Straight to Her ‘Heart’

Most 15-year-old girls fret over their algebra classes, hang out at the mall and hope that one day they’ll marry Leonardo DiCaprio or Brad Pitt.

Not LeAnn Rimes. The country music sensation has accomplished more in her first 15 years than most people do in a lifetime.

The Mississippi native, who began performing at the age of 5, has sold 12 million albums since the release of her chart-topping “Blue” last year. Rimes, whose strong, pure voice is reminiscent of the late Patsy Cline, won Grammys for best female country vocal for “Blue,” which had been written for Cline, and best new artist--the first country performer to ever win that honor. Her latest album, “You Light Up My Life,” is still on the charts and her next album is due early next year.

And if that’s not enough, this week, Rimes, who lives in Dallas but will be moving to Nashville next year, is starring in an ABC adaptation of her first book, “Holiday in Your Heart” (Doubleday, $14.95), which she co-wrote with Tom Carter. The sentimental Christmas story deals with a teenage country singer who learns about the importance of family from a veteran country performer.

In “Heart,” Bernadette Peters plays the country singer and Rebecca Schull (“Wings”) is Rimes’ cancer-stricken grandmother.

Rimes took time out from her hectic schedule to talk about her novel, movie, music and career goals.

Question: How did the novel “Holiday in Your Heart” come about? Did Doubleday approach you?

Answer: They approached me about the idea of a fictional book. Tom Carter and I decided to write a fictional Christmas story. So he came on the road with me for a couple of days and we sat down and put our heads together, and that’s [the story] we came up with. [Writing a book] was something else for me to branch out into and it was different than just music.

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Q: Is it based on your life?

A: Well, some of it is autobiographical--little things, like her dream is to sing at the Grand Ole Opry and mine was too. But most of it is very, very fictional.

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Q: How did it evolve into a TV movie?

A: ABC heard about it and came to me with the idea of making a movie. I was kind of skeptical at first. I wasn’t sure about a movie based on a book. Of course, it was my first book and my first movie, so it was one of those things where I didn’t know what to do. But I think it was a lot of fun for me to act. I had a great experience with it. I want to do more of it in the future.

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Q: In the book, the heroine is named Anna Lee, but she’s called LeAnn Rimes in the movie. Why the name change?

A: I was kind of playing myself in it anyway, so we really thought the name should be my own in the movie. That was the only real name in the movie.

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Q: Did you have an acting coach for the movie, especially for the emotional scene where you sing “Amazing Grace” to your grandmother, who is in the hospital with cancer?

A: I started crying very naturally [in that scene] because I was supposed to sing “Amazing Grace” at my [real] grandmother’s funeral and I never got to, because I knew I was going to cry and I couldn’t sing. She really reminded me of my grandmother when I started singing. I started crying, so that was not acting at all.

There was an acting coach on the set and after a while, with his help, I got really comfortable [with acting].

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Q: Broadway musical star Bernadette Peters plays the country singer who takes you under her wing. Was she cast in the movie for crossover appeal?

A: Not really. I just think she’s a wonderful actress and that’s why we got her--not to have any crossover appeal. The movie is about a country singer, but the movie and the book, I think, appeal to everyone because it’s a family story. Bernadette’s a wonderful actress. She became a good friend of mine.

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Q: You’ve accomplished so much at such a young age. What goals have you set for yourself now?

A: My goal for right now is just to continue and maintain my success. I have reached basically all of my goals I have set for myself, and every day I can better everything I do.

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Q: What’s the scoop on your next album?

A: The second studio follow-up album to “Blue” will be out in February or March of next year. I co-wrote two or three of the songs on there. We cut 25 songs, so it’s possibly going to be a double album.

We cut some hard-core country, but we also cut some pop music. It’s a little bit of crossover. I’m really trying to appeal to everyone, and I think that’s really something fun to do. It gives me the opportunity to do every kind of music that I like.

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Q: You performed an amazing 175 concert dates in six months this year. Are you cutting back or doing more next year?

A: I’m starting my first headline tour on New Year’s Eve. I’m only going to be doing 100 dates. It will be fun.

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Q: You’ve had a tutor since junior high. Do you miss not going to school?

A: I don’t miss it at all. I love doing what I’m doing. I think my youngest friend is almost 20 now. It’s one of those things where everybody is older than me, but that’s how I am. I am never around anybody my age and I don’t know how to act [around them].

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Q: Before you go out on stage, especially at the Grand Ole Opry, do you have to pinch yourself and say, “Look at where I am and what I’ve accomplished?”

A: I never look back at what I do because I live day to day. What I have done is great and I’m very thankful for it, but I know I can be better at everything I do. I’ve been very successful at it and I want to stay grounded. I think if I looked back at everything I’ve done--I know personally I don’t think I would get the big head, but some people could.

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Q: “Holiday in Your Heart” is all about family. Is it difficult watching this given that your parents, Wilbur and Belinda, are in the midst of a divorce?

A: We are still family, no matter what. They’re very much a part of my life. It doesn’t bother me [to watch this] at all.

“Holiday in Your Heart’ airs Sunday at 9 p.m. on ABC.