Heidi Rice's Blog, page 21

Let's Get This Party Started!

Just wanted to give you a heads up about the workshop deets now posted on Selfridges website here... All very exciting, looking forward to seeing lots of you guys there.

The PR lady at M&B has told me that we've already filled up the morning slots (wanted to keep it to six so we can all have a proper chat) so I've agreed to do another workshop each day at 1pm...

In other exciting news my December book Surf, Sea and a Sexy Stranger has been repackaged as a Riva and will be a giveaway in The Sun (here in the UK) on 18th Feb, so if you haven't got a copy already and you want a free one get The Sun that day. I think you have to take the token to your local WH Smith... The Sun will also be offering The Walk of Fame (aka Public Affair, Secretly Expecting) as a free ebook to download.

Selfridges Workshops: More Deets!

So I've been  in touch with the PR peeps at M&B and the workshops in Selfridges, London will be kicking off at 11am on 10th February and 11th February.

If you want to sign up for one, it's free, just contact Tory at Midas PR on this email addy:

tory.lyne-pirkis@midaspr.co.uk


And she'll stick your name on the list on a first come, first served basis. I have agree to do another each day at 12.30pm if we get a lot of takers (I wish!!) so we can keep the numbers small for each workshop!


Anyway, really hope to see some of you lot there. Should be a hoot, especially in the gorgeous wonder room with all those inspiring M&B covers of old. Romance is definitely in the air, there!

Valentine's Day Workshops in Selfridges

Popping in to let you all know that I'll be doing those M&B workshops at Selfridges on the mornings of Thursday February 10th and Friday February 11th... I'll get back to you on times and who to contact at Selfridges to sign up for one, but we're only expecting six or seven people per workshop so it should be a great way to get some ideas and inspiration flowing. It's going to be at The Together Shop (next to the store's Marble Arch entrance) where they've got that fab display of vintage M&B covers and all the shining new Rivas. (cue picture of Heidi looking heavily pregnant, but not!!)


Also the lovely Marilyn Shoemaker gave me a great tip-off about something that's happening on the eHarlequin forums. Apparently best-selling Harlequin author Tessa Radley is offering her services as a mentor for a month to one aspiring Harlequin author. I think the challenge is to write the opening chapter of a secret-baby story. She's going to blind-judge the entries and pick a winner. The details are here, sounds like a great opportunity to me! I've never written a secret-baby story but I do love reading them.. My favourite is probably Hidden Riches by Nora Roberts (which has a secret baby element to it).


Anyway, back to my ms which is going a bit better now... Have finally managed to claw my way to 20K words. Slow going but persistence pays off, have decided not to worry about whether it's all crap and just get the darn rough draft written. This is always the painful process for me, just getting the words on the paper, revising and editing them is much easier. I think my problem is that, after ten books, my crap-o-meter is so well-developed now, I start thinking it's rubbish before I've even written it which can not only be a bit of a downer, it's not very productive.


BTW, saw a preview of Tangled the new Disney animation at the London IMAX on Sunday. Fantastic! I laughed, I gawped, I got all dewy-eyed.  Rapunzel's sweet and feisty and has seriously amazing hair (that can bring people back from the dead, Pantene eat your heart out)! The hero is a charming rogue with a great smoulder (who even gets away with being called Eugene!). All very Modern Heat really (except without the sexy bits obviously, this being Disney!) Will be doing it for my next PHS friday movie.

RWA a go-go!

Very excited this morning as I have just signed up for the RWA conference in New York and booked my hotel room on Times Square. Had an absolute blast at my last conference in 2008 in Frisco when I was RITA nominated. Course I didn't get the prize, which was probably a good thing as I had purchased these ridiculous diamante-studded sling back high heels to go with my crimson Marilyn Monroe dress and I couldn't actually walk in them... Hobbling up onto the podium or worse doing a face plant on the stairs would not have been a good look! I shall be purchasing much more sensible RITA awards ceremony shoes this year, just in case I get another nomination (there, now I've comprehensively jinxed that possibility and will have an excellent excuse when I don't get one!!).

So my big question is, anyone else planning a trip to NYC in June this year? Gotta be the most accessible conference in years so am hoping they'll be lots of new faces to see. I will of course be at the book-signing (books willing) so I'm also hoping some more people than last time purchase a book. I only managed to flog about six in SF, which I have to admit was a little disheartening after sitting there for two hours with my little RITA nom flag  (sorry, have I mentioned that already!!). And just to add to the trauma, being a Rice I was depressing close to Queen Nora and her three-mile queue!

All right, back to my current pineapple... Need to get this darn book written so I actually have a career to plug when I get to NYC.

Exciting news.. And shopping!

So, I was being all authorly yesterday and popped off down to Selfridges (landmark Department Store in London's West End in case you don't know!) to give some workshops on How to Write a Mills and Boon (not that I'm an expert on that at the moment... Hello, chapter one for the five-thousanth time!) to a couple of very nice journalist ladies from two national newspapers. Selfridges are doing a pop-up shop in the store at the moment so we got to sip tea from china cups, eat amazing cupcakes (cue copious plugs for Cupcakes and Killer Heels out in May) and talk alpha heroes and sassy heroines against a backdrop of amazing vintage covers from M&B's one hundred plus year history and a bookshelf full of new Riva titles - which looked amazing BTW. Frankly my favourite pastime. (Oh and if you were wondering about that picture, no I'm not eight months pregnant, I just had rather too much joie de vive over Christmas!)

Anyway, so what's the exciting news? Well, I'll be doing workshops for customers as Selfridges' Writer in Residence over Valentine's week, so if you happen to be looking to do some retail therapy in London at that time, and want to pop in and talk hunky heroes with me (and get some hot tips on how to become a USA Today best-selling author for M&B), do join me. I'll put details of days and times nearer the time (when I know them).

BTW, I picked up a copy of Kim Lang's January Riva The Girls Guide to Flirting with Danger while I was there, so that has just popped to the top of my TBR pile... Am hoping it will inspire me! And if not at least I know it'll be a delicious distraction.

Have you seen The King's Speech yet?

Well, if you haven't you should... And I'm telling you all the very good reasons why on the Pink Heart Society today. And yes, the gorgeousness that is Colin Firth is one of them! Give that man an Oscar, already. If nothing else I'm sure he'd give a great acceptance speech.

If you have seen the film feel free to come join the party... And this from someone who doesn't usually do Royal dramas.

See you there.

PS: Currently having major struggle with latest WIP, feel as if I'm swimming through treacle again, haven't had this much agony since Public Affair! Arghhhh... Why doesn't this ever get any easier?

Belated Merry Christmas...

Hi all

Just wanted to pop in and say Merry Christmas to all my favourite peeps!! Oh all right then, I'm several days late, I blame too much feasting and making merry, but that's always a very good excuse in my book.

Anyway, I come bearing tidings of great joy. Surf, Sea and a Sexy Stranger is sold out on the M&B site in the UK and has a brand new cover on the Oz site for it's release there as a Sexy in January.

Now as you all know I'm mighty partial to my stubbled hunk of a guy on the UK cover (as are a few other people I'm sure), but the old-style clinch cover in Oz is also mighty pretty. Of course the book is set in October and Christmas in North Cornwall, so if Rye and Maddy had really stripped off to have a clinch in the surf they probably would have died of hypothermia, but who cares for literary accuracy in a cover when the result is so pleasing on the eye? I certainly ain't complaining.

BTW, had a lovely drink with my Modern Heat mate Kim Lang, who battled her way over to the UK from Alabama and despite snow, freezing temperatures and many, many travel nightmares managed to raise a glass with me in Piccadilly. We had a good old gossip and both agreed that we're very excited about the launch of RIVA in January in the UK. Kim's book The Girls Guide to Flirting with Danger (which sounds like another cracker from the phenomenal Ms Lang) is one of the launch books, so will be buying that as a New Year pressie for myself. Here's the pictorial evidence to prove that this time I not only took my camera, I even got it out of the bag and used it... How cool is that!!

Anyway, in case I'm too busy feasting and making merry again and I don't pop back beforehand... Hope you all have a very happy - and for any aspiring authors out there - very publishable 2011!

And I'm including a lovely Christmassy picture of my road (avec beaucoup de neige!!) to get us all in the mood for January!! During which I have to write virtually a whole book in four weeks... Arghhh!

PHS... Christmas Movies

Over at the Pink Heart Society today musing on my favourite Christmas movies.... Here are a few tips as to films that may be appearing on the blog... And a chance to add a little Christmas bling to my own blog!

Join the Party at the Harlequin Open House

Hey all

I'll be popping into the Presents Post Party today at the eHarlequin Open House, so come and have a chat, share some mulled wine and mince pies (and of course your favourite hunky hero!!). And we'll be rockin round the clock so it don't matter what time zone you're in!


And here's who I'm bringing to the party!! After I've knobbled Dawn French!

Christmas is coming.... And Heidi's ready to Party!

So after much rewriting and editing, I finally pinged off the first chapter of my Christmas (for next year) book to my ed. I know, I've been working on that damn first chapter forever, but am hoping that if I start this thing in the right place it should save work further down the line. At least, that's the plan. Anyway, to try and invigorate myself for the long haul, I decided to do a little location scouting round London's West End for locales and such for the rest of the book.

After checking out the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park with its fairground rides, ice rink and all round Christmas bling (can definitely see some fun to be had there), I needed a luxury hotel for my couples romantic tryst (well, several romantic trysts) so I popped into the Dorchester on Park Lane to be inspired... And boy, is that one beautiful hotel, all Art Deco glamour and vintage class. And the Christmas decorations add that festive shimmer of fairy dust (see, I'm waxing all lyrical already!!).

Then I trooped up to Oxford Street and snapped some pics of Selfridges fabulously funky window displays. Check out that handsome fella sitting next to the Barbie Christmas tree and all those lovely sparkles inside the store. To finish the afternoon I hopped on a bus to have lunch with my true love in this wonderful little cafe tucked away on a back street in Clerkenwell near where he's working at the moment.

Love Clerkenwell, it's all cosy and Dickensian but with the arty crowd of designers and architects and journalists to make it uber trendy too. Have decided to make my hero a web designer instead of a Broadway producer... Cos I saw these three very handsome chaps on the table opposite us looking all intense and brooding and artistic while tucking into their homemade Chicken and Sweet Potato soup. Perfect.

Should also let you know I'll be crashing the Harlequin Post Party on 15th December talking hunky heroes with some of my favourite Presents authors, such as the wonderful Kate Hardy, Maisey Yates and Kate Walker as well as a host of other Harlequin names.

So be there, or be a Christmas turkey!