Heidi Rice's Blog, page 10

Heidi's Blogtastic Friday!

Oh all right, already, that title may be overselling myself a bit... But I'm on two blogs today.

First the lovely Tawny Weber has invited me on to her blog to do her Quick Six questions... And I'm offering a copy of Maid of Dishonor (my Wedding Season book) to one lucky commentator on the blog who answers a very simple question in return (hint, it may have something to do with weddings).



Meanwhile I'm going back in time on The Pink Heart Society to talk about a classic 1980s chick flick (which might involve faking orgasms! hint hint) on my monthly Must Watch Friday slot. So come and join me.

In other news, I'm currently waiting to hear about my Cosmo Red Hot Reads submission (finger nail biting notwithstanding!!) and my Harlequin POP Movie Pleasures book...

To save my nails, I have dived into my next KISS which is set in Bermuda and Camden, London,  and going to feature sweet, kooky and far too soft-hearted cupcake baker Ella Radley and lean, mean and way too sexy dive-shop entrepeneur Cooper Delaney. You can check out my inspiration board on Pinterest. But if you haven't guessed already, Ella is the business partner of my heroine Ruby Delisantro in Cupcakes and Killer Heels and I've been wanting to write her story for awhile... So this is gonna be cool.

Not so cool is the fact that I have to finish this book in a scant six weeks (because of being a bit of a plonker with my deadlines for my last few projects). As I've never managed to complete a book in under four months this is quite a tall order for me (tall, as in Everest-tall). So watch this space. But to help me I'm trying out Scrivener and I have to say, so far, I'm LOVING it. Anyone else using it? Wanna tell me what you think?

Goodreads Giveaway of Maid of Dishonour for UK peeps!

If you're in the UK and want to read my first ever Modern Tempted book (due out in October!) then you need to enter my Goodreads Giveaway below... I'm giving away 4 copies to readers in the UK.
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; background: white; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget img { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0; color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:visted { color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:hover { color: #660; text-decoration: underline !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget p { margin: 0 0 .5em !important; padding: 0; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink { display: block; width: 150px; margin: 10px auto 0 !important; padding: 0px 5px !important; text-align: center; line-height: 1.8em; color: #222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; border: 1px solid #6A6454; border-radius: 5px; font-family:arial,verdana,helvetica,sans-serif; background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layo... background-repeat: repeat-x; background-color:#BBB596; outline: 0; white-space: nowrap; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink:hover { background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layo... color: black; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; }
Goodreads Book Giveaway Maid of Dishonour by Heidi Rice Giveaway ends August 23, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win
Or of course you could just buy a copy when it comes out (just sayin').... Either way, you might want to read the other books in the Wedding Season Quartet - which will also be out in Modern Tempted for UK and Irish readers in September and October...


For the line-up (and other giveaways), check out our Wedding Season Facebook Page.

The Great Gatsby... And other great things!

I'm over at the Pink Heart Society waffling on about how great I thought Baz Luhrmann's manic new version of The Great Gatsby was and getting in the mood to write my movie review book for Harlequin POP... Don't know when this one will be out (as I haven't written it yet) but I'm having a lot of fun compiling some of my favourite romance-centric movies for public consumption...

And if you haven't visited my Facebook page recently, I've just updated my banner (because I'm a bit of a procrastinator like that!)... And I have to admit it's a little bit naughty... But very, very nice.



In other news, my Cosmo RED HOT Read - 10 Ways to Handle the Best Man - has been scheduled for a January 2014 release... OMG!! So excited about this - not least because that's the first time I've ever managed to keep my own title. I'm not sure if that date is confirmed, but will let you know.

And my new book page for Maid of Dishonor will be up soon on my website... Honest! I just need time to do it in between messing with pictures of nekkid men for my FB banner.



And last but not least... Today is the release day for Bedded for His Pleasure, my new anthology with Kate hardy and Trish Wylie, featuring a reprint of my first EVAH published book: Bedded by a Bad Boy (I take no responsibility for that title... see above for proof.)

Conference, Cosmo and Yet More Giveaways!!

So after FINALLY finishing off my Cosmo Red Hot Read "10 Ways to Handle the Best Man" and pinging it off to my ed last Tuesday I had a few manic days of film reviewing (in my other job) before a mad packing frenzy ensued on Friday morning and I jumped on a train to Sheffield for the RNA conference.

Sharing a flat with Fiona Harper, India Grey, Abby Green and Scarlet Wilson turned out to be as much fun as anticipated and involved champagne, prosecco, chocolate, some talk about writing and way too much talk about how India met Henry Cavill once (Sheesh, does that woman know how to make a person pea-green with envy!)

Conference highlights also included Julie Cohen's excellent talk on Themes in Your Writing, the sunshine, the lavish student accommodation (blimey that's changed since I was at college), a fun Gala dinner, drinks with the M&B eds and meeting new authors Michelle Smart, Victoria Parker and Sophie Pembroke, among others. Also got lots of ideas about possible new directions for my writing, which you'll be the first to hear about when I decide which way I'm going!

On my return, I found a whole box of my new KISS novel Maid of Dishonor waiting for me. So I've already got a Goodreads Giveaway going (click on the icon in the sidebar to enter), but I'll also be doing a worldwide giveaway on our Wedding Season FB page in the near future. So watch that space.

And even more joy, the RT Book Review magazine have given the book a 4-star review. Check out the evidence below if you don't believe me.

Am going to be doing a sneak peek on my website very soon, in time for the book's release on August 20 in the US. It will be appearing in the fab new Modern Tempted series in the UK in October, as well as the other Wedding Season books.

The Wedding Season gals are over at Harlequin Junkie at the moment BTW talking Heros and Heroines in 140 characters or less... Plus there's another fricking Giveaway over there.

The Wedding Season Giveaways Begin!!

To celebrate our fabulous KISS continuity, The Wedding Season, a four-book series that starts this month, we of the Wedding Season Quartet will be running a series of giveaways of the books in the series.

First up is Aimee Carson with her brilliant first book The Unexpected Wedding Guest. Unfortunately this giveaway is only open to US readers, so if you're one of those do enter the Rafflecopter below - or you can enter via the tab on our Facebook page.

If not have no fear, we will be doing stuff for Worldwide readers too, and there will also be the launch of the Quartet in Modern Tempted (in September in the UK) to celebrate later.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you want to know more about the other books in the series - including mine, Maid of Dishonor - you can like our Facebook page and/or follow our Pinterest boards.

And don't forget you can also download Aimee's prequel novella The Wedding Dress Diaries for free from Harlequin, to get you in the Wedding mood.

 

Henry Cavill and The Man of Steel Experience!

So, yesterday at work I got a fabulous surprise when my boss handed me two preview tickets for the much anticipated new Superman movie Man of Steel (so all my ponitifcating about how much I wanted to see it actually worked!!)

So I dashed down to Leicester Square after work, met up with Son1 and lovely reviewer friend who also had tickets and embarked on what turned out to be quite an experience...

In 3D, full Dolby Surroundsound and only two rows from the front (we got there a little late!!) at the Odeon's mammoth screen, it was an epic movie on an epic scale...


Henry Cavill was completely gorgeous (as expected) and gave a surprisingly subtle and nuanced lead performance, Michael Shannon also excelled as his nemesis General Zod. But all in all the film was WAYYYY too long, there was no chemistry between Amy Adams as Lois Lane and the gorgeous Henry and while the action was A-MazeBalls, it eventually became too A-Mazeballs (some guy behind us projectile vomited over the woman next to Son1! See what I mean about an experience!)...



The story of the alien child brought up by humans was told with a completely straight face - so straight in fact it could have been Mount Rushmore. There were few jokes, little banter and no irony whatsoever, which worked so well in Iron Man (and the earlier Christopher Reeve super-movies)... And after being preached at for over an hour by Superman's two Dads (Russell Crowe as the super one and Kevin Costner as the Kansas farmer!) about young Clark's place in the human world and the fall of Krypton and etc, etc, etc, I was crying out for a bit of levity. Even a smidgen...

There were also numerous plot holes - but I'll admit I was so bombarded by all the sensory stimulation I didn't actually pick them up until the tube ride home, so maybe they don't matter...

SPOILER ALERT FOR THIS PARAGRAPH: I also felt it was a mega-mistake to have Lois discover Superman's human identity in this movie... It would have been hard to work the plot out otherwise, so I can see why they did it. But there's a clear set-up for Clark to join the Daily Planet in the next film, but if Lois already knows about Clark's super-alter-ego, they lose all that delicious sexual tension. And talking of the Daily Planet, what the heck has happened to Larry Fishburne?? Almost didn't recognise him. And what's he doing in such a throwaway role as the Planet's editor, for such a great actor! But I digress...

I left feeling like it was a film from a bygone era with 21st-century trimmings. Superman perhaps with his invincibility and total, almost oppressive, moral perfection is not an easy figure for modern, more cynical audiences to identify with.... Basically, it's like trying to relate to a god!

Would happily go see it again just for the HC fix, (Henry does look mighty good in that suit sans underpants) but not sure that's what the filmmakers intended.



My takeaway: Henry should soooo do the Fifty Shades of Grey movie. Apart from the fact that he's clearly got the acting chops (and Christian Grey's boyish smile, extraordinary face and buff body), he does not want to get typecast as this exceptionally-straight-to-the-point-of-monolithic Mr Nice Guy! A bit of bad boy would do wonders for his resume. Would you agree?

You Are Cordially Invited to The Wedding Season: The Fab New KISS Quartet

Hey lovely readers....

Wanted to invite you to the biggest event of the summer - the new KISS quartet The Wedding Season, which features linked books by Aimee Carson, Amy Andrews, Yours Truly and Kimberly Lang, plus a wonderful prequel novella by Aimee which is available for free to whet your appetite.

We have lots of exciting things going on around the web to inform people about the wonderful-ness of this new series (and hopefully flog a few books - mercenary? moi?). so if you want to get involved you can....

Come follow our Wedding Season page on Pinterest




Download Aimee Carson's fabulous free novella - The Wedding Dress Diaries






Come like our Wedding Season page on Facebook



Or check out our Harlequin Blog with all The Wedding Season heroines giving their own special wedding tips!

So you have absolutely no excuse now not to get on your posh frock and join us for a fabulous Wedding Season!! Just sayin'

Chamar todos oradores portugueses! My First Brazilian Goodreads Giveaway!

Got a lovely little package in the post this morning from my samba-ing postman...


So to celebrate I'm doing my first Brazilian Goodreads Giveaway (seems appropriate as the Football World Cup is gonna be in Rio next year!). The giveaway book is a gorgeous 2-in-1 of The Mile High Club and The Tycoon's Very Personal Assistant (in Portuguese of course!), which I think is coming out in November/December in time for Christmas!

Should be approved in a couple of days and then anyone can enter (so watch this blog!)...

.goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; background: white; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget img { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0; color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:visted { color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:hover { color: #660; text-decoration: underline !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget p { margin: 0 0 .5em !important; padding: 0; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink { display: block; width: 150px; margin: 10px auto 0 !important; padding: 0px 5px !important; text-align: center; line-height: 1.8em; color: #222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; border: 1px solid #6A6454; border-radius: 5px; font-family:arial,verdana,helvetica,sans-serif; background-image:url(http://www.goodreads.com/images/layou... background-repeat: repeat-x; background-color:#BBB596; outline: 0; white-space: nowrap; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink:hover { background-image:url(http://www.goodreads.com/images/layou... color: black; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; }
Goodreads Book Giveaway Sabor da Chantagem & Refúgio Sonhado by Heidi Rice Giveaway ends June 21, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win

In other news the lovely Abby Green told me that Too Close for Comfort hit the top spot on the Harlequin website today... So I'm posting a screen grab... Because I'm a bit of a show off like that (and it'll probably only be up there for a nano-second!)

Awards, Book Giveaway and Robert Downey Jr... Oh My!

My Son, my brother & moi at the Irish Embassy in Paris.Just back from being a glamourpuss in Paris for a few days where I got to wear my posh frock to the Irish Embassy no less (with ma famille). I am including pictorial evidence  -  the photo was taken by my brother's 5-year-old son hence the soft focus (think I may get him to take all my photos come to think of it!)


Now, in other news I got a wonderful email on Tuesday night saying that The Good, the Bad and the Wild (yes that is my Rona nominated book) has now also been nominated for a Booksellers Best Award in the Best Short Contemporary category. Squeeeeee!

To celebrate my nomination, and my general all around gorgeousness I am giving away another copy of Too Close for Comfort, my June Harlequin KISS release, at the Pink Heart Society TODAY. This is a one-day offer, just go leave a comment on my blog about Iron Man 3 and I'll pick a winner tomorrow.

BTW, the winner of my Rafflecopter comp for a copy of The Mile High Club on the blog is:

Jane Linfoot

So Jane, just email me your snail mail addy on heidi@heidi-rice.com and I'll pop it in the post.

Also, watch this space for exciting news about the new direction for the old RIVA editorial in the UK... Plans are being worked on now, but the new line will be launching soon and as soon as I can I will give you all the goss...

Islington Workshop & Book Comp for The Mile High Club!

Hey all...

Hope you had a wonderful sunny weekend. It was a bank holiday here in the UK so my DH and I decided to decorate our front room. One of those daft decisions that you totally regret when you're knee deep in paint, and dust, and general decorating crap and it's blazing sunshine outside... Oh well, now it's all ready for the next Bank Holiday at the end of May (when it better not be raining).

Now I have news. I'm going to be at Islington Central Library tomorrow evening doing a writing workshop as part of Islington's Word2013 Festival.

Here are the details:

Alpha Hero to Contemporary Heroine:
Writing Contemporary Romantic Fiction for Mills & Boon
by Author Heidi Rice
at
Islington Central Library
Address: 2 Fieldway Crescent, London N5 1PF
Phone: 020 7527 6900
Wednesday 8th May
6pm-8pm

You need to ring the library to book a space, but it's completely free and I will have free books to give away to attendees.

I also got a rather cool package in the post last week with a brand new Riva-branded copy of my 2007 story The Mile High Club, which has been out of print now for a number of years and is only being made available to subscribers in the UK...

This story is very dear to my heart, it was only my second book, has settings in London, Paris and New York (my three favourite cities) and has as its heroine a young journalist on a London listings magazine (yes, that would be my first proper job) and the hero is an enigmatic American crime novelist. Plus the book got a RITA nomination!!

Anyway, I have one spare copy to give away... So if you want to be in with a chance to win you need to enter the Rafflecopter below:


a Rafflecopter giveaway