Meet Heidi Betts!
At RWA National this year, I fell in love with the coffee room for PAN members. This lovely lady is one reason why. :)Please give a warm welcome to my good friend, Heidi Betts!
“Chicks with Sticks” – Book 1
St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 0-312-94671-6
February 2009
ARE THEY FIT TO BE TIED?
Ever since Dylan Stone beat Veronica Chasen out of a prime position at the Cleveland Herald, they’ve been bitter rivals, engaging in a very public war of words in their competing newspaper columns. They routinely challenge each other to go bungee jumping, white water rafting, or into tattoo parlors to see who will wimp out first. But Veronica’s latest taunt may be Dylan’s toughest assignment yet: She dares him to learn to knit.
OR WILL DESIRE UNRAVEL THEM BOTH?
Dylan is not going to let something his grandmother can do scare him off. He’s man enough to make a scarf—and attend Veronica’s weekly knitting circle. But when the infuriatingly handsome Dylan shows up at the craft shop and charms all the ladies, Veronica begins to get all knotted up in something that feels a lot like love… But will the two ever stop needling each other?
Buy from Amazon/Borders - Barnes & Noble - Books-A-Million - Chapters.ca (Canada) -
St. Martin’s Press - Rendezvous Books (Australia)
Bestselling, award-winning author Heidi Betts began her love affair with the romance genre in junior high school, where she used to sneak romance novels into study hall when she should have been doing her homework. It didn’t take long to decide she wanted to write a few romances of her own, so she set out to do just that.
Her first book was released by Dorchester Publishing in 2000, with five more to follow. From there, Heidi moved into the contemporary arena by writing numerous category titles for Silhouette Desire, and recently she signed with St. Martin’s Press to begin writing funny, sexy single titles.
With each new book, Heidi asks herself how she can bring to life endearing heroes and heroines whom readers will believe are meant for each other. A with each new novel to hit the stands, readers and reviewers alike declare she knows how to create a story that sizzles, charms, and delights from the first page to the last. Her first title for Silhouette Desire landed at #1 on the Waldenbooks/Borders Series Romance Bestseller List, where her books have continued to make an appearance ever since.
Heidi loves to read, write, watch movies (and just a little too much television), and surround herself with furry, four-legged friends in her home in the beautiful hills of Central Pennsylvania.
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Who says yarn can’t be sexy?
National bestselling author HEIDI BETTS brings you the sexy, sassy, sensational “Chicks with Sticks” trilogy:
TANGLED UP IN LOVE — coming FEBRUARY 2009 from St. Martin’s Press
REAL MEN LAST ALL NIGHT anthology — July 2009 (w/ Lori Foster, Lora Leigh, & Cheyenne McCray)
LOVES ME, LOVES ME KNOT — August 2009
KNOCK ME FOR A LOOP – February 2010
They’ve got needles, and they know how to use them!
The Website: HeidiBetts.com
The Blogs: HeidiBetts.com/WIPSandChains ~ HeidiBetts.com/MustLoveYarn
Books Make Great Gifts. Spread the Word!
January 13th, 2009 at 9:47 am
You’re so sweet, Jamie. Thanks for having me, & for the great intro. (That little coffee nook was nice, wasn’t it? Altho, it was tea for me—lots & lots of tea. :P) I’m delighted to be here to meet all your awesome readers & to chat about TANGLED UP IN LOVE. If anyone has any questions or just wants to chat, I’m ready, willing, & able.
January 13th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Hi Heidi! I’m so glad to have you visiting. I probably should have stuck with tea but I needed caffeine too much. lol I loved the Starbucks cups with the holders, though. Great idea, whoever had it.
Speaking of great ideas, I’ve been reading Tangled Up In Love in preparation for our interview. I am so loving this story! Funny, sexy, witty. I love the sparks between your hero and heroine.
January 13th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Hi, Heidi! Hi, Jamie! What a cool blog! And very lovely to “see” you over here, Heidi! Are you knitting something to commemorate each of your Chicks with Sticks releases?
January 13th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Hey, Jamie~ Well, I hate coffee, so I wouldn’t go near it whether I needed caffiene or not. And I just love that Tazo brand they had there. (Don’t tell anyone, but I filched a few bags to take back to the room with me each day because all they had there was the generic stuff. *vbg*)
I’m so happy you’re enjoying TANGLED. And all those fabulous words you used—funny, sexy, witty (I just had to repeat them ;))—are exactly what I want people to think while reading it. Sparks are good, too…always! I can’t wait to see what questions you come up with for the interview. Just…be gentle with me, okay? LOL
January 13th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Hi, Fedora! So glad you made your way out of The Dungeon to drop by & say hello. (I promise not to alert Mistress Heidi to your escape. *g*)
I think I mentioned over at WIPs and Chains that there’s going to be a pattern in the back of each of the “Chicks with Sticks” books. And each pattern is going to tie in to the individual story. For instance, in TANGLED, Dylan does his trial & error of learning to knit with a scarf, so the pattern for “his” scarf is in the back of that book. And in order to make sure I got the patterns right, I of course had to knit each of the connected items for myself.
For TANGLED UP IN LOVE, it was a scarf, for LOVES ME, LOVES ME KNOT it was a boa (heroine Jenna’s favorite knitting project), & for KNOCK ME FOR A LOOP… No, I don’t think I’ll let the cat out of the bag on that one just yet because it’s kind of cute & I sort of want it to be a surprise.
I can’t wait to see if readers actually try the patterns, though, & find out how the items turn out.
January 14th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Hi Heidi! Hi Jamie, love the blog!
I am completely excited about this book! And even though I can’t knit I may have to talk someone into doing it for me. (my mom can do it)
Heidi what was your inspiration on this book? Did it come to you all at once or just something you’ve always had a passion for introducng into a romance book?
January 14th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Hi Jamie and Heidi,
Just came over to say hi. I’m shocked to learn that you stole some teabags, though I have been known to sneak some honey packets into my purse every time I’m there.
January 15th, 2009 at 12:45 am
Hi Fedora! Good to see you again.
Heidi, I’m with you on the tea. I loved the tiny jars of honey, too. Those were sooo cute! And, every word was very deserved! 388 pages in and I still think so.
The patterns are an awesome idea, though I wonder if I’ll poke myself in the eye trying to work two sticks instead of the one I was taught. lol
January 15th, 2009 at 12:47 am
Hi Bonia! Great questions.
Hi Jane! I am so with you on the honey (see confession above. lol)
January 19th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Hi, Bonia! It doesn’t say much for my organizational skills, but I sort of lost track of the comments over here, so I’m late responding. I’ll take care of that now…& the good news is that I’ll be here again tomorrow, so hopefully you’ll all drop in again & we’ll be able to catch practically in real time.
I’m so excited that you’re excited about the book. So am I, but I’m sure you couldn’t tell. *vbg* You should definitely ask your mom to teach you to knit. It would be so cool, too, if you learned to knit with the pattern in the back of TANGLED. It’s really pretty simple, & then you could send me pics & I could post you as TANGLED success story on both WIPs & Must Love Yarn. Oooh, I love that idea, how about you?!?
And even though I’ve seen knitting-themed fiction on the shelves, it never occurred to me to write one myself. Not until my editor suggested it. After that, tho, I was completely inspired to do something very different, very out of the box. I wanted to break every stereotypical idea people had about knitting. And you know what I’m talking about…the image of a little old lady in a rocking chair, knitting while surrounded by a thousand cats.
So I wracked my brain for ways to make it sexy, to make it a young people’s hobby, to bring it into the mainstream. And of course to make it as laugh out loud funny as often as I possibly could.
January 19th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Welcome, Jane! Now, given what goes on in The Dungeon, I find it hard to believe it surprises you that filched tea bags. I mean, really! LOL They’re lucky I didn’t also steal the cups, hot water tanks, & silverware! ROTF In my defense, tho, I come from a family tree where it was not only acceptable, but expected that you steal sugar packets from every restaurant you were ever in, then bring them home to dump into your own sugar bowl. I do not do that, thankyouverymuch. But then, I like tea way better than sugar. *vbg*
January 19th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Jamie~ Have you see those wee little bottles of ketchup & mustard & mayo they have now for buffets & such. Ohmigosh, I love them. They make me feel like a giant!
And thank you so much for all the kind words about TANGLED. I’m really, really happy you’re enjoying it.
:-D 
The patterns were great fun to put together. But if you try any of them, do wear some protective goggles or something so you don’t lose an eye. That would be very bad & I don’t want to get blamed for being the cause of bodily injury. LOL
January 19th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Ohh, how cute! Tea party, anyone? Just think of how all the little toddlers could have fun with those!
Thanks, Heidi. lol If I try, I’ll be extra careful.
You know, the image I have of knitting actually isn’t the little, white haired lady. It’s funny. By 7, my mom taught me how to crochet. All the crafty people around me did that. So the first time I saw someone knitting, I was 10. There was a girl just a little older than me, sitting still on a swingset at the playground of the apartments where I lived. It was one of those few times I took a break from reading and went outside.
So there she sat, maybe 12 years old, on a silent swing with two needles and her yarn. We talked a bit a about it and she showed me how it was done, which I’ve long forgotten, but that is actually the image in my head when I think of knitting. It’s kind of neat. lol
January 20th, 2009 at 8:29 am
They are cute, Jamie. And they’re also really convenient to refill & use when you only need a serving or two of the condiment…like when you’re feeding kids or packing a lunch. So much easier than dealing with a giant bottle.
And that’s a great image of knitting to have! I wonder if that girl who was knitting at age 10 is still knitting.