Nicole Helm's Blog, page 8
March 25, 2013
Happy Release Day, Elley!
Today my critique partner’s debut releases from Crimson Romance! Congrats, Elley!
I first read Save My Soul two years ago. Even though it’s been that long, there are still scenes I vividly remember. Such is the strength of Elley’s writing. I also remember being intimidated by those first few chapters of hers I read thinking she’d never want to keep me around.
Luckily, that wasn’t the case.
I’m so excited to sit down and revisit Jordon and Maggie and they’re trip to happily ever after. If you like vivid writing, sparkling sexual tension, and emotional reads check out Save My Soul
Or you can visit Elley’s website for information on this book, her upcoming releases, and a contest she’s running.
Filed under: Friday Reads, publishing, romance, Uncategorized
March 18, 2013
This Time Last Year…
March 11, 2013
More Meaty Heroines, Please
The romance heroine takes a lot of shit. Though I have no hard data out there to back this up (and you hard data people out there, feel free to offer some), in my experience, the heroine is more often the character a reviewer takes to task than the hero. The heroine is more often the one the reader hates, or disagrees with. We’re hard on our romance heroines.
And as for praise? That’s all on the hero. We have book boyfriends we argue over. We swoon over the hero. We’re ready to run off with him at a moment’s notice. We talk about all the sweet or amazing things he did for the heroine. And, let’s face it, the hero nine times out of ten gets to be the sex god while, more often, the heroine has to struggle (you know, until the hero’s magic penis swoops in).
That’s fine and dandy. I certainly have no problem with the hero being a sex god. But, for me as a reader, I’m heroine-centric. I love heroines. In fact, I care more about the heroine than the hero. Don’t get me wrong. I want to fall in love with the hero. I want him to be wonderful and sweet and totally blown off his axis by the heroine. But, I think that’s easy to find. What’s rarer?
The meaty, complex, multi-faceted heroine. You know why? They’re hard. They can’t come off selfish or cruel (all things we tend to give pass to in a hero) or whiny and weak. Likeability in a heroine is an almost-must.
I am not super likable at times. I’m selfish. I can be cruel. I whine loads, and there are times when in the face of struggle, I’m weak. I don’t want the heroine to be perfect. If she’s perfect I am reminded of all the ways I am not. I want her to be real. I want her to struggle. I want to give her all the things we give the hero without reservation. Compassion and understanding.
You see, I read anything, be it romance or classic literature or a biography, with the hope the book will shape me in some way. That I will learn from it or resonate with it or understand myself a little better for having read it. A heroine who is perfect or is only marred by some horrible past has a harder time of giving that to me than a heroine who has faults, who falters, who screws the fuck up. Who is sometimes selfish or does bad things, not for some grand purpose, but because that’s what people do.
I am not of the heroine as placeholder camp. I don’t want to BE the people I read about. I want to learn something from them or find some camaraderie, but I have no desire to go through their life. I love Gone With the Wind, but I certainly don’t want to be Scarlet or Jane from Jane Eyre or even the heroines I write. For me, personally, that’s not what I’m looking for. I’m looking for someone interesting and complex. Someone real, even when they’re not.
I’m so glad to see this becoming more and more common in romance. Heroines who aren’t just not-perfect, but are really kind of screwed up. Heroines who are selfish or antagonistic or who made/make mistakes. And still manage to work things out with the hero. Still manage to work out a problem or a life, because that’s what we all do. And sometimes, some revelation or understanding they have about themselves helps or resonates with me, and I feel less alone or more normal or something.
So, where are these books?
Molly O’Keefe’s Crooked Ranch Series: Tara, Victoria, and Maddie are three of the most complex, fascinating heroines I’ve read. When I think about this series, I think about the heroines first and foremost. Tara is selfish, Victoria is weak, and Maddie is ambitious. None of them are apologetic about these facets, and even as they work to overcome them, it’s never made out that this is some inherent weakness in their nature that only the hero can fix. In fact, neither hero or heroine gets “fixed”. More like together they support and help each other, not change each other.
Sarah Mayberry’s The Other Side of Us & All They Need and maybe everything she’s ever written ever? I love how real her heroines feel, and I particularly love the gender role reversal in The Other Side of Us and the physical description of the heroine in All They Need.
Tamara Morgan’s Confidence Tricks: Poppy is kick ass. She’s on parole and while I love Asprey and his almost total comfort in Poppy’s bad-assedness, it was Poppy’s complexities and issues that aren’t magically fixed by the right man, or fixed at all, that make her exactly the type of heroine I want to read about.
One Final Step, Stephanie Doyle: Admittedly, I didn’t love this book. I didn’t even particularly like the heroine, but I did like that she’d made mistakes for really interesting (read: not noble) reasons. Yes! I want more of this!
I am but one lowly reader and even more lowly writer, but I hope to see this trend continue. Also, if you’ve read a book with a complex, not-always-nice-or-likable heroine, dish in the comments, please!
Filed under: Friday Reads, Monday Me, romance, Uncategorized
March 4, 2013
Excerpt Monday!
I have a few things occupying my brain right now, which means trying to write a blog post didn’t work out. So, I’ll leave you with an excerpt instead.
This is an (unedited, could-still-be-changed) excerpt from my first Samhain release, Flight Risk, which will come out late this summer. I want to be like a mother and love all my books equally, but there’s something a little extra special about this book for me. And I got a little peek at my cover today, so it seems fitting.
Also, baseball is less than a month away, so I had to include a baseball joke. (Sorry Cubs fans).
***
“I’m sorry, Cal,” Trevor muttered, and his hand rested on her knee. “This must hit a little close to home.”
Callie shrugged. “Been a long time.” The memories would fade, some of the pain would too. Alcohol would help hurry the process along. The liquid scorched its way down her throat, the familiar heat curling in her stomach.
“It’s not about me today. It’s about Shelby. And you.” She covered his hand with hers, and then carefully removed it from her knee. She took another sip, a little longer this time.
“I don’t want to think about me,” he muttered, leaning into the back of the couch. “Tell me about AIF.”
From one depressing subject to another. Callie thought of the fly-in, the annual gathering of members of Antiques in Flight. AIF made the majority of its money for the year at the fly-in. Antique enthusiasts flew or drove out to the airport and spent five days camping, eating, enjoying each other’s planes, checking out the museum and library.
Last year, most people had attended to memorialize Gramps, but the donations had dropped significantly because there had been so many problems. This year, everything had to run smoothly. They were counting on those donations to make it through.
Callie opened her mouth to deflect the topic, but the truth tumbled out. “Em and I are holding on by a thread. If we don’t recover from last year’s disaster of a fly-in, we’ll lose it all.” She hadn’t meant to be bleak about it. Whenever she was around her half-sister, she did her best to maintain a positive attitude, but in her head the fly-in in six months would either make or break Antiques in Flight.
If Callie lost AIF along with everything else, she didn’t think she’d make it.
Callie took another deep drink, willing the liquor to kick in. “Let’s talk about something really stupid,” she suggested before Trevor started to try and comfort her. He was the kind of guy who would off comfort to someone else after his own mother’s funeral. She was the type of woman who brought booze and bad news.
“I think the Cubs have a chance to go all the way this year.”
“Yeah. Right, this is really going to be their year.” It was good to laugh. It had been a while since she’d had someone to laugh with.
Filed under: excerpts, Flight Risk, romance, Samhain
February 25, 2013
February Round Up
Normally on the last Monday of the month (how on EARTH is it the last Monday of the month?), I’d write a post about the books I read this month. There is a slight problem with this for February…I haven’t really finished any books.
I did finish Curve Ball by Charlotte Stein after originally DNFing it. The beginning was hard for me to read, but once I went back to it after a break, I ended up enjoying the latter half of the story.
I’m also about halfway through Jilted by Rachael Johns. It’s a print book, which is why it’s taking me so long to get through. I swear, every time I try to sit and read I have a baby or a toddler grabbing the book out of my hands.
One thing I am getting accomplished this month is writing. I’ve worked on some revisions for Harrington #2, and gotten about a third of the way done with the rough draft of Harrington #3.
My blog tour began last week, and the giveaways are still going on. For a chance to win a copy of Seven-Night Stand (plus an author interview) click here. (Ends Wednesday)
For a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card (and read Vivvy interview Nate) click here. (Ends Friday)
And don’t forget you can find all the stops on my blog tour (which will all either give away a copy of the book or an Amazon gift card) HERE.
See you in March!
Filed under: Entangled, Seven Night Stand, What I'm Up To
February 18, 2013
Two Weeks in the Books
Seven-Night Stand has been available for two weeks now, and it has been a crazy few weeks.
This week will start my blog tour. Interviews, posts about my favorite reality TV shows, and Nate and Vivvy even make an appearance and interview each other. There will also be opportunities to win the book or a $10 gift card, depending on the stop. I’ll be posting individual links on my FB and Twitter as they go up and once the entire blog tour is up on the Entangled site, I’ll post the link in the News column.
I’ve started receiving reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, book blogs, etc. All very surreal and something I’m still trying to wrap my head around. Strangers are reading my books! Crazy!
Meanwhile, lucky me, I get to spend more time with the Harringtons as I work on revisions for Harrington Airfield #2 and start plotting out #3. If you want a little visual peek at Risky Return and yet-to-be-titled/written #3, check out the Harrington Pinterest board.
Speaking of Book #2 and its hero, Ryan. Here’s a little excerpt from Seven-Night Stand showing a little love between brothers. 
—————————-
“Is that how you got a beautiful woman interested in you? She’s crazy and it impedes her judgment? Christ, she doesn’t react to anything.”
“Yeah, maybe we need a little bit of that around here. Besides, she’s higher-class than any of the women who put up with you for brief periods of time.”
Ry snorted. “KC has plenty of high-class women interested in me. Women who aren’t looking to slum it with the likes of you.” The slum comment hit a little close to home, but what did he expect from Ryan? Not much. To Ryan, Nate’s life was a slum.
“Maybe, but none like Vivvy.”
Ryan shook his head and slapped Nate on the back. “You got it bad.”
Yeah, he did. Three days with this woman and he was all kinds of wrapped up in her. What kind of moron did that make him? The biggest.
“What are you going to do when she goes back to LA? I hope you don’t have any idiotic ideas about that woman staying. Cool as a cucumber—she does not belong here.”
“I’m not an idiot. Of course she doesn’t belong here.” She was all flash and smartphones and clacking around broken concrete and grass on high heels. Nothing about her image jibed with Harrington. Or even him.
Except somehow she worked with him. Something about the calm and cool way she didn’t react to all the drama. Nate puffed out an irritated breath. He was an idiot.
“You’re not going to agree to this insanity no matter how stupid you get over her. I won’t let you.”
“Screw off, Ry.” Nate focused on the plane, and for the next two hours he and Ryan didn’t talk. They worked side by side. As always, the years slipped away, the arguments faded. When they worked together on a plane, they were brothers. More than that, they were two of the same mold.
Filed under: Entangled, excerpts, Seven Night Stand, What I'm Up To
February 7, 2013
Entangled In Love Blog Hop
Click here to check out what the other authors are giving away during the Entangled In Love blog hop!
It’s Valentine’s Week! And what better way to celebrate than romance novels? A bunch of us Entangled authors are participating in this blog hop, and there are prizes offered at every stop.
I’ll be giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to one lucky, random person! All you have to do is:
Follow me on Twitter, Like me on Facebook, or Subscribe to my blog (which you can do on the sidebar). (Please note, you only have to do 1!)
Leave a comment on this post telling me what you did for #1. (If you already do one of the three above, let me know!)
The contest will run from 12:01am February 8th until 12:01am February 16th (all times Central). I’ll put the entries into random.org and announce the winner on my blog sometime on the 16th. Make sure to check back on the 16th to see who won!
On February 8th, Entangled in Love is also having a Twitter party! Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to make it, but here are the details.
Date : February 8th, 2013.
Time : 9pm EST.
Hashtag : #EntangledInLove
What : We’ll be asking Valentine’s day related questions and each question has prizes to be won! Answer right for a chance to win some of the many awesome prizes!
Where : Follow the instructions below!
1. Go to http://tweetgrid.com/party
2. Fill in the hash-tag as #EntangledInLove
3. Fill in the hosts
@entangledpub
@totalbookaholic
@babsbookbistro
@anjanavasan
4. Enter your twitter handle, follow the tweets, answer the questions and you may just get lucky!
Don’t forget to mention the #EntangledInLove hashtag in your replies!
Filed under: contest, Entangled, romance, Seven Night Stand
February 5, 2013
Seven-Night Stand Releases
Seven-Night Stand is live!
I really love the cover. Aside from the heroine’s hair color it is EXACTLY what I wanted, and that is really hard to do. Big kudos to my lovely editor Libby for making the awesome cover.
So, what’s Seven-Night Stand about?
LA reality show TV scout Vivvy Marsh is sent to Kansas to scout a show on a small airfield, but it looks like a bust. It’s flat, it’s boring, and she’s not inspired … until she meets sexy pilot Nate Harrington. Their irresistible attraction leads to a new proposal: a seven-night stand.
And if you want to see some of my visual inspiration for the book (and it’s follow up currently under consideration) here is my Harrington Airfield Series Pinterest Board.
Where can you buy it?
(Amazon) (Barnes and Noble) (Books on Board) (Kobo)
And if you have Goodreads and want to add Seven-Night Stand, you can do that here.
I’ll also be around the internets the next few weeks talking about Seven-Night Stand. Up this week:
Today I’m at From Fact to Fiction talking about not-so-smooth road of publishing.
Thursday 2/7 I’ll be part of Entangled Indulgence one year anniversary celebration. I’ll be part of a Facebook chat on Thursday 2/7 from 11am-3pm (CT). Come ask questions, win prizes, etc.
Friday 2/8 starts the Entangled in Love Valentine’s Day celebration. I’ll be part of the blog hop.
Saturday 2/9 I’ll be blogging at Fresh Fiction about small town indulgences.
Filed under: Entangled, publishing, romance, Seven Night Stand
January 29, 2013
New Release Date!
In case you don’t follow me on Twitter or Facebook or everywhere else I’ve already announced this, Seven Night Stand has a new release date. And it’s soon!
February 4th!
So, come back Monday and you’ll find lots of release day excitement, but links, etc!
Filed under: Entangled, Seven Night Stand
January 28, 2013
New Release Date
FEBRUARY 4th! As in, a week from today!
Yay!
