HelenKay Dimon's Blog, page 20

What’s New

Before Benghazi ever happened I wrote a short story about a Navy SEAL rescuing a foreign service officer from an embassy. It all happens in a made-up country in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The story – FINDING HOME – originally was released as part of the SEAL OF MY DREAMS anthology and I’ve now listed it for separate sale (and given it a hottie cover). I’m waiting for it to load at B&N, ARe and Sony and a bunch of other places, but the Amazon version is up. You can buy it HERE.

Or you can just sit a minute and gaze at this cover with me

Saturday Snippet

My general sickness still has me down and coughing like a mad thing, but I’m always happy to talk romance novels. This week’s topic is sweethearts. I thought maybe an early look at FEARLESS, my next romantic suspense from Harlequin Intrigue, was in order. The hero and heroine used to be engaged. Now they’re apart…but do you think that’s going to continue?

He started to stretch his arms over his head and winced from the pull. Glancing around for a clean T-shirt, his gaze fell on the unmade bed. The blinking green light on his phone caught his attention next. With his job at the Corcoran Team he was on call all the time, and that habit gave him some comfort, but he had forgotten to bring the cell with him when he went outside earlier. He’d been unavailable for two hours, which was a record.

He swore under his breath as he reached over. A few buttons later and a voice he hadn’t heard in months buzzed in his ear. Eleven months and twelve days, but who was counting?

Davis, it’s me. I’m in huge trouble. I…need you. Please be home.

Lara Bart, his former fiancé and the sole reason he went off the grid on a job that ended with busted ribs and a bruised jaw. The passing of days didn’t matter. He knew that voice, could hear it every time he closed his eyes.



He also knew something was very wrong. The slight tremor. The stammer. None of that was normal for her. Husky voice, yes. Scared? Never.

The swearing this time included a few extra words and a lot of grumbling. Jamming his finger on the button, he called her back and nearly threw the phone when it went directly to voicemail.

He’d just pivoted and started stalking to his closet when the doorbell rang. He took off down the stairs with his bare feet thumping against each step.

As he hit the foyer, the rapid-fire knocking started. Breaking from protocol and his usual common sense, he entered the code on the alarm as he opened the door. Lara shoved her way inside and pressed up against him. Her arms wrapped around him as her cheek landed against his bare chest.

“You’re home.” She was out of breath and trembling as she mumbled the words against his skin.

The touch had his brain cells misfiring. It took a second for all the pieces to register. Her hair was lighter, with touches of blond through the rich brown waves, but still so soft. And his need for her still kicked hard enough to knock him over.

Ignoring the feel of her in his arms, he set her away from him and scanned her body, trying to remain as detached as possible as he checked for obvious injuries. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head. “Well, except for my knee.”

Looking down, he noticed the ripped hem of her skirt and red knee. That, along with the untucked and torn silk blouse, signaled trouble.

“What happened to you?” He almost dropped to the floor and checked her leg, but her next comment stopped him.

“I was attacked.”

“What?”

She conducted security clearance interviews, but there was nothing inherently dangerous about her job. He knew because he checked out her company and its independent contractor ties with the Department of Defense when she took the position. Not that she knew that.

And it didn’t matter that they’d broken up. He watched over her and always would.

“I should have called the police, but all I could think about was getting to you.” Her hands were a blur of constant motion. Her gaze bounced all over the room, and she pushed her shoulder-length hair out of her eyes.

“Okay.” Good, even. Being her first thought certainly didn’t suck, but he needed her to calm down. “Take a deep breath.”

Her chest rose and fell as she took his advice, but her hands kept shaking. “There was blood everywhere.”

Dread ripped through him. Didn’t sound like this, whatever “this” was, happened at the office. It took all his considerable control to focus the energy pinging around inside of him.

He wanted the information fast and clean, but she wasn’t a field agent with the sort of delivery skills for that. Then there was the problem where her words kept jumbling together.

He cupped a hand over her cheek and lifted her head until her almond-colored eyes met his. Even terrified and twisted up, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Tall and trim with high cheekbones and a face that you could slap on a magazine cover without makeup.

But none of that mattered now. He needed information. Without it, he couldn’t step in and fix whatever this was.

Skipping over the blood comment because he’d probably be hearing that one in his sleep, he went for the broader picture. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“My jacket is in the car.” She looked around as panic moved into her eyes and turned her movements into uncontrolled jerks. “My briefcase.” She turned to head back outside.

The last thing he wanted was her out in public until he ferreted this out. “Wait…”

A shadow moved in the open doorway behind her and the facts clicked together in Davis’s head. The adrenaline started pumping through him a second later.

FEARLESS

Copyright 2013, HelenKay Dimon

All Rights Reserved, Harlequin Enterprises

_______________

Don’t forget to check out the other snippets:

Lauren Dane

Shiloh Walker

Delilah Devlin

Jody Wallace

TJ Michaels

Leah Braemel

McKenna Jeffries

Taige Crenshaw

Felicity Heaton

Caris Roane

Myla Jackson

And…

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Talking Time

In addition to selling more Intrigues, I also sold two books to Berkley Heat – wahoo!!! The books are erotic romance and a bit naughtier than my usual contemporary romance single titles. They are much closer in tone to the erotic romance short stories I’ve written. In the first – tentatively titled BRANDED – the hero is a very bad boy and the heroine is a female Jason Bourne type. It’s not romantic suspense but it has a tense vibe. I’m super excited about the books. If you want to read more, you can go to RT Book Reviews (formerly Romantic Times) to read an interview they did with me about the series.

Some News

I have been a very bad blogger, but I promise to get better in 2013. We’ll start off with some news. I actually have a lot but here’s the first piece…

I have a new Intrigue miniseries starting this year called The Corcoran Team. The first, FEARLESS, comes out in July. The second, RUTHLESS, comes out in August. The books are standalones but connected by characters. But that’s not the news. You knew about those. The news comes in the deal listing from Publisher’s Marketplace:

Fiction: Women’s/Romance – HelenKay Dimon’s next three titles in the forthcoming Corcoran Team series, to Rachel Burkot at Harlequin Intrigue, in a nice deal, in a three-book deal, for publication in Summer 2014, by Laura Bradford at BraBradford Literary Agency (World).

They are tentatively scheuled for June-July-August 2014. So, two this year and three next – yay!

The First One

You write these books and you love them and you send them out and hope other people like them. With my upcoming contemporary release, NO TURNING BACK, the idea for the series had been kicking around in my head for quite some time. I was so excited to sell the books and had such fun writing the first two. And now I get to wait and see what other people think. Honestly, you just don’t know and it’s a little scary.

Good news is I got my first review at Goodreads from Lillie who wrote a review blurb and said:

Loved this one. Reminded me a little of Romeo and Juliet but with a much better ending. And a cast full of smartasses. Great blend of humor and drama. Full review to come.

Thank you, Lillie! You eased my author anxiety and I am thrilled you liked the book!

Saturday Snippet

I’m almost done with my book. The deadline is quickly approaching. While I’m writing I give you this snippet. It’s an author’s choice, so I went with my upcoming release, NO TURNING BACK. Take a loook…

It was as if the man had a magnet in his ass.

If Declan ventured from the house, she seemed to find him and stumble over him. This time at the gas station. Leah had been singing off-key to a song on the radio and generally trying not to think about her meeting with him tomorrow night and she conjured him up. She’d postponed the meeting to Sunday to have a day away from him and to put her argument together. So much for planning.

She seriously considered riding around on an empty gas tank over pulling in next to him. But Bob, the owner of the mini-mart stepped out and her cover was blown. She turned off the ignition and stared out the front window. It was either that or glance over and see those faded jeans and that impressive butt, the same one on full view as Declan bent over the hood of his truck. Clearly the Hanover gene pool excelled in the looks department.

She opened the door, keeping her eye on him the entire time. The goal was to sneak along the side of the car, play it cool and get the hell out of there. She got to the tank and whipped the cap off.

He cleared his throat. “I can see you, you know.”

Well, damn. “I know how this looks.”

He walked over and lifted the gas nozzle for her and started pumping her gas. “Like you have a significant stalker issue? Lucky for you I’m not the litigious type. I’m also not convinced I want you to go away.”

The move was so natural and non-threatening that she stepped back and let him do it. She tried to remember if any man had ever offered to pump her gas or just done it to be helpful. If this was part of some elaborate con to prove he was decent, she understood why men like Charlie were so successful. The moves worked. The charm reeled you in and you got hooked.

His words finally registered. “Wait…what?”

“Nothing.”

She reached for the hose. “I can get that.”

He set the lock and let the meter click as the tank filled. “It’s under control.”

“Are you going to pay for it, too?”

“If you need me to.”

Oh, lord, that smile. With the body and the face it amounted to a triple punch to a woman’s control. Smashed her common sense into a million pieces.

Much more of this and she’d be making him dinner. “Should I be worried?”

“About?” He put his hands in his front pockets. The move lifted his tee and showed off that sexy tattoo again.

Why couldn’t he have a duck or a naked woman or something totally unappealing? “You being nice to me.”

“Maybe I’m a nice guy.”

That was starting to be her concern. If he was who he appeared to be then all those years of running around and investigating were a waste of time. Worse, her father would never accept news of a good-guy Hanover and she’d get stuck between the men and infuriate her father when she refused to ruin Declan. Not a battle she relished.

“Don’t sound so impressed with yourself,” she said, her voice more gruff than intended because of the thoughts running through her head.

He gave his eyes and neck an exaggerated roll. “We’re not going to fight, are we? Because I haven’t had my coffee yet and think I may need caffeine to do battle with you.”

NO TURNING BACK

Copyright 2013, HelenKay Dimon

All Rights Reserved, Penguin Berkley

_______________

Don’t forget to check out the other snippets:

Lissa Matthews

Rhian Cahill

Shelli Stevens

Eliza Gayle

Leah Braemel

Myla Jackson

Caris Roane

Jody Wallace

McKenna Jeffries

Taige Crenshaw

Shiloh Walker

Delilah Devlin

Lauren Dane

Saturday Snippet

This week’s topic is description. I’m thinking the seeing-you-again-after-all-this-time meet up in LEAN ON ME might be a good excerpt.

She drummed her fingers against the wooden table and wondered for the hundredth time why she thought returning home was such a great idea. True, she didn’t have a place to stay or money or a climbing career anymore. If she gave herself a second, she could probably work up a pretty good pity party, maybe even crawl under the table and hide. That would give the residents the kind of show they craved. But the whole how-dare-she-show-her-face thing was going to wear thin fast.

“Cassidy?”

She turned, ready to bat away any flying tomatoes that might come flying her way, and stared into a dark gray T-shirt straining against a firm, broad chest. Her gaze wandered up and over an open plaid shirt and a set of impressive shoulders underneath. Then she got to the face and the smile with the sexy cheek dimple.

Sweet Lord.

This guy could throw anything at her and she’d be fine so long as she got to stare at him for a few more seconds. Maybe run her fingers over the dark stubble on his chin and cheeks. He had a five-o’clock shadow at two in the afternoon, and, boy, wasn’t that the sexiest thing ever.



Nice to know her girl parts still worked fine even on an unwanted limited-calorie diet. “Yes, may I help you with something?”

“When did you get back into town?”

Figured he’d have one of those deep, husky voices that vibrated right down to her…yeah, she wasn’t letting her mind wander there. “Yesterday.”

He put his hands on his lean hips. “Are you staying at the house?”

Something thunked in her brain.

His eyebrow lifted. “Cassidy?”

“I’m sorry.” Boy, was she sorry. “But do we know each other?”

“We dated in high school.”

This time her brain clicked off. When it flickered back to life an error message flashed. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, we would have if you had shown up as promised.”

She could see every person in the room lean in closer. Even the soft music pumping through the speakers faded into the background. “Uh…”

His smile grew wider. “You don’t remember?”

Because it never happened. “No.”

“I’m heartbroken.”

“But, I…wait. When…?” She closed her mouth to stop the string of silliness.

His eyebrow lifted as he put a finger behind his ear. “I didn’t catch all of that.”

No way would she have left this guy stranded at a movie or anywhere else. Brown hair, sky-blue eyes and a flirty charm that started her knees shaking. Yeah, he fell into the unforgettable category. Even a woman facing the wrong side of luck could see that.

She glanced behind him at the semicircle of onlookers standing a few feet away. A quick look to her right and left showed the same pattern. Women gathered around, scowling, and some going as far as to point. A few faces seemed familiar. One woman actually frowned and made a tsk-tsking sound as she shook her head like some sort of disappointed elementary school teacher.

Cassidy thought that was overkill, but she’d take it because, well, she didn’t have much choice.

She inhaled the fragrant mix of greenery and flowers and turned back to the guy who had her stomach bouncing to her knees. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“No.” That dimple of his got sexier as he held out his hand.

She stared down. Long and lean, even his fingers were attractive. She’d never noticed a guy’s hands before, but that didn’t mean she was going to walk right into a joke and become its big ‘ole butt. “I don’t think—”

“I’m Mitch Anders.”

She knew the name. Heck, everyone knew the name. He’d been the star high school quarterback who took the team to the State Championship all those years ago. He’d left town on a scholarship the year after she did, with talk of a professional football career waiting in his future. She lost track of him after that.

Admittedly, she didn’t pay much attention to anything in school, boys and classes included. She remembered him being cute, but she knew he certainly didn’t look like he did now. Wowsa.

And they never dated. Nope. Never.

“I’m Cassidy.”

He leaned in and gave her a little wink. “Yeah, I know. I already said your name, remember?”

“What happened to your neck?” She closed her eyes the minute the babble left her mouth. Her breath also caught in her throat. She blamed the fumble of words rather than the feel of his hand folded over hers. “I mean, you, ah, look slimmer. Not that you were ever fat.”

One of the bystanders laughed.

Cassidy rushed to cover her most recent verbal disaster, though she feared there would be more. “You were more muscular then. Like, thicker in the shoulder to jaw area. You had a neck, of course. It was just…big.”

She swore she heard a gurgling sound. Probably had something to do with her drowning in stupidity.

He held up his free hand as his eyes sparkled with mischief. “That compliment, if that’s what it was supposed to be, was kind of painful.”

“It didn’t sound too great in my head either.” The same head that was now pounding.

LEAN ON ME

Copyright 2012, HelenKay Dimon

All Rights Reserved, Carina Press

_______________

Don’t forget to check out the other snippets:

Lissa Matthews

Rhian Cahill

Eliza Gayle

Leah Braemel

Myla Jackson

Caris Roane

Jody Wallace

McKenna Jeffries

Taige Crenshaw

Shiloh Walker

Delilah Devlin

Lauren Dane

TJ Michaels

Saturday Snippet

This week’s topic is character. I thought I’d give you an early look at Davis Weeks, the hero in FEARLESS (Harlequin Intrigue, July 2013). Davis showed up in last year’s COPY THAT but FEARLESS is his story. Here is the first time we meet him in this book:

Davis Weeks rubbed his eyes as he walked out of his bathroom, fresh from a shower. Thanks to the sticky Maryland summer heat, he didn’t bother changing out of the towel wrapped around his waist. He was tempted to let it fall to the hardwood floor and stand naked in front of the fan. But because he could see the narrow street one floor down, he decided to keep something on. No need to scare the crap out of poor Mrs. Winston next door. The woman had to be over eighty, though from the way she winked at him all the time he wondered if she’d enjoy the show.

Sweat dripped down his back just from the ten-foot march from the bathroom to the bedroom window. Man, it was hot. That would teach him to buy a rundown townhouse in Annapolis, then not be home long enough to fix it up or figure out some sort of air-conditioning solution.

Between the massive summer thunderstorms and the tropical storm that blew up the coast earlier in the week, the small strip of land behind his house, listed as a backyard on the real estate sales contract, had morphed into a muddy mess. He’d just burned off some of the extra energy rumbling around inside him by laying gravel over the driveway off the alley. Why he picked a humid afternoon for the task had more to do with being limited to desk job duties at work than anything else. He wasn’t the sit-around type.



Now his muscles burned and his lower back begged for mercy. Three months shy of his thirty-fifth birthday and his bones creaked. He chalked the new pains up to too many years of chasing, shooting and diving for cover. He used to recover from jobs within a day or two. This time he neared day ten days and his ribs still ached from where he got hit by that car. At least he got the bad guy.

He started to stretch his arms over his head and winced from the pull. Glancing around for a clean t-shirt, his gaze fell on the unmade bed. The blinking green light on his phone caught his attention next. With his job at the Corcoran Team he was on call all the time, and that habit gave him some comfort, but he had forgotten to bring the cell with him when he went outside earlier. He’d been unavailable for two hours, which was a record.

He swore under his breath as he reached over. A few buttons later and a voice he hadn’t heard in months buzzed in his ear. Eleven months and twelve days, but who was counting?

Davis, it’s me. I’m in huge trouble. I…need you. Please be home.

Lara Bart, his former fiancée and the sole reason he went off the grid on a job that ended with busted ribs and a bruised jaw. The passing of days didn’t matter. He knew that voice, could hear it every time he closed his eyes.

He also knew something was very wrong. The slight tremor. The stammer. None of that was normal for her. Husky voice, yes. Scared? Never.

The swearing this time included a few extra words and a lot of grumbling. Jamming his finger on the button, he called her back and nearly threw the phone when it went directly to voicemail. He’d just pivoted and started stalking to his closet when the doorbell rang. He took off down the stairs with his bare feet thumping against each step.

As he hit the foyer, the rapid-fire knocking started. Breaking from protocol and his usual common sense, he entered the code on the alarm and pulled the door open without checking. Lara shoved her way inside and went straight into his arms. Her arms wrapped around him as her cheek landed against his bare chest.

“You’re home.” She was out of breath and trembling as she mumbled the words against his skin.

The touch had his brain cells misfiring. It took a second for all the pieces to register. Her hair was lighter, with touches of blond through the rich brown waves, but it was still so soft. And his need for her still kicked hard enough to knock him over.

Ignoring the feel of her in his arms, he set her away from him and conducted a visual scan of her body, trying to remain as detached as possible as he checked for obvious injuries. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head. “Well, except for my knee.”

Looking down, he noticed her ripped dress pants. That, along with the untucked and torn silk blouse, signaled trouble.

“What happened to you?” He was about to drop to the floor and check her leg, but her next comment stopped him.

“I was attacked.”

“What?”

She conducted security clearance interviews, but there was nothing inherently dangerous about her job. He knew because he checked out her company and its independent contractor ties with the Department of Defense when she took the position. Not that she knew that.

And it didn’t matter that they’d broken up. He watched over her and always would.

“I should have called the police, but all I could think about was getting to you.” Her hands were in constant movement. Her gaze bounced all over the room, and she pushed her shoulder-length hair out of her eyes.

“Okay.” Good, even. Being her first thought certainly didn’t suck, but he needed her to calm down. “Take a deep breath.”

Her chest rose and fell as she took his advice, but her hands kept shaking. “There was blood everywhere.”

Dread ripped through him. Didn’t sound like this, whatever “this” was, happened at the office. It took all his considerable control to focus the energy pinging around inside of him. He wanted the information fast and clean, but she wasn’t a field agent with the sort of delivery skills for that. Then there was the problem where her words kept jumbling together.

He cupped a hand over her cheek and lifted her head until her almond-colored eyes met his. Even terrified and twisted up, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Tall and trim with high cheekbones and a face that you could slap on a magazine cover without make-up.

But none of that mattered now. He needed information. Without it, he couldn’t step in and fix whatever this was.

FEARLESS

Copyright 2013, HelenKay Dimon

All Rights Reserved, Harlequin

_______________

Don’t forget to check out the other snippets:

Lissa Matthews

Rhian Cahill

Eliza Gayle

Leah Braemel

Myla Jackson

Caris Roane

Jody Wallace

McKenna Jeffries

Taige Crenshaw

Shiloh Walker

Delilah Devlin

Lauren Dane

TJ Michaels

Cover Reveal!

Pssst…I can finally reveal the cover for my March release, NO TURNING BACK. Here it is: