Nicole Helm's Blog, page 6

Happy Flight Risk release day!

Flight Risk has released! Yay! Confetti! Fireworks! Airplane rides for everyone!

I’ve talked ad naseum about this book, and I’m sure I could keep doing so, but I’ll keep it short and sweet today. The long awaited release day! We’ve got buy links, guest post links, and excerpts at the end.

If you read Flight Risk I’d love to hear from you! Facebook, Twitter, email, leaving a review–it’s all good.

Here’s where you can buy:

(Amazon)

(Barnes & Noble)

(Samhain Website)

(Kobo)

(iBooks)

Here’s where you can read previous excerpts: (Cubs joke) (Fabio) (Tattoos)

Here’s where you can read a guest post I did about the evolution of Flight Risk

And here’s where you can read a new excerpt. (Warning: penis joke ahead!)

Excerpt

Trevor took a deep breath and framed Callie’s face with his hands. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

She was confused for a moment and then she tried to look down, but he couldn’t let it be that easy. She deserved more, and she had to see it not just hear it. “Believe me when I say there is a part of me that would like nothing better than to finish what we started.”

“Yeah, that part is called your dick.” When he didn’t even crack a smile, she shrugged a little, tried to wriggle away. “Jeez. It was a joke.”

“I don’t want to joke. I want to be honest. I want to…” God, he wanted to kiss her again. To feel the soft expanse of her skin. He wanted to take her clothes off slowly and…

Trevor closed his eyes, tried to erase the images careening through his mind. “I want to explain because I don’t want things to be weird between us again.” He reopened his eyes. “You mean too much to me for us to go down this road. Because, bottom line, I’m leaving.”

She wiggled again, but he held firm and she stilled. “I get it, Trevor. Really.” Her eyes refused to meet his.

“That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t say this.” He waited and waited until she finally met his gaze again. “I don’t want to be the one that hurts you. Maybe that’s egotistical of me to think I could, but I don’t want to be the one who walks away and leaves you hurting. I’ll have to walk away, Callie. You know that.”

“Yes, I know.” Her voice was soft and it caused him to gentle his hold, to brush the pads of his thumbs across her jaw.

“Don’t,” she said, a slight crack to her voice, and that hint of vulnerability was the only thing that had him dropping his hands.

She took a step away from him and wrapped her arms around herself. Like magic, she pulled herself together, hiding all the little chinks in her armor, all those pockets of vulnerability, and suddenly she was Callie standing in front of him. Strong, invincible, in charge, and he wobbled in her shadow.

“Now, brace yourself, Trevor, because I’m going to be really honest here.” She tried to smile to lighten the mood, but it didn’t reach her eyes. It didn’t reach anything. “You could hurt me.”

She let that hang in the air for a minute, her eyes holding his, her hands clutching her arms as if that was her grip on strength.

“Callie.”

“So, you’re right. We can’t do this because I’m starting to think I’m finally getting to a point where I can heal. Finally getting to a point where I want to. I think that means letting myself have a real relationship if the right guy comes along.”

Something clutched in his heart, but was immediately gutted by her next words.

“You’re not the right guy, Trevor.”

He should nod and accept that, but he couldn’t. He had to know it wasn’t that simple. “Because I’m leaving.”

She stepped toward him and traced his hairline with her finger before she met his eyes again. “Because I’m Pilot’s Point.” She dropped her hand. “And you’re not.” Flat. Final. Sure. He wished he could feel any of those things, mostly sure.

He took her hand in his, squeezed. “Is it pathetic we’re letting addresses keep us from doing this?”

She shook her head almost vehemently. “No. They aren’t just addresses. You’re FBI through and through, and without AIF, I’m nothing. It’s more to us than just. It’s who we are.”

He swallowed and when she pulled her hand away, he let it fall, let the connection end. For the first time in his whole life, he wished he could be Pilot’s Point. He wished he could stay.

Filed under: excerpts, Flight Risk, publishing, romance, Samhain, writing

Seven-Night Stand versus Flight Risk

Flight Risk releases next week (EIGHT DAYS! WEEE) and I am so, so very excited. Callie and Trevor are one of my favorite couples I’ve ever written.

To avoid confusion between Flight Risk (set on a small private antique airport in Iowa) and Seven-Night Stand (set on a small private modern airport in Kansas) I created a handy dandy Venn Diagram with some similarities and differences highlighted.

Even though the settings are similar, the books are quite different. From the tropes to the people to the role of the airport, these are two VERY different books. Like quick and sexy? Seven-Night Stand is your book. Prefer darker longer reads? Flight Risk is your man.

And if you like all of the above, by all means check out both!

(Seven Night Stand) (Flight Risk)

Who doesn’t love a good Venn Diagram?

Lastly, if you’re interested in a quick look at what Flight Risk is all about:

Next week I’ll be back on Tuesday with lots and lots of Release Day goodness!

Filed under: Entangled, Flight Risk, Harrington Airfield Series, Samhain, Seven Night Stand, writing

The Grandparent Connection

I’m fairly youngish in terms of life expectancy and all, but over the course of three decades, I have written a lot of words, and quite a few of those words made up books. Not all fit for human consumption, but some are, and yay for that.

Of the almost twenty books I’ve written to completion, over half of them feature a main character very positively and very directly affected by their grandparent’s influence, whether living or dead.

The first book I ever finished, the hero’s grandfather passes away and this is sort of the turning point for his choices. The next two books featured the hero’s brothers, who were also affected in some deep way by their grandfather. This is a pretty consistent theme throughout many of my books. You’ll see it in the Harrington Airfield series, the Antiques in Flight series, and likely again and again.

I don’t do this intentionally. I don’t set out to write about people influenced by grandparents. It evolves in these stories because I cannot imagine who I’d be if I did not have my grandparent’s influence. It is hard for me to imagine people who don’t have these shining beacons of amazingness in their lives.

This is not to take away from my parents. My parents are awesome too. I am very lucky when it comes to family members and the people I come from, but I think there is something about the grandparent-grandchild relationship that makes it that much more special, especially in your childhood/early adulthood…when you are constantly under your parents’ feet. When they are trying to shape you into a decent person and you are all NO LEAVE ME ALONE, GOD.

My maternal grandmother made me feel like I mattered during those adolescent years you feel like you don’t.

(Feel free to be jealous of my Harry Potter-esque glasses).

My paternal grandmother works harder than anyone I’ve ever met.

My paternal grandfather is the kindest person in the world.

My maternal grandfather has pursued his passion for decades.

My son’s both have pieces of my grandfather’s names in theirs. My maternal grandmother’s death was one of the defining moments of my adulthood.

Everything I am is because of so many people, but they are the base of me, and so it is hard for me not to write characters who have that same base.

I dedicated Flight Risk to my maternal grandparents. My grandfather’s antique airport was the inspiration for Antiques in Flight. His passion for making what he loved a career inspired me to seek publication years ago. In the book, the heroine goes through a scrapbook her grandmother made her. In my mind’s eye, it is the scrapbook my grandmother made me.

I don’t put a lot of myself into the books I write. No heroine is a direct representation of me, no hero some weird amalgamation of words to make up my husband. These stories are not my life, but in every character there is some seed of myself, some thread of understanding between us.

Oftentimes, that thread is grandparents, and it always makes me so grateful for mine.

Filed under: Flight Risk, Harrington Airfield Series, life, writing

Flight Risk eARC contest

Gosh, I’m great with titles, aren’t I?

Anyway, Flight Risk will release in just over three weeks, and I already warned you August was going to be alll about this book.

In fact, if you pre-order from the Samhain store right now (and up until release day, I believe) it’s only $3.85 (instead of the usual $5.50)!

To celebrate the so-close-I-can-taste-it release of this book I love so much, I’ll give away one eARC at the end of the week. All you have to do to enter is follow the following two easy steps:

1. Follow me on Twitter (@nicoleThelm), Facebook, or subscribe to the blog. (You don’t have to do all three, just one)

2. Leave a comment telling me which you did/do and the email & doc preference you would like me to send the ARC to should you win.

On Sunday 8/11 at 6pm CST, I will randomly choose one winner and send them the ARC.

To whet your whistle, here’s another excerpt:

Trevor leaned against the fence a few feet away from her. “Why? You enjoying the view?” He waggled his eyebrows.

Callie rolled her eyes, hoping she could rationalize the pink on her cheeks being from the heat of the day. “Please. You’d need a few more muscles and some tattoos to affect me.” He really didn’t, but she would never admit that to him. Let him think she had a thing for muscle-bound bad boys instead of lean, rangy good guys.

“Who says I don’t have any tattoos?”

Callie narrowed her eyes, studied him. Her pulse jumped. “You don’t have any tattoos.”

“Just because I don’t have any above the waist doesn’t mean I don’t have one.” He cocked his head, grinned.

Something strange and unnerving clutched in Callie’s gut, but she ignored it and matched his grin with a skeptical smile. “All right. Prove it.”

Trevor began to unbuckle his belt and Callie thought her heart was going to jump right out of her chest, but then he stopped. “Okay, you got me. No tattoo.”

Callie realized her mouth was hanging open. She quickly snapped it shut.

“What about you?”

“What about me?” she asked, really wishing she had a drink of water at this point. Her throat was so dry she couldn’t swallow and she was having trouble settling on a coherent thought. Damn heat.

“Any tattoos?”

“You’ll never know.” She got a weird and uncomfortable feeling that Trevor was flirting with her. Which was crazy. The heat was messing with her brain. Obviously.

Filed under: contest, excerpts, Flight Risk, publishing, romance, Samhain

Summer is the Cruelest Season

Okay, so the title is a little overdramatic, but as soon as mid-July rolls around, I feel like I’ve lost that tenuous grasp on order and with-it-edness. For me, July-September and November-January are those three month intervals of what feels like insanity.

How is it almost August? How have I not heard back on a million things I thought I would have heard back on by now? How have I run out of contacts, not cleaned the bathroom in too long to mention, and have a book releasing in a month?

But, yay, I have a book releasing in a month! Gird your loins because August is going to be alllll about Flight Risk.

Make sure you’re following me on Twitter (@NicoleTHelm) as I’ll be having a few eARC giveaways. If you’re a blogger who’d want to host me for guest posts/giveaways/reviews email me at NicoleTHelm@gmail.com. And if you’re just interested in hearing more about this book, make sure you’ve subscribed to the blog (you can do it in the sidebar).

To whet your appetite for a little Flight Risk action, here’s a very brief excerpt:

———

And that’s where Em was—sitting on the bench with her nose pressed against the glass. She looked back at Callie and grinned, her gaze quickly returning to the window. “Come look.”

Callie crossed the cluttered office to the big window. Em pointed to the grass runway below. The riding lawn mower was parked and next to it stood Trevor.

Shirtless.

“Um.” Like Em, Callie’s eyes were immediately transfixed. He was using his T-shirt to wipe the sweat off his forehead, and the motion caused muscles to move and bunch under sweat-slicked skin. He could use some sun, but other than that Trevor was pretty much flawless.

“So far this is the best part of Trevor being a volunteer.” Em practically giggled.

“How long have you been watching him?” Though the question held some accusation, Callie wasn’t walking away from the window either. In fact, she was pressed against the glass almost as close as Em was.

“Just a few minutes.” Em waved a hand briefly in Callie’s line of sight, but Callie’s gaze didn’t falter.

“Not creepy at all, Emerson.” Sarcasm dripped from the words, yet she was doing the same thing. She should look away now. Step back from the window. And she would.

In a few minutes.

“Callie. Seriously.” Em pointed toward the window, her gaze never leaving Trevor. “Look. At. That.”

Couldn’t stop if she wanted to. It wasn’t that Trevor was super hot or something. Okay, maybe he was, but she was a woman and any woman with a beating heart would want to watch that. Any woman would feel a certain amount of lust over flat, hard abs and strong, powerful shoulders. Didn’t mean a woman had to act on it. She was just having a normal reaction.

Except that reaction was being caused by her best friend. A guy she was determined not to think about naked. Anymore. Mustering all her strength, Callie pushed away from the window and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?”

When Callie looked over her shoulder, Em’s nose was still pressed to the glass. Callie grunted in disgust. “To tell Fabio down there to put a Goddamn shirt on.”

Filed under: excerpts, Flight Risk, What I'm Up To

Romance Daily Deal: Seven-Night Stand

Over at Amazon, over 40 Indulgence titles are on sale for only .99 cents today! Including my Seven-Night Stand. If you’re looking for some romance, go forth and conquer the one click!

Filed under: Seven Night Stand

Heroine Week Roundup

I hope you all had a chance to look at the amazing Heroine Week posts at Romance Around the Corner. Such a great discussion about women in romance in both the posts and the comments.

My post was on the unlikable heroine, and the discussion in the comments and Rebecca’s post on the same subject were like little light bulbs all over the place helping me realize why it is I like the “unlikable” so much,

Also fitting for heroine week was reading Mary Ann River’s novella The Story Guy, which if you’re a part of the romance community at all you’ve probably already seen the gushing reviews. And they’re all right on the money, because this novella was fantastic.

What really struck me with this novella though was the heroine. She is not unlikable in the least, and yet she entered my list of favorite heroines. A list which is populated mostly by prickly, kick ass, “unlikable” types. Carrie is kick ass in her own way, but it’s a very different way.

Carrie is nice. She loves her job. She loves her parents and friends and is relatively content. She has no terrible tragedy marring her life. She’s not hugely flawed or unbelievably perfect. She is very real. More so than perhaps any other character I’ve read in romance Carrie was someone I personally related to. I understood her because she was so much like me.

And so heroine week and reading The Story Guy kind of came together to put this bright shining point on why it is I like the “unlikable” heroine so much.

She feels real. Flaws are real. Selfishness is real. I see my flaws in giant blazing 3D, so heroines that are flawed and not always good at being around people are heroines that strike the “real” chord for me more so than uber sophisticated, sleek, successful or meek, dewy-eyed, self-sacrificing Cinderella types.

But, in Carrie, despite her general likeableness, I found pieces of myself in such clarity, she was real and 3D and all I look for in a heroine. A crap way with people is going to be the thing I relate to the most, but just being an average, doing-the-best-I-can person is also incredibly real and awesome.

I’m off to the RWA conference on Wednesday. I’ll be going to workshops, pitching to agents/editors, participating in Samhain’s book signing, going to a few parties. I’m nervous and uncertain and a million other emotions I can’t even name, but I am so excited to be a part of this community, even if only on the fringes.

Romance is awesome. Writers are awesome. Heroines are super awesome.

Filed under: Heroine love, publishing, romance, writing

Happy Heroine Week!

It’s HEROINE WEEK! The amazing Brie over at Romance Around the Corner collected a bunch of guests posts from authors and readers regarding heroines in romance novels and organized it all into one awesome week celebrating romance heroines.

If you’ve read my blog long enough, you know I love me some heroines. Especially if they’re effed up. On Wednesday, I’ll have a post at RAtC about the appeal of unlikable heroines.

There are some amazing authors and bloggers who I’m in total awe of taking part and I can guarantee if you read or write romance, you won’t want to miss a post.

Each day has a variety of posts. (Here’s the schedule)

If you’re following me on Twitter or like me on Facebook, I’ll post individual links as they occur. And hopefully by the end of the week, you’ll be just like me:

Filed under: Heroine love, publishing, romance, What I'm Up To

The End

I’m hurtling to the end of my WIP. About eight chapters left to write, and I’m hoping I can be done by this weekend. I’ve already changed and edited the first half at least five times, so I’m feeling really good about the shape the book is in and I can’t wait to start sending it out into the world.

This is the opposite of how I usually feel at the end of a book. I’m usually convinced it’s utter crap and put it away for a few weeks, then read through for edits and think, well, hey this is actually pretty good.

With this WIP (titled Revive Me I have been excited every step of the way. Excited when I flipped the primary and secondary characters. Excited when I deleted the secondary characters POV. Excited when I reached the middle. Excited, excited, excited!

That never happens. So, either I’ve lost it…or this is the best thing I’ve ever written. Which, ideally, everything you’re currently working on is the best thing you’ve ever written.

It’s a bit of a departure for me. Darker and sexier and angstier than I usually write, but if I look at the progression of my books and my voice, this is where I’ve been headed all along. I think you’ll see glimpses of this dark in Flight Risk in August and even in Risky Return next year. But it’s really come to the forefront in the past few single titles I’ve tackled (which are currently out in the world, waiting for a verdict).

Also, a month from today marks the day I will leave for the RWA conference in Atlanta. Pardon me while I go have a little panic attack.

Filed under: romance, What I'm Up To, writing

Flight Risk Updates

I’m so excited that Flight Risk is starting to pop up around the Internet! And that I can share that it is coming out August 27th! I’m working on final line edits this week, and hopefully in July preordering will be available.

For now, I exist on the Coming Soon page of the Samhain store. The cover artist did such an amazing job, I could just stare at that cover for hours.

AND Flight Risk is up on Goodreads if you want to add it to your to-read shelves.

I’ll be posting a lot about this book come August. My inspiration, how this book and (possible) series differs from my Entangled airport series, excerpts, etc.

If you’re interested in reviewing or hosting me for a stop on my blog tour, email me at NicoleTHelm@gmail.com. I don’t have eARCs yet, but should next month.

For now I’ll leave you with a little line from the book to give you an idea of what my hero and heroine are like:

“He was the kind of guy who’d offer someone else comfort after his own mother’s funeral. She was the type of woman who brought booze and bad news.”

Filed under: Flight Risk, publishing, romance, Samhain