Nicole Helm's Blog, page 3

End of the Summer Update

Technically, summer isn’t over. It’s still REALLY hot, my eldest doesn’t start school until next month (pre-school–sob!), and yet–all my teacher friends are back at work, I’m starting to see people pin Christmas things on Pinterest (to which I say–what is WRONG with you???).

So, as summer winds down, it seems timely to update what’s going on in the world of books! It’s going to be a busy few months of releases I’m ecstatic about.

But first! Make sure you’re signed up for my newsletter. The next one goes out August 24th and will have a free HAPPY, FEEL GOOD short included for newsletter subscribers only.

All I Have: If you follow me on any social media, you know my mad love for my rival farmer book. It’s been available in the HarlequinE Contemporary Box Set vol. 2 all summer and as of September 1 will come out as an individual title. I’ll be sharing random excerpts on my tumblr in the days leading up to September 1st, as well as on my Facebook page.

(Also, if you’re a reviewer–I do have eARCs available. Please email me at NicoleTHelm@gmail.com if you’re interested!)

Too Much to Handle: Starting September 15th on the Harlequin website, I will have a FREE serialized short. A chapter will be posted each week (ending November 9th). This book features Henry (the plumber from Too Close to Resist) as the hero, and will take place somewhat concurrently with Too Friendly to Date. Once I have a dedicated link, I’ll be sure to do a whole post on the story and what you can expect.

Too Friendly to Date: Speaking of Too Friendly to Date, Jacob and Leah’s story is set to come out October. (*inward happy screaming*). I’m so excited for this book to come out. Jacob and Leah are one of my favorite couples. You’ll also meet the hero of Bluff City Book 3–Leah’s brother Marc. Lot’s to be excited about! And remember, if you buy from the Harlequin website, you can get the book in September!

(Reviewers: this book is currently available on Netgalley, AND I have eARCs. Again, email NicoleTHelm@gmail.com if interested)

Falling for the New Guy: Bluff City #3 now has a title–Falling for the New Guy follows Marc Santino (Leah’s brother) as he moves to Bluff City. This book will come out in March, and will tie up the Bluff City series.

Harrington Series Update: It has been decided that there will not be a third book in the Harrington Airfield series. This is one of those best for everyone situations. Plus, the Harrington twins got their happy ending, what more do we need?

All I Am: Book 2 in my Farmer’s Market series will be releasing in December as a SOLO TITLE! Mia’s sister Cara gets to be the heroine this time around, and let me just say this about her hero: wounded veteran, bearded, hermity organic dog treat maker. I hope to have cover/official blurb/preorder links soon!

 

Annnnd, you’re all caught up! Hope everyone enjoys the remaining days of summer. Remember, I love to hear from you guys! NicoleTHelm@gmail.com, Facebook, @NicoleTHelm on Twitter.

Filed under: Uncategorized

July Updates

We’ve had a few things happening at Nicole Helm headquarters. And by we I mean…me. :)

First up, I got the cover for my October Superromance– Too Friendly to Date. This is the second book in my Bluff City series (can stand alone), but you do meet this couple in Too Close to Resist (Jacob and Leah).

 

I’m so happy Harlequin chose an outdoor winter scene for the cover, because it’s one of my favorite scenes in the book. And here’s the blurb:

One little white lie…one  big  explanation! 

Okay, pretending her sexy boss is her boyfriend is more like a huge white lie. But electrician Leah Santino will take the risk. If her parents think she has someone, they won’t go back to smothering her, and they can all be a family again.

Problem is, Jacob McKnight isn’t just her boss—he’s her friend. And faking a relationship when the Santinos come to visit means those sparks she’s always tried to ignore are hotter than ever. This thing between them is starting to feel real, but Leah has a very good reason to stay independent. Unless that’s one lie that’s outlived its purpose…

VERY excited for this one! (I know, I almost always say that…but it’s true!)

—

Also, All I Have has been getting some good buzz. I really liked Mandi at Smexy Books’ review, she pulled parts of some of my favorite scenes.

Want to know about All I Have and it’s follow up All I Am? Sign up for my newsletter! The July edition is going out on Monday and will include excerpts from both.

Have a great weekend!

Filed under: Uncategorized

Giveaway!

Happy Monday, all!

I am finishing up the close to my Bluff City series for Superromance this week. This book has been a challenge for a lot of reasons, and as much as I love Marc and Tess, I’m ready to send them off and have a bit of a break!

Speaking of Superromance, I was invited by the amazingly awesome Lisa Marie Perry to be a part of this HUGE giveaway on her website. A Paperwhite, tons of Harlequin books (including TOO CLOSE TO RESIST), swag, etc will be given away to one lucky winner.

if you want the details, click here.

Now, back to writing, writing, writing.

Filed under: contest, Too Close to Resist

The Flight Series Gets Good Reviews!

It must be review a Flight series book week! Over the weekend, I got a Top Pick from Night Owl Reviews for Flight Delay (Book 2 in the Antiques in Flight series). Melody says, “If you like a second chance romance story, you should definitely check this out. It will be worth every minute.”You can see the full review here.

And then today a friend informed me that Flight Risk (Book 1) (which is available digitally now, but will be available in print in August) got a four star review from RT Magazine. I loved the review. Especially the bit about Callie. ;)

“Contemporary fans are going to find a lot to like in this adorable story of the town’s bad girl and nice guy finally taking the friends to lovers route. This is two favorite plot devices in one, and delivers on both. Callie is a sympathetic snark queen and Trevor is a man torn between following his heart and keeping his promise to himself.”

Hopefully I’ll be signing both books (or digital download cards) at RWA this year!

Filed under: Flight Risk, Samhain

On the Shelves

So, Too Close to Resist has finally made its way on to shelves. I haven’t had a chance to see it yet, but my friend snapped this pic for me of a shelf in Kmart in mid-Missouri. This is my first print book for sale in actual stores (well, so far just store as I haven’t found any place but Kmart that carries Superromances).

Exciting!

In other news, I’ve restarted my newsletter with a new provider. Last year I had a newsletter, but the company that I did it through wasn’t working for me. I’ve since switched. So, if you want (n0 more than once a month) updates on new releases, what I’m working on, cover reveals, excerpts, etc, make sure to sign up by clicking the link in the top right sidebar.

I’m busy working my way through writing Superromance #3. You’ll meet the hero of this one in Too Friendly to Date (October). No title/release date yet as I’m still writing it, but once I have those things I’ll add a page for the book.

Once I finish that, I’ll be working on a short that will be available for free on the Harlequin website this fall. This will also be set in Bluff City (the fictional town Too Close to Resist, Too Friendly to Date, and Book 3 are set in), and will feature a hero who appears in the first two books (Henry the plumber).

So, June is all about words, words, words. (Oh, and I have line edits for ALL I AM, Farmer’s Market Book #2).

Filed under: Too Close to Resist

HarlequinE Contemporary Romance Box Set Vol. 2 Release Day!

That’s a mouthful, isn’t it? But, YAY, ALL I HAVE, my rival farmer romance, is out as part of the HarlequinE Contemporary Romance Box Set.

 

 

 

How the box set works: The box set will be available for purchase for the next three months: June, July, August. And, it’s a pretty sweet deal: four novels/novellas (mine is a category length novel) under four dollars. On September 1, the box set will no longer be available for purchase, but you will be able to buy each book individually. (Mine is 2.99–currently 2.51 for preorder on Amazon).

I LOVE this book. I mean, I love all my books, but this remains one of my favorites. How could it not? Farmers, socially awkward heroine, broccoli jokes? Like my Antiques in Flight books and my Superromances, it’s a book where I was determined to be myself, let my own voice shine through, and my editors responded by appreciating that for what it was.

 

I’m so proud of this book and what it’s become and I can’t wait for people to read it! If you’d like to read some excerpts:

(First Chapter) (Excerpt One) (Excerpt Two) (Facebook Excerpt)

And if you’re ready to buy the box set, here are the buy links:

(Amazon) (BN) (iBooks) (Kobo) (Harlequin) (Goodreads)

HAPPY READING!

Filed under: Harlequin, publishing, romance

All I Have Excerpt #2

One more weeks until farmers run rampant in the streets of romance! Or something like that ;).

From now until June 1st the authors of the box set are holding a giveaway. Entering gives you the chance to win one of four copies of the box set. CLICK HERE for details on how to enter.

There’s an early review of ALL I HAVE up at Goodreads. Love how well this captured the book.

Now for another excerpt:

—

Outraged was a good look for her. Her cheeks got a little pink and her full lips made a sexy little O.

For Chrissake. Sexy and Mia did not belong in the same sentence, even if she was.

“Keep telling yourself that, darlin’.” Dell touched her hand. Just the lightest brush of fingertip to wrist. She jerked it back so quickly her drink shook and barely avoided toppling over.

He’d blame it on the beer, except he’d had all of one. Maybe he’d just blame it on her antagonistic attitude. He had always liked to bother people. Good-naturedly, of course. Besides, if he flirted a little over the top, maybe he’d get her scurrying off and then he could stop feeling conflicted about being attracted to her.

She popped up out of her seat. “I have to go to the bathroom.” Her entire face was beet-red as she turned to walk past his chair.

Dell chuckled. “Same old Mia.” The outside appearance might change, but deep down she still was awkward and geeky. Thank God.

She whirled around. “Wanna dance?”

He choked on his drink, sputtered and coughed as it burned down the wrong pipe. “What?” he croaked.

She smiled sweetly. Way too sweetly. “I said, wanna dance?”

Sweet baby Jesus, what on earth was Mia Pruitt up to?

—

Buy Links:

(Amazon) (BN) (iBooks) (Kobo) (Harlequin) (Goodreads)

Filed under: excerpts, Harlequin

Too Close to Resist Excerpt #1

TWO WEEKS until TOO CLOSE TO RESIST officially releases. This is one of my absolute favorite scenes.

______

EXCERPT

_______

There he was, in the distance. She purposefully focused on the two buckets she had on the patio table. Watching him run could be…distracting, and she wasn’t going to be distracted.

She picked up one bucket of lemonade, and when he was close enough, she put her plan into action.

“Hey, Kyle?”

Right as he looked up, she upended the contents of the bucket over the balcony. He tried to move out of the way, but surprise allowed most of the contents to hit their target. When he didn’t move, instead just stood there holding his arms out as liquid dripped off, she upended the other.

“Damn it, Grace. This is not funny.” He shook his fist at her, which made him look even more ridiculous, and she doubled over in laughter.

“By the way,” she said, struggling to stop laughing enough to speak, “it’s not water.”

When he dropped a very loud F-bomb, Grace laughed even harder.

He peeled off the wet shirt, cursing impressively for a repressed suit. But her humor was short-lived when the chorus of oh, craps returned. Because she hadn’t exactly expected him to take off his shirt and give her a firsthand view of the hard plane of his chest or the slight ridges of his abs.

And his shoulders without a stupid polo or button-up were quite impressive, and that tattoo? Well, that was—

Wait a second.

“You have a tattoo!”

He quickly flung his wet T-shirt over his shoulder, hiding the black mark of ink before she had a chance to make out what it was. “No.”

“I saw it!”

“No, you didn’t.” She opened her mouth to argue, but he was stomping away. Delighted with herself for finding out Mr. Stuffy had a wild side, Grace scurried into the house, determined to find him before he could put his shirt back on.

Kyle had a tattoo. The very thought made her giggle. She bounded down the stairs, hoping that the design was something hugely embarrassing. A butterfly. Fairy wings. A unicorn. Oh, the possibilities of her imagination were endless.

All the crap he’d given her about her tattoo and he had one. It was too great. She laughed again, unable to stop herself.

She managed to get to the bottom of the stairs just as he stepped into the house. The shirt was still draped over his shoulder.

“You have a tattoo,” she repeated, poking a finger at him. “I saw it.” She tried to reach for the T-shirt to pull it off his shoulder, but he was too fast and stepped away. “Come on. Let me see it. After all the crap you’ve given me about mine, I deserve to see what yours is.”

“The difference is I don’t flaunt mine.” He turned his back to her, tried to exit on that line, but she grabbed his shirt in the nick of time, starting a tug-of-war with him. He won, but had to turn in order to do so. When he faced her, his eyes were blazing angry, his scowl wedged so deep, grooves appeared around his mouth.

A smart woman would back off. He was livid. It was the principle of the thing as much as it was fascination in making Mr. Reserved and Stoic lose his cool. “Don’t be such a baby about it.” She tried to snatch the shirt again.

His hands clamped around her wrists. “Knock it off,” he growled through clenched teeth.

It probably said something wrong about her that his authoritative directive and his big hands around her wrists caused a slow, tingling sensation of awareness to flow over her skin.

“I just want to see it.” She blinked up at him as he stepped close enough to her that their knees were touching. She could smell the lemonade on him, feel the sticky sugar of it on his hands. If she leaned just a few centimeters forward, her breasts would brush his wet, sticky chest. The tingling of awareness went deeper now, became more of a longing.

“It was a stupid mistake I made a long time ago. Forget it.” His voice was low and strained, as if it was with great effort he spoke  at all.

His eyes, that dark, intense blue, held her gaze. She was tempted, so damn tempted, to close the little distance between them. The weirdest thing though was, from the way his eyes held hers, the way his jaw clenched tight as if he was holding back, she had a feeling he was just as tempted.

It was hard to catch a full breath with her heart beating so damn fast, and when she spoke it came out breathless. “Are you thinking about making another stupid mistake?”

He didn’t speak or move for a full thirty seconds. She knew, because she was counting. It was the only thing that kept her from imagining what it might be like to let him touch her, press his mouth to hers.

His hands gentled on her wrists, and then he let them go. He exhaled loudly. “I don’t make stupid mistakes anymore,” he said flatly.

(Harlequin) (Amazon) (GoodReads) (BN) (iBooks) (Kobo)

Filed under: Uncategorized

All I Have Excerpt #1

TWO WEEKS until the HarlequinE Contemporary box set will release including my rival farmer romance ALL I HAVE. Here’s an excerpt!

 

____

Excerpt

____

This morning, though, she was concentrating on selling the pants off Dell Wainwright. Not literally or anything. But, well, now that she thought of it…

Nope. Not going there.

Mia smiled brightly at a couple and their twin toddlers. “Good morning. Welcome to our Pruitt Farms stand. Do you see anything you like?”

She chatted with the mother about what kind of fertilizers they used and if they were certified organic. In the end, the twins each took a coloring sheet and crayons, and Mia sold one of everything.

She also made sure to tell them about the face painting next weekend and they promised to return.

Take that, Magic Mike.

“Dell keeps looking at you,” Cara stage whispered in her ear as Mia filled a bag with greens.

Mia refused to look over her shoulder. “So?”

“So? I don’t mean he’s looking at you like oh, he happened to look over here. I mean, he’s jaw-dropped looking at you. Like, damn that girl is fine looking at you.”

She waved Cara off, placed the new bag onto the table. As another family passed their booth, she greeted, chatted and focused on her job. Once they were gone, she couldn’t take the curiosity any longer.

She lifted her eyes over the aisle to Dell’s table. There he was in all his shirtless glory, flirting with an older lady. Totally not looking at her.

Except when he handed the woman a bag of broccoli, his gaze met hers across the aisle. Something in her stomach flipped uncomfortably, and a warm sensation zinged down to her toes. Mia quickly looked down at her table, all too aware she was probably beet-red from her shoulders to the roots of her hair.

From that point on, she promised herself not to look at Dell, and not to replay that weird moment his eyes had locked on hers and she’d felt something. Just from a look.

Nope. Not thinking about it.

She made it through the rest of the morning, pleased to see they’d sold more than last week. Some of that might have had to do with more people coming as the season went on, and that it wasn’t raining today like it had been last week, but still, progress was progress.

“Uh-oh, here comes trouble,” Cara said under her breath.

Mia looked up as Dell sauntered to their table.

She focused on packing up the leftovers. When he leaned his forearms on her table and ducked under the awning, she was only momentarily mesmerized by the fine blond hair on his tanned, muscular forearms.

So not fair.

“That’s quite a getup,” he said, none too pleasantly.

She would not blush. She would not blush. She would not blush. She stood to her full height, chin up to add a few inches. Fisting her hands on her hips, she managed her best intimidating glare, even if her cheeks were probably pink as she looked down at his hunched-over frame. “What getup?”

He stood, motioned a hand up and down her front. “That.”

“What?”

He did the motion again. “That.”

Mia cocked her head, folded her arms under her breasts. When Dell looked at the sky she nearly giggled. “I never pegged you for the modest type. What with the stripping and all.”

He scowled down at her and it took a little extra effort to suck in a breath.

“I do not strip,” he said through gritted teeth. He leaned closer and, by God, her heart nearly leaped out of her chest. But she stood her ground. Standing her ground felt really good.

“I see what you’re trying to do here.”

“And what’s that?” Her voice wasn’t even breathless. Go her.

He held up his hand to do the gesture again, but stopped midway. His baffled look turned steely and grave. “I’ve got too much to lose to let you beat me. A nice ass and breasts aren’t going to suddenly win you a bunch of customers. If you haven’t noticed, most of the markets’ customers are families and women, not single guys looking for a hot girl to hit on.”

Oh, she was so not flattered that he’d said she had a nice ass and breasts. Or insinuated she was the hot girl. She was not at all pleased he’d noticed. In fact, it was totally demeaning.

She’d work on her outrage later.

(Amazon) (BN) (iBooks) (Kobo) (Harlequin)

Filed under: excerpts, Harlequin

Flight Delay is OUT NOW!

So, I’m working with limited internet access today, but it’s FLIGHT DELAY release day! Katie and Lawson’s story is a lot about overcoming istakes and learning how to build the life you want. They’ve both been hurt, they’ve hurt each other. They’re real people with real problems.

If you enjoyed FLIGHT RISK, I hope you’ll enjoy another story set at Antiques in Flight (and Callie and Trevor’s wedding!). If you haven’t read FLIGHT RISK, that’s okay too! The stories stand alone and don’t need to be read in order.

I’ll include some relevant links below, and just a note: I appreciate ALL reviews. I know there’s a kind of weird online climate right now, and if you’re interested in my view on reading/reviewing/responding, please click here.

INFO:

(Book Page) (Review from Fresh Fiction) (Excerpt 1)  (Excerpt 2)  (Pinterest)

BUY LINKS:

(Samhain) (Amazon) (BN) (iBooks) (Kobo)

(Flight Risk Book Page)

 

Happy Reading!

Filed under: Samhain