Interview with Authors Kate Hardy, Heidi Rice, Amy Andrews and Aimee Carson and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome the ladies that are behind Baby, It's Cold Outside, a book comprised of four different novellas. All of the authors have stopped by to share and answer a few questions. Please give everyone a warm welcome.

Kate Hardy is an award-winning author of more than 50 books for Harlequin Mills & Boon. Her novel 'Breakfast at Giovanni's' won the RNA Romance Prize in 2008 and she's been shortlisted three more times for the award, as well as for two Romantic Times awards.

She lives in Norwich in the east of England with her husband, two children, a springer spaniel called Byron, and too many books to count. She's a bit of a nerd who loves cinema, the theatre, history and cooking (which is why she has to go to the gym five times a week - oh, and to ballroom dancing lessons), and adores anything Italian. She loves doing research, particularly if it's hands-on and means experimenting with cooking (on her website, most of her books have a recipe connected to them). Reviewers say that her books are full of warmth, heart and charm - and also that you'll learn something new and interesting from them!

Places to find Kate: 

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter |

A la Twitter style, please describe your novella in 140 characters or less.
When Santa, who hates Christmas, meets the Chief Elf, they discover the magic of Christmas together, helped by a snow angel and mistletoe :)

What types of scenes are your most favorite/difficult to write?
I like writing the really emotional scenes, when the hero and heroine have to be honest with themselves and each other.

If you could have dinner with any three authors (alive or dead), who would you choose and why?
That's a tough one, because I have a lot of author friends and I'd love to have dinner with all of them, because they're good company and I enjoy their books. Some of them I haven't met, yet, as we don't live on the same continent, but a very very very long dinner party (with everyone changing places every 15 minutes so you get to chat with everyone) would be excellent.

So I think I'll have to go for the dead poets. Shakespeare, Donne and Marlowe. Because I love their writing. And because the exchange of wit (in the sense of cleverness, as well as humour) would be AWESOME. They're all sensualists, so they'd appreciate good food, and they all have a really naughty sense of humour, so… Yup. Nerdy dream. (Though I would happily settle for Antonio Banderas playing any or all three, y'know…)

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
Yes - I'm polishing my 55th Harlequin novel (a bit of a weepie) and writing the synopsis for the 56th, a Medical Romance (also a bit of a weepie - it's this time of year).

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My name's Heidi Rice, I'm a USA Today Bestselling author (because one of my books once hit no. 100 on the list! But it still counts!) I'm married with two teenage sons (which gives me rather too much of an insight into the male psyche!). I also work as a film journalist and I was born in Notting Hill in West London (before it became as chi-chi as it is in the film starring Hugh Grant!) and I now live in Islington in North London - a stone's throw away from where they shot Four Weddings and a Funeral... (I've told Hugh to stop stalking me, but will he listen?!)

I love my job because it involves sitting down at my computer and getting swept up in a world of high emotions, sensual excitement, funny feisty women, sexy tortured men and glamourous locations where laundry doesn't exist ... Not bad, eh.

Then I turn off my computer and do chores (usually involving laundry!) But when I'm not doing laundry or fantasising about my own heroes and heroines I love to read romance.

Places to find Heidi:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter |

A la Twitter style, please describe your novella in 140 characters or less.
1 hot guy + 1 single gal snowed in @ NYC dept store alone 2gether on Xmas night thus discovering joys of unlimited shopping... & each other

What types of scenes are your most favorite/difficult to write?
I love writing scenes where the conflict between my couple is at its most volatile, because this can often lead to lots of intense emotion, great dialogue - and some really HAWT sex!

If you could have dinner with any three authors (alive or dead), who would you choose and why?

• Charles Dickens - because he was a humanitarian as well as an author and always championed the little people, think we could have a great debate.
• Linda Howard - because I love her books and I was once lucky enough to have lunch with her at RWA and discovered she's an amazing raconteur too!
• Nora Roberts - because I'm a huge fan and I want to know how the hell she writes so many great books so quickly!

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
I'm currently working on a lovers reunited story which will appear in a continuity series for Harlequin's new KISS imprint.. My fellow authors are Baby It's Cold gals Amy Andrews and Aimee Carson and the fabulous Kimberly Lang, so I think it's gonna be pretty special. The series is called The Wedding Season about four college roomies who get back together again after 10 years during one rather hectic romantic summer and my book is the third book and features reckless British social media strategist Gina Carrington and seriously hot Southern CEO Carter Price... Much more I cannot tell you as it's not finished yet. But it's fairly streamy!!

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Amy Andrews is a multi-published, award winning author of over 30 novels. She has sold a million books worldwide and has been translated into over a dozen languages. She writes romance novels for both Harlequin and Entangled Publishing and contemporary women's fiction with her sister for Harper Collins Australia under the name Ali Ahearn. In her spare time she is a PICU nurse and mother of two teenagers. She lives on acerage on the outskirts of Brisbane, Australia but secretly wishes it was the hillsides of Tuscany.

Places to find Amy:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |

A la Twitter style, please describe your novella in 140 characters or less.
A tipsy kindergarten teacher. A returned soldier. A snowed-in cabin. Some speed dating & a game of strip scrabble. #newyearsevefireworks

What types of scenes are your most favorite/difficult to write?
Honestly? I like writing the hot dirty flirty bits. I find the "black moment" the most difficult to write.

If you could have dinner with any three authors (alive or dead), who would you choose and why?
LM Montgommery because the Anne books are like the soundtrack of my childhood. Jennifer Crusie because she opened my eyes to a whole new world of story telling. And can I please have Kate, Heidi and Aimee as my next choice because we did all our novella planning online and it would be so cool to sit down with them all face to face!

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
I'm working on a series of 4 Brazens for Entangled and reworking a project I wrote several years ago with the aim to self publish next year.

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The summer she turned eleven Aimee left the children’s section of the library, entered an aisle full of Harlequin Mills and Boon, and pulled out a book. That story sparked a love affair that has followed her from her life in Florida to Alaska, Seattle, and finally South Dakota.

Armed with a fantastic job working part-time as a physician in the Alaskan Bush (imagine a combo of Northern Exposure and E.R., minus the beautiful mountains and George Clooney), she enjoys being home in the gorgeous Black Hills, riding her dirt bike with her three wonderful kids and beyond-patient husband. But every morning she gets to play God and flirt vicariously through her characters, who all just happen to reside in one of her favorite vacation destinations . . . South Beach, Miami.

Her motto? Life is too short to do anything less than what you absolutely love. She counts herself lucky to have two jobs she adores and incredibly blessed to be a part of Harlequin Mills and Boon’s family of talented authors.

Places to find Aimee: 

| Site | Facebook | Twitter | 

A la Twitter style, please describe your novella in 140 characters or less.
Evie Lee's New Year's resolution is giving up on men forever. But her brother's BFF tempts her to break her vow for one hot night!

What types of scenes are your most favorite/difficult to write?
My favorite scene is when the hero and heroine first meet. So full of sexual tension and promise!

If you could have dinner with any three authors (alive or dead), who would you choose and why?

• Jane Austen, because she wrote my favorite book, Pride and Prejudice. 
• Stephen King, because I think he’s a fascinating character. 
• Nora Roberts, to quiz her on how she manages to be so prolific!

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
A contemporary novella that is turning out to be much more fun than I anticipated! And I'm planning my eighth book for HQN which will be released in the new KISS line.

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 Love 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!

Purchase: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

1 lucky winner will win a eBook copy of Baby, It's Cold Outside

To Enter:

• Leave a comment answering this question: Who is the one person you would like to caught under the mistletoe with? 
• Fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

Good Luck =)

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