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Tangled Up in LovePlease welcome to the Pond today the wonderfully talented and funny Heidi Betts.  Her latest book Tangled Up in Love was released on February 3, 2009, and is the first book in her Chicks with Sticks trilogy. Love Me, Love Me Knot will be released in August 2009 and Knock Me For a Loop will follow in February of 2010.  

The new trilogy is based around a knitting group of which the heroines of each book, Ronnie, Jenna, and Grace, are members. Their respective heroes are Dylan, Gage, and Zack who are friends. The fun starts in Tangled Up in Love when Ronnie and Dylan, who work for competing newspapers, issue challenges via their papers to one other in a contest of man versus woman, which includes white water rafting, bungee jumping, mountain climbing, and, of course, learning to knit. And that’s only the beginning!

Now learn a little about the author who knits romance just as well as she does an Angora sweater.

I can’t thank Laura enough for inviting me to chat here at The Good, The Bad, & The Unread. When she first asked me to visit, she said that “Make a Splash” was pretty much an open slate & I could talk about anything I like. Ah, the power. It was tempting to take her up on the offer and do something truly wicked and wild. (For the record, I reserve the right to do that at some point in the future.)

Unfortunately, I recently wrapped up what we at my WIPs and Chains blog call the “Blog Tour 2009” and I haven’t quite recovered yet. The only things going through my brain are “Ohmigod, I’m so far behind on my next book!” and “It’s February already? Really? Where did January go?” So, being the generous and benevolent Lady of the Whip that she is, Laura offered to send me a series of interview questions instead. Ah, better. This I can do, I thought. And then I saw her questions. Lady of the Whip, indeed…she certainly doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to discovering her favorite author’s deepest, darkest secrets. (note to Heidi–shhhhh!! everyone here thinks I’m sweet and nice. And you can blame Sandy M. for the questions. Really, I am totally innocent here. *g*)Heidi Betts

But anyway, here it goes:

Lightning Round:
– dark or milk chocolate? Dark may be better for you, but milk chocolate is the yummiest. Guess I’ll just have to get my antioxidants somewhere else.

– smooth or chunky peanut butter? Smooth, definitely. I like my peanut butter to get stuck to the roof of my mouth, not stuck in my teeth. *g*

– heels or flats? Well, I like fancy heels best, but since they pretty much make me look like a giraffe on roller skates when I wear them, I’ve gotta go with the comfy, casual, blister-free answer of flats.

– coffee or tea? Tea! All day, every day! Hot’s okay, but I like it better cold. Coffee—gack! I don’t know how anybody drinks that stuff.

– summer or winter? Neither. I prefer Spring & Fall. Summer gets too hot and winter gets too cold. Though the “not-too” times of each of those seasons are okay.

– mountains or beach? Oh, man, that’s a toughie. I love the mountains because of the seclusion and nature. Of course, that’s only if there’s a nice, comfortable cabin with heat, electricity, and running water nearby. If we’re talking sleeping on the ground and dealing with all kinds of bugs and critters… No, thank you. I love, love, love the beach. Except for the sun. But sand and water are wonderful. Of course, that’s as long as you don’t go too far into the water, because then we might be talking sharks, jelly fish, barracudas, and even sharp shells or stones that would cut the bottoms of my delicate feet.

– mustard or mayonnaise? Mayo! Hate, hate, hate mustard! (Except the wee bit they put on McDonald’s hamburgers. Don’t ask me why, but I can tolerate it there.)

– flowers or candy? Ahhh, can’t I have both? Please?!? Okay, I’m picky about my candy, so if I can’t have the good stuff, I’d rather have flowers. But I prefer live flowers over cut ones, so if they were just going to die in a week, I might have to go back to candy.

– pockets or purse? A purse. No, not a purse, a tote. And not just any tote…a bag the size of a small elephant. I need a dolly to drag my purse around most days, but God forbid I be without anything I might need when I’m out and about.

diet cherry coke– Pepsi or Coke? Coke! Diet Cherry Coke, if you’ve got it.

– ebook or print? Print. Gotta have a book in my hands. Gotta be able to see and stroke the cover, turn the pages, smell the ink and glue that hold them all together. Gotta be able to mark my place with a good old-fashioned bookmark and come back to it later.

-knit or crochet? Ah-ha! A trick question. You’re trying to get me into trouble, aren’t you? Considering that I’m currently writing and promoting a series of sexy-hot and crazy-funny romance novels that are all about knitting, I’m going to have to go with KNITTING! (Ha! You can’t trip me up that easily, Laura!) Although I do actually crochet, too, and enjoy it just…I mean almost as much.

Some other fun stuff:

1. What is your favorite word?

Floccinaucinihilipilification. It’s the longest word in the English language (not counting medical terms and such) and I’ve always loved it, mostly because I can pronounce it. When my mother was teaching, if she heard a student using the F-word, she would take them aside and tell them that they could either take detention or sit and write her F-word—complete with definition—25 or 50 times. I just always thought it was fun to say—and fun to watch people’s eyes glaze over when you use it in conversation. *g*

2. What is your least favorite word?

No. I do not like to be told I can’t do or have something. I mean I really don’t like it. And it usually just makes me angry enough or more determined to figure how I darn well can do or have what it is I want.

Dwayne Johnson3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

Would it be wrong of me to say Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson? Oh, come on. Look at that man and tell me he doesn’t get your juices flowing in every way. 

4. What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

I’m going to sound like a total snob here, but I have to admit that bad writing and bad grammar drive me batty. I’m not a complete Grammar Nazi; I mean, I won’t jump down your throat if you end a sentence with a preposition and even—gasp!—do it myself from time to time. But I refuse to go through the “10 Items or Less” lines at the grocery store on principle and nearly go into spasms over the misuse of who/that. I know, I know, but it’s a deeply ingrained pet peeve. I think it comes from being raised by two school teachers (see Question 9), one of whom went to parochial school, where bad grammar meant getting your knuckles rapped by a ruler-wielding nun. *shudders*

5. What sound or noise do you love?

I love to listen to my cats purr. I don’t know how they do it and each one is unique, but it’s just adorable and melts my heart every time—even when I’m mad at them.

6. What sound or noise do you hate?

Well, nails on a chalk board is right up there. And, omg, the sound of a nail file (the gritty, sandpaper kind) scraping against anything but an actual fingernail. Sends shivers down my spine every single time.

7. What is your favorite curse word?

I’m the daughter of a Navy man, so I have lots of favorite curse words—not many of which are fit for print. “Son of a bitch” is a favorite and oft-muttered swear in my house, and I’ve also always been fond of “funky butt-lovin,” (from Rookie of the Year), which is exceptionally satisfying to use when you stub your toe or such.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Other than exotic dancer or space cowgirl? I’d have to say something that has me working with animals—veterinarian, marine biologist, Head Clubber who clubs the [dirty word]s who club seals…

9. What profession would you not like to do?

Just about anything Mike Rowe has done on Dirty Jobs. Yuck. I also would not like to be a teacher in any way, shape, or form. Both of my parents were teachers, and I don’t know how they do it. I swear, I would kill half my class within the first twenty minutes (yes, even the younger kids) and run screaming from the building in forty.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Well, a warm welcome would be nice. I certainly wouldn’t be happy if He said, “Hi, you’re dead, but you also took a wrong turn. You want to go back the way you came, hang a left instead of a right, and follow the escalator going dooooowwwwwn.” Yikes! Other than that, I would really like to know that I’m going to get to be with my dad and all my babies again, and I don’t care if He tells me that or just points me in the right direction.

It’s me again. Heidi has generously offered up to three (3) posters and a book from her backlist.  Even though this doesn’t include Tangled Up in Love,  there are several other very good books to choose from. You have all weekend to enter and we’ll have Heidi draw the winners on Monday (2/22/09).  In the mean time, if you are looking for a really good book to read and keep you warm on the cold winter nights, pick up Tangled Up in Love and check out Heidi’s blogs at WIPs and Chains and Must Love Yarn.

Thanks for hanging out in the pond with us, Heidi!!