Wednesday 27 October 2010

Let's Talk About Conflict, Baby!!

Pop on over to the Pink Heart Society today where I am doing a little chat about that perenial favourite "conflict"!!

Don't know about the rest of you, but this is the thing I struggle with most in all my books... So I wanted to take the opportunity to analyse the conflict in a couple of iconic books and see if anyone wanted to join me...

So don't leave me hanging guys! And there's a hint in the picture as to what one of those books might be!

Tuesday 26 October 2010

Anyone in Gant's Hill Tonight?

Hi All

Just a quick head's up to say I'm going to be at Gant's Hill Library tonight in the lovely borough of Redbridge as part of a panel event being chaired by the wonderful Jean Fullerton! I'll be joined by fellow authors Sue Moorcroft, Juliet Archer and Sheila Norton and we'll all be answering questions on writing women's fiction and romance. So if you're in the area and fancy a good ole chinwag come on down.

I'll also be bringing along some copies of my brand new Modern Heat, Surf, Sea and a Sexy Stranger.

Should be a hoot. We kick off at 7.30pm... And it would be seriously cool to see some familiar faces there!

Friday 22 October 2010

And the Winner is...!!

Okay, so forced my sleepy 12-year-old to pick a winner for my book contest this morning while he was eating his cereal and, being as he was half asleep, he picked two names out!! We had a little debate and decided that it would be bad karma this close to Halloween to re-draw them so have decided to keep the good-luck gremlins happy and offer two books! And the names picked out were:

RACHAEL BLAIR and JAYNE HALL

So Rach and Jayne, congratulations... Email me your details and I'll post off your brand spanking new copy of Surf, Sea and a Sexy Stranger asap.

Thanks everyone else for entering, it's always nice to know there's a lot of people out there wanna win my books. Rye and Maddy's story is actually on sale from November 19th in the UK and Ireland, as it's in the first cycle of December releases.. And details will be up on the M&B site on 1st November.  I've also got word that it will be going into Presents Extra in the North America in April 2011!! Yippee...

I'm gonna post a sneak peek on my site today, so watch this space.

In other news, Cal and Ruby's story has just got the green light from my editor, after some frantic last-minute revisions... This is my delicious barrister and my flirty cupcake entrepreneur. It's currently slated for release in May 2011 in the UK as a brand spanking new RIVA. The title they're toying with made me grin from ear to ear. No blackmail, no billionaires, no mistresses... Just Cupcakes and Killer Heels. How cool is that? It's not definite yet mind you, but I like it. Am really excited about the way this line is going... And am thinking there's a lot they can do with cupcakes and dishy guys on the cover!!

Anyway, was a bit gutted to hear that neither of my mentees got through to the Final Four on New Voices, but just wanted to say it was a pleasure working with both Kat and Kara and hope they enjoyed the experience as much as I did. They're both talented writers and I'm sure we haven't heard the last from either one of them.

So onwards with a new story idea, am currently thinking about making my next heroine a freelance heirhunter and my hero the illegitimate heir to an Italian Dukedom.. With locations in San Francisco and Lake Como... Which gives me a great excuse to spend the rest of the day googling piccies of George Clooney in his Italian home! Jeeze this is such a hard job sometimes.


See what I mean!!

Monday 18 October 2010

Come Join the Party!

Earlier this year I took part in a mega exciting project when I was interviewed by journalist Solange Berchemin and photographed by photographer Anne Mortensen for a coffee-table book about writers on writing called Writers in Black and White.

Well, to be honest I almost forgot about it, until a heavy package landed on my doorstep last week... And I opened it to discover an absolutely gorgeous book full of exceptionally talented writers (all beautifully photographed by Anne) talking about their writing life. Everyone from crime-writing phenomenon Lee Child to literary giants such as Hanif Kureshi and Joanne Harris are in there, and alongside all that talent is little ole me!! I'm both honoured and exceptionally proud to be in this book, and I think it shows a real commitment on the part of the book's creators that they have produced such an inclusive view of the publishing industry today. Aimed at giving a unique insight into the lives of profession authors, I feel this book really is an invaluable resource for aspiring writers, not least to help dispel some of the myths about making your living as a writer — in any genre.

Anyway, now to the best bit. There's going to be a pre-launch party to celebrate the release of the book in November at the 5th floor champagne bar at Waterstone's in Picadilly on 27th October, which I will be attending and Solange is giving away a complementary ticket on her blog. So if you happen to live in or near London and want to come and raise a glass of bubbly with me, go check it out.

Friday 15 October 2010

Book Comp, First Kisses and Robert Redford in Navy Whites

I'm over at the PHS today, getting all goose-pimplely about the classic weepie The Way We Were... Does anyone look better in Navy Whites than Robert Redford in that movie? I guess Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentlemen gives him some serious competition... You decide.

Now, you can pop over and comment there to win a copy of my new Modern Heat novel, Surf, Sea and a Sexy Stranger, which isn't actually due out until November 17th in the UK... But as I've just received a whole box of them, and I'm super proud of this book, and the gorgeous new cover design for Modern Heat - plus as this is going to be my last Modern Heat book (little sniff of sadness here), with the line morphing into Riva in January - I've decided to give away a copy here too. Simultaneously. How cool and astrologically aligned of me is that!!

All you have to do is email the answer to this simple question to heidi@heidi-rice.com! You may have to scroll back through this blog to get the answer as the details of this book won't be on the M&B website till November 1st. I'll also be posting a sneak peek on my website this weekend so watch out for that. I'll pick the lucky winner next Friday.

Q: In which British coastal county does Maddy rescue Rye from the waves.

Now in other news, I send thru the revisions on Cal and Ruby's story on Tuesday night.... Late on Tuesday night, and am currently keeping my fingers crossed that my ed likes them. I've also been super-busy mentoring my two fab entries in the New Voices competition. So if you want to check out any of the top ten second chapters which are now up, you can here.

And I'm over on I Heart Presents today talking about First Kisses, Second Chances and Unfinished Business with the Duke... Accompanied by this photo of me as a scruffy tomboy (I take no responsibility for that mess of a hairdo, my mother didn't believe in hairbrushes and came from the just-lop-off-the-fringe school of haircuts).

So if you have a great first kiss story - either good, bad or ugly - then come share.

Thursday 14 October 2010

Unfinished Bloodsucking with the Dark Lord!!

Just heard of a howlingly funny competition for all you aspiring authors out there. Diesel Ebooks are running a contest to celebrate Halloween and the launch of Harlequin's Jane Austen/paranormal mash-up anthology Bespelling Jane Austen. Basically what you have to do is re-write the blurb to one of five Harlequin October releases as if it were a zombie, vampire or shape-shifter novel... And one of the chosen books is my own Unfinished Business with the Duke!!

Prizes include a Kobo or Nook ebook reader and 50 dollars of Diesel vounchers and the chance to have your blurb read by professional actors during a live podcast at Diesel's Mash-Up Meet-Up in NYC on Oct 28th....

And I want a mash-up of Unfinished Business to win, folks. So as I can't enter myself (rats!!), I'm handing the baton over to all the talented authors who read this blog. Go forth and turn Issy and Gio into creatures of the night! Brawhahahaha!!

Details of how to enter are here....

And here's the original blurb to get those creative juices (and freshly harvested blood) flowing:

Long ago Issy Helligan lost her virginity to gorgeous aristocratic rebel Giovanni Hamilton. Then he left without a backward glance and Issy was heartbroken.…

Now, years later, she's doing just fine. Well, perhaps performing singagrams is not her first-choice career, but needs must. But now who should be there to bear witness to her humiliation? Gio Hamilton, now a duke and more gorgeous than ever. He steps into the fray, rescues her, ravishes her senseless and offers to solve all her money worries. There'll be no "forever" with this guy, so is he too good to be true…or 
simply too delicious to refuse?