Archive for the ‘Word of the Week’ Category

and the winners are…

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Word of the Weekgoing multi-ball — A synonym for going mental. Literally, a state of flux, as in the multi-ball stage of a pinball game, wherein the player must keep two or more balls in play.

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As usual when I’m on deadline (which is pretty much always ) & nearing the end of a book (which isn’t nearly often enough ), I have been a bit scattered lately. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say I’ve been completely multi-ball, but I have felt a bit like the inner workings of a pinball game.

However, I am very happy to report that INHERITING HIS SECRET CHRISTMAS BABY (Book 6 of “Dynasties:  The Jarrods” for Silhouette Desire, December 2010) is finished & polished & turned in to the appropriate authorities.

Which means that I’ve got about six seconds of freedom to breathe easy & attempt to catch up.  And one of the things I just realized I really dropped the ball on is announcing winners for some of our recent Dungeon giveaways.  So let’s rectify that, shall we?

Starting with the most fun stuff first…

Our March guest blogger, Addison Fox, is generously giving away an autographed copy of her debut paranormal romance, Warrior Ascended, each week that she’s here with us in The Dungeon.  (And the third week she’s tossing in a $25 Barnes & Noble gift certificate—how cool is that? )

Well, she’s been here twice already, which means we’ve got two books to give away today.

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Raelena!!! & Maisey!!!

Congratulations, ladies!  Please contact me with your full names & mailing information, & I’ll pass it along to Addison so she can get your books signed & send out!

Next up, we have last month’s Monday Monthly Giveaway prize, this gift set consisting of an autographed copy of LOVES ME, LOVES ME KNOT…a bright red boa hand-knit by Yours Truly…a copy of Love’s Little Instruction Book…& a yummy fruit & nut dark chocolate bar…all tucked inside a cute little heart tote.

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Tina S.!!!

Congratulations, Tina!  Please contact me with your full name & mailing address & I’ll get your prizes out to you as soon as I can.

001And finally, we have this month’s Monday Monthly Giveaway prize, this cute & stylish address book for you to keep all your best Dungeon buddies’ contact information in.

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Tigmode!!!

Congratulations, Tigmode! Please contact me with your full name & mailing address & I’ll get your prize out to you.

Whew!  Well, that was fun, & I feel much better now knowing I’m pretty much caught up.

Stay tuned for more giveaways, of course, & for Addison’s final guest blog post next Tuesday, March 16th, which will also include another giveaway.  Whoo-hoo!  You know it’s nothing but good times when you hang out with Mistress Heidi.

hockey humor & then some

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Word of the Week: Mutually Assured DistractionThe practice of distracting others in a manner assuring that neither party gets any work done.

Not that we would know anything about that around here, right?

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Okay, I admit it, today’s post is a bit of Spring cleaning here in The DungeonDarling Laura has sent me so many great hockey & KNOCK ME FOR A LOOP-related funnies that I just have not had a chance to post, so I gathered them up & have decided to share them all today in one fell swoop.

Enjoy!

funny sports pictures, A Jersey Devil and Ondrej Pavelec of the Atlanta Thrashers

funny sports pictures, Manny Malhotra of the San Jose Sharks and David Steckel of the Washington Capitals

George Parros and Colton Orr

PMS

Mistress Heidi wants you…

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Word of the Week: BedgasmA feeling of complete and utter euphoria which peaks when climbing into bed at the end of an 18-hour workday, a long road trip, or hours of extremely strenuous physical activity. Under perfect conditions, the physical release has been likened to that of an intense sexual experience.

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…to let her know if you’ll be attending the 30th Annual Romance Writers of America National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee this summer.

I would love to plan a little get-together for the Darlings of The Dungeon while we’re all in the same state, the same city, the same hotel.

There’s plenty of time to decide, so please don’t think you need to give me a definite answer right this minute.  But if there’s a chance you’ll be at the conference this summer, please contact me to let me know.  Let me know, too, whether you plan to be there just for the giant Literacy Autographing PhotobucketWednesday evening or for the full, week-long conference, please.

Yes, it will be a bit of a challenge to work around everyone’s busy schedules—especially mine! —but we can do it!  What a great opportunity to meet your fellow Darlings face-to-face.  And no matter what we end up doing, I’m sure it will be a blast!

a hat trick of great reviews

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Word of the Week: SargasmDeriving far too much satisfaction from glibly berating another with sarcasm.

This one so totally suits Grace, don’t you think?

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Reviews for KNOCK ME FOR A LOOP are starting to come in, & they’re spectacular, if I do say so myself.

So, of course, I have to share…

Elizabeth Darrach of BellaOnline says:

“I have loved this series since the first book, and this one is absolutely terrific. Zack is a rogue of the first order and irresistible, as Grace will find out. This one will make you laugh and cry, and that’s before the steam kicks in. If you haven’t started on this series yet, get to your bookstore and pick up all three! I’m giving this one four and a half of Cupid’s five arrows. And waiting impatiently for Ms. Betts’s next book.”

Patti Fischer of Romance Reviews Today says:

“Heidi Betts has once again created two wonderful, endearing characters in Knock Me for a Loop. Zack might be a big star in hockey, but he’s a man who’d do anything to win Grace back. Grace is independent and saucy, but learns that two hearts are better than one. Ms. Betts does what might be the impossible in bringing Grace and Zack back together in Knock Me for a Loop. Even if you’re not into hockey, this is a story that you’ll have fun reading and won’t want to put down. Grab yourself a copy of Knock Me for a Loop today.”

And Tammy of Fallen Angel Reviews says:

Knock Me for a Loop is a sexy, fun, impossible-to-put-down story that had me laughing into the wee hours of the morning. After reading about Grace’s reaction to finding a woman in Zack’s bed in Loves Me, Loves Me Knot I was a little leery about reading this story, but I was quickly swept up in the fast-paced, humorous plot.  Ms. Betts has written a wonderfully witty tale with a sensuous thread that will easily pull you in and leave you reluctant to come back to reality. 5 Angels!”

Whoo-hoo!    You can read the full reviews by clicking on any of the individual site links, of course, but these are the highlights.  You know, the parts that say I rock & allow me to pat myself on the back for all of five seconds before I dive back into the current WIP, which at the moment is kicking my butt.

the winners are…

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

We’ve got some prizes to give away today…better late than never, remember.  Better late than never.  (Although we’ll wait to pick a winner for yesterday’s giveaway; today I’m just playing catch-up. )

First, to catch up with our AuthorIsland/WIPs and Chains “Cyber Launch Party Redux.”  As you know, the party started over at AuthorIsland to celebrate the release of KNOCK ME FOR A LOOP, but when I couldn’t manage to post a comment of my own by hook or by crook, we moved the party over here.

And just like at AuthorIsland, I offered to give away a copy of one of the first books in the “Chicks with Sticks” trilogy, either TANGLED UP IN LOVE or LOVES ME, LOVES ME KNOT—winner’s choice.

And so…

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Andrea!!!

Congratulations, Andrea!  Please contact me with your full name & mailing address, along with your choice of either TANGLED UP IN LOVE or LOVES ME, LOVES ME KNOT, & I’ll get your book out as soon as possible.

Second, we’ve got hockey goodies to give away from last week’s hockey edition of Monday Monthly Giveaway.  Prizes include a hockey t-shirt, a Sports are nature’s way of saying, “Which way to the emergency room?” mug, & a Divine dark chocolate fruit & nut bar.

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Jane!!!

Congratulations, Jane! Please contact me with your full name & mailing address & I’ll get your prizes out to you as soon as I can. Hopefully before the hockey season is over.

Thank you to everyone who joined me to celebrate the release of KNOCK ME FOR A LOOP & who took a shot at this month’s prize giveaways.  More to come, of course…there’s always more to come.

hockey 101

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Word of the Week: hockey hair — long , untamed hair—often a mullet—usually capped with a hat, with wings of hair flowing and curling out from under it.

PhotobucketFor those of you who aren’t familiar with the great sport of ice hockey, Mistress Heidi & I thought we would share some hockey terms that sound dirty…but aren’t.

Or, well…yeah, this is hockey, so sometimes they actually are.

Biscuit in the Basket (The puck hitting the back of the net on a goal.)

Breakout (The play used by the attacking team to move the puck out of its own zone and up the ice toward the opponent’s goal.)

Butt-ending (Using the shaft of the stick to jab or attempt to jab an opposing player. Known in Quebec as “donner six pouces” (to give six inches).)

Change on the fly (To charge the forward line while play is going on.)

Cherry Picking (When a player, generally a forward, hangs out behind the play waiting for a outlet pass so that he can have a breakaway.)

Five-hole (The area in the opening between a goalie’s leg pads.)

Grinder (A type of player known for his checking ability and work ethic; often associated with a player who is strong defensively, but who doesn’t score many points.)

Hard stick (When one player passes to another, the receiving player’s stick should “give” somewhat, just the way a baseball player draws back his hand slightly when he makes a catch. “Hard stick” means that the players receiving the pass is holding his stick so tightly and rigidly that it does not move back at all. That makes control of the puck difficult, and sometimes it bounces off the receiver’s stick blade.)

PhotobucketHigh sticking (Carrying the stick above the shoulder to use against the opponent.)

Hooking (Applying the blade of the stick to any part of an opponent’s body or stick and pulling or tugging with the stick in order to disrupt that opponent.)

Icing (An infraction called when a player shoots the puck from his side of the red line across the opponent’s goal line. Play is stopped when an opponent (other than the goalie) touches the puck. The face-off is held in the offending team’s end of the ice. A team that is shorthanded can ice the puck without being penalized.)

Kneeing (Using the knee in an effort to impede or foul an opponent.)

One-timer (Shooting the puck immediately upon receiving it without stopping it first. A one-timer is an effective way to beat the goalie before he can slide from one side of the crease to another.)

Penalty killing (When a team is shorthanded and attempts to prevent the opposition from scoring, this activity is known as “penalty killing.”

Penalty-killing unit (The group of players brought in by a shorthanded team in order to defend against a power play.)

Pipe-fitter Someone willing to plunge into the muck—do the dirty work.)

PhotobucketPoke check (Trying to knock the puck away from an opponent by stabbing at it with the blade of the stick.)

Possession of the puck (The last player or goalie to make contact with the puck is the one who has possession. This definition includes a puck that is deflected off a player or any part of his equipment.)

Pulling of the goalie (A team that is losing will sometimes take their own goalie off the ice and use another forward. This situation occurs most frequently near the end of the game when a team is behind and needs some emergency offense.)

Roughing (Punching or shoving an opponent. Roughing is illegal.)

Rubber or Frozen Rubber (Hockey puck.)

Shoot-out (Some minor and international leagues refine the overtime situation by having their teams play a five-minute sudden death period, and if no one scores, the game is decided by a shoot-out. Each team picks five players, and each one of them takes a penalty shot on the other team’s goalie, skating in by themselves with the puck from center ice and trying to score. Whichever team scores more wins.)

Sin Bin (Penalty box.)

PhotobucketSlap shot (A slap shot occurs when the player swings the stick back and then quickly forward, slapping the puck ahead with a forehand shot.)

Slashing (When a player swings the stick at an opponent. Slashing merits a penalty, whether contact is made or not. Tapping an opponent’s stick not slashing.)

Slot (The prime scoring area up the middle of the ice, between the face-off circles. When you “clear the slot,” you shove an opposing player out of the area in front of your goal.)

Smothering the puck (When a goalie or other players fall on the puck. Smothering is legal when done by the goalie or accidentally by another player.)

Sniper (A player who is a pure goal scorer and who doesn’t hit other players or the boards all that much.)

Solo dash (A one-man rush toward the goalie while is possession of the puck.)

Spearing (Poking or attempting to poke an opponent with the tip of the blade of the stick while holding the stick with one or both hands.)

Stick-handle (Moving the puck along the ice with the blade of the hockey stick.)

Three on two (When three attack players—usually the forwards—converge on the goal and only two defensive players are in position to stop them.)

Two on one (When two attack players converge on the goal and only one Photobucketdefensive player-the goalkeeper-is in position to stop them.)

And the #1 hockey term that sounds dirty, but isn’t…

Zamboni (The vehicle used to prepare the rink’s ice surface before the game and after each period. The Zamboni scrapes a thin layer off the ice, heats the ice, and puts down a fresh layer of heated water that freezes to form a new layer of ice.)

let’s hit the ice!

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

In case you’re not as familiar with the game of hockey as you probably should be, I offer you these films as recommended viewing:

Youngblood (for me, the movie that started it all )

The Mighty Ducks

Mystery, Alaska

The Rocket

Slap Shot

The Cutting Edge (while not strictly a hockey movie, D.B. Sweeny’s does play a former hockey star & it’s just a darn good film, no matter how you cut it)

The Love Guru (believe it or not *g*)

Miracle

Net Worth

H-E-Double Hockey Sticks!

Can you think of any I missed?

and the winners are…

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Word of the Week: hockey hickey — a bruise or welt appearing on a hockey player’s body due to a puck impact, which looks like a hickey.

Not only did KNOCK ME FOR A LOOP hit the shelves yesterday, but I finally drew names for the It Pays to Be a Heidi Betts Fan” Giveaway from last month.

The prizes are two $25 gift cards to JoAnn Fabric—one to a brand new member of the HeidiBetts’sHappyBookers Yahoo Group & one to a new member of the Fans of Heidi Betts Facebook Page.

So here we go…

For the newest members of the Happy Bookers loop…

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Michele (Michelearmc)!!!

And for the newest members for the Fans of Heidi Betts Facebook Page…

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Stacy Smith!!!

Congratulations, ladies! Please contact me with your mailing information & I’ll get your prizes out to you.

And thank you to everyone who joined the two groups in a show of support for my books.  It means a lot to me, & I hope that in the coming months I can give you lots of reasons to be glad you’re members.

KNOCK ME FOR A LOOP–the benched scene

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Word of the Week: ex-hole — Your asshole ex-husband, ex-boyfriend or just plain ex. A phrase used to refer to that person you used to date but now can’t stand.

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As usual before the release of a new book, I like to post an excerpt or deleted scene from the story, if one is available.  And you know there are only FIVE-odd DAYS LEFT before KNOCK ME FOR A LOOP comes out!

If you don’t believe me, just ask the Countdown Clock.

So today I’m going to share a snippet of story that didn’t make it into the final book.  Apparently because it was just a tad too bloodthirsty.  Yeah, well, we all know where I stand on that issue.

But even if this part of the scene got cut, I sure did have fun writing it—& I hope you have fun reading it.  Just don’t hold any of Grace’s actions here against her.  Remember, she has issues.

“Hey! Sleeping Beauty!” she called, more loudly this time. And instead of touching his bare skin with her bare skin, she lifted a leg a la Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid to poke him in the hip with the tip of her hot pink and glittery white Sketcher.

“Wake.” Poke. “Up.” Poke-poke. “You lazy.” Kick. “Ass.” Shove.

By the last, she was pressing almost full-forced against the meaty side of his left buttock with the entire flat of her shoe and starting to breathe hard.

Good lord, was he even alive? she wondered crossly. How could anyone sleep so heavily that they didn’t budge when somebody was literally whomping them in the butt?

Rounding the end of the bed, she hunkered down and leaned on the mattress to bring her face nearly nose to nose with his.

Was he breathing?

She stuck two fingers under his nostrils and felt for air.

Hmm. She couldn’t tell, but his lips weren’t blue, which she took as a good sign.

Was his chest moving?

Lifting her head, she watched for a minute and thought she saw his back shift up and down ever so slightly, but couldn’t quite tell about that, either.

All right, time for the Nurse Betty routine.

Canting herself sideways over the bed again, she lifted one of his eyelids to study his pupil, while at the same time reaching for his wrist to feel for a pulse.

The pulse was a definite, thank goodness, but the eye . . . well, she didn’t know what the hell she was looking for, anyway.

Doing one show about CPR and watching three seasons of ER didn’t exactly make her a paramedic.

“Hey, Zack!” she tried in a near-shout.

Seriously, how he couldn’t be plugging his ears or pulling a pillow over his head by now, she’d never know.

He gave a sudden short snort, startling her into dropping his eyelid and jumping back. But when he turned back into Coma Boy almost immediately, she scowled, huffing in frustration, and decided that–come Hell, high water, or an elephant gun–she was going to wake him and get him out of this bed.

“Yo, dickhead!” she yelled and gave the cheek not glued to the mattress a light slap.

Ooh, that felt good.

Slap. A little harder this time. “Wake up. Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”

She kept repeating it, practically breaking into song and punctuating each request with a smack just a bit sharper than the last.

He groaned, his brow furrowing in confusion even as his eyes remained closed.

“Oh, Zaaaa-aaaack.” This time, she lowered her voice and whispered his name seductively. Then gave him a nice slap.

He he, this was kind of fun. Maybe she didn’t want him to wake up. She could happily spend the rest of the day lying here, slapping the crap out of him.

She was really getting into it, smacking out a little ditty to the tune of Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” when he began to squint. And squirm. And curse beneath his breath, if all the grumbling gurgles were any indication.

“Whata hellif gona?”

Which she took to mean, What the hell is going on?

To be continued…FEBRUARY 2nd!!!

recommended viewing

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

bb Pictures, Images and PhotosWord of the Week: Bunny Boiler — Taken from the Glenn Close character in Fatal Attraction, who boiled her married lover’s daughter’s pet rabbit after he broke up with her.  The person who wants some kind of revenge or becomes a stalker after a relationship comes to an end.

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Are you looking for a way to fill the long, interminable days until KNOCK ME FOR A LOOP is released?

Me, too!  Well, never fear.  Mistress Heidi & I have compiled a list of wonderful films you can rent or buy or…yeah, we know our Darlings—pull them out of your own personal DVD collections …wile away the hours & get you even more in the mood for Grace & Zack’s smackdown.

Or do I mean ? *g*

So here they are.  A few of the films that inspired Grace to go postal on Zack’s poor, innocent Hummer:

Chicago

Fatal Attraction

Double Jeopardy

She-Devil

Unfaithful

10 Things I Hate About You

Desperado

Liar Liar

What Lies Beneath

Practical Magic

Can you think of any I may have missed?

off to the doctor

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Word of the Week: Dwayner — A penis that is wider than it is long.  (Also hockey puck, tuna can.)

Broken Computer Pictures, Images and PhotosSo I am off to the doctor—the computer doctor, that is.

Considering that my current PC is slow as molasses, running a Pentium 4 processor, & occasionally makes a very scary humming/churning/clunking noise I thought it might be time to bite the bullet & upgrade to something a little more…oh, I don’ t know…twenty-first century.

Unfortunately, in order to do this, I must take my old…current, I mean current…machine in so the compu-geeks can transfer everything to the new one.

I am not looking forward to this, can you tell?  I’ve already spent a couple of days backing up everything I had on floppy disk—yes, floppy disk…insert your giant guffaw here—to the hard drive so I wouldn’t lose it, because apparently “modern technology” isn’t a big fan of floppy disks any longer.   Fine, whatever.

But this means I will be without a computer for a couple of days.  Without broken computer Pictures, Images and Photosinternet access.  Basically, without a reason to live.

So I’ve put together a couple of posts to keep The Dungeon from losing any of its mojo, but don’t expect to hear from me.  I will be floating in the black hole of despair until my new baby is back home with me & all the wires are hooked up correctly.

Or maybe doing something constructive like writing or reading a book.

even more xmas hilarity

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

Word of the Week: Christmas blue-balled — The feeling you get when you don’t receive the gift you expected or really wanted.

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song chart memes

funny pictures of cats with captions

xmas wouldn’t be xmas without…

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Word of the Week: Christmas Adam December 23rd, the day before Christmas Eve. Since Adam was created before Eve, and to be equitable in the holiday season, Christmas Adam creates further anticipation of Christmas Day.

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The Anatomically Correct Gingerbread Couple

anatomically correct gingerbread couple 2005

(as baked by Madame Mommy Dearest, of course)

more xmas hilarity

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Word of the Week: Christmas card chickenWhen you want to decrease the number of Christmas cards you send out every year, so you decide to send cards only to people who send you one first. However, this can backfire if someone on your potential list is using the same tactics. This results in a standoff and ultimately no card exchange between the two of you. This does help solve the original problem, though.

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funny pictures of cats with captions

song chart memes

ha ha snerk snort (part deaux)

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

Word of the Week: Christmas bogus — Receiving nothing from your employer for Christmas.

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Yeah, this has nothing to do with Christmas, but Mistress Heidi liked it…

funny pictures of cats with captions

But here’s a Christmas funny, if it makes you feel any better:

song chart memes