HelenKay Dimon's Blog, page 46

Request for Help

In follow-up to my post from yesterday…

Fatin has been an integral part of the romance community for years – she owns and runs the RR@H Novel Thoughts and Book Talk blog, is an administrator of the WriteMinded loop, an author assistant and a tireless advocate for romance novels. She is also a friend to many in this community. On Tuesday, March 8th, she lost her husband in a senseless act of violence, leaving her alone with four children. You can read more about the tragedy here: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/9233067/. The romance community would like to rally around her. Therefore, we will be holding auctions on ebay the last week of March. More information on exact days and donations will follow.

If you are an editor/agent/author and would like to donate something for the auction – such as a critique, mentoring, lunches at RT or RWA, swag, signed books, etc., please contact me at hkdimon@gmail.com with your donation. Your help is greatly appreciated! Larissa Ione asked readers recently what type of items they'd most like to bid on, so you might find this list helpful: http://www.facebook.com/OfficialLarissaIone/posts/200490423313803.

Please help if you can. Thanks.

Very Sad News

There is a wonderful woman in the romance community, Fatin Soufan. She runs the Novel Thoughts and Book Talk website and is both a strong advocate for the genre and the hardworking assistant for many authors, including me. Her husband was shot and killed at work early Tuesday morning. The story is beyond heartbreaking.

An education fund has been set-up for Fatin's daughters. Please go HERE and give if you can. Whatever you do – pray, send good thoughts, whatever – please take a minute and do it for Fatin and her family.

DABWAHA

I honestly can't remember what the DABWAHA in the DABWAHA Tournament stands for but it's the March Madness-like tournament for romance novels set up by the Smart Bitches and Dear Author. 2010 releases are picked to compete against each other in brackets until there's one book left, the champion. People sign up to vote and that's how the winners of each bracket are picked. It's actually really fun. Think about signing up to play along.

And why am I even talking about this? Well, because I have a vested interest…

I'm thrilled to announce UNDER THE GUN is a nominee in the series category. This was my first Intrigue and the hero (and to a lesser degree the heroine) appear in the Mystery Men miniseries. I love Luke Hathaway and this book. It makes me ridiculously happy to know it's been chosen to be in DABWAHA.

I'll let you know when the voting starts.

New Deal!!!

I just finalized a deal to write three more Intrigues for Harlequin – wahoo!!! The books are tentatively scheduled for release in May, August and December of 2012. They are standalone books but are connected by a theme (two, actually). All of the books deal with mistaken identity and a girl-next-door type dropped into an extraordinary situation. Specifically:

-May book: This is a plot I've been thinking about for years. Police come to the door to do a wellness check on a woman at her out-of-town husband's request. Problem is our heroine isn't married but she recognizes the name the police are calling her by and it's a name from her very nasty past. Dun, dun, dun.

-August book: Two heroes, two romances and a suspense. The women are in danger but is one of the men the real target…and which one? I have no idea how I'm going to fit this book into the shorter Intrigue page count but I get all tingly just thinking about writing it.

-December book: A kidnapping at a work Christmas party, 'cause nothing says Happy Holidays like a shoot-em-up thriller. Wrong woman, huge disaster and it all takes place in a conference center in lockdown. Think Die Hard.

I'm so excited to write these and am thrilled my editor at Harlequin Intrigue made the offer. I also have another book sale to tell you about but I'm not sure I can yet. So, that announcement is coming. Stay tuned.

Victoria Questions

I've had some question about my newest release, VICTORIA'S GOT A SECRET and I thought I'd go ahead and answer them here.

Q: Is is really a true story?

A: Yes and no. It's reality-based. Basically, the couple answered these long questionnaires about who they are, their pasts and their relationship. Jennifer and Paul (their real names) filled them out separately and actually highlighted different points except on one question near the end where they were each asked to set out the major turning points of their romantic relationship. They listed the same points. I took those points and built a plot around them. The dialogue is all me. Many situations are made up, especially because Paul and Jennifer's romance spans 20 years and there was a long period of time when they each lived with other people and didn't see each other. I had to make sure the book didn't read that way. People are made up, though a few are real. So, it's exactly what the name implies – based on real people, their lives and their relationship, but fictionalized.

Q: Victoria Sinclair and Naked News?

A: I didn't know anything about Naked News before I was asked to write this book. I googled Naked News and Victoria Sinclair and got part of the story. Then I read the questionnaire Jennifer, the real woman behind the Victoria persona, filled out and I was hooked. She's smart, flawed, interesting, sexy and deeply in love with her husband. Her story is about overcoming and finding herself, about growing and figuring out both who she is and what she needs. The story is really relatable. She is the perfect romance heroine.

Q: Is the book about Victoria Sinclair or Jennifer?

A: Both. The book is about how Victoria became Victoria (it's a pseudonym and the book is the first time she publicly links her real name to her pseudonym) and about how she met and fell in love with her husband.

Q: Is Paul a typical romance hero?

A: Yes. God, yes. I don't think he sees himself that way, but I sure did. Paul had a rough history. His younger years were not easy. He had to work for everything he's gotten. He's handsome and smart and dedicated to his wife. He loves the outdoors and works with his hands. He's pure romance hero in my book – imperfect but rock solid and decent.

Q: Was writing a reality-based romance harder/different/easier than writing "regular" romances?

A: It was different. You'd think having all this information would make it easier to write. For me it didn't. I usually start a book knowing the people and the first scene. I then build and learn from there. The characters evolve over time, and as I revise I get to know them until I think about them all the time. Since major parts of the plot were set for me by real life, I couldn't build a story like I usually do. I had to write an outline and do a lot more pre-plotting. I worried I was disconnected from the characters since I didn't create them in my mind. To combat this I read those questionnaires over and over. I looked through personal photos Jennifer sent to me. And I spent a lot of time on goggle studying the public Victoria and figuring out how to separate that out from the real Jennifer.

Q: Was it weird to write romantic scenes about real people?

A: Honestly, this is what I worried about before I started writing. I thought I'd feel weird writing about these most intimate moments about real people. It was a huge surprise but writing these scenes didn't bother me at all. I think part of that is due to the couple. Paul and Jennifer were very honest about the private part of their lives and clearly have a rich romantic life. They told me it was fine to be detailed and talk about the sexual side of their relationship. Thanks to their openness, it was never an issue. Also, this book is not as graphic/detailed as my other single title romances. Most of the sex scenes go right to the edge and then stop. The book is sensual and there's a lot of sexual tension and some descriptions but not enough to make me – or you as the reader – feel strange about reading it. I hope.

If you have anything else, let me know…and then go buy 50 copies of the book.

Snippet

I forgot to sign up for the Snippet Saturday this week but decided to post an excerpt anyway. Here's a short bit from my newest release, VICTORIA'S GOT A SECRET. Jennifer and Paul started dating in high school, broke up (several times) and then got back together again in their twenties. This is the morning after the reuniting time:

He got the whole way to the kitchen before he realized she had followed him. He opened the refrigerator and turned around to find her leaning against the door frame, wrapped in a wrinkled white sheet.

"What are you doing up?" he asked.

"I missed you."

"Keep saying stuff like that and we'll see how sturdy this table is." He knocked against the wood to emphasize his point.

"You're naked."

"And I plan on staying that way." He grabbed the eggs and a chunk of cheese and dumped them on the counter. "As far as I'm concerned this is just a break from the action."

"Were you this hot and ready in high school?"

"And every damn day since then."

She stepped into the room, her bare feet slapping against the wood floor. "If we keep up this pace we won't be able to walk by Monday."

"That's the plan." He faced the cabinets and started searching for a pan.

When he stood back up, she was right behind him. She slipped her arms around his waist and pulled tight against him. "I still think waiting was the right thing all those years ago."

He turned around and leaned back against the sink. He guided her to stand between his legs and held her steady with his hands on her hips. "I'm guessing I wasn't a very good risk back then."

"You were sexy and sweet but so mysterious."

"I scared you."

"You once showed up at my parents' house drunk."

He winced over that one. "Admittedly not my finest moment. I was an idiot, but in my defense I was also a horny teen boy."

Several of you have asked me questions about writing this reality-based romance. Tomorrow I'll answer them. If you have a question to add, please post it or email me!

Contest Winner!

It's time to announce the winner of the February website contest. Congrats to Jeanne (comment #1 on the February 12th blog, Snippet Saturday)!!!! Email me so I can get your book out to you.

Release Day!

Today is the official release day for VICTORIA'S GOT A SECRET. Look at this pretty cover:

What's "reality-based" romance: Exactly what it sounds like. The heroine and hero in this book are real people. They filled out this long list of questions about their lives together and each set out the main points of their romance. I built a romance around those. All the dialogue and a great deal of the story is fiction – all from my head – but who they are and how they came together is true.

What's it about: The heroine is Victoria Sinclair, the original and current lead anchor for Naked News out of Canada. The hero is the guy she fell in love with in high school. Theirs is an epic romance that spans twenty years, numerous break-ups and a whole lot of conflict. They are flawed and imperfect. They are also smart, dedicated and destined to be together.

Why did I write it: I heard Naked News and wanted to know more. When I read about the couple I was hooked. The hero is a self-made man. He had a rough start and had to earn everything he's ever gotten. In sum, he's pure hero. The heroine is sexy, this compelling combination of strength and insecurities. In many ways, these people are more interesting than any hero and heroine I could ever create.

What's the tone: The book is sexy because this hero and heroine are sexy, but the book is not super detailed when it comes to the sex scenes. I would describe the book as sensual but there's nothing here that will squick you out in terms of them being real folks. My hope is that you start reading and fall into the book and totally forget about the real people angle.

Anyone have any questions about the book?

Despite The Evidence

I have not fallen into a dark hole. In the last two weeks I did a super fast turnaround on copyedits, went to Hawaii for a long weekend and came home with something that feels like Black Death. It's actually the flu with a respiratory infection (with a Black Death-like feel). Hubby got it, too.

We've spent the last four days couch bound and grumbling. After many meds, some orange juice and a great deal of movie watching, we're finally better. My plan is to get back to work – I am soooo far behind on everything – and blogging tomorrow (Monday). I have some Hawaii photos and a new release to talk about. But first we rest…

Found This

I don't read a huge amount of young adult fiction, but I'm starting to read more. Saw an ad for this in Entertainment Weekly and it grabbed my attention:

Can you see the face behind the words? It doesn't stick out as much here, but it did in the magazine. This cover got me to go to Amazon and read the synopsis for DELIRIUM:

Ninety-five days, and then I'll be safe. I wonder whether the procedure will hurt. I want to get it over with. It's hard to be patient. It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet. Still, I worry. They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't.

I wanted to know more…so I bought it. Behold the power of good book promo.