HelenKay Dimon's Blog, page 48

Snippet Saturday

Today's snippet is on the topic of bad moods. Oh, do I have a lot of heroes that fit that bill. They tend to get grumpy when things don't go their way. In the case of my upcoming February release, GUNNING FOR TROUBLE, Caleb gets testy when his ex-girlfriend and former boss breaks into this condo. He's funny about things like that.

Easing into the hallway, Caleb hesitated just long enough for his eyes to fully adjust to the dark. He stepped around the floor area designed to give away his location and headed down the short corridor to the open area. From there he could see every angle of the condo.

A shuffling noise sounded in front of him. His gaze swept over the family room and into the small kitchen area on his left.

Nothing.

Well, nothing at eye level. A quick survey of the floor told him what he needed to know. Not that he could see the intruder. But the guy had made a mistake. The slimmest edge of a canvas bag stuck out from behind the couch. Could be a trap but there were only a few places for someone to spring up from behind him and Caleb had his ankle wedged against the laundry door just in case someone managed to curl up in there and hide. That left the few feet of space between the couch and the television.

The rat-a-tat drumming of energy pounded through Caleb. He didn't waste one more second waiting to get shot first. He ducked down, using the piece of furniture as a shield. Him on one side and the target on the other. In one smooth move, he launched his body up over the top of the sofa. The first grab turned up only air. He stretched forward on the second lunge, saw a flash of brown hair and then grabbed a shirt collar and pulled back. Caleb shoved his gun into the intruder's temple just as the screaming started.

He was she. A very pissed off she.

Arms and legs thrashed. Books from his coffee table fell to the floor as she kicked out, missing the television by inches. Fingernails scraped against his forearm. When she bit him, he shoved her away. She lost her balance, careening right for the plasma screen but she caught herself in time. She spun around, her eyes wide with shock and chest rising and falling in a rhythm guaranteed to bring on a heart attack.

Identifying the threat almost did it for him. It was as if the blood stammered to a halt in his veins. "Avery?"

"Caleb?"

His muscles burned from the quick diversion from the fight. "Uh, yeah."

"Why are you sneaking around?"

Avery Walker, former boss and lover. She fired him exactly two years ago next month. He dumped her right after. They'd carefully avoided each other ever since. "That's my question. It's four in the morning."

"I know."

"And how did you get into my house?"

"I can explain."

His breathing finally pulled back to near-normal levels. "You bet you will. And while you're at it, tell me what you're doing here."

__________________

Don't forget to check out the other Snippet blogs:

Lauren Dane

Leah Braemel

Mari Carr

Delilah Devlin

Eliza Gayle

McKenna Jeffries

Taige Crenshaw

Lissa Matthews

Shelli Stevens

Emma Petersen

Jody Wallace

Guest Blogging

I am blogging today at Get Lost In A Story. I did an interview and will be there chatting all day. Stop by and say hello…and you could win a copy of UNDER THE GUN.

Grateful

Friday and Saturday were pretty terrible around my house. The weekend started out okay then my super fit, very healthy, half-marathon-running hubby started experiencing numbness in his ear and face. He decided to make a quick trip to the doctor in case it was a pinched nerve and he needed some meds. I was at home writing when I got the first text about the doctor sending the hubby to the hospital for tests. The next text from the hubby talked about being in ER and strapped to machines. By the time I got the hospital, my hubby's blood pressure had soared and the ER doctor was talking about the possibility my very healthy hubby who just turned 43 had suffered a stroke.

The next five hours in the ER were just plain awful. I was desperately worried, the place was a madhouse of noise and activity, the guy two spaces done coded and the ER doc just keep giving us bad news. The hubby had to stay the night. There was talk of tests and operations. Our friends and family rallied around with love and support. Friends who live hours away offered to drive in and folks closer to home asked to come and help. It was reminder of why we surround ourselves with the incredible people we have in our lives. I am grateful to all of them.

I'm also grateful to the amazing hospital team and the wonderful news that the hubby didn't have a stroke, is fine and is now back home with me. I'm also grateful for everything else. You realize how lucky you are in times like these. One moment of clarity came from an unexpected place. The man sharing the room with my hubby was homeless. While we waited impatiently for the hubby to be discharged on Saturday night, the man in the next bed didn't have anywhere else to go. At least in the hospital he could sleep and get three meals. He was gratious with the staff and spent most of his stay alseep. The only thing I heard him ask for was a shower. It was a humbling moment.

So, today I'm grateful. We have our health, our lives, our home, our family and friends, and each other. That's a pretty great deal.

More…

Have some more news on my newest release (as in it came out yesterday), GUNS AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR. There is a fabulous review up on The Good, The Bad and The Unread. Here's the first paragraph:

Get ready for one hell of a ride. HelenKay Dimon puts the gloves on, throws punches of action at readers one-two, one-two and never lets up until the bad guys are down and out. You have to hang onto your hats at the risk of being tossed out of the ring at the rate the action moves in this book. Fastfastfast. I held on for dear life and cheered every darned minute of it.

Love that!

I'm also guest blogging at the site today about pacing. Check it out!

Release Day!

GUNS AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR is officially out – wahoo!!!

I have seen some early reviews of it. Here's a taste:

Wendy the Super Librarian says:

I've always considered myself, in my heart, a mystery/suspense girl. I discovered the romance genre later in life, and while I love it with all my heart, sometimes I just want the thrill read. I want villains, hand-to-hand combat, and fast-paced action. This series has been giving me that. They're fun. They're exciting. They're what I consider perfect vacation reads. And oh happy day, the next three installments are all due out in 2011.

Lori at I Just Finished Reading…:

Another strong book from Dimon, with a messy hero and the heroine he relies on for so much.

You can learn more about the Mystery Men miniseries and enter to win a copy of GUNS AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR at Novel Thoughts and Book Talk. Check it out!

Megan Hart Winner

We have a winner to the Megan Hart Spotlight contest. Congrats to Maggie Parke (comment #15)!! Email me with your address and I'll get the book out to you.

Best Read!

Wendy the Super Librarian named her Best Reads of 2010. And…HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO made the list!! Wahoo!! Here is what Wendy says:

I read a mess of books by Dimon this year, but this was the first one and dang, it knocked my socks off. I loved the adversarial relationship between the hero and heroine. I loved the dark (holy cow, dark!) romantic suspense platform. I loved the sexy, sizzling banter. This book reminded me of how great the Brava line can be when there's a good writer delivering the story.

This makes me positively gleeful. Thank you, Wendy!

Mystery Men

My new Intrigue miniseries is about to start.* The first book, GUNS AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, comes out January 2011. The second, GUNNING FOR TROUBLE, comes out in February 2011. The other two come out later in August and September. Thought it might be a good time to highlight Romantic Times' thoughts on the books:

On leave from his Undercover Recovery Project job, agent Holden Price is stunned when Mia Landers drives right through his front door. Mia's on the run and bewildered as to why her boss, a high-powered congressman, just tried to kill her. When armed gunmen storm his destroyed house, Holden grabs Mia and runs for cover. In an intriguing and cunning story, Holden battles to keep Mia safe and find out why her boss has targeted the Undercover Recovery Project. -Pat Cooper

Involuntary retirement doesn't sit well with Recovery Project agent Caleb Mattern, and when his ex-girlfriend (and ex-boss) invades his apartment, followed closely by gunfire, he grabs his pants and gun and flees into the night. Avery Walker needs Caleb's help to find their mutual friend, and Caleb's boss, who's been investigating missing women in the Witness Security Program. As usual, this Recovery Project series story is rife with suspects, dangers, gunfire, explosions, old nemeses, new adversaries and crosses and double crosses — and readers can only be grateful. -Pat Cooper

*Technically it already started since UNDER THE GUN introduced these heroes, but the miniseries is new.

Spotlight: Megan Hart

It's spotlight time again. This is where I highlight a book that releases this month. A book I've been waiting (impatiently) to read. For those who follow along here, you know I've been waiting for this book for a long time. Small admission: I've read it. The author was nice enough to send me a copy. I'm thinking she got tired of my whining. Can't blame her.

The book? PRECIOUS AND FRAGILE THINGS by Megan Hart.

Gilly Soloman has been reduced to a mothering machine, taking care of everyone and everything except herself. But the machine has broken down. Burnt out by the endless days of crying children and menial tasks, and exhausted from always putting herself last, Gilly doesn't immediately consider the consequences when she's carjacked. With a knife to her throat, her first thought is that she'll finally get some rest. Someone can save her for a change.

But salvation isn't so forthcoming. Stranded in a remote, snowbound cabin with this stranger, hours turn to days, days into weeks. As time forges a fragile bond between them, she learns her captor is not the lunatic she first believed, but a human being whose wasted life has been shaped by secrets and tragedy. Yet even as their connection begins to foster trust, Gilly knows she must never forget he's still a man teetering on the edge. One who just might take her with him.

I really enjoy Megan's voice and writing style. I admire the way she takes chances and pushes boundaries. Here she leaves erotica and erotic romance for a darker mainstream book – ie, this is NOT a romance. The writing was haunting and very compelling. I read along wondering where Megan was going to take the book and then was surprised (and impressed) with her choices. I finished this book in a very short time but the ending stayed with me, which is a good thing. I'm excited to see what she'll do next.

For those who have read this far: I'm a big believer in spreading the reading love around, so I'm giving a copy away. If you're interested in getting a copy of this book leave a comment here about Megan Hart, her books or anything related and I'll pick someone to win a copy. Check back on Wednesday for the winner.

2010 Wrap-Up

I am a huge reader. I'm one of those author folks who believes you MUST read if you want to write. Then there's the part where I love to read (thank you, mom). So, I was pretty happy when this turned out to be a good reading year. Some years I read a lot of books that don't work for me. That didn't really happen this year. Oh, I had some clunkers. I even had some books that others loved and I didn't feel any spark at all. Some of the contemporaries I read this year fell flat for me. Not sure why. Maybe it has something to do with me writing contemporary romance, so I read along thinking how I would write it differently? Dunno. But here are some of my 2010 reading highlights:

Favorite historical romance: MARRY ME by Jo Goodman. Goodman wrote one of my favorite historical romances, NEVER LOVE A LAWMAN. I don't read much historical romance but I love Goodman. She took rape, disease and a whole host of other tragedies and delivered them in a way that was fresh and compelling in MARRY ME. Despite how it sounds, the book is not dark. There's something light and hopeful about it. Great hero. Great heroine. Happy reader.

Favorite contemporary romance (also favorite romantic suspense): NO PLACE TO RUN by Maya Banks. I love this series. It has a Band of Brothers feeling…and the guys actually are brothers. I started this one, #2 in the series, and couldn't stop reading. But a little admission: my favorite brother hasn't gotten his story yet. I am ridiculously excited to see what Banks does with Garrett, and I think his book is next.

Favorite erotic romance: LIBERATING LACEY by Anne Calhoun. I found Calhoun this year through Dear Author (I think). Writing erotic romance well is really hard. It's about emotion and plot, not just sex. Calhoun gets it and her books are a joy to read. We're in an anthology together at the end of this year, and I am so excited to read her contribution.

Favorite non-romance: STILL MISSING by Chevy Stevens. This was one of those books I saw and then tracked until it came out. It's dark and sad and, well, I wish I'd wrote it.

Favorite nonfiction: I had a bit of an alpine climbing obsession this year that started with a re-read of INTO THIN AIR by Jon Krakauer. It's one of those books I've read more than once. It grabs me from page one, even though I know the horrible end that's coming. This year I found more books on the subject, these by Ed Veisturs. He is an American climbing legend. I'd go so far as to call him a hero, and I don't throw that word around. His K2: LIFE AND DEATH ON THE WORLD"S MOST DANGEROUS MOUNTAIN kept me spellbound for days. I liked it so much, I went and found other books by Veisturs.

There you have it, some of the highlights. Fingers are crossed for a terrific 2011 reading year!