Heatherly Bell's Blog, page 5

Speed dating with Harlequin series authors at Romantic Times this May

For the first time, I’ll be attending the Romantic Times convention for readers on May 15, 2017. Located at the Pepperdine in Reno, I’ll be in attendance at this awesome event in May 17th from 11:15-12:15.

You’ll get free books from all the authors, lots of goodies, and a grand prize (see above.) If you’d like to attend, get your tickets soon because this event has LIMITED room.

Hope to see you there!

Free Content

Did you all know that I offer free content if you sign up for my newsletter?

At the moment, I’m giving away my Starlight Hill novella, Anywhere with You. Subscribers have also been treated to the first (as yet unedited!) chapter of my next series with Special Edition, Wildfire Ridge!

And today I’m excited to announce that I’m going to be sharing exclusively with my subscribers, the first version of This Baby Business, which was a modern marriage of convenience story! After much thought, my editors and I decided to go with the fake engagement instead, but in the meantime, I had 17,000 words and some funny scenes surrounding the marriage and honeymoon.

I figured those would stay forever in my hard drive, no use to anyone, but then I came up with the idea to offer this fun version for free to my favorite readers. Hey, why not? Why waste words, right?

It’s coming soon, so be sure to sign up for my newsletter. Also coming free to subscribers soon will be a short story about one of the couples in my “Heroes” series. Right now the fave is Sarah and Matt from Airman to the Rescue!

 

This is what happens when I get my holiday shopping done early…

Here’s what happens when you are so organized that you get done with all your Christmas shopping by the first of the month, and then start wrapping presents to put under the tree:

Oh my, where’s that present I bought my husband? I probably hid it somewhere, because wonderfully organized me would do that. She would think of a special place to hide it until it was time to wrap it. I’m a genius. So I’ll look. Everywhere.

Well, that was a big fat zero. Where oh WHERE are his presents? I do remember seeing them, yes! Both in the same box. I’ll ask Oldest Son. Ok, he has no idea. Very helpful. Why did I give birth to him, again?

Husband says: don’t worry, if you can’t find them before Christmas, you know they’re in the house somewhere. Give them to me when you find them.

No, no, no! I did not buy presents early so that I could lose them and give them late. Oh woe is me! How could such a travesty hit such a wonderfully organized person such as myself????

A thought hits me which seems on its face seems to be far to good to be true. No, not possible. Could it be?

Am I truly THAT organized?

Yes, yes, yes! The presents I have searched for high and wide are already under the tree! Wrapped even!

Maybe next year I’ll go back to buying and wrapping late so I don’t get too cocky.

After all, I lost another brain cell this year.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

CRAZY FOR YOU a Kindle Daily Deal in the U.K. ~ $0.99 for a limited time!

Happy Holidays!

Trust me when I tell you: Crazy for You was a fun romance to write. It involves speed dating, an unlikely meet-cute, a road trip, a small town Christmas, and some sizzling sexy times between two soulmates.

It’s on sale now in the U.K. as a Kindle Daily Deal so be sure to grab your copy now. This is a Kindle exclusive. Get it here.

Read an excerpt here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He needs a break. She needs a date. 

What do a washed-up L.A. cop and a celebrity hair stylist have in common? Christmas magic.

Fallon McQueen needs a date to a wedding.The pickings at the speed dating events she’s attended are slim indeed, and it doesn’t help that she has someone specific in mind…

Then she meets…Santa Claus.

Jack Cooper is tired of the big city. He needs a break from the streets of L.A. But when he stops a deadbeat from breaking and entering, he’s simply trying to do a good deed. Now he has a hot but crazy blonde asking him to be her date to a destination wedding.  

If Jack is going to help, they’re going to do it his way, and faster than you can say “road trip” Fallon McQueen is on the trip of lifetime…

 

 

10 Things You Didn’t Know about This Baby Business

It was originally a marriage of convenience story.
While I was going through revisions for TBB, I discovered I would be a grandmother for the first time.
This book is dedicated to my granddaughter.
I listened to a Sam Hunt-heavy playlist, which I only played during love scenes. It included Leave the Night On.
In an early version of TBB, Carly and Grace got along famously and Grace was a “perfect baby.” After some great advice from editor Victoria Curran, I stirred things up a bit!
Initially, Grace’s grandmother Irene had a much smaller story line. But my wonderful editor Tahra suggested that the first two books had dual love stories, so this one should, too. Thus, a late in life romance was born as Irene tries to help her grieving husband.
I researched being the wife of an AF pilot by talking to an author friend who really was the wife of an AF pilot!
This is my last Superromance book.
As I wrote this book, I thought that our heroine’s good friends (Jill and Zoey) should have their own books. I pitched their books just before it was announced that Superromance was closing. Ooops!
Our heroine’s friends, Carly and Zoey, are the heroines in the first two books in a spin-off series with Special Edition called Wildfire Ridge. Coming in 2019!
BONUS: At least one reader bought the book based on the sweet baby alone!

Happy Hump Day

How I see Levi and Carly…

“Levi.” She broke off from the kiss, breathless. “We probably shouldn’t do this. It’s not…a good idea.”

He pressed his forehead to hers. “You’re right.”

Great. He agreed with her. “It’s stupid.”

“Yeah.” He tugged her in tighter and kissed her again. And again.

She threaded her fingers through his hair and moaned into his mouth.

And they continued to be crazy stupid for the next hour.

 

 

It’s that time…

When I bombard you with excerpts and teasers and photos of the hero and heroine in my latest romance. This Baby Business is coming in 11 days and I hope you will bear with me while I wax poetic (or not) about how much I’ve enjoyed writing this book. With that, here’s a teaser followed by an excerpt:

“Being your fake fiancé is not the worst thing to ever happen to me.” Not even the second or third, but he wasn’t going there.

“Were you dating anyone here?”

Seemed like a crisis of conscience had overcome Cute Stuck-Up Girl. Cute Sexy, now. “A coffee date with Lily Hamilton. I was supposed to call and follow up for dinner.”

She closed her eyes, then opened them again. “Lily. She’s so nice. I’m so sorry, Levi.”

“It wasn’t a thing. And you should know, anyway, after you and I kissed, I had no intention of calling her. I haven’t had time to…date. Or anything.” And it had been far too long without the or anything. Also not going there.

“Me, too. I think I forgot how to act around someone of the opposite sex.”

His gaze heated. “You did fine the other night on the couch.”

She coughed. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“What’s wrong? You don’t normally wrestle a pig in front of a guy? Because that can be a mating call in some countries.” He managed to keep a straight face.

She rolled her eyes at him. “No. I don’t have the most stellar history with men.”

“Get out. My fiancée? How did you catch me, then?”

She didn’t laugh. “I wouldn’t normally go out with a guy like you, anyway. Guys like you don’t go for girls like me.”

“Guys like me?”

“I know I’m not sexy, or anything.”

“Yeah, you are,” he said. “Otherwise, I don’t think we’d be engaged.”

“That isn’t funny.”

“It’s a little funny.”

~ This Baby Business, all rights reserved Harlequin Books

Pre-order here.

Two weeks from tomorrow…

Here’s another short excerpt of THIS BABY BUSINESS.  By the way, if you’ve already pre-ordered This Baby Business, do be sure to enter my giveaway here. I try to let my readers know via email and Facebook. I would hate anyone missing out on winning the Kindle Fire and other prizes. And now for our little teaser:

 

“Sometimes you’re the only thing that keeps me grounded,” Levi said, shoving a hand through his hair.

It was left mussed, sticking up slightly, and her pulse kicked up at seeing him look so…defenseless.

“Me?”

The thought that she could do that for him meant more to her than it probably should.

“Babe, you have to know that you drive me crazy.” He gave her an easy smile. “In the good way.”

She sucked in a breath but didn’t speak. It seemed they’d just crossed some kind of invisible line. Babe. No point in ignoring the obvious. They liked kissing each other. And maybe they’d like a few other things, too.

He crooked his finger.

She went to him like a cat to catnip and allowed him to pull her onto his lap. Her short floral skater skirt rose to indecent heights as she straddled him. He took full advantage, hands skimming up her bare thighs.

“So soft,” he said in a low and throaty tone.

His voice, deep and gravelly, had her nipples hard. Carly nipped at his lower lip, earning a very male groan from him.

His gaze heated. “That’s hot.”

Levi kissed her, his wicked tongue warm and wet. His hand dived under her T-shirt, sliding up and down her spine, settling at the small of her back. She lost her head and rocked her hips against the bulge in his pants. That pulled an even rougher, more erotic sound out of him, and his hands lowered to tighten on her hips.

 

ANOTHER COVER REVEAL~

For the first time ever, I’ll have two releases in the same month! This October, look for Falling for You, an anthology of ten small town novellas centered around the pre-Christmas holidays. Fall. Autumn leaves and pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving Day.

This autumn, warm your heart with ten fall-themed novellas from some of your favorite USA Today bestselling, national bestselling, and award winning Harlequin Superromance authors.

When the weather cools down, hearts heat up…

Bonfires aren’t the only things warming up the night. Across the land, hearts are falling along with the leaves. Curl up with a pumpkin spice latte and warm your heart with ten tales of autumn love.

Foreword by Brenda Novak.

Only 99 cents for a limited time only!

 

COVER REVEAL!

Here’s the wonderful womb-busting, “oh, my ovaries” cover for This Baby Business.

When I first saw it I thought the guy looked a little bit like Justin Timberlake.

Hope you like!

Available NOW for pre-order.