HelenKay Dimon

Thanks to everyone for the warm wishes on your upcoming move. I’m in my new house now, poaching internet service from a neighbor, I guess, since ours is not yet hooked up. Weather is beautiful. House is beautiful. San Diego is beautiful…yeah, the transition though quick and far away from our current home is going to be a good one for us.

We come back to Maryland for a few weeks then make the long drive across country with three pets loaded in the car. I figure I’ll be insane by Texas. Until then, only happy thoughts.

So, while I wait for the Direct TV people to arrive, I leave you with these recent romance and women’s fiction sales. Some interesting purchases out there. Not sure what appeals to me, if any, but here they are:

This one sounds like a biggie:

FICTION: WOMEN’S/ROMANCE
Therese Fowler’s SOUVENIR, pitched as “in the tradition of Nicholas Spark’s The Notebook, paired with the family drama of Jodi Picoult,” to Linda Marrow at Ballantine, at auction, by Wendy Sherman at Wendy Sherman Associates.

Foreign rights to Goldmann in Germany, Sonzogno in Italy, Belfond in France, Suma in Brazil, all in pre-empts; to Cappelen in Norway, at auction to the latter; and to Aschehoug in Denmark; on behalf of Wendy Sherman Associates, by Jenny Meyer.

Proof erotic still sells:

FICTION: WOMEN’S/ROMANCE
Jane Lockwood’s CHAINED, an exotic erotic historical romance, to Laura Cifelli at NAL, in a nice deal, by Lucienne Diver at Spectrum Literary Agency.

See, WWII does sell:

FICTION: WOMEN’S/ROMANCE
Author of WALKING WEST and THE SHOPKEEPER’S WIFE Noelle Sickels’ THE MEDIUM, set against a backdrop of home front sacrifices and romances during World War II, featuring a young heroine who must come to grips with her exceptional ability to foresee the future, to John Helfers at Tekno, by Jeffery McGraw at The August Agency (world English).

In the sounds-like-romance/women’s fiction category:

FILM RIGHTS
Eileen Cook’s IN THE STARS (formerly titled Sophie’s Predictions), a comedy in which a woman poses as a psychic to win back her ex and ends up with fame and success if she can keep the ruse going, optioned to Bender Spink, producing at New Line, by Sarah Self at the Gersh Agency, on behalf of Rachel Vater at Lowenstein-Yost Associates.

German rights to Goldmann, in a very nice deal, by Tom Schleuck on behalf of Lowenstein Yost Associates.

I’m not sure what Little Black Dress is in terms of a publisher other than a UK-based outfit (get it?), but…:

FOREIGN RIGHTS: UK FICTION
Kristin Harmel’s HOW TO SLEEP WITH A MOVIE STAR, about a young celebrity editor who is seduced by a famous and gorgeous young actor, and THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING, to Catherine Cobain at Little Black Dress, in a nice deal, by Laura Bonner at Warner (UK/Commonwealth, excl. Canada).

And

FOREIGN RIGHTS: UK FICTION
Kate Lace’s ROCK SOLID, about a girl working in a ski resort who wants to realize her dreams of being a singer, to Catherine Cobain at Little Black Dress, in a nice deal, in a three-book deal (World).

Until tomorrow, or as long as the internet poaching continues to work…

I have big, big news. Most of it completely unrelated to writing.

Ready?

We’re moving. Not just across the street or down the road. Nope. We’re moving from Maryland to California. My husband got one of those “must take” job offers. I’m very proud of him. Equally thrilled to be moving to San Diego – land of sunshine and perfect weather, except for that earthquake thing. Winter soon will descend on the D.C. Metro area…and we’ll be gone.

The relocation is a quick one. We leave in mid-November. This week I’m actually in my new California home doing some work, hooking up utilities and generally getting the house stuff settled. “They” say internet access will be available on Wednesday. We’ll see.

This big change leads to other big changes. Namely, I will be leaving my day job (hard to practice divorce law in Maryland when one lives in California). This was a difficult decision in that I love the people in my firm. Don’t always love what I do, but will miss everyone in the office. Will also miss friends, writing buddies and my family.

This piece of information leads me to the writing-related stuff: The relocation means I will be writing full time, at least for a few months. I already have three deadlines in in 2007, so full-time writing sounds like a good idea at the moment. Since I also enjoy eating and paying the mortgage and those sort of things, we’ll have to take this one a month at a time until we see just how expensive it is to live in California. Can tell you the housing ain’t cheap. But, as of mid-November, I’ll be a full-time writer. Living the dream and banning suits from my everyday wardrobe. It’s comfy clothes all the time for me. The hope is to be able to continue with the full-time writing without going stir crazy or having to eat dirt. Again, we’ll see.

This post references a whole bunch of stuff I don’t know anything about but was wondering.

I saw this website. Have to admit I have no idea what it is. Not sure what the referenced Spring 2007 Online Bookfair is either. Did go to the contact info, which led me back to a website for FSB Associates. Frankly, that didn’t clear it up either except that I’m thinking the Love of Reading site is the brainchild of the book marketing folks at FSB Associates. That would suggest you need to be a client of FSB Associates to be a part of this, but I’m not sure if that’s true or not. Also not sure what happened at the October online Bookfair that just passed. For the record, however, I am always in favor of a site that gives a book discount.

Anyone know anything about this? I’m just nosy.

The first book I ever read by Phillip Margolin was Gone, But Not Forgotten. Must be in 1993 or 1994. Can tell you it scared the bejesus out of me. There I was, in bed recovering from surgery and from the allergic reaction to the pain meds following surgery, in unmedicated pain, could barely lift my head, was in law school and hating life because I was in the middle of this national moot court competition and couldn’t figure out how I was going to argue when I couldn’t move…despite all that, I just had to finish the book. That’s my mom’s fault as well as Margolin’s, by the way. See, mom had read the book, loved it and brought it with her to visit me.

Margolin wasn’t well known when this one originally came out. In fact, this might have been his first book. I don’t know. Point is, the book grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let go. I love when that happens. Haven’t read it since for fear I wouldn’t have the same reaction. Kind of want to savor that initial feeling.

From this sale announcement, I’m thinking Margolin has made a career out of grabbing the reader’s attention:

FICTION: THRILLER
PROOF POSITIVE author Phillip Margolin’s next two thrillers, to Harper, with Marjorie Braman editing, in a major seven-figure deal, by Jean Naggar of the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency.

Good for him. Of course, it would be better if I got that kind of deal, but…

Every now and then I read about a book sale and think…well, I’ll let you guess what I think:

NON-FICTION: NARRATIVE
Philadelphia Inquirer features editor Bob Sheasley’s COOP DREAMS, covering both the history and science of chickens and the author’s story of his own backyard chicken farm (from which he produces and sells eggs to the Inquirer newsroom), to John Parsley at Thomas Dunne Books, by Jake Elwell at Wieser & Elwell (World).

For those worrying about the chicken/egg dilemma – try here.

For those who love young adult books, cute orphans and Jim Carrey Movies, tomorrow promises to be a very sad day. Tomorrow is the official release day of the final book in the Series of Unfortunate Events. The story of the Baudelaires and Count Olaf comes to an end with Lemony Snicket book #13. How do we know it’s the end? Well, the author says so. Then there’s the title of the book – The End. Not exactly unclear. We also have the “Dear Reader” letter from Lemony Snicket that goes like this:

Dear Reader,

You are presumably looking at the back of this book, or the end of THE END. The end of THE END is the best place to begin THE END, because if you read THE END from the beginning of the beginning of THE END to the end of the end of THE END, you will arrive at the end of the end of your rope.

This book is the last in A Series of Unfortunate Events, and even if you braved the previous twelve volumes, you probably can’t stand such unpleasantries as a fearsome storm, a suspicious beverage, a herd of wild sheep, an enormous bird cage, and a truly haunting secret about the Baudelaire parents.

It has been my solemn occupation to complete the history of the Baudelaire orphans, and at last I am finished. You likely have some other occupation, so if I were you I would drop this book at once, so THE END does not finish you.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

Sad children and parents everywhere. Of course, since the series has produced bestseller after bestseller and even now The End is ranked #2 at Barnes & Noble, I’m betting the saddest of the sad are the good folks at HarperCollins Children’s Books, the publisher.

This one isn’t out yet. Something about it caught my attention…

The book is: Murder 101 by Maggie Barbieri.

Cutesy covers are supposed to be out, but I like this one:

As far as I can tell, the author doesn’t have a website. This is her debut novel and sounds like a chick lit mystery. Publishers Weekly describes it like this:

At the start of Barbieri’s sparkling debut, Alison Bergeron, a divorced English professor who teaches at St. Thomas, a small Catholic college in the Bronx, is dismayed when her car is stolen, but she’s stunned when handsome NYPD homicide detective Bobby Crawford informs her that it has been recovered-with the body of Kathy Miceli, one of her students, in the trunk. Alison becomes a suspect in Kathy’s murder, but disturbing incidents like the ransacking of Alison’s office help persuade Bobby she’s innocent. The sassy banter between Alison and Bobby nicely balances the escalating tension of the murder investigation, which calls into question the integrity of Alison’s philandering ex-husband, another St. Thomas professor. Romance, humor and suspense blend perfectly in this exceptional cozy, the first of what hopefully will be a long series.

Sounds fun and light. Just wish it weren’t hardcover. I’m guessing she’d get more attention as a first-time author if the book had a lower price tag. But, thanks to the B&N member discount and a B&N gift card, I’m going to take the plunge and check it out.

I found this and want to make sure I’m not the only one who has seen it. Think of this as a public service announcement. Better yet, think of this as my gift to you…

Ever wanted to star in your own romance novel? Honestly, I haven’t but others may feel differently on this issue. If so, these personalized romance novels may work for you. Yes, you pick one of the pre-written situations then place you and your loved one in the story. For example, you can chose Another Day In Paradise , pick the “wild” or “mild” version and even add you photos to the cover. The cost is about $50 for a paperback version of the book without your photo on the cover, and about $75 for one with the photo. Hardcovers are closer to $100.

Really, I don’t know what I could add to this. Check out the excerpts.

I’m over at Brava Authors blogging about my new “thing” for truly bad boy heroes.

This is an issue I’m working through for one of my future books. My hero’s past is quite colorful. It includes jail time and some other non hero-like activities. Having him grow without transforming him into someone he fundamentally isn’t – yeah, that’s the goal. Not easy, but certainly interesting.

The story continues to percolate…

You may remember Mrs. Giggles reviewed Laurell K. Hamilton’s Micah and gave it a 02…yes, that’s on a scale of 100. Mrs. Giggles described the book like this: “Micah isn’t a story as much as it is a painful vomit of words splashed all over the pages of the story, with Anita playing an insanely insecure and irrational woman.” Again, I would ask that no one ever refer to my work as “painful vomit” ’cause, well, I’ll cry. Keep that stuff to yourself.

Mrs. Giggles recently reviewed a book she liked better than Micah. Not much, but a little. This one got a 08…yes, that’s still on a scale of 100. This time Marianne Mancusi’s What, No Roses? was the lucky winner of Mrs. Giggles’ wrath. I haven’t read the book but do own it. Mrs. Giggles says this: “I find myself wishing that I can travel into the story with a big tank so that I can turn a massacre into an apocalyptic slaughter of idiots who are way too stupid to be alived to live.”

On the bright side (for Mancusi), Mrs. Giggles gave Mancusi’s A Connecticut Fashionista In King Arthur’s Court an 81 despite what she describes as “the author’s blatant and contrived attempts to move her story along.”

I’m kinda hoping Mrs. Giggles never stumbles across one of my books.