Heidi Cortez, model and host of the E! TV show, “Sunset Tan,” recently sat down with me to talk about her life, career and book.
Q - When did you decide that you wanted to go into entertainment?
A - When I was in the 4th grade. We had career day and I came dressed to class as a model with big hair, MC hammer pants and penny loafers.
Q - How did you go about doing this?
A - I marketed myself. I knew if I wanted to be successful in the entertainment world, I would have to manage myself, especially living in a smaller town like Reno, NV.
Q - Those who decide to go into entertainment know that the road is difficult. Did you have a back up plan or was it go for broke?
A - Of course I have a back up plan still. If everything fell through tomorrow, I still own my tanning salon in Reno, and I would probably manage another aspiring model/actor or singer. I mean, I managed myself for so long that I think it would be awesome to do it for someone else I had faith in.
Q - How did you end up working with Playboy magazine?
A - After I was on the Howard Stern Show on E!, someone that worked for E! saw it and called my tanning salon and gave me an offer. I, of course, debated on my offer from them and handled the whole thing solo.
Q - You also spent some time with Howard Stern. What did you learn from him and how have you implemented that into your career?
A - Howard is the best. The man helped me be the second most Googled “Heidi” in the world. He is so talented and amazing. I learned to always be yourself from him.
Q - While working for Stern, you hosted a show called “Tissue Time with Heidi Cortez” in which you read a series of erotic stories. Were these stories written by you?
A - Yes, yes, I did write all the stories. It became very overwhelming after a while, so I got some help from one of Stern’s writers toward the end.
Q - Is that how this book, “Heidi's Bedtime Stories: Erotic Quickies for Men and Women,” came about?
A - Actually, I got the book deal with Simon & Schuster before my radio show on SIRIUS happened. S&S had heard about me through the press and thought if Howard loves this girl, she must be good. So then they too called my tanning salon and asked me to write a book for them.
Q - What obstacles did you come across while writing this book?
A - It was a lot of work. I locked myself in my room often and wrote the whole book on AOL email. YES, AOL emails.
Q - “Heidi's Bedtime Stories: Erotic Quickies for Men and Women,” has a subject matter that may not be suitable for some readers. Do you think this may hurt book sales?
A - I’m sure. But I don’t want to deceive anyone. And it did hit the Barnes & Noble Bestseller List the first week it came out. Sales were so good that they relaunched the book in paperback. So, I guess someone likes it.
Q - What kind of writing experience did you have before this book came out?
A - I didn’t write as much as I did ad-libbing. And in a way, that’s sort of like writing, but you have to think faster.
Q - Did you ever think that you would have a book to promote?
A - Yes I did. I just didn’t always know it was going to start off as bedtime stories.
Q - Where can the book be bought?
A - The book is $14.00 for paperback and $23.00 for hardback. You can buy it at Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Amazon.com.
Watch for Heidi Cortez on E!'s hit TV show, “Sunset Tan.” “If you’re in Reno, stop by my salon, Cabana Tans,” Cortez said.
BYLINE:
Jason Tanamor is the Editor of Zoiks! Online. He is also the author of the novels, "Hello Lesbian!" and "Anonymous."
0 comments:
Post a Comment