December 06, 2012

Baby It's Cold Outside - Interviews & Giveaway! (18+)

Winner: BN100!!


Welcome to our stop on the Baby, It's Cold Outside blog tour!

Baby, It's Cold Outside is an anthology featuring romance stories by authors Amy Andrews, Aimee Carson, Kate Hardy, and Heidi Rice.

Today we share FOUR interviews with you. Yup, FOUR. We got to interview all four authors and here is what they had to say...


What do you need to set the mood for you to write?

I need the right collection of songs and the collage of photos I create that “tells” the story I’m trying to write. A little cooperation from my family is a must, too! Constant interruptions make it next to impossible to keep your mind in the right mood.

What's your favorite thing to do when you're not writing?

My property borders the Black Hills National Forest, so I love to hike or ride my dirt bike on the trails.

What is your favorite book of all time that you can reread a hundred times, and it still feels like the first time?

I have several like this, but I have to pick Pride and Prejudice. I make a point to reread it every year.

Cat or Dog? Dog, because cats intimidate the heck out of me. They always look at you like they know something you don’t . . .

Mountain views or Ocean views? I grew up in Florida but now live in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, so definitely mountain! I love cold. I love snow. And best of all, no sunscreen required!

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  1. Tell us a little about yourself and your latest/upcoming release.

I’ve written more than 50 novels for Harlequin; I live in Norwich (UK) with my husband, two children, springer spaniel and too many books to count! ‘Tis the Season to Kiss Santa is one of the four novellas in Baby It’s Cold Outside – it’s all about how a Chief Elf who loves Christmas teaches a stand-in Santa that Christmas dreams really can come true.

  1. What's the one piece of technology you can't live without?

My iMac. (Let’s just say my editor says some of my apps need a child lock on them…!)

  1. What's your favorite thing to do when you're not writing?

Depends on the weather and if it’s the weekend – my favourite things are walking on the beach, reading, baking, and going to the gym (and if anyone had told me that last one a year ago, I would’ve laughed and said they were crazy… but it was one of my better decisions!)

  1. Describe yourself in 3 words. warm, kind, eccentric

  1. What do you normally like to read when not writing?

A real mixture – I enjoy contemporary romance, historical crime, non-fiction about science or history (or, even better, both).

  1. If you could meet anyone and spend an hour with them alive or dead who and why?

I would dearly love to spend that hour with my mum. She died when I was 20, so she never got to meet my children or see me published. I’d so love to be able to share that with her. (I’m pretty sure she knows. But to talk to her again would be just fantastic.)

  1. What is your favorite book of all time that you can reread a hundred times, and it still feels like the first time?

Can I be greedy and have three? Liz Fielding’s ‘Gentlemen Prefer… Brunettes’ (because her dialogue is fantastic and I wish I’d written it), Diana Norman’s ‘The Vizard Mask’ (best historical novel EVER, for me – set in Restoration London during the plague – fabulous characterisation and setting); and Daphne du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’ (speaks for itself!!)

  1. What scene was your favorite to write? The snow angel scene  

  1. If there is one genre that you have not written in yet, but would love to try writing a book in that specific genre, what would it be? Timeslip

Cat or Dog? Dog
Ice cream or Sorbet? Ice cream  
Heels or flats? What, I have to wear shoes???
Coffee or Tea? Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon (well, hey, I’m a Brit – and my fave tea is very British, too, i.e. Fortnum & Mason’s Countess Grey blend)
Iced tea or hot tea?  Hot tea
Snow or rain? Snow, as long as I don’t have to drive in it
Movies at home or Movie Theater? Theater
Actual book or eReader?  Just got my very first Kindle so the jury’s still out on that one!
Spring or Summer? spring
Fall or winter? fall
Vampires or Werewolves? Antonio Banderas in ‘Interview with a Vampire’, please  
Action movies or Chick flicks? Chick flicks
Horror movies or Mystery movies? Mystery
Mountain views or Ocean views? Ocean

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Do you read reviews of your books? What do you do when you read a not-so-nice one?

Yes, it's a weakness of mine. When I read a stinker I feel wounded (I'm not gonna lie - that's my baby they're taking a pop at) but then I go on Goodreads, look up a book I adored (Outlander, or The Time Traveller's Wife are good examples) and read some of their bad reviews, and it always makes me feel better - because it totally puts my bad review in perspective. Not everyone can love your book - in fact some people are gonna hate it - but that doesn't mean they hate you (I hope!) and it doesn't mean you're a bad writer, it just means they didn't like your book. And as long as you love your baby and keep on writing the best book you can, that's really all that matters. Of course, not reading those stinker reviews would be a lot easier.... So I'm working on it!


Describe yourself in 3 words.

Svelte, stunning, delusional

Who do you most admire?

My Mum. She's epic. She's 76, has been a widow for 20 years, has four kids and 10 grandkids who all adore her, is currently in the Maldives — and has trips to Australia and Cambodia planned for the new year. We call her Granny Wanderlust (for obvious reasons) - and I want to be her when I grow up!


THIS OR THAT 

Cat or Dog?  Neither - we already have four tree frogs, two toads, two turtles, several goldfish, a leopard gekko, two African landsnails and a crayfish courtesy of my younger son (who I really should have named Noah)
Ice cream or Sorbet? Ice Cream, preferably Gelati, Sorbet's just pretentious ice IMHO!
Heels or flats? Heels for nights on the town, flats for everything else.
Iced tea or hot tea? Iced tea in Savannah, hot tea in London
Snow or rain? Snow (rain is somewhat passé in the UK)
Movies at home or Movie Theater? Theatre, unless we're watching The Polar Express next to the tree on Christmas Eve.
Twitter or Facebook? Way too much of both.
Actual book or eReader? eReader - I'm in love with my Kindle.
Vampires or Werewolves? Team Edward all the way, baby.
Ghost or Zombies? Ghost, can't be dealing with all that rotting flesh.
Action movies or Chick flicks? Chick flicks (unless we're talking Daniel Craig in his blue Speedos as Bond)

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Describe yourself in 3 words.

Pragmatic, friendly, lazy

When did you realize that you wanted to become a writer? What was the very first thing you ever wrote?

I realized after my first rejection that I wanted to become a published author. Rejection made me bloody-minded  The first thing I ever wrote(apart from angsty teenage poetry) is the aforementioned rejection. It was a 50k category romance that I sent to Harlequin. I wrote it in 10 days!! A chapter a day for ten days. Which of course is why it was terrible and it was rejected but to this day I think it’s my favourite book I’ve ever written because it’s rejection made me determined to achieve the goal of publication. 12 years later I finally made it!!

Do you read reviews of your books? What do you do when you read a not-so-nice one?

Of course I do. I always want to know what readers are saying about me even if it’s not nice. Not everyone’s going to like what you write and I have a pretty thick skin so I’m okay with that. What is hard is when you get a personal email that tells you how much they hate you/the book. What do you do then? I blog about it  http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/3265321-dear-reader-four-alternatives-to-hate-mail


Cat or Dog? Dog
Ice cream or Sorbet? Ice cream
Heels or flats? Flats
Knives or sword? Neither
Coffee or Tea? Tea
Iced tea or hot tea? Hot tea
Snow or rain? Snow
Movies at home or Movie Theater? Movie theatre
Soda or Juice? Soda
Twitter or Facebook? Twitter (can’t believe I just wrote that – recent convert!!!)
Actual book or eReader? Book
Actual book or Audiobook? Book
Spring or Summer? Spring
Fall or winter?  Fall (bearing in mind where I live, there is NO “Fall” to speak of!)
Long Sleeves or Short Sleeves? Short
Young Adult or New Adult? YA
Vampires or Werewolves? Neither
Ghost or Zombies? Neither. Although since reading Kylie Scott I’d have to choose Zombie’s.
Action movies or Chick flicks? Chick flicks
Horror movies or Mystery movies? Mystery movies
Mountain views or Ocean views? Ocean views

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Find Amy Andrews: Web GoodreadsFacebookTwitter
Find Aimee Carson: WebGoodreadsFacebookTwitter
Find Kate Hardy: WebGoodreadsFacebookTwitter
Find Heidi Rice: WebBlogGoodreadsFacebookTwitter


 

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

When a freak blizzard hits America’s Eastern seaboard, four pairs of strangers spend a hot night together one cold Christmas season!

‘Tis the Season to Kiss Santa by Kate Hardy

With the help of a sprig of mistletoe and some snow angels, a recently single pastry chef teaches a highly successful and sexy Scrooge the true meaning of the holidays on a snowy Christmas Eve that quickly heats up.

‘Tis the Season to Go Shopping by Heidi Rice

When a Christmas Day blizzard strands an up-and-coming marketing manager and her boss’s very off-limits, very hot playboy son in his department store, the two toe the line between naughty and nice as they unwrap their holiday presents—and each other!

‘Tis the Season to be Kissed by Amy Andrews

A down-on-her-romantic-luck kindergarten teacher plans to drown her New Year’s Eve sorrows in a gallon of spiked eggnog, but the arrival of her best friend’s sexy brother threatens to melt the snow piling up outside the tiny Vermont cabin.

‘Tis the Season to be Tempted by Aimee Carson

After the worst year ever, a jilted music manager rings in the New Year alone, swearing off men forever. But things get complicated when her brother’s best friend, the perfect man with the perfect body, tempts her to break her vow—if only for one hot night!
Title: Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Author: Kate Hardy, Heidi Rice, Amy Andrews, Aimee Carson
Genre: Category – Contemporary Romance
Length: 260 pages
ISBN:  978-1-62266-810-6
Release Date: November 2012
Imprint: Indulgence




 There will be 4 gift card giveaways throughout the tour -- 1 per week. Below is this week's rafflecopter form. 

Plus, leave a comment on this post and you could win an ebook copy of Baby, It's Cold Outside. 

Good luck!
    


a Rafflecopter giveaway

11 comments:

  1. Great interviews ladies!

    Aimee - LOL re cats. Mine is a master at the disdainful look :)

    Kate - very jealous of you living near such beautiful coastline. Wish we were a bit closer to a nice beach. Weston-Super-Mare is our closest.

    Heidi - I think reading reviews must be the scariest part of being a writer. You're absolutely right though, you're never going to please everyone. On the flip side - with a good review - how lovely to reach someone you've never met with your stories - that's quite something!

    Amy - LOL re. your first rejection. I did exactly the same as you! Rs are very useful in a lot of ways though, it certainly made me pull my socks up :)

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  2. Fab interviews! I can't wait to read this, all my favourite authors in one book. It's the best Christmast gift :)

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  3. I love Christmas Anthologies:) It's a weakness. LOL The interviews are wonderful-- I have to say that I prefer zombies to ghosts, but not the zombies themselves, just the zombie hunters!

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  4. Very nice interviews.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  5. Hey Damaris. Thanks for having us all here!

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  6. Thank you so much for this amazing giveaway :)

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  7. This sounds like a fun sexy holiday read. Thank you.

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  8. Sounds quite a fun read, thanks for introducing me to it.

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  9. yep, it is getting cold outside and he looks warm enough!

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  10. This sounds like a great book. I love finding anthologies to try new to me authors. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  11. Oh another one I am going to have to go buy! Love, love, love great books!

    Chele

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