Happy Valentine's.... Or Galentine's ... Or Palentine's Day!

So it's Valentine's Day today... A time when all romance writers attempt to pimp their books a little bit more, because come on, what's more romantic novelist friendly than a day devoted to romance?

But the thing about Valentine's Day is, it can be a bit of a turn off for some people... And here are some of the reasons why:

Strawberries of Love from Lidl

1) It can be a little tiny bit over-commercialised (book-pimping notwithstanding) - a way to guilt people into spending money to prove they care about their other half when the truth is, if you love someone you show it every day in ways that are much more important than a card, or flowers or a heart-shaped box of choccies (or strawberries!). In my house this would include giving one of my sons a lift to his job when he's overslept, or agreeing to sample yet another Scandi crime drama with my DH because he loves them ... ie: it's the little things that count.

2) Depending on how you interpret it, V-Day can be alienating...  A smug fest for the happily joined up which makes single people feel as if they're missing out, when the fact is there's nothing wrong with being single. I was single for  years after university and it's a time in my life I look back on with quite a bit of envy occasionally. And being single is certainly better than being in a crap relationship – and I'm sure we've all had a few of those!

3) It can romanticize relationships when the reality is most relationships, certainly if they are going to last, can be bloody hard work (something any romance novel with tell you by the way, contrary to popular misconceptions about the genre....)

That said, me and my DH are still using tonight as a great excuse to have a slap-up meal at a local restaurant to smugly celebrate our love (and probably natter non-stop about the latest Scandi crime dramas!) But if you're feeling excluded from Valentine's Day... For whatever reason.... There are lots of other ways to celebrate...

Why not celebrate a belated Galentine's Day for example - the day for Gal Pals to celebrate their platonic lady-friendships enshrined by Amy Poehler's fabulous Leslie Knope (if you're not hooked on Parks and Recreation, btw, you should be).


As I'm a glutton for social interaction and any excuse to hang out with my Gal Pals is always welcome, I celebrated Galentine's Day a little early, this weekend, with my best writing pal Abby Green. This involved spending an afternoon watching Ireland slaughter Italy in the Rugby Six Nations, then a wonderful meal at a gastro pub in Islington then sharing a sofa (and a bottle of vino) at the Screen on the Green (my local deluxe cinema) for a screening of Fifty Shades Darker - the ultimate guilty pleasure for gal pals the world over IMHO.

50 Shades of Friendship!

Of course, if you have gender-neutral friendships (because sorry Harry, but girls and guys can be friends without sex getting in the way, sometimes!) I'm sure Leslie wouldn't mind if you celebrated those friendships with Palentine's Day... My new variation on Galentine's Day...

Ah, the possibilities are endless... Because the truth is that celebrating love - in all its many forms - should be inclusive and diverse and should never go out of fashion. And actually, you don't need to have a day for it, or even a name for it... Just go for it. Every day.

PS: And if you want to buy my newly revamped Valentine's novella - Sleepless in London - while you're at it, I wouldn't mind a bit!

So Now You're Back is ALMOST Here! Time for ANOTHER Goodreads Giveaway

Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day... I ended up cleaning my study... That said, we did make up for it by going for a walk and sharing a Beetroot and Nut cake (this being trendy Hackney!) over lattes in the park - and watching Tottenham Hotspur beat Man City (an important result if you're married to a North Londoner) - and I now have a spotless study ready to start writing (and crapping it up) again. So not all bad.

Just popping in really though, to say I'm currently awaiting revisions on my first proper Presents novel (yikes!), getting stuck back into my second women's fiction novel, and preparing for the release of the first in NINE days time... As I'm so excited about that, I've just done a Goodreads Giveaway of So Now You're Back which is available Worldwide.

You've got to be in it to win it. So feel free to enter as soon as it goes live.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

So Now You're Back

by Heidi Rice

Giveaway ends March 02, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Right back to the grindstone.

Happy V-Day with a Sneaky Sneak Peek of my Truly Madly Deeply story

Happy Valentine's Day everyone...

Hope yours is full of love whether it comes from your other half, your kids, your BFF, your Facebook friends, your Mum and/or Dad, your cat, your dog, your golfish, your favourite chick-flick or your favourite romance novel. Because in the words of a particularly cheesy (but very appropriate for the purposes of this blog) song Love Is All Around so let's think outside the box and celebrate love wherever you find it this V-Day. You don't have to be hooked up to enjoy it, IMHO!!

And in the spirit of spreading the love for a price (because let's face it V-Day is a little bit about commercial exploitation too - hello card companies, thanks for that!) Here's a sneaky sneak peek of my short story in the fabulous Truly Madly Deeply RNA collection just out from M&B...

The Fundamental Things 

by 

Heidi Rice

Elizabeth Ryan and Lorenzo Kelly haven't seen each other for over 20 years, when they get stuck in a lift together for 20 life-changing minutes... 

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Unbelievable. Of all the lifts, in all the office blocks, in the whole of London, the biggest mistake of my life has to walk into mine.

Elizabeth Ryan sent up a silent prayer for invisibility as she inched behind two suited executives. Her back bumped against the mirrored wall in the executive elevator at Stokes and Company’s brand new twenty-eighth storey tower in Canary Wharf. Unfortunately, someone up there wasn’t listening, because she failed to disappear.

Lorenzo Kelly.

The name whispered across her consciousness as heat crawled up her neck and flared across her scalp.

Twenty-two years since she’d last seen him and yet recognition had blasted her in the sternum as soon as he’d edged into the crowded lift. Which was surprising, because that fitted steel-grey designer suit was one heck of a departure from the wrecked jeans and third-hand leather jacket he’d lived in at Hillbrook Secondary.

Thank god he was absorbed in the lift monitor and hadn’t looked her way. One glance at those heavy-lidded bedroom eyes a moment ago had been more than enough to make her heart swell up and stop beating for several crucial seconds. Funny how even after two plus decades, and what looked like a major GQ make-over, those slightly slanting emerald green eyes still made him look as if he’d just gotten out of bed — or was about to lure her back into one....

Wanna read some more? Or enjoy 23 other fabulous short stories from the likes of Fiona Harper, India Grey, Adele Parkes and Katie Fforde for the bargain basement price of £7.99? Then pick up a copy online, at Mills and Boon now, or in stores on 21st Feb...

But even if you don't want to buy my book, I hope you have a brilliant day (how generous is that?). Why not tell me what you're doing today in the comments? And remember it doesn't have to be luvey dovey with your honey, just something that spreads the lurve. I'm going to be having coffee shortly with my oldest son and maybe watching a couple of episodes of HBO's Girls! Then tucking in to the rest of my RITA books... How's that for spreading the love?

PHS... Let's talk about Valentine's Day (the Movie that is)

Race on over to the Pink Heart Society today where I've pulled a fast on my fellow Pink Hearters and done a post on the wonderfully romantic (and hot guy-laden) recent box-office bonanza Valentine's Day....Before anyone else could do it!

Definitely worth a peak, and a natter. And to whet your appetite I have the very gorgeous Eric 'McSteamy' Dane to illustrate this post. Yum! Who says I never give you nothin'?

Am currently putting the finishing touches on Rye and Maddy's story, but just did a word count and discovered it's almost 60K long... Oops, some serious carnage is going to occur over the weekend.

The Media Floozy Goes Large

So I had a high old time yesterday morning with my latest media stint... An appearance on Britain's premiere breakfast TV show, BBC Breakfast, to promote the wonders of Valentine's Day.

The first thrill was getting picked up by a chauffeur-driven car, and driven across London in the early hours to BBC TV Centre. After being whisked into the studios I spent half an hour in hair and make-up!! The lady there was a real pro (complete with the spotlight mirror!) and made me look better than I ever have in my entire life! 

As I sat in the tiny little green room waiting for my slot, I chatted with the PR lady from Mills and Boon and a number of other guests who were also appearing, including an ex Rugby player, a former RAF officer and a lady economist who was busy doing her crossword (I got the clue about lamb curry!!). 

Unfortunately, my original slot at 8.50am got bumped, by a children's TV presenter who's busy canoeing down
the Amazon... Have to say, I was a bit miffed at first, thinking blimey, all she's done is canoe down the Amazon (LOL), and then I started to panic. What if I'd got all dolled up with nowhere to go. I had to desperately text round all my friends and family who I'd gotten up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday on what now looked like false pretenses!

Thank goodness, the slot went ahead at 9.50 in the end and my wonderful new bouffant was not in vain. I was on with an ex-priest who's written a book about friendship and a very media savvy lady who had been on
2000 dates and now has her own dating website. 

Have to say I had a real laugh... Especially when the male presenter asked me the
title of my latest book, then watched his jaw drop as I told him.... Bless.

Spent the whole of the ride back in 'my car' chatting with friends and family about my exciting moment in the spotlight! As soon as I got home though I was brought crashing down to earth, when my youngest ran up, gave me a hug, said yeah I was great... And then asked why there wasn't any milk for his breakfast cereal? Cheeky little....!

So Happy Valentine's Day everyone. Enjoy!!

Valentine's Party on Nic Marsh's blog. Hot heroes invited!!

Time to get your party dress out of mothballs and squeeze into your magic knickers (well, I'll be squeezing anyway after the Christmas that restraint forgot)! My fellow Mod Hot author Nicola Marsh is throwing a Valentine's Party on her blog and some great authors and their seriously hot heroes will be there.

It starts tomorrow on Feb 1st and runs through till Valentine's Day. As well as some fab authors giving up the goss on the guys who inspired their hottest heroes.... They'll be book giveaways galore to add to the party atmosphere.

So don't miss it.

Here's the invites so far:

1st   Kate Hardy (Will she or won't she bring Antonio is the question?)
2nd  Donna Alward
3rd   Anna Campbell (would sooo like to know who inspired the uber sexy Lord Sheene in Untouched)
4th   Paula Roe
5th   Holly Jacobs
6th   Julie Cohen (I'm taking a wild guess and thinking David Tennant may be mentioned!)
7th   Anna Cleary
8th   Robyn Grady
9th   Ally Blake
10th Heidi Rice (that's me folks, fashionably late as always!!)
11th scheduled
12th Lucy King
13th Natalie Anderson
14th Nicola Marsh

There may be a few surprise gatecrashers too, so keep your eyes peeled on Nic's blog!

Facebook... Another great time suck!

Hello peeps, popping in to tell you all about how I've found another great way to suck all the time out of my day without me even noticing... As you may have noticed by the clever little badge thingy that I discovered how to invent and upload to my blog after a mere half an hour of mucking about.

Ah the wonders of Facebook.

In other news I have just agreed to do two hours of local radio interviews for the BBC in honour of Valentine's Day on 12th Feb.... Am in deep denial about this having never done any radio interviews before and knowing that my voice sounds really crap when recorded (even when I'm not talking crap, which I probably will be on 12th Feb). Hence the decision to join Facebook and take my mind off it... See it all makes a weird sort of sense.

Anyway, if you want to 'friend me' here's the link to my profile (I hope). Right, back to the latest WIP which is going great guns at the moment... But seems to have got extremely hot and steamy. Am thinking this has something to do with the fact that I bought my oldest son the box set of Sex and the City for Christmas and after watching far too much of it I may have suddenly turned into Samantha!