Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale. ~Anonymous
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.
For more information about Heidi's writing or to inquire about film or publishing rights, please contact her agent: Richard Curtis Associates, Inc.
If you would like your books signed, send them—along with an SASE large enough for their return—to P.O. Box 99, Kylertown, PA 16847. Or you can request autographed bookplates, if you prefer. Bookmarks and other promo items are also available with a #10 business-size SASE.
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- Where do you get your ideas?
- When is your next book coming out?
- Why did you decide to write for Silhouette Desire?
- How do you go about doing research for your stories?
- How can I get my own writing published?
- How do I find an agent?
- I found a bunch of your books at a used book store…is it all right with you if I buy them there or would you rather I buy them at the regular bookstore
Where do you get your ideas?
I always cringe a little when asked this question because the honest-to-goodness answer is I don’t know. Scenes, characters, and story ideas just seem to come to me. Sometimes, I have to actively plot and brainstorm for a particular book, and other times ideas just pop into my head. I can think of something while reading, watching TV, shopping…anything. Water, too, seems to be very conducive to creativity. Or maybe it’s water-related activities that help the brain to relax and delve a little further into the subconscious, because any time I’m doing dishes, swimming, or taking a shower, I notice an influx of ideas racing through my mind. Unfortunately, it isn’t easy to write these ideas down when your hands are submerged in water.
When is your next book coming out?
Right now, the final book in my “Bed” trilogy, CHRISTMAS IN HIS ROYAL BED (Silhouette Desire #1833) is in stores and available online. This is the trilogy that began with BEDDED THEN WED and BLACKMAILED INTO BED, and is Alandra’s story. (Alandra, if you recall, is Elena’s sister from BLACKMAILED INTO BED.)
Next up will be my first paranormal story, a dragon novella in the Harper anthology, HOTTER THAN HELL. The last I heard, this collection will be released in July of 2008, and will include authors like Kim Harrison, Lilith St. Crow, Keri Arthur, and more, so it should be good!
And after that will be my single title debut in early 2009 with the sexy, funny contemporary trilogy I’m writing for St. Martin’s Press as we speak. Even though I’ve been sworn to secrecy on the details, I am very excited about this series and can’t wait until I’m allowed to tell you all about it. 
Why did you decide to write for Silhouette Desire?
I love everything about Silhouette Desire! Yes, I read books from the other Harlequin/Silhouette lines, but I think Desire has always been my favorite. Probably because the focus is so completely on the hero and heroine and the growing romance between them. And also because they’re such quick reads. Desires keep to a tight pace…not too fast, but perfect for the tone of story they encompass. You can read one in an afternoon, in between taking care of a million other things…or in a couple of hours, if you’re just concentrating on the story. I like to take them with me on plane trips because I can usually read the entire thing during the flight. I like to tell people, “Everyone has time to read a Desire!” And it’s true!
As far as writing them goes, I don’t think I could have designed a better fit for my writing voice and style, for all the reasons mentioned above. I love writing stories that focus almost entirely on the hero and heroine. I love building the sexual tension between them. I love focusing on the relationship and romance instead of worrying about a million other plot points, so I count myself very lucky to be able to write them. And I hope I can continue to for a very, very long time.
How do you go about doing research for your stories?
This really depends on what the story is about and what needs researched. For my historicals, I did a lot of general research about the Old West and the areas the stories were set, such as Texas or Kansas. For my Desires, I did a bit of background work ahead of time for the Chicago and Georgetown settings I’ve written about so far.
I’m not one of those people who does a lot of research before I begin a story because I never know quite what information I’ll use, but as I write, I’ll stop as often as necessary to research anything I need. It also helps that my mother is a junior high school librarian. She may not have every resource I need in her own library, but she always knows where to go to find what I’m looking for. Public and university libraries are also a wonderful source of information—as are the librarians who work there. I have always found the librarians at my local libraries more than willing to help me find information or track down a resource I need, and to help me keep it long enough to finish my book. And don’t forget about the internet. I don’t spend a lot of time researching online, but if you do a detailed enough search, you can often find things you didn’t even know existed that will help you tremendously.
How can I get my own writing published?
There’s a lot more to this than I could ever provide here, but I’ll start by saying that you first need to decide what you want to write and then go about researching the market for that genre. One of the first things I would suggest is joining a local writing group and then a larger professional organization. Since I write romance and mostly get this question from others also interested in writing romance, I highly recommend joining Romance Writers of America (www.rwanational.com). You can learn a lot from them about the craft of writing, as well as the industry. But whatever genre you choose to write in, I’m pretty sure there’s a “Writers of America” group for you—Mystery Writers of America, Sci-Fi/Fantasy Writers of America, Horror Writers of America, Western Writers of America … Do an internet search for whichever organization you might be interested in and I’m sure you’ll find a matching website.
Once you’re involved in some local writing groups and moving forward with learning the craft of writing, my best advice would be both to read, read, read and write, write, write. Read whatever it is you want to write—and I mean this very specifically. If you’re writing romance, then you’ve probably already been reading a lot of romance, but I mean that if you want to write for a particular publishing house or line (such as Harlequin Blaze or Silhouette Intimate Moments), then read as many of those books as you can get your hands on, especially the most recent releases. And writing is the only way you will ever hone your craft and have something solid and polished to submit to publishers. Even if your first book or two never find their way to publication, you still will have learned a great deal from the process of writing them. So just keep writing, keep learning, and keep submitting.
A better question might be “Do I need an agent?” Some people say yes, some people say no—I say, it depends. It depends on what you’re writing and where you are in your career. If you’re just starting out, it may actually be easier to sell your first (or first few) manuscripts than it is to find an agent as an unpublished writer. Do your own legwork instead of getting caught up in thinking you have to have an agent, because you can always get one later, after you’ve already got your foot in the publishing door. And if you’re concerned about negotiating your own contracts, talk to some writer friends (from those local or even long-distance writing groups you will by now belong to) who are familiar with literary contracts or read some of the wonderful books that are available on that subject, such as How to Be Your Own Literary Agent by Richard Curtis. They are very informative and can teach you a lot.
If you’re already published…well, if you’re already published, you probably aren’t reading this because you’ve already taken a lot (if not all) of the above steps. But on the off chance that you’ve already sold a book or three and feel you are ready and in need of an agent, there are plenty of sources available out there. Literary Marketplace and other such books have extensive agent listings. And again, your best source would probably be your local or long distance writing groups, where others will be able to share names and experiences with you.
I found a bunch of your books at a used book store…is it all right with you if I buy them there or would you rather I buy them at the regular bookstore?
Ouch, this is a touchy one. The short answer is, No, I would really prefer you bought my books brand new, at a regular bookstore (Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton, Borders, etc.) or any other retail outlet where they’re sold (Wal-Mart, K-Mart, even the grocery store). I suspect most authors would answer the same way.
But more important is why it’s so important to buy books by your favorite authors new rather than used. It’s not just about money, although most people would be startled by just how little authors really make. We hear about the multi-million-dollar deals being made by Stephen King, John Grisham, Danielle Steel...but the sad truth is that most of us are not anywhere near that sort of pay scale. We’re more like starving artists, making literally pennies on the dollar of whatever the cover price is of our books. (You do the math. It’s downright scary.)
And it’s not about giving used bookstores or used booksellers a bad name. Absolutely not! I know a lot of wonderful people who own used bookstores…they are wonderful, voracious readers who love to help customers find new authors or catch up on great stories they may have missed. There are lots of times, too, when you find a book you love only to discover the author has a backlist of titles that are no longer available new. Used bookstores are great for finding those old, out-of-print copies. I’ve used them for that very reason myself.
But when a book is brand new, or still available new through a retail outlet, it is really, really, really important to buy your books that way. Let me say that again: really important. Why? Because it’s not so much about money as it is about numbers. Publishers print a certain number of copies of the book they want to sell, then send it out into the world and hope it does well. If a large percentage of those books come back unsold, that’s not good. Many times, the publisher holds it against the author and is reluctant to give them another contract to write another book. Doesn’t matter how talented the author is. Doesn’t matter how much you enjoyed her last book. If her numbers are low, there’s a very real chance she’ll be cut from the publisher’s list. If a large percentage of the copies they’ve printed sell, this is good. It means fewer returns and better numbers for that title. The publishers like better numbers and are more likely to ask that author to write more books for them in the future.
Please don’t ask why things are done that way or why they aren’t done differently. Who knows? It’s been done this way since the Depression, as I understand it, and probably won’t be changed anytime soon.
So the bottom line is, if you like an author and want to keep reading more of her work, buy her books new. (This holds true for websites like Amazon.com and BN.com, too. It’s fine to buy books from them new, but please don’t click on that “buy this book used” button.) You can still go to the used bookstores for out-of-print backlists, but try to keep your shopping there to older titles, rather than new ones that may still be available at your local bookstore. Your favorite authors will thank you for it, and be able to write the stories you love well into the future.