HelenKay Dimon's Blog, page 53

New Cover!

Here is the official unveiling of VICTORIA'S GOT A SECRET, my March 2011 release:

The title, the cover – all perfect!!

Guest!!

By now you've heard that Brava (the imprint that publishes my contemporaries) has been running the Writing With The Stars contest. For the first part, people were invited to submit manuscripts. Kensington editors Megan Records and Alicia Condon picked their top ten favorites. That was a huge accomplishment on its own, but now those finalists have moved to the next part of the contest. Excerpts of their work are posted at Romantic Times and people get to vote on their favorites. Frankly, it's really hard to put your work out there and then sit back and read what people say without being able to argue. Authors have to get used to the feeling, but it takes some time.

I was lucky enough to work with one of the contest finalists, Alannah Lynne, as her contest mentor. She's terrific – very talented and professional and super nice. I wanted you to all meet her. Here she is!

_________________________________________________

It's not what's taught, but what's caught

On the Brava author blog last week, I talked about a few of the things I'd learned from the Writing With the Stars Competition. This past weekend, I realized I'm not the only one who learned a few valuable lessons.

For years, I was a Mary Kay lady. Not a very good one, sales really aren't my thing. But I wouldn't trade the years I spent toting my little pink bag around for anything. Not only did I learn how to match foundation and apply eye shadow (something I rarely do), I learned a lot about being a wife and mother. Mary Kay Ash was a brilliant woman, and if you've never read her books, I strongly suggest it.

One of the things Mary Kay often spoke about was the influence we have on our children, and the things they learn by watching us strive to reach our goals. She'd say, "It's not what's taught, it's what's caught."

My oldest son is a musician, currently in school studying audio production and engineering and writing his own music. He has enough songs for a mini-album, and by the time he graduates in March, he hopes to have enough for a full-length.

This past weekend, he gave me the highest compliment I can imagine receiving. In talking about his career, and some of the doubts and fears he's having about himself, he said, "Mom, you are my inspiration. Every time I'm at the house, you're sitting at your desk, on the computer, working on your writing. You're dedicated, and you work hard. And you keep me inspired to keep going, too."

Wow!

Mary Kay Ash was right. I never could have taught that. But in watching me strive to reach my goals of being a published author, my son has "caught" what it takes to make his own goals a reality. Just for the record, that goes both ways. He keeps me inspired too.

What about you. Have your kids ever said something that let you know they were watching? And it doesn't have to be as profound as what my son said. It could be along the lines of what my youngest said after missing a shot on the pool table. The word that came out of his little four-year-old mouth told me he'd definitely been paying attention when the big people were playing pool. LOL

P.S. from HelenKay… go read Alannah's excerpts and vote here.

Photo: Waikiki

My November release,IMPULSIVE, is set in Hawaii. Have I mentioned that, like, 4,000 times? Yeah, sorry about that. But since I have so many Hawaii photos and have a book set in Hawaii (five of them, actually) and since I'm posting photos on Mondays, it seemed logical to blend all those things.

We normally stay with my in-laws when we visit Oahu, Hawaii. The last two times we've splurged and stayed at a hotel for part of the trip. Being at a hotel rather than a house was a different experience. My favorite part? The balcony…the ocean view…the walk to all the shops in Waikiki…the Starbucks in the lobby…it's hard to decide.

Here's the view to the right:

And to the left:

Pretty no matter where you look.

Snippet Saturday

Today's topic is in-between. Admittedly, I'm not 100% sure I know what that means. I'm thinking it's about the love that comes after your first love but before your happily ever after. I have the perfect twosome for this – Eric Kimura and Deana Armstrong. Deana is the heroine in HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO and Eric is the hero in my upcoming release, IMPULSIVE. They don't end up together and shouldn't, but boy do they have a history.

"I do have to be careful in public." Eric's hands eased up until his fingers dipped under Katie's hair to massage her neck.

"At places like your ex's wedding."

The gentle kneading slowed. "You do know everything, don't you?"

"The entire island knows about that romance. You looked perfect together on the outside and then the unspeakable happened. Most people thought you got screwed in the process."

Then his hands were gone. "Like you said, things happened."

Katie wasn't letting go that easily. Wrapping her hands around his neck, she leaned in close. "Can I ask you something?"

"The conversation can't go worse, so shoot."

"Sure it could."

He rolled his eyes. "Now there's some bad news."

"Why did you go? Why put yourself through that?" She waited to feel his touch against her somewhere – anywhere – but it never came. "I mean, I'm assuming that's why you ended up with me. You were upset at seeing Deana and then this woman you didn't know crossed your path. You needed to feel something and there I was."

"I'm not sure if that is less flattering to you or to me."

"Probably me, but answer the question."

He exhaled a long agonizing breath. "I needed to prove that I could."

"Have sex?"

He didn't even blink. "Stand there on that perfect day, in that incredible oceanfront spot, and watch Deana marry Josh."

Since he gave an honest answer, Katie finally broke her hold on him and let her fingers slide down to his shoulders then to his waist. "That's a tough test of personal courage. What if you couldn't stand it?"

"I did."

"Or was the real point to make your head and your heart face it?"

"Pretty much." He grabbed her hands and pulled them away from his body. The only good thing was that he didn't let go. His warm fingers entangled with hers even as their bodies broke apart. "I'm not stuck on Deana. I'm not using sex with you as some sort of antidote."

"You sure?"

"Positive." He brought their bound hands to his lips and kissed her palm.

The sweet gesture sent Katie's hormones racing. "You really don't have a condom on you anywhere?"

"No."

"That's a shame."

__________________

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

Lauren Dane

Mari Carr

McKenna Jeffries

Shelley Munro

Taige Crenshaw

Vivian Arend

Ashley Ladd

Lissa Matthews

Writing Contest

About a billion years ago – okay, five – I was an unpublished writer who got a break. NYT bestselling author Lori Foster ran a contest on her website. You submitted three pages and she picked her 20 favorites and sent them to her editor, Kate Duffy. It was a tremendous opportunity and one for which I am eternally grateful. Thanks to the contest, I caught Kate's attention and she eventually bought my books…and then she bought seven single titles and nine novellas. I miss her every day but will always appreciate having worked with her.

So when Brava announced that it was doing a Writing With The Stars Contest, I volunteered to help out and acted as a mentor to Alannah Lynne. Frankly, she didn't need me. She's very talented. She's also very charming and hardworking. I was impressed with her throughout the entire process and am cheering her on to get a Brava publishing contract.

Alannah is blogging at the Brava Authors Blog today. Please go say hello. Also, go vote for her here.

Review!

My next book, IMPULSIVE, officially releases on October 26th. I just read a lovely review of it from Booklist. Check it out:

Katie has a history of making self-destructive mistakes. After her parents' death, she ran away from her sister and lived on the beach with the wrong crowd until a drug charge sent her back to her sister and niece in Honolulu, where she works for her sister's catering business. Katie's latest bad decision is to accept money to spy on Eric Kamura, a prominent prosecutor running for district attorney, while she serves food at his ex-girlfriend's wedding. Drawn to the handsome attorney, she ends up locked up with him in the bathroom for an intimate interlude. This does not go unnoticed by Eric's campaign, but he cannot seem to give Katie up. Katie refuses to do any more spying, believing that there is more than sex involved in their relationship, but can't prevent further revelations that damage Eric's career. Dimon gives her readers a sizzling, sex-filled romp that reverses roles as the good guy reforms the "bad" girl to everyone's delight. –Patty Engelmann

Thank you Patty Engelmann and Booklist!

Photo: Honolulu

While writingIMPULSIVE I spent some time looking through photos of our trips to Hawaii. This one brought back interesting memories. That's Diamond Head, the dormant crater in Honolulu, and all the expensive real estate right around it. We are on a boat looking back at land.

Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Yeah, it was until I started throwing up. It is now clear I have a sea sickness issue. Be happy you weren't there to witness the fun. But let's focus on the photo instead of that, shall we? I like this one because it's cloudy and overcast. Gives the island a bit of a spooky feel.

Snippet Saturday

Today's topic is first love. I've written about folks who were once in love – or at least dated – and now aren't. When I think "first love" I think about a hero and heroine who were a couple in high school and something dragged them apart. I think my novella in the GIFT OF LOVE anthology fits:

Heath held up a hand. "Wait a second."

"I know this is difficult for you to understand."

"Not really. You want me to tell my son he has to text back to some girl he's not interested in because she might otherwise get sad, is that about it?"

A steady pounding started over Serena's eyes. The headache came screeching in right about the time Heath's attitude kicked up. "Well, sort of."

"And Nate is supposed to do this thing he doesn't want to do because his English teacher said so? Like it's part of his grade or something."

Her request sounded ridiculous when Heath said it like that. "This has to do with the man you want Nate to be."

"He's twelve."

Serena rubbed her hands together hard enough to draw blood. "And he has the power to hurt a little girl."

Heath leaned down with his fists on the edge of her desk and a knowing smile tugging on the corner of his mouth. "Are we talking about Nate or are we talking about something else?"

Serena refused to dignify that with anything other than a denial. "I don't know what you're referring to."

Oh, but she did. She'd moved away for a few years, got married only to get divorced when her idiot husband cheated, and then eleven months ago had come back to Glen Ridge, the cozy bedroom community just outside of Washington, D.C., to rebuild her life near her sister. But she never forgot Heath. The same handsome senior who had lived across the street and whom she dreamed about marrying in that way only a sophomore girl lost in the confusing space between infatuation and true love could do.

All these years later she still blushed when she thought about the awkward fifteen-year-old version of herself and the way she threw herself at Heath. Despite the shyness, she had made a pass and off ered him something precious and special . . . and he'd laughed at her.

"You sure we're not dealing with something else here?" he asked, his mouth twitching as if he wanted to laugh at her again.

The adult in her had survived all sorts of heartbreak. With her accomplishments, she should have been immune to the insecurities. If the tumbling in her stomach were any indication, she wasn't.

"We were talking about Nate," she said.

"You sure this isn't about you?" Heath leaned in closer. "Us?"

At this brief distance she could smell the crisp coolness of the outdoors on him. That was enough for her to push back in her chair. If she wanted the scent of sunshine and changing seasons, she could walk outside and take in a big whiff of October. Inhaling the air around this man could only lead to trouble.

"There is no us," she said, ignoring the old sadness that descended over her heart when dealing with that reality.

"Serena, come on."

"I'm a grown woman."

His gaze never left her face. "Obviously, but according to you, these things wreck girls and cause all sorts of problems for years to come."

"Well, they can. Yes."

He slid his thigh on the edge of her desk and let his hand wander closer to her locked palms. "So, is this about Nate or is this about me?"

"My job is to watch over your son. To help guide him."

Heath started shaking his head before she even stopped talking. "Your job is to teach him English. As his father, I can handle the rest."

"We've gotten off track." She tried to push her chair back but the rollers got stuck on something. Stupid chair. "I'm worried about Lexy's feelings."

Heath's eyes narrowed for a second before he pulled his shoulders back again. "If you say so."

"I do."

__________________

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

Lauren Dane

Mari Carr

McKenna Jeffries

Shelley Munro

Taige Crenshaw

Vivian Arend

Ashley Ladd

Shelli Stevens

Lissa Matthews

Gifts!

I am a big tea drinker. I'm always looking for the perfect mug. Last week was my birthday and I got a lot of great gifts. One of the coolest was this tea infuser mug from my hubby:

I can't lie. I love this thing. You put the loose tea in, fill with boiling water and then drop the infuser (using this little lever on the side of the lid). The tea steeps and…yes!

I used a Barnes & Noble gift card from my parents to buy some fabulous reading material to go with my tea. Here are two of the books I picked up, THE IRON DUKE by Meljean Brooks and FOUR PLAY by Maya Banks and Shayla Black.

Lucky me.

New Release!

KISSING SANTA CLAUS is out! I say new release but this is really a mass market reissue. That just means still counts you need this version, too. No, really. You do.

This Christmas anthology gives you a little bit of everything. You get a novella in my Men Of Hawaii series and stories by the fabulous authors Jill Shalvis and Donna Kauffman. This book was a Cosmo "Red-Hot Red" and my novella was excerpted in the December 2009 issue – yay!!

One of my favorite tibdits about this book is the title of the cosmo article: Officer Naughty. I have to admit I love that. Here's a little look:

Ted brought his arm around and stuck a bouquet of purple orchids under Marissa's nose. "These are for you."

They were stunning. The sweet smell and vibrant deep color charmed her more than she thought possible. And the gesture, well, that squeezed the area around her heart until she thought it would burst from happiness.

Here she was planning a seduction and he was out there setting up a date. The man just kept right on impressing her.

"You are going to get so lucky tonight."

He didn't crack a smile. "They aren't foreplay. I wanted you to enjoy a piece of Kauai before you left."

Oh, yeah, he was definitely going to get lucky. "Is this part of your routine?"

"What do you mean?"

"You find a woman from the States-"

He tapped the tip of her nose. "I know it's only been fifty years, but Hawaii is a state."

"Right." She felt the heated blush from the inside out. "I meant from the continental U.S."

"Sure you did."

She decided to ignore that. "Then you lure her in with that face of yours-"

"What's wrong with my face?"

"Not a damn thing. That's my point."

"Go on. This is fascinating." He picked up her hand and placed a small kiss in the center of her palm.

"You're obtuse and you boss her around. Then you swoop in and charm her with your sweetness."

He peeked up at her mid-kiss. "I'm not sweet."

"But you are sexy." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Very, very sexy."

"Right back at 'ya, sweetheart."

The endearment sent her heart tumbling. "So what are the plans for the evening?"

"Do you really need to ask?"

Go buy 40 copies…