HelenKay Dimon

The end of 2006 is here. Seems like the perfect time for an eclectic final writing-related list. Not to be dramatic or anything…

1. Best title ever for a book: Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank by Celia Rivenbark. In addition to being a great title, they’re words packed with incredible wisdom.

2. Author name least likely to fit on a mass market paperback (and more difficult for people to “get” than my own): Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of Half of a Yellow Sun. The publisher says: “…a remarkable novel about moral responsibility, about the end of colonialism, about ethnic allegiances, about class and race-and the ways in which love can complicate them all. ” That’s all probably true. However, I’m most intrigued by the author’s name.

3. The bestselling “uplifting” tale I am least likely to ever read despite my addiction to Starbucks: For One More Day by Mitch Albom. Sorry. Just sounds too mushy. And, really, that’s quite a statement coming from me, the romance author.

4. The bestselling romance author I’m not reading in 2006…or likely to read in 2007 either: Laurell K. Hamilton. The two Anita Blake books I read killed the joy for me. Couldn’t connect no matter how many times I tried. [Note to Hamilton fangirls: don't bother writing me and telling me how wrong I am. We disagree. Mature humans sometimes do that. It's okay. Deal with it without whining or flamethrowing.]

5. The book on every Must Read list of 2006 that actually sounds good: The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I kind of love McCarthy’s work, so my support of The Road shouldn’t be a surprise. Publishers Weekly described it as a “postapocalyptic tour de force” and, frankly, I find that irresistible.

So, there you go. Now we can move on to 2007.

Stephen King has jumped into the fray with his list of the best books of 2006. The list shows up in Entertainment Weekly. Since a few of these don’t even cause a flicker of recognition on my part, I decided to reprint the list in its entirety. Yes, I’m lazy. So what. But I did keep the suspenseful, dramatic countdown order…you know, if that counts for anything. Here are the King’s choices:

10. Dispatch, Bentley Little – Little is the horror poet of ordinary things. In this surreal novel, a lonely young man discovers his letters to the editor — and to the famous — bring actual results. Of course he eventually finds out he’s working in Satan’s own office pool, but that’s the fun of the damned thing.

9. The Egyptologist, Arthur Phillips – Pathological liar of dubious identity goes bonkers while looking for a hidden tomb in the Egyptian desert after World War I. Tragic, pathetic, blackly funny…and with a strange, growing undercurrent of horror. You have never read a novel like it.

8. Night Mowing, Chard deNiord – This is a slim book of poems, mostly pastoral. There’s little narrative clarity, but deNiord evokes rural scenes with undertones of violence and a breathless, calm clarity that’s close to déjà vu.

7. The People’s Act of Love, James Meek – Samarin is an escaped Russian political prisoner who turns up in the village of Yazyk during the Russian Revolution, only to discover he’s fallen into a deadly struggle between religious fanatics (the men have all castrated themselves), a lost troop of Czech legionnaires, and an officer descending into homicidal mania. The narrative drive is amazing. So is the cold clarity of Meek’s imagination.

6. Crooked River Burning, Mark Winegardner – A great American novel about…Cleveland? Yes, children, this is the real deal — by the man who has revived Mario Puzo’s Godfather characters with such wit and élan.

5. The Ruins, Scott Smith – Americans caught in an escalating nightmare on a Mexican hilltop in the best horror novel of the new century.

4. The Night Gardener, George Pelecanos – Pelecanos, best known for his work on HBO’s The Wire, is perhaps the greatest living American crime writer. He proves it again in this story of how 20 years changes three cops when an old serial killer of teens seems to become active again. The ending is guaranteed to tear your heart out.

3. One Mississippi, Mark Childress – Great novels of adolescence should provide belly laughs and tragedy. This story, in which young Daniel Musgrove moves to Mississippi from Indiana in 1973 (his salesman father is transferred), delivers both. It also provides a priceless picture of the ’70s and why we must never go there again. Suffice it to say that the high school’s first black prom queen is hit by a car and wakes up thinking she’s white, and the local church puts on a play called Christ! The Musical!

2. American Pastoral, Philip Roth – I keep thinking I must have seen all of Roth’s talent, and I keep being wrong. This 1997 novel of an essentially simple, good-hearted man (Swede Levov) and his desperate attempt to understand how the radical movement of the late 1960s has seduced his daughter into madness and murder is probably Roth’s finest book. There are no answers here, only a great story winding its way into the heart of American darkness.

1. The Road, Cormac McCarthy – Simple, stripped to the bare bones, this story of a man’s effort to keep his son alive and to find any place of refuge in the wake of a great disaster is the finest achievement of McCarthy’s career. I thought it was almost the perfect narrative — spare in its beauty and constantly driven forward by its own interior urgency. Impossible to put down, in other words.

Author Lara Adrian stopped by to comment this week. Me being me – nosy – I saw the link and went over. She has a series coming out from Bantam Dell called Midnight Breeds. She describes it this way on her site:

What is the Midnight Breed? You won’t find coffins, crosses, or pasty white undead vampires here. Breed warriors are 110% living, breathing, deadly alpha male. Part human, part otherworldly, the vampire race has existed among humankind for thousands of years, maintaining a tentative peace built on secrecy, the enforcement of Breed law–and failing either of those, the dark justice carried out by the members of the formidable warrior class.

Her covers are up. Loved them. Something about them popped for me. Now, I admit to being a bit weary when it comes to paranormals, but look at these:

Good luck, Lara!

Some mysteries of life, such as the appeal of Justin Timberlake (which I don’t understand at all), are beyond me. Other mysteries are now within my grasp. I found this book called Sex, Lies and Handwriting: A Top Expert Reveals the Secrets Hidden in Your Handwriting. The publisher says this:

In Sex, Lies, and Handwriting, Dresbold explains how a single sentence can provide insight into a person’s background, psychology, and behavior. Throughout the book, Dresbold explores the handwriting of sly politicians, convicted criminals, notorious killers, suspected cheats, and ordinary people who’ve written to Dresbold’s “The Handwriting Doctor” column for help. She shows you how to identify the signs of a dirty rotten scoundrel and a lying, cheating, backstabbing lover. And she introduces you to some of the most dangerous traits in handwriting, including weapon-shaped letters, “shark’s teeth,” “club strokes,” and “felon’s claws.”

I am utterly fascinated by this. But, in case you’re wondering, I’m still not even a little fascinated by Justin Timberlake. In addition to the cocktail party conversation possibilities this book provides, think of the power that comes with this sort of skill.

The author also examines some notorious cases like Jack The Ripper and Lizzie Borden. Since I have a bit of a “thing” for true crime (books), this just adds to my desire to run out and buy this book.

Contrary to reports that editors and publishing houses close down during December/January and stop buying until spring, I give you the following book deal reports via Publishers Lunch. Maybe it’s just me, but many of these seem to have a certain out-of-the-ordinary edge.

First, we have a twist on paranormal – this one includes whaling. Not your average paranormal romance angle:

Kate Brallier’s THE BOUNDLESS DEEP, a paranormal romance centered around the whaling industry and set in both the present day and 1840s Nantucket, and an untitled second paranormal novel, to Melissa Ann Singer at Tor, in a nice deal, by Kay McCauley.

Next we have time travel. I’m trying to remember the last time travel romance I read. Probably that one by Linda Howard…Son of the Morning…is that the title? Not my favorite Howard book, but then time travel isn’t my favorite thing.

Veronica Wolff’s LORD OF THE HOUNDS, pitched as in the venerable tradition of Diana Gabaldon, the story of a highland laird and a disenchanted 21st century dot-commer who is accidentally transported back in time while vacationing in Scotland, and a second untitled time travel romance, to Cindy Hwang at Berkley, in a pre-empt, by Stephanie Kip Rostan at Levine Greenberg Literary Agency (world).

Then we have Egyptian characters. Can’t remember ever reading a romance with Egyptian characters.

Bonnie Vanak’s THE SCORPION AND THE SEDUCER, with exotic Egyptian characters and setting, a sequel to The Panther and the Pyramid, to Chris Keeslar at Dorchester, in a nice deal, by Natasha Kern at Natasha Kern Literary Agency (World). Natasha@natashakern.com

Finally, we have this. My only question: What is Harlequin B?

Lisa Renee Jones’s HARD AND FAST, to Wanda Ottewell at Harlequin B, in a nice deal, by Natasha Kern at Natasha Kern Literary Agency (World). natasha@natashakern.com

Most years we spend the Christmas holiday traveling between families who live about 4,000 miles apart. Since my hubby’s family lives in Hawaii, this hardly qualifies as a hardship. But still… All that changed this year. Thanks to our recent move, we spent the holiday at home and let the folks travel to see us. No packing bags. No airports. No lost luggage. No fighting crowds. No uncomfortable plane seats. No snow. No rushing around. Just us enjoying the sunshine on December 25th. Don’t we look adorable?

Life is good.

This should look familiar to those in warm weather climates:

This one might ring a bell for those in less warm areas:

No matter where you are:

Have a relaxing, fun and safe celebration. Enjoy!

Christmas isn’t here yet, but I got some news that can be interpreted as gift-like… sort of. First, Sylvia emailed to let me know that Viva Las Bad Boys! is a nominee in the anthology category for a CAPA award for excellence in romantic and erotic fiction at The Romance Studio. Congrats to Sylvia and all of the other nominees.

Second, I saw the Kensington sales catalog for the May-August ‘07 release. My July ‘07 release Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy is in there. The blurb says:

Whip-smart, bitingly funny and irresistibly sexy, HelenKay Dimon’s Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy signals the arrival of a new Brava star.

How cool is that? A huge thank you to the Kensington sales staff for that one.

Happy holidays to all!

The lists continue. Time provides it’s list of books of the year. I’ve read…well, okay, none of them. I own two. That must count for something. To be honest, though, a few don’t sound even vaguely familiar. That kind of sucks. For the author much more than for me.

USA Today goes the extra step and has a bunch of lists, including the “Most overhyped debuts of the year” which it names as The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist, and The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld Interesting. You’d think if these books were so overhyped (which I think should be spelled “over-hyped” but who am I to question USA Today), I’d at least have heard of them. My favorite category on the USA Today list is this (there’s even a photo of this author in the article):

Author whose ‘hotness’ got more mentions than her talent (and her talent got plenty): Marisha Pessl, author of the heralded debut novel Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

I’m sure there are even more lists out there. But, since chances are you’ve only heard of a few of the books on whatever list, we’ll move on. Here’s my list of the day – Five General Thoughts on Book Marketing:

1. For publishers: end the feast-or-famine covers. By this I mean, cartoon covers are in for a bunch of months, so everyone does them. Then someone in sales decides those are out and everyone switches to photo covers…and so on. Variety is good, right?

2. For publishers and authors and anyone else who will listen to me: not every book needs to be erotic just as not every book needs a paranormal hook. Seems to me the best way to destroy a good thing is to flood the market.

3. Back to covers for publishers: it’s bad enough for an author to see a similar cover by another author from another publishing house. These things happen. But – and this is a big “but” – it’s another thing for one publishing house to put out titles by different authors where the covers are interchangeable. Ack!

4. To authors: on promotional goodies, I’m thinking we need to try something new. Honestly, I’m thinking liquor. See, I’ve seen everything else. We need something out of the box (to borrow a stupid business phrase). Think about it…

5. To authors: please update your websites. I’m begging here. Jeepers, people, I’m not talking daily. While I prefer monthly book updates plus a blog that sees at least a weekly visit from you, I’m willing to accept less. Like, how about information on your most recent release or the book that is coming out within the next month, hmmm? Is it that hard to have the cover of your newest release up on your site? Hello?

6. To everyone and for always: you should buy my books. Lots and lots of copies of my books. My blog. I can beg if I want to, so…go buy them. They’re the perfect stocking stuffers. Go on. Grab your wallet. Get in the car…