First, if we were meeting at a coffee shop I’d be drinking a Latte with Coconut Milk and a drizzle of caramel:)
What would you order?

Being extremely boring I’d probably order a plain old latte – or maybe a peppermint tea if I’m feeling particularly virtuous (but TBH I’m very rarely virtuous).

Thanks so much for hanging out with me today.

Thanks for asking me.

Congratulations on your RITA nomination in the Contemporary Romance: Short category for Tempting the Knight. Super exciting and what an honor. Where were you when you got the call?

Thanks so much for the congratulations Rae, I’m absolutely thrilled to bits… As it was around 2pm in the UK when they did the calls from Houston, I was sitting at my kitchen table chomping on a cheese and pickle sandwich for my lunch… Which I very nearly choked on when I picked up the phone and Alyssa Day introduced herself!

For those who are not familiar with your work can you tell us a little bit your books, they take place in some pretty cool places! By the way – the covers are fab! What was the inspiration for Tempting the Knight? How many books can we expect from the Fairy Tales of New York series? What can we expect from your next release?

Tule covers are totally fab aren’t they… So my books, basically I write hot, funny contemporary romance mostly for Harlequin (originally in Kiss and Presents Extra), but I’ve also done stories for Tule and Entangled.

The inspiration for Tempting the Knight was two fold: First off, Amy Andrews contacted me about doing a continuity series together again. She came up with the idea of doing four contemporary riffs on classic fairy tales, we invited Kelly Hunter and Lucy King to join us and then – after over 2000 emails brainstorming ideas – I came up with the idea of a runaway supermodel Rapunzel with spectacular hair getting busted out of her ivory tower (metaphorically speaking) when she hides out on a legal aid attorney’s house barge in Brooklyn for the Labor Day Weekend… The inspiration for the house barge setting though came from an Air BnB road trip I did with my best mate in October 2013… We actually stayed on that house barge, moored in a marina off Knapp St, it was so cool and funky and unexpected I knew I would have to set a story there.

The Fairy Tales of New York are actually four hot new makeovers of The Ugly Duckling, Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella which revolve around an Irish-American pub in Brooklyn. The four heroines are BFFs who were split up at convent school after an incident with some stolen altar wine and the stories cover the eventful year a decade later when they bond all over again and find love… Amy Andrews’ barmaid heroine Faith (our Cinders) also happens to have several hunky older brothers – one of whom came in handy as my hero! Here’s the run down:

Book 1: Pursued by the Rogue by Kelly Hunter

Book 2: Tempting the Knight by moi

Book 3: Taming the Beast by Lucy King

Book 4: Seduced by the Baron by Amy Andrews

The books all work as stand alone novels, but reading them together will enhance the pleasure (I promise).

Out next, I hope to have my first classic Harlequin Presents  – about a tortured taciturn self-made New York billionaire and the ex-wife who gatecrashes his solo sailing holiday to the Caribbean when she discovers their divorce was never finalized – but I’ve only just finished it, so the release date/title etc is yet to be confirmed.

A quick little plug – readers should run to Amazon right now, 
Tempting the Knight (The Fairy Tales of New York Series Book 2) – is $2.99 on Amazon and your books in the Harlequin Kiss line are just $1.99 each. A few perfectly priced books to start your collection dear readers or add to it! 🙂

Cool!

I read on your blog that you went to the London Book Fair, for those of us here in the states can you tell us a little bit about that?

It’s this completely mental publishing event that takes place in a huge Victorian building in West London called Olympia. All the major International publishers and agents are there busy buying and pitching books over three days, but they also do some really interesting seminars for writers who want to know more about the business end of publishing… It’s the first time I’ve been even though I live in London and have been a published author for nearly ten years. Have to say it was fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Rather idiotically, I had no real concept of what an insanely HUGE and complex business publishing is until I went!

Can you tell us when and where you will be in the upcoming months?

Well, mostly I’m going to be at home in my study in London typing away like a lunatic as I’ve got so much work lined up. I’ve just sent off my first book for Harlequin Presents, so I’m working on an outline for the second book on the contract, while also working on a second longer book for Harlequin UK (my first ST book So Now You’re Back was released in February). And I’ve also got to find time in the next couple of months to create an online writing course on How to Write Hot Romance with the wonderful women at The Professional Writing Academy which we’re hoping to launch in September… On top of that I’m going to Italy in June with my DH and two sons for a week long holiday (while selflessly scouting out some great Presents locations) and then heading to the RWA conference in San Diego in July for the RITAs. Sheesh, I’m exhausted just typing all that stuff down… But also super excited.

***** 8 Tantalizing Tidbits *****

1. What is a must read book and why?

Outlander because… Jamie Fraser.

2. What is one place that I should see if I visit your hometown?

Wow, there are so many amazing things to do and see in London which is where I was born and still live.. But if I was you I’d avoid the West End like the plague (which is usually heaving and very overpriced these days) and head to Borough Market on the south end of London Bridge. You can get food from all over the world there (all of it delicious) and have a pint in an authentic London pub or go to the top of the Shard (the tallest building in Europe) and get a vertigo-inducing view of the whole city. Okay, that’s three places to see but they’re all very close together, honest…

3. Castles or Beaches?

Beaches, especially on cold wintry days. Donegal in Ireland or The Pembroke Peninsula in Wales are particularly good for this as the beaches are beautiful and mostly deserted and even summer days can often be cold and wintry.

4. What is your guilty pleasure?

Really? I can name only one? But I have so many. Guilty pleasures are my forte! Hmm, I guess yesterday it would be binge-watching episodes of Starz Outlander in bed while pretending not to hear my younger son ask when lunch was going to be ready. I believe the words ‘when you make it’ might have been said at some point. FYI he’s 18, so his guilty pleasure is obviously nagging his mum to do stuff he’s perfectly capable of doing himself.

5. What are you afraid of?

Getting to the bottom of our laundry pile… If this ever happens it will almost certainly be the end of the world as we know it.

6. Organized or Free Floating?

Free floating frequently off into the cosmos of social media (see what I mean about guilty pleasures??) with a desperate urge to be more organized.

7. Binge watcher or weekly viewer? Which shows?

Binge watcher all the way. I so do not do deferred gratification. Shows-wise there are so many, but just for starters: Better Call Saul, The Night Manager, Poldark, Outlander (obviously), The Good Wife, Suits (Harvey Spector, I love you), Making of a Murderer (which made me shout at the TV, a lot), but there are many more..

8. If you could pick a book you’ve read and make it into a movie, which book would it be, besides yours 🙂 ?

A good friend of mine called Iona Grey wrote an absolutely amazing novel called Letters to the Lost which won the UK’s Romantic Novel of the Year Award. It’s an incredibly moving love story, that spans two generations – a US airman and an unhappily married English woman during the Blitz and the runaway girl and the young heir hunter who find their letters in a derelict house in London in the modern day. I would love to see that movie, so much so I’ve already cast it in my head and Gabriel Macht is Dan Rosinsky, the US airman… BTW if this actually happens I will be expecting Iona to get me an invite onto the set. I hope you’re listening, Iona!

Thanks again for hanging out! Time for another Latte 🙂

Happy Reading Dear Readers.

Happy Writing Heidi

*****GIVEAWAY******

Heidi Rice has generously donated ONE e-book copy of Daring the Bad Boy by Heidi Rice.

Answer the following question in the comments to be eligible to win: What book you’d like to see made into a movie or TV show?

Contest ends on 5/13/16 at 11:59 PM

One winner will be randomly selected. Winner must comment within 24 hours to claim their prize or a new winner will be randomly selected.

Contest open to US/International.

**********************************************************
To find out who wins the 2016 RITA in each category head over to Romance Writers of America on July 16 at 8PM PT. Winners will be announced and be sure to follow #RITAGH and #RWA16 for all the news that night!

Bio:

Author Heidi Rice’s first love was watching movies so, not surprisingly, her first proper job was as a film journalist. But after spending years sneaking off to read romantic fiction when she was being paid to watch some crappy B-movie or other, she decided to try writing a novel of her own.

Her first book was published by Harlequin in 2007. Nine years and 20something published novels, novellas and short stories later,and she has nabbed three RITA nominations, had her work translated into over twenty languages, become a USA Today bestseller and sold over  two million copies of her books worldwide.
As you can probably tell, she loves her job, because it involves sitting down at her computer each day and getting swept up in a world of high emotions, sensual excitement, funny flawed women, sexy tortured men and glamourous locations where laundry doesn’t exist …

She lives in London with her husband and two sons, and lots of other gorgeous men who are entirely in her imagination (unlike the laundry, unfortunately).