HelenKay Dimon's Blog, page 34

The Other Blog

Blogging at Genreality today. Come over and say hello.

And, for the record, I'll be blogging at Genreality on Thursdays from now on.

Saturday Snippet

The theme today is friends. This is a component in every book I write. I love creating these relationships and dealing with the connections we make as we go through life. The book that popped into my head when I saw this week's topic was IMPULSIVE. This is one of my Hawaii-based romances. The cover should give you a little warmth inspiration during the cold winter months. Check it out…

"You look like shit." Seth Freeman delivered his assessment with a huge smile as he plopped in the small black chair across from Eric. The same seat designed more to keep visitors off guard and squirming than comfortable.

The hard wood didn't bother Seth. His relaxed, never-ruffled style allowed him to be at ease in any situation. Thanks to years of friendship, Seth was not one to give into Eric's intimidation, which was exactly why Eric pushed to have Seth named as Chief of the Career Criminal Division the year before. Their styles complemented each other, and the guy was a damn fine lawyer.

But right now, Eric seriously thought about having Seth arrested. No idea what the charge would be, but he'd think of something. Anything to stop the conversation Eric guessed was coming.



"The one is for you," Seth said as he slid the cup across the top of the practical metal desk before easing back into his open-legged sprawl.

To keep from getting sucked into a personal conversation, Eric grabbed a file and flipped it open, pretending to read. "Thanks. I have some work to do but can meet you for lunch at the usual-"

"Your foul mood have anything to do with your weekend activities? Or should I say lack of them?" Seth asked the question as he sipped his coffee.

Eric stopped rambling but refused to glance up and acknowledge the humor in Seth's tone. "No."

"Interesting."

Eric could think of a hundred words to describe the last two days. Interesting didn't come close to summing it up. Fast, sexy and dumb were more on point.

"Not really," he said.

"Hmmm."

Eric ignored the first three hums but gave in to the fourth one and looked up. It was either that or deal with Seth's staring and odd noises for the next hour. "What?"

A shrug. A frown. Seth went through his entire "no big deal" repertoire of gestures before actually spitting out a word. "Some guys would have trouble dealing with their ex-girlfriend's wedding when they're not, you know, the actual groom. Most would refrain from attending said festivities. Might even make sure to be out of town when the deal went down."

"Do you have a point other than being dramatic?"

"Since you insisted on going to the shindig…" Seth broke off, shaking his head in what could only be described as pained disappointment. "Ah, hell. I bet you even brought a gift. Didn't you, you dumb bastard?"

"If this is a closing argument, you should actually, you know," Eric cleared his throat. "End."

"I assume the wedding and seeing Deana looking all beautiful as she walked to another man is the source of all the frowning and grumbling. Can't blame you. She is one fine woman." Seth whistled. "Always has been. I'm sure her wedding day was no exception."

Deana's big white dress blowing in the March sunshine and her face lit with enough happiness to power all of the island of Oahu. Yeah, that was an image Eric didn't need or want swimming around in his head. He'd fought it off all weekend.

"Are you done?"

"You have the entire office on edge," Seth added as if he hadn't yet made his annoying point. He hitched his thumb over his shoulder. "I think I saw a grown prosecutor cry out there."

There it was. Eric had noticed the sympathetic smiles and sideways glances at the wedding, watched as the attorneys in the office scurried away from him as he walked down the hallway that morning. Despite his practiced appearance of calm, he'd somehow gone from being in charge to being the object of pity and more than a little fear. The last part didn't bother him. The former did.

As the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney he wielded a lot of power over assignments and work performance assessments. Not a bad thing for people to be careful around him, but being the subject of courthouse gossip destroyed his authority.

He had one woman to thank for the bleed between his personal and professional lives – Deana Armstrong, now Deana Armstrong Windsor. She dumped him for doing the right thing and then married a guy she barely knew. Eric still cared for Deana. Hell, he even liked her new husband Josh Windsor.

But Eric hated their wedding – the rows of white chairs set-up on the lawn, the cloudless day, the stunning sweep of a view from Diamond Head at one angle and Waikiki at the other. The idea of it, the press surrounding it and having to attend it all ticked him off. If he could he'd wipe out the image of Deana smiling as she strolled across the grass and stopped under a trellis filled with purple flowers and framing the ocean beyond, he'd do it.

Maybe one day. Clearly not today since everyone appeared compelled to remind him.

"Deana is married. We're friends," he said in his best "we're done with this topic" voice. He glanced down at the papers in front of him but only saw a black blur of ink.

Seth being Seth, he ignored the hint. "That's very civilized of you."

"Right." Eric nodded because he didn't know what else to do. "No reason we can't all be adult about the situation."

"Very mature, as usual."

"Exactly."

The silence lasted for exactly three beats before Seth piped in again. "So, did you give the groom tips on how to keep the bride satisfied in the bedroom…or is that not your specialty area?"

Eric dropped the file against his desk with a smack. The loud whap didn't wipe out the burning need inside him to hit someone. "You have work to do and an office you can do it in, or do you actually want something?"

"A reaction."

____________

Remember to check out the other authors' snippets:

Megan Hart — Read in bed!

Eliza Gayle

Rhian Cahill

Anne Rainey

Jody Wallace

Lissa Matthews

Mari Carr

McKenna Jeffries

Myla Jackson

Taige Crenshaw

Alison Kent

Delilah Devlin

Leah Braemel

Shelli Stevens

Shiloh Walker

TJ Michaels

Zoë Archer

Lacey Savage

Over There!

I'm blogging at Genreality today about having some career and writing perspective in 2012. Come say hello.

Saturday Snippet

The theme today deals with using setting as a character. When done well, this is so powerful. It's one of those writerly things I constantly work on because it doesn't come naturally to me at all. Really…not at all.

The scene I picked it from one my favorite books, HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO. The setting is Hawaii. The heroine is rich and has to learn money can't buy everything. The hero is rough around the edges.

Deana touched her fingertips against the blurry tile wall then pushed off into her final turn. A bluesy tune rang out of the built-in deck speakers as her body sliced through the cool water on the return lap to the other end of the pool.

She closed her eyes and fell into a rhythm. Tried to block out the melody and focus, instead, on keeping her stroke in time with the beat. She needed a mind wiped clear of any thoughts or memories. One where the sound of Ryan's agitated voice from the other end of the phone didn't still ring in her ears.



With each stroke, each rise of her arm, her thoughts crushed in on her. Doubt, fear, anger. The dragging sense of loss that would not leave. Identifying the bodies of Chace and Kalanie at the morgue. Listening to the police investigators voice their doubts about Ryan's story and how he couldn't possibly have slept through the entire attack on his parents as claimed.

Some days the reminders proved to be too much.

She brushed the wall and stood up. Water lapped against her hips in the shallow end of the pool. She rubbed her eyes, willing to do anything to stop the visions spinning around in her head.

Dropping her hands, she mentally assessed her options for saving Ryan. She could not come up with a single strategy that didn't include Josh. Controlling him would be the issue. She trusted the defense attorneys, had let them do their jobs, and they failed. She needed more of a say in tactics and analysis this time around.

When the hot sun started to burn her arms, she gave up on her mental planning and let her mind turn to lunch. A movement caught her attention by the house. As if she had conjured him, Josh stood right there on her deck, less than twenty feet away, with a stern frown on his face.

"Hi." She barely made a sound but she knew he heard her when he started moving.

He took the last three steps down to the edge of the pool. "What is that?"

Her mind refused to adjust to the sight of him. One minute she thought about him. The next he appeared. She wiped her eyes one more time. "What did you say?"

He hitched his chin. "What the hell happened to you?"

She finally focused on his blue eyes and how his stare locked on her chest. It was not as if she wore a tiny bikini. She had grabbed her usual navy tank with the low rounded neck. Practical for exercise and not all that sexy.

Then it hit her. The marks. He saw them, couldn't take his eyes off of them.

A familiar wave of dread crashed through her body. Since his focus didn't waver, she reached for her robe on the side of the pool and struggled into it with one had while the other covered the area from her sternum to the top of her breasts.

"I wasn't expecting you," she said.

"Deana."

"I'll meet you up on the deck."

"Deana, stop."

But she couldn't. The cotton fought her, forcing her to wrestle to get the thing over her shoulders. She ended up in three feet of water with her cover floating up around her.

Josh's gaze dropped to the material bunched between her breasts and anchored in her tight fist. "Tell me how you got those scars."

She forced her shaking legs to move to the stairs and climb out. "Why are you here?"

"The scars, Deana. Where did you get them?"

The soaking wet robe weighed a ton and stuck to her thighs making it tough to walk without stumbling. "That's not important."

"It sure as hell is." He stepped forward, the flat line of his mouth fierce but his touch gentle as he wrapped his fingers around her elbow. "I need you to explain."

Being this close to him closed her throat. Seeing the pity in those sad blue eyes made her want to scream it back open. That was the last thing she wanted from him. From anyone.

___________

Remember to check out the other authors' snippets:

Megan Hart — Read in bed!

Eliza Gayle

Rhian Cahill

Jody Wallace

Lissa Matthews

Mari Carr

McKenna Jeffries

Myla Jackson

Taige Crenshaw

Alison Kent

Delilah Devlin

Shelli Stevens

Shiloh Walker

Zoë Archer

Some Thoughts

I thought January would be a good time to talk about what I read and really liked in 2011. To be honest, last year was an odd reading year. Odd in that I didn't LOVE – like, get totally lost and couldn't stop reading love – that many books. Much of the stuff I read was outside of romance. I went on this mystery/suspense kick and read many books by female authors, all revolving around the theme of murder/kidnapping. The authors were folks like Chevy Stevens, Myla Goldberg, Gillian Flynn, Rosamund Lupton, Cara Hoffman, Megan Abbott, Heather Gudenkauf and a whole bunch more. And, again, not romances.

My favorite non-romance of the year was SISTER by Rosamund Lupton. I liked it so much that I ordered Lupton's second book directly from her U.K. publisher rather than wait for it to come out in the U.S. The book looks like this:

When her mom calls to tell her that Tess, her younger sister, is missing, Bee returns home to London on the first flight. She expects to find Tess and give her the usual lecture, the bossy big sister scolding her flighty baby sister for taking off without letting anyone know her plans. Tess has always been a free spirit, an artist who takes risks, while conservative Bee couldn't be more different. Bee is used to watching out for her wayward sibling and is fiercely protective of Tess (and has always been a little stern about her antics). But then Tess is found dead, apparently by her own hand.

Bee is certain that Tess didn't commit suicide. Their family and the police accept the sad reality, but Bee feels sure that Tess has been murdered. Single-minded in her search for a killer, Bee moves into Tess's apartment and throws herself headlong into her sister's life–and all its secrets.

Though her family and the police see a grieving sister in denial, unwilling to accept the facts, Bee uncovers the affair Tess was having with a married man and the pregnancy that resulted, and her difficultly with a stalker who may have crossed the line when Tess refused his advances. Tess was also participating in an experimental medical trial that might have gone very wrong. As a determined Bee gives her statement to the lead investigator, her story reveals a predator who got away with murder–and an obsession that may cost Bee her own life.

My favorite romance of the year was LOOSE ENDS by Tara Janzen…but not for the usual reason. This was book #11 in a series. I hadn't read the books that came before, which would usually keep me from trying one of the later ones. But good friend and reading buddy Jill Shalvis talked me into it. We read this together (as in we read it at the same time and talked about it via email) and the whole time Jill told me I had to go back and read the beginning of the series. Thanks to this book and Jill's recommendation, I picked up the beginning of the series. Man, is there anything better than discovering a great series? I'm still confused how I missed this series to begin with since it hits all my reader buttons.

Six years ago, the Special Defense Force mourned the loss of J. T. Chronopolous. Now the striking soldier is back with scant memory, a new name—Conroy Farrel—and one single mission: to bring down SDF. But SDF has its own plan: get him back at any cost. And so they've set a trap for Con, a trap that Jane Linden accidentally steps into. With darkness falling and the night heating up, Con finds himself on the run in an oddly familiar 1967 Pontiac GTO with a drop-dead-gorgeous brunette named Jane by his side. Who she is he doesn't know. Or does he? Jane certainly hasn't forgotten him. When she was a teenager, he caught her picking his pocket. Now the former street thief is all grown up and gone legit—and the effect she has on Con is all too clear: pure, sweet longing. Con's not sure if Jane is there to save him or to take him down. But one thing's certain: With desire leading the way, all bets are off.

Not sure what type of books will grab my attention in 2012. I'm thinking about going on a YA binge. I find so many of the covers amazing. I mean, look at these:

I've heard so much about Amanda Hocking and her self-publishing success, but it's the covers that make me want to read.

New Venture

I've been invited to blog at Genreality on Thursdays and was thrilled to say yes. Today is my first blog and the topic is goals for 2012. I'll be back here tomorrow with some wrap-up thoughts for 2011, but until then…check this out.

Snippet Saturday!

It's a new year and time for new snippets. Today's theme is fear. I thought this would be a good time to give you a sneak peek of my next Intrigue, WHEN SHE WASN'T LOOKING (May 2012). Jonas is a police officer. Courtney is a lady with big secrets. Soon after meeting, she runs. They end up in a car with her in charge and Jonas taking orders (how that happens is a different scene) and here's what happens next:

She cleared her throat, trying to wipe out the crushing pain that always poured through her when she thought about her family. "You're going to go over this hill then cut to the left. And I mean fast. If you hesitate, we'll hit a tree."

"Good to know." He hit the gas and the car chugged along the rough road. "Wait, what is that?"

She turned to see what had him swearing. "I don't see-"

"Where did he come from?" Jonas' hands tightened on the wheel. As he started shouting, his knuckles turned white.

She watched in horror as a truck with a huge front grill barreled right at them on her side of the car. It appeared out of nowhere, gobbling up branches and dragging them under its tires. She sat down hard in the seat facing forward and dropped the gun to the floor. With her arms locked, she balanced her palms against the dashboard. "Move!"



"I see it."

"He's going to hit us."

"Get down!" Jonas turned the wheel sharp to the left. The car bobbled as tires spun, kicking up mud and squealing in protest.

Just as the traction grabbed, the truck smashed into the back passenger side. Metal crunched as the doors crashed in and roof buckled with an ear-splitting thunk. Her body rocked in her seat until the belt dug deep into her skin.

Pain raced up her arm as she watched Jonas struggle to keep the car upright. Then the world spun around her. Her stomach rolled in time with the car when it turned over. She screamed until she lost her breath.

When the rocking stopped, she lifted her hands and they fell until they hung in front of her. The dashboard pressed up against her knees and her vision blurred, cutting in and out. Something clicked in her neck when she turned to look at Jonas. His eyes were closed with his arms bent underneath him. Blood covered his eye and ran along his forehead.

They were upside down.

His first name floated through her mind. "Jonas?"

She whispered through a scratchy throat just as footsteps thudded around her. She couldn't make out the direction but her stomach plummeted at the sound.

She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, a face popped up outside the broken window next to Jonas' head. A scream raced through her but she swallowed it. "Who…who are you?"

The man with the blond military-cut hair and chin stubble smiled. Feral heat radiated off him. "It's time to go."

"Why?" She felt underneath her stomach for the abandoned gun. Stretching out her hands, she touched it but it danced off her fingertips.

The man smacked his hand against what used to be the bottom of the car. "You're worth a lot of money, and I intend to collect."

"I can't move." She looked at Jonas' holster – empty – then her gaze skipped to his face. His eyes were open. Dark and furious, he stared at her. She tried to read the look and decided he needed time. She focused on the attacker. "I think I'm injured."

"You can slide out or I can come get you."

The attacker's words skidded across her nerves, leaving an icy trail in their wake. "Give me a second."

In a blur, Jonas moved. He brought his gun up in a flowing arc. At the last second he lifted his head and shot right out the window without aiming. One second the attacker hovered there, leering. The next leaves rustled and red sprayed across the broken glass. The only sound was the lone beep as Jonas' elbow hit the horn when his arm flopped back down.

The whole thing took a second but moved in a slow motion that played more like hours. She'd never been a big fan of the police, but she was grateful for Jonas.

____________

Remember to check out the other authors' snippets:

Megan Hart — Read in bed!

Eliza Gayle

Rhian Cahill

Anne Rainey

Jody Wallace

Lissa Matthews

Mari Carr

McKenna Jeffries

Myla Jackson

Taige Crenshaw

Alison Kent

Delilah Devlin

Leah Braemel

Shelli Stevens

Shiloh Walker

TJ Michaels

And…

Winners!!

It is winner-picking time. Using the random selector tool we have the following winners:

Giveaway #1 (Holiday Kisses) – Monikarw (comment #17)

Giveaway #2 (charity antho copies) – Claudia GC (comment #9)

Giveaway #3 (backlist digital book) – Cheryl S (comment #1)

And I thought we'd go ahead and do this one…

Monthly contest ($15 gift certificate) – Daniela C (from Giveaway #2 post, comment #3)

Congratulations to everyone! Please email me so we can work out how to get those prizes to you all.

Giveaway #3!

This giveaway is a bit of a free-for-all. The winner gets his/her choice of any of my books that have already been released. The only catch? It's a digital copy. You win and then pick the book of your choice and I gift it to you from B&N or Amazon, whichever works for you.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment here and I'll pick a winner on the 30th. It's your job to check back and see if you've won.