my neighbors, so I was even able to run a copy over to her right away. She was thrilled, & I got to hold the baby for a while. (I have an ulterior motive for everything. *vbg*)

I can't believe it's almost June already, & that FORTUNE'S FORBIDDEN WOMAN will soon be hitting the shelves. And then right after that, in July, HEAT WAVE will show up. Too cool.

I don't know which Harlequin will send for me to sign at the Literacy Autographing at the RWA conference in July. I think I may have requested both, but they sometimes send only one title. Since Stephanie and Leslie will both be there, as well, it would probably be cool to have the anthology so readers can get it signed by all three of us, but I guess we'll just have to wait & see. :-)

Isn't he the cutest thing?

This is my new monkey...as yet unnamed...& he's actually on the front of a little throw pillow. (Cutest thing ever.) And around his neck is a blue eye pendant, said to deflect the Evil Eye.

I love monkeys & this pillow is so soft! Both were gifts from a close writer friend of mine when we got together a weekend or so ago to do lunch. (Thank you, Joanne! :-D)

Of course, I can never actually use the pillow for anything other than decoration. Because A.) the monkey sticks out & would be rather uncomforable under your head or face, & B.) it's just too darn cute to get all dirty or grungy. Nope, it's just going to be my favorite new decorative pillow, for my bed or maybe the couch.

The necklace, however, I have a feeling I'll be getting quite a bit of use out of. You never know when someone might try to give you the Evil Eye, & I want to be able to deflect any curses that might come winging my way. :-P

Can you say ouch? I just sliced my thumb open on--of all things--the paper insert for a zip disk. Sheesh!

But, anyway, I had another appointment with the orthodontist yesterday to further discuss my need for braces & oral surgery. (Oh, joy!) Since the problem I have is one that will only worsen over time, I figure I might as well go ahead & get this all done now rather than later. I mean, it's annoying enough as it is, who wants it to get even worse?

Did you know, though, that braces are kind of cool now? They're a bit smaller now than they were the first time I had them. And they even come in clear or 24-karat gold. I considered the clear ones, only because I know I'll be attending conferences & doing booksignings, & I'm not entirely keen on doing that sort of thing with a big mouth full of metal, but the doctor said the clear ones can actually be more problematic in some ways than the plain old stainless steel kind. And since you can still tell a person has braces, even with the clear ceramic ones, I couldn't see the point. I mean, they're not invisible, just less silver. LOL

They also have hundreds of colors now for the bands that go around each metal thingies that gets attached to each tooth. They can be changed monthly, & you can coordinate with outfits (like for the prom *g*), or for holidays, or even get glow-in-the-dark. How cool is that? Since I already gave up on the idea of the braces being completely unnoticeable, I have now decided that I'm going to go all-out on the having fun thing. I'll do black & orange for Halloween...red & green for Christmas...glow-in-the-dark for whenever... I'm going to have a blast. (Hey, if I have to have braces for a second time in my life, I might as well have a blast with it, right?)

At the moment, I have a tentative appointment for the end of July to have the braces actually put on. (My doctor was nice enough to let me have one more RWA National conference before turning me into a metal head. :-))

And before that, I have to meet with the oral surgeon who will be cutting out a piece of my jaw somewhere down the road. Eeek. Not particularly looking forward to that, especially since the orthodontist said that I'll be in pain for a week, look like a chipmunk (the post-stuffing his cheeks kind, not the empty-cheek kind) for two or three days, & will also have my jaw wired shut for two-to-four weeks. (Who the heck signed me up for this again?) But, hey, he said the jaw-wiring thing would likely cause me to lose ten or fifteen pounds, & that may just get me down to my goal weight, so I'm starting to get excited. LOL

So this week...&, okay, last week, too...I've been struggling with revisions for the dragon novella that will be in the HOTTER THAN HELL anthology coming out from HarperCollins in late 2008. (Kim-ohmigod-Harrison editing, remember? *g*)

And may I just say that I do not enjoy revisions. I hate them. They give me a migraine. Hives. They make me want to crawl into a dark cave & hide away from the world until the editor forgets I ever existed. In short, I'm not a fan. But, alas, revisions come with the territory, so when an editor asks, I take a couple aspirin, rub on some calamine lotion, & get to work.

Unfortunately for this set of revisions, they were rather extensive, so they've been taking me a while. (Remember how this story was supposed to be hot-hot-hot? Well, apparently the authors took the publisher at their word & ended up getting a little too warm, so we were all asked to tone things down a tad. Don't worry, though, my story will still be plenty toasty. :-)) And, yeah, I have to admit that I actually liked portions of the original better than the way I'm being asked to change it. Of course, most writers probably think their stories are perfect from the get-go & require no adjustments at all, so that could be an ego thing. *g*

I guess that's the difference between writing for pleasure & writing as a job. When you write as a hobby, just for yourself, you can do whatever you darn well please, & no one can come along & tell you your characters fall flat or your plot line doesn't hold water. Or they can, but you can stick your fingers in your ears & pretend not to be listening, then go on your merry way & still do exactly what you want. When your professional occupation is writing, you've got an editor who is essentially your boss, & while you don't have to roll over & do everything they ask you to...thank God for editors who are open to discussion, brainstorming sessions, & compromise!...you do have to keep your fingers out of your ears & be willing to bend.

And, hey, what do I know? Maybe all this revision is actually making the story better. ;-P

Today I'm placing a bulk order for paper products--toilet paper, facial tissues, paper towels. Yeah, yeah, I know most people just pick up these things when they go to the grocery store, but I learned recently that the majority of the most widely available popular name brands of these items are BAD, BAD, BAD for the environment.

See, they cut down what are called "virgin trees" to make their paper products, which we all know is not a good thing. Some of the companies are even cutting down rainforest trees just to produce toilet tissue & kleenexes for us. (Bad, bad, bad.) So I went on one of my fact-finding missions & discovered a fabulous company called Marcal that only produces recycled paper products.

All of their products are recycled, & highly recycled at that. (I found a couple companies that maybe use 20% recycled, but Marcal does 100%...60-80% post-recylced materials, but 100% recycled.) Marcal also doesn't use the usual bleaching methods, which are equally bad for the environment.

Now, before you ask, I can tell you that this is good stuff. I've been using Marcal brand everything for a couple of months now, & while it's not the softest or fluffiest I've ever seen, it's really decent & is not scary, sandpaper quality. (You know what I'm talking about! LOL) It's actually very decent.

Marcal products aren't always easy to come by, though, so I went online & found a couple of sites where I can buy in bulk. Yeah, they normally supply restaurants & businesses, but their prices are decent, & if it means saving a bunch of trees & helping the environment, I'm more than willing to have my toilet paper delivered by UPS instead of picking up a few rolls the next time I go for groceries. :-P

So that's my public service announcement for the day...although you may want to consider switching yourself. I mean, you don't want to be responsible for ending the life of a virgin tree, do you?

I can't tell you how excited I am about this news. I was just thrilled when I found out about the "Joyfully Recommended" honor from JoyfullyReviewed.com, but I'm equally thrilled about the review JR's Melissa gave my June Silhouette Desire, FORTUNE'S FORBIDDEN WOMAN:

"Maya Blackstone has loved her stepbrother, Creed Fortune, for years, but the marriage of her mother to his father has always made any relationship between them seem impossible, so she's hidden her love. Little does she know, Creed returns her feelings, but has also been keeping his love a secret. Can they overcome society's opinions and weather the scandal in order to finally be together?

I love Heidi Betts! Without a doubt, Fortune's Forbidden Woman is a wonderful example of why. Creed and Maya's star-crossed love kept me absorbed in the book, anxiously waiting for them to give in to their passion. Sensual and emotionally riveting, Fortune's Forbidden Woman should be on every romance lover's reading list!"

Well, I love you, too, Melissa! LOL I'm just delighted by the reception FORTUNE'S FORBIDDEN WOMAN is getting already, & can't wait to hear what the rest of you think when the book actually becomes available next month. Hopefully early next month so I don't have to sit on pins & needles for too long. *g*

I hope you'll all let me know!

Talk about a selfless act. I actually do have something "all about me" to post, but I promised a little something for you, so I'll save my bit of news for tomorrow. (See, selfless. Generous. Concerned about my fellow man. Hmph.)

So today I'm posting (if you can see them clearly) a photo of three recent Silhouette Desire titles, Bunking Down with the Boss by Charlene Sands, Bending to the Bachelor's Will by Emilie Rose, & The Bought-and-Paid-For Wife by Bronwyn Jameson.

I will be giving these away in the next little while, following the same protocol as last time...three winners; each comment posted will count as an entry; winners e-mail me with their first, second, & third choices, etc.

Good luck & happy reading!

In the continuing adventures of "It's All About Me" Week... LOL

Well, what can I say? It is. I mean, this is my blog, after all. Right? Did you somehow think you'd visit & find me talking about someone else? Ha! Not bloody likely.

But I'll make it up to you, I swear. I've got more giveaways lined up & forthcoming. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe Saturday. Maybe next week. Stay tuned to find out.

Or sign the petition to put an end to my further caffiene consumption. *vbg* (And how frightened would you be if you knew that I've actually had zero caffiene today? Or yesterday. Or the day before. I'm just naturally wound this tight. :-p)

So anyway, here's THE big news. The BIG news. THE BIG NEWS:

Last week, I sold a trilogy of humorous single title contemporaries to St. Martin's Press. St. Martin's Press, can you believe it?!? Okay, I could probably say Annie Oakley Weekly & I'd still be equally hyper, but this has me just super-jazzed.

I cannot tell you what the trilogy is about. Sorry, I really can't; I've been sworn to secrecy. But I can post this little tidbit that my agent came up with, which gives you a general idea of what I'll be working on for the next year & a half of my life:

"In an untitled trilogy of sexy, funny romances by Heidi Betts, an Anything-You-Can-Do-I-Can-Do-Better guy challenges the heroine in a domain sacred to females."

If I can toot my horn for a moment...or, you know, another moment...the trilogy really is awesome & is going to be such fun to write. I hope, anyway, otherwise I'm going to be one bored & on-the-verge-of-suicide little romance author. :-P But all in all, I'm stoked. Very excited about jumping into them just as soon as I get a couple other things cleared off my desk.

So there it is, the big news I've been sitting on for the past week. Now be sure to drop by again for tomorrow's post, which could end up being about someone or some thing other than myself. The chances aren't high, but it could happen. :-P

You'll never believe this. I almost don't believe it, but the good news just keeps pouring in.

Soon after posting yesterday about MR. AND MISTRESS finaling in the Book Sellers' Best Contst, I got another message alerting me to the fact that SEVEN-YEAR SEDUCTION and BEDDED THEN WED are both finalists for First Coast RWA's Beacon Award.

Holy cow! I'm very excited, & this is a great contest. And, no, I'm not just saying that because I won First Place last year. Well, okay, maybe I am. :-P

But how cool is this? I feel like I should run out & buy a lottery ticket or something to see if my good luck will spill over into other things. *g*

I'd like to say I'm getting tired of doing so many happy dances, but I'm really not. *vbg* After all, you can never have too much fun or get too much good news, right?

I just found out that MR. AND MISTRESS is a finalist for Orange County RWA's "Book Buyers' Best" Award! Yippee!

I just love when this sort of thing happens...well, duh, but I have a not-entirely-selfish reason, really I do...because it helps me to think back & remember how much I enjoyed certain books. It's been so long since I wrote Cullen's & Misty's story, & I've been so focused on what I'm currently working on or what's coming out next, that I don't have much time to reminisce. But this gives me a chance to stop & think, "Oh, yeah, I really had fun with those guys." :-D

So...fun, fun. I'm gonna have a smile on my face today, huh?


Currently listening to Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats"
Currently reading Daisy's Back in Town by Rachel Gibson

My cats helped me draw names this time, so if you're not happy about the results, talk to them. :-P

The winners of the book drawing this time are:

Congratulations!!! Each of you get one of the three books from the giveaway--Crazy Cool by Tara Janzen, Bite Me if You Can by Lynsay Sands, or My Nerdy Valentine by Vicki Lewis Thompson.

Please e-mail me (heidi@heidibetts.com) with your full names & mailing addresses, as well as letting me know your book choices. Number them 1, 2, 3, from which title you want most to which you'd want least, & I will award them based on the order I receive the requests.

Whew. Did that make sense? I hope it made sense. :-p

To all of the mother's out there...& that includes those of you with four-legged children*g*...

By now, I'm sure many of you have heard about the auction author Brenda Novak holds every year to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes research. This auction just keeps getting bigger & better, & keeps raising more & more money. Yay!

This year, I'll be making a donation of autographed copies of my entire collection of published works: BLACKMAILED INTO BED, BEDDED THEN WED, MR. AND MISTRESS, SEVEN-YEAR SEDUCTION, WHEN THE LIGHTS GO DOWN, BLAME IT ON THE BLACKOUT, BOUGHT BY A MILLIONAIRE, HANNAH'S HALF-BREED, CALLIE'S CONVICT, WALKER'S WIDOW, ALMOST A LADY, A PROMISE OF ROSES, & CINNAMON AND ROSES. Brenda is calling it "Heidi Betts's Lucky 13." :-D

So if you're missing any of them...especially those hard-to-find historicals--this would certainly be the way to get them. LOL

And there are even more fabulous items that you can win if you get yourself over to the auction page of Brenda's website. It's for a very good cause, so bid generously between now & May 31st when the auction ends.

Have fun, good luck, & know that if you bid, you'll be doing a really wonderful thing for a lot of wonderful people!

I just found this in a pile of papers on my desk & have no idea where it came from, but it made me chuckle...

God was walking down the road & saw a man sitting there, crying. "Why are you crying?" He asked.

"I'm blind," the crying man said. God laid His hands on the man and gave him back his sight.

Further down the road, He came across another crying man. "Why are you crying?" He asked again, and the man said, "I'm crippled." God laid His hands on the man and the man rose up and walked.

God came across a third crying man. "Why are you crying?" He asked once more.

"I'm a writer," the man sobbed. And God sat in the road and cried with him.

I went out last night to celebrate some new big news...more about that later, after everything is truly solidified & I can feel comfortable making an announcement :-)...& I discovered a delicious new drink I think it's my duty to inform the world about.

Smirnoff Ice or Smirnoff Twisted. Oh. My. Goodness. After my first sip, I thought, "I could give up soda altogether & switch totally to this stuff." And I don't actually drink much soda, but I'd still be willing to switch. LOL I tried both the Green Apple & Black Cherry, but the Green Apple is by far by favorite. This stuff is, like, the best thing you'll every have in your mouth, bar none. (And I'm a romance author, so that's really saying something. :-p)

I was so enamored of this drink, the bartender actually came over to sit with us & said he'd never served such enthusiastic & dramatic patrons before. *g* Then he gave us each a token for another free drink. (I kept mine to use at a later date because I think it might be good luck. Don't ask why, I just have a feeling & am unwilling to part with it for the time being.)

So that's my plug for the week--if you like vodka drinks & something a little sweet, try one of these delicious bottles of Smirnoff Twisted. Becoming an alcoholic has never been so easy...or so fun. LOL I'm even thinking of filling up some water bottles with this stuff. I mean, it's clear, so no one would ever know...& it would certainly make excercising more enjoyable. *vbg*

I know I posted about this already, but consider this an addendum, because I just have to share. *g*

One of the first things I wanted to do after I learned FORTUNE'S FORBIDDEN WOMAN had received a 4 1/2 Top Pick! from Romantic Times was add the news to my website. Makes sense, right? And my web designer was great about sticking a line up there about the honor, but we both thought it would be really cool to have an actual icon or graphic to use, just like the one in the magazine.

So I called RT, & much to my surprise ended up on the phone with the magazine's Publisher, Carol Stacy! She's such a nice lady, though I haven't seen or talked to her in ages. Now, you'd think this whole Top Pick! thing would be old hat to them, but believe it or not, every single person I talked to at the RT offices congratulated me as though it was the first time they'd ever handed one out. LOL

Anyway, when I explained what I was after, Carol very happily agreed to send me a graphic that I could use on my website. And here it is, in all its glory. Ain't it pretty? I'm thinking of printing a copy & taking it to the tattoo shop...but I'd want it tattooed right on my forehead & something tells me that may not be a great look for very long. :-p

I'm supposed to be working on revisions today, which of course means that I'm looking for every way possible to procrastinate. :-P And during my procrastination attempts, I ran across this photo in my e-mailbox.

It's entitled "When School Projects Go Bad" & absolutely cracks me up every time I see it! *vbg*

The big piece of news I picked up at the Retreat doesn't affect me so much as the entire romance genre.

I don't know how many of you have heard of Romance: B(u)y the Book, the website & blog hosted by NBC correspondent Michelle Buonfiglio. (Such a great lady, btw.) Anyway, Michelle was one of the guest speakers at last weekend's Retreat, & as always she did a terrific job. She kept us all riveted & in stitches...no easy task, believe me.

All right. I woke up this morning to nothing out of the ordinary. No news of any kind, either good or bad. (Thank goodness.) Which makes this the perfect time, I think, to post the giveaways I brought home from the Retreat.

Copies of Tara Janzen's Crazy Cool, Lynsay Sands's Bite Me if You Can, & Vicki Lewis Thompson's My Nerdy Valentine.

I'll be doing one of my drawings, so every time you post from now until...whenever I feel like pulling names *g*...will count as an entry.

And I'm going to do something a little different this time--instead of drawing only one name for all three books, I'm going to draw three names & give each of the winners a chance to choose the title s/he wants. That sounds like fun, doesn't it? I only hope that if you win, you end up getting the title you want the most. :-D

So start chatting now, build up those entries, & good luck!

Today, I was going to post either the "big annoucement" I heard at the WRW Retreat or some giveaways that I picked up over the weekend.

Okay. I promised to write about the WRW Retreat, so now I'm sitting here thinking, "What happened? Where should I begin?"

Well, you probably have no interest in what I wore each day, even though deciding what to pack & then even which outfit to go with each morning is a major part of every conference. You probably also won't care about all the friends I ran into & sat around chatting with, having just the best time ever.

How about the fact that the guest speakers were Lisa Gardner, Julia Quinn, & Madeline Hunter, & that they were each lovely, funny women? (I've actually known Madeline for a while now & had met Lisa a few times before, but Julia was new for me. *g*) All three of their keynote speeches were wonderful & inspiring...& can you believe that all three of them also used "lists" in their talks? LOL But they were very well done, & if Madeline hadn't pointed that out, I'm not sure the majority of us even would have noticed.

I chatted very, very briefly with Kate Duffy of Kensington Books & Jennifer Enderlin of St. Martin's Press. Sat in on a game of Romance Jeopardy, which was very amusing, but I have to say that some of the folks at the Retreat need to brush up on their romance novel knowledge. Next year I'm going to write the answers (it's Jeopardy, remember; they give you the answer & you have to come up with the question *g*) & see who can get them right. Well, I threatened to, anyway. :-D

Two...or would it be three?...of the most exciting things for me, though, were when I won a Petro Rock reading from author Eileen Charbonneau & two raffle baskets on the last day's prize drawing. Eileen is just about the sweetest person you'd ever want to meet & her reading are fabulous. I had one several years ago & have been trying to win another ever since. LOL And the two raffle prizes I won were the exact ones I most wanted--a cat basket (of course!) filled with adorable cat food dishes, snacks, hand towels & pot holders, & the cutest, most adorable cat wreath you've ever seen. That's what I wanted most of all. *g* It's probably supposed to be a Christmas wreath, but I'm thinking of keeping it up all year 'round! The second is a sexy pink bedside lamp with crystal tassles & a pair of long, high-heeled legs as the stand. Too cute, & perfect for a romance writer, don't you think? :-)

Except for a bit of rain on the first day, the weather was beautiful & the company was terrific. I spent the majority of my time with a couple of my BFFs Karen Alarie (who writes for Harlequin Blaze as Karen Anders) & Darlene Garder (who writes for Harlequin SuperRomance), as well as meeting several new writers, both published & unpublished, which is always nice. For me, the best part of this particular weekend is simply being able to forego the pantyhose & bum around relaxing & having a good time.

That's about it in a nutshell, but if I think of anything else, I'll let you know. I also came home with a few goodies to give away & one big announcement to make, so tune in for those over the next few days. (I'm such a tease--ha ha ha ha!)