HelenKay Dimon

The RWA Conference is over for another year. This one went out with a bit of a bang thanks to the change in the publisher requirements but, despite that, proved to be quite fun. I do have some general thoughts I would like to share:

1. I’ve heard the story about the unpublished chick who shoved her manuscript under a bathroom stall while a poor editor was trapped inside and had no choice but to take the thing. Everyone assures me this lapse in common sense actually happened. The good news is that there seems to have been a level of education out there since I no longer hear about stuff like this occurring these days. However… hounding editors while they’re talking to other people, following them around, shoving your cards at them and otherwise becoming an annoyance is not that much better on the “what the hell are you thinking” scale. I saw that sort of odd stuff happen at the Romantic Times Convention and again at the RWA Conference. Not good.

I’ve said this before but it’s probably worth repeating: I have a relationship with my editor and would never act this way. We chatted before I sold to her. She now publishes my work. With all that I would never – never – hound and bug her. I say hello and wait my turn. For goodness sakes, people! You want this editor to work with you, to want to work with you, so why make yourself a nuisance? There are going to be enough reasons out there for the editor not to buy you. Don’t give him/her one more.

2. There is a lot of information out there about authors behaving badly. You see some of the diva-like behavior at these conferences. But, for the most part, what I see is very positive. Very friendly. Very genuine. Makes me happy to be a part of this group.

3. In the non-diva behavior group, I would offer Christina Dodd and Eileen Dreyer. I sat next to Dodd at the literacy signing on Wednesday night. She had a steady stream of enthusiastic readers come by. She was as charming when the night started as when it ended two hours later. Inside she may have been ready to crumble. On the outside, every person received individual attention. It was pretty amazing to watch. A very good lesson for the rest of us.

Eileen Dreyer/Kathleen Korbel was one of the folks included in this never-ending chat a few of us had with my editor in the bar on Friday evening. Eileen is an award-winning author, in a book with Jennifer Crusie, a you-should-know-who-she-is author. She’s also a hoot. A young author at the table had never heard of Eileen. Had no clue who she was. Eileen handled the entire scene with humor and grace and earned my “she’s cool” prize for the evening.

4. No matter what, I still get a huge thrill at seeing in person the authors of the books I love. With her designer bags, cool black suit and sunglasses J.R.Ward made quite an impression. Seeing her made me squeal (internally), as did meeting Allison Brennan and a whole host of other writers.

5. Likewise, seeing new authors I’ve met online sit there and sign their first books was just about the coolest thing ever. Is there a better feeling than holding that first book and having someone want a signed copy? I’m sure there is, but I don’t know what it would be.

6. I understand that this conference may have been a bit frustrating for some ebook authors, what with the RWA changes and all. I understand that here may be a defensiveness in the “I’m as good as you” way. I understand a bunch of things, including that this is not an issue among all ebook authors. But, and I can’t emphasize this enough, telling me how much you earned writing ebooks last year as an argument for something totally unrelated to money is not a great idea. In fact, ebook or not let’s not use the “I earned XXX writing” argument to prove a point. Kind of makes you look desperate…and silly.

I continue to say that Angela James of Samhain is one of the best ebook ambassadors out there. Some of the ebook authors would be wise to watch her in action.

7. I am more convinced than ever that an erotic romance category of some sort for the RITAs is a bad idea. Setting aside a special category, having them compete only against each other despite being historical, contemporary or whatever, bastardizes hotter romances. In a way, what it says is that these books can’t compete with all of the other books. Worse, it suggests that these books are only about sex and should be judged on the sex – ie, the erotic nature – rather than on plot, characters, etc. I can’t think of a worse message.

Seems to me if you want to be taken seriously, you play the game and play on the same field as everyone else. And, you can’t say it’s impossible to get anywhere without this new category. Two Bravas and Pam Rosenthal’s book from NAL were up for RITAs this year. Those are sexy and hotter, though not erotic in my view, but craft is not lost. See, it can be done.

I’m sure there’s more, but I have a deadline and the Sweat Challenge goals to meet. So, off I go…

The RWA Conference is over for another year. Before I was published, the Conference was about attending workshops, getting the scoop on what publishers were buying, working on craft, meeting new people and attending editor appointments. Last year, which was my first year as a published author, was an odd stuck-in-the-middle time. My first books just came out. Going to workshops felt strange. Hanging out with published authors also felt weird.

This year I focused more on the social stuff. I spent time with my editor, publishing professionals, some of the friends I met online, writer friends and new friends. Inevitably, you hear a few road-to-publication stories. One in particular touched me. A writer friend who is now multi-published had a rough home life growing up. She read a romance and decided she wanted to be a romance author. She started writing but stopped when her mother told her not to write, explaining to my writer friend that she was not smart enough to write a book. So, my writer friend stopped writing. About ten years later, one of her kids found the abandoned manuscript and told her she should keep writing. Fast forward to present day and she’s sold book after book, is highly regarded and a rising star in her publishing house. I can also say that she is one of the most genuine, most well-liked authors I know.

The moral, of course, is to keep writing. Don’t give up. Don’t stop trying. When people try to crush your dreams, find new people. There are people who won’t believe in you, won’t support you, won’t understand what you want. Remove these people from your life. And, if you want to write – really deep-down-in-your-soul want it – don’t let anyone derail you from pursuing that dream.

If that didn’t inspire you, or if you want a bit more inspiration and some relating to the Seventy Days of Sweat Challenge, check in at Jo Leigh’s blog.

Exhaustion is setting in. You’ve been forewarned.

I plan to go into some basic conference observations tomorrow (or whenever I’m home and can again sit up without falling asleep). You know, my general “what the hell were you thinking” list. With my current level of sleep deprivation, it would be far too dangerous to discuss the list now.

In the meantime, let me talk about erotic/steamy/hot (or whatever you want to call them) novels. If you’ve been to my site before, you know the definitions buzzing around of erotic romance versus romantica versus, steamy romance versus erotica make me crazed. There is no consistency. Much of what I hear relates to marketing stuff and not actual book content. So, I offer these basic points:

1. I do not write erotic romance in terms of how the definition has been used (in my view, twisted to the point of being useless) over the last few years. I write romance in the sense that my books are one man/one woman working toward a committed relationship with a satisfying ending where the sexual level is steamy (not sweet and not all-sex-all-the-time).

2. In terms of who is publishing “erotic romance” and erotica as defined by today’s skewed standards, the imprints you’re really talking about are Avon Red, Harlequin Spice, Kensington Aphrodisia and Berkley Heat.

3. My imprint, Kensington Brava, is a different beast. It is not the same as those imprints listed in #2. Bravas are always romance. There is always an emotional connection. The sex is not the emphasis. If you want non-stop sex, menage, sex with animals or beasts of some sort or stories that center only around a sexual set-up, then you probably aren’t looking for a Brava romance. But, really, you should be. Brava has something to offer in terms of emotional connection and romance consistency throughout the imprint that the ones mentioned in #2 don’t. That, my friends, is why I write for Brava.

4. There is nothing wrong with the imprints in #2. I’ve read titles in each and have enjoyed many. But, recognize that they are different from other imprints.

Can you tell I got a lot of “so, do you write erotica?” questions? No, I don’t write erotica. Pick up YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY and read it. It’s romance.

Along these lines, I heard agent Jennifer Faust talk at the Passionate Ink luncheon about the amount of erotic romance (her term, not mine) out there and the need for new authors to separate themselves if they want to get published. Her theory was that we have hit the “cream rises to the top” time in erotic romance/hot romance/whatever you want to call it where only the great stuff is getting published. I actually don’t think we’ve reached the must-be-fabulous-to-get-published point in erotic romance. Despite that general disagreement with Faust’s statement, I did listen to the agent’s comments. She talked in terms of “pushing the boundaries” in order to break into the genre. It was not clear to me what boundaries she wanted pushed around, but it was clear from looking at some of the hotter books out there and hearing about the ones being pitched that many authors and and aspiring authors take this “boundary” thing to mean they must make the sex not only hotter but less mainstream.

I have to be honest and say that I think this is a really dangerous mindset. It places the focus on what’s important in the book on the wrong thing – on the sexual acts only. Not on the heroine’s journey (as I think erotica should) or on the romance (if writing romance), but on how odd or different the sex acts are. This genre is starting to feel a bit like a “who can top this sex act” game. I fear we’ve lost sight of the writing and the relationship (romantic or not) development. The talk is about rushing the characters into bed, keeping them there and making sure what happens there includes some act (or many) that you don’t see in most romance novels. While that’s fine for some books to do this, a steady diet of it across many imprints sounds pretty boring. And, if sex is all the story is about then you have a pretty one-dimensional story. Probably a bad story. I guess my point is this: isn’t it time we put the focus on the boundary-blowing sex aside and start concentrating on good writing instead?

Dallas is never dull when the RWA Conference hits town. The Literacy Signing on Wednesday night was the usual crush. I sat between Christina Dodd, who previously gave me a very nice cover quote for YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY, and Lori Devoti, who tried to drench us all in water. Christina Dodd is a lovely woman and unbelievably popular. She barely had a minute of downtime between talking with fans. She remained gracious and charming throughout the two hours of “on” time. I love seeing that.

Lori Devoti is great fun. She also likes to knock things over…including two glasses of water. The good news is that she moves fast and was able to save most of Delilah Devlin’s books before too much damage was done. However, I have asked Lori to change her last name so that we don’t sit next to each other next year since she’s clearly a danger to dry books everywhere.

Saw many folks milling about at the singing, including Sybil of The Good, The Bad and The Unread, Alyssa of By The Book and Jane of Dear Author. Hung out with Alison Kent, one of my favorite people, and her hubby (who needs to put down his camera before I smack him). We met up for dinner with Stephanie Tyler, Larissa Ione and most of the Writeminded blog crew. Yes, it took about 2 hours to get a chicken sandwich but that’s how these functions work.

Today ended up being more of a social day than anything else. Spent most of the morning and afternoon with Sylvia Day and Alison Kent chatting about the market, writing life and general stuff. When you work from home, it’s always nice to have that break away from a computer to talk with other folks about similar interests and concerns.

We stopped into the PAN retreat and heard what I viewed to be good news which was that contemporary romance and romantic suspense continue to be the top romance sellers in bookstores. This kind of message gives a contemporary romance writer like me hope. For those who write historical, those were second – so stop whining that historical romance is dead. And, westerns are increasing in popularity again.

Met Jenny Gardiner, the American Title III winner and oooh and ahhhh’d over her new cover quote from Meg Cabot. Wowza!! Ended the afternoon with a meeting with my PR gem Elizabeth from Nancy Berland’s office. Love them. Now I’m off to a cocktail party with my editor and the fellow Brava authors.

Notice how I skipped over the biggest news of the Conference. Yeah, the RWA Board changed the publisher standards. Basically, a publisher now needs to give at least a $1000 advance and not sell the majority of its books through its own website in order to have its authors qualify for published author status (and get published author benefits) through RWA…I think. There’s so much misinformation out around here that it’s a bit hard to tell, but this would seem to disqualify all epublishers. In fact, I’m thinking it affects only epublishers. You can imagine how well that’s going over.

I leave for Dallas and the RWA Conference today. If you’re wondering about my thoughts on RWA, head over to the Brava Authors blog for my quick take. Suffice to say, I’m betting that seeing all of those authors and publishing professionals together in one place will be that extra incentive I need to get moving on the Seventy Days of Sweat Challenge.

I will check in with Conference thoughts and observations. Also, while I write this the final version of my book trailer for YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY is not quite done. Once it is, I’ll post it here. It’s fabulous!! Just wait…

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UPDATE: Here’s the link to the trailer for YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY. It’s on the On Sale Now page. webdesigner Mica Stone put it together with a touch of help from her hubby Walt. I love it!

It’s time to start the next book. Actually, since it’s due on September 15th, it’s probably a little past time to start writing the next book. At least I have plenty of inspiration to get moving. First, there’s the fact I have a book contract and the nice people at Kensington expect the book and deserve to get it on time. That’s my promise as the author who takes the check. Next, there’s the Seventy Days of Sweat Challenge (and if you haven’t signed up, go do it). Nothing like the fear of public failure to get your butt moving. Then there’s the part where I opened the newest edition of Cosmo (August ‘07) and saw my newest release, YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY, spotlighted there. it was one of those “I can do this and need to keep getting better” moments. After I squealed with pure joy, of course. Finally, I took a look around my website this morning. My fab webdesigner updated everything and posted my March ‘08 cover for RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW - which I love! Something about seeing what the finished product will look like spurs me to keep writing.

I’m thinking that’s it – you have to find your inspiration. That “thing” that forces you to sit down and get writing. When I started writing, I did it more as a hobby. Not that the “hobby” thing was clear at the time. No, I thought I was really trying when I wrote now and and then and talked about writing. That wasn’t enough. The desire had not sparked to the point where I was willing to make the commitment. Then it did. Something clicked when I finaled in that Lori Foster Brava Novella Contest. For the first time the reality of wanting it and maybe even getting it hit me.

Eighteen months later, after rejections and writing and writing and more writing, I got THE CALL. For some dumb reason I thought everything would get easier from there. It didn’t. All the distractions are still there. In fact, there are even more because of the addition of promotion and future contract worries. But, really, there always will be a way to fill time that doesn’t include writing. Seems to me, whether you’re unpublished, newly published or been published for a long time, you still have to want it until the need almost knocks you over. And then you have to make it a priority. To the extent there’s a “secret” to getting published, I’m thinking that’s at least part of it.

So, off I go to work on my next single title NOT SO INNOCENT (working title).

A bunch of us have books under contract with deadlines right around the same time. Some members of that bunch are suffering from…ummm, let’s call them motivational issues. Summer has a habit of doing that sort of thing. So…

I’ve teamed up with Larissa Ione, Stephanie Tyler, Jo Leigh and Alison Kent to issue a challenge. It’s called Seventy Days of Sweat. The challenge begins on Sunday, July 8 and runs through Thursday, September 20.

I will now shamelessly plagarize Alison’s blog to tell you all about it:

The rules are simple. You agree to write 4 – 6 pages a day (depending on the length of your book) every day between the dates listed above. If you need to take off a day, you make up the pages another. If you don’t like to write 7 days a week, too bad. This challenge lasts for only 10 weeks, and if you have to get up early on the weekends to get the pages done, you do it. (Hey, we all do it! You can, too!)

You don’t have to have a blog to participate, but we do want you to sign up below so everyone involved can get to know one another. And if you do have a blog, you can post the information there. Going public with your commitment is about owning it. As far as reporting your progress, you’ll come back here each Wednesday and Sunday and post your total word count. (We’ll expect the first reports at LEAST by the 18th, the Wednesday following conference, though for those of you not attending, your first report is due on the 11th!) And those of us sponsoring the challenge will be dropping by your blog (if you have one) and egging you on! AND, we may be adding more sponsors!

The challenge is open to anyone writing in any genre, published and aspiring authors both. Oh, and did we mention there will be prizes? Yes, there will be prizes. Critiques, RT subscriptions, memberships to RWA, gift certificates to B&N – who knows WHAT we’ll come up with! More info on the prizes to come. We’ll also be providing a logo if you’d like to put one on your blog. For now, let’s see a show of hands.

Now, I do want to address one comment I keep seeing. This is the “I don’t really have time” argument. Wrong. You do have the time. Honestly, if you want it – deep down in your bones want it – you will make the time. Larissa lost her house, pretty much everything she owned and her sense of security thanks to Hurricane Katrina. She kept writing. She found the time and has about a million book deals now. And, she isn’t the only one writing through adversity. There are authors out there who write while dealing with stressful jobs, serious family issues, health issues, significant kid issues or whatever. They do it. You can do it. Don’t let lack of time be the excuse. Get off your butt and sign up. You could win prizes and you could finish a book. There is no downside here. Go, go, go.

USA Today has named the Beach Reads: Summer Sizzlers for this year. Sadly, YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY is not on the list. This clearly is an incomplete list. However, it is an interesting list. Here are the suggestions:

Daddy’s Girls by Tasmina Perry - This got 5 out of 5 on something called the “sizzle scale” which appears to mean that the books don’t require a great deal of thinking but are sexy and fun. It earned this ranking because, in the words of someone at USA Today: “It’s a celeb soap opera in which the rich and famous obsess about their love lives 24/7. No workaholics here, only sexaholics. ” This seems to follow the sex sells theory of fiction. Works for me.

Just Sex by Susan Kay Law - This got a 3 out of 5 on the above-referenced scale (don’t make me repeat it – just go look). For whatever it’s worth, I love this cover. The USA Today folks say: “This modest, middle-aged matron with her homemade cookies and solid moral values is a magnet for hot, younger men. If only.” They do make the heroine sound sexy, don’t they?

Party Girl by Anna David - It got a 4 out of 5 on the all-important sizzle scale. It’s described as: “Mere mortals vicariously hobnob with the glam set while feeling morally superior. Fun.” They also talk about debauchery and detox. Always fun topics.

How To Be Cool by Johanna Edwards - A respectable 3 out of 5 on said scale. I’ve read Edwards before and enjoyed her voice. In fact, the book I read had a cover that looked exactly like this one…well, really close to this anyway. On this, the USA Today folks say: “Princes turn into frogs while frogs turn into princes.” I’m thinking that’s not the actual plot, but I’ve been wrong about these things before.

Second Chance by Jane Green - Another 3 out of 5 on the scale. The scuttlebutt goes like this: “London is the second-most-expensive city in the world, yet money woes and squalling kids never intrude because love and good pals conquer all.” I do love London…

Anyone out there read any of these? Anyone have any thoughts or comments on any? A few sound good to me. Just have to decide where to put the money.

I’m home. I’ve already been to the bookstore. Yeah, I’ll do anything to catch that first glimpse of my book on the shelves. For those who live in the San Diego area, I can report that the B&N at Grossmont has eight (8) copies of YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY on the front table and all are autographed by me. Go buy them. I’m happy to make you feel guilty if you don’t, but it would just be easier if you capitulated to my will and bought them withouth further coercion by me.

Mine was not the only book on the front table…’tho that would have been nice in some ways. Another Brava release for this month, the anthology PERFECT KISSES by Susan Johnson, Sylvia Day and Noell Mack, was there. So was Diana Peterfreund’s newest, UNDER THE ROSE. I much prefer her new cover direction for the series. Very eye-catching. For those who believe MySpace has no value – and you know who you are – I also picked up the book solely because I had seen the cover before and remembered it in a “I just saw this on MySpace” moment. Sure, I was hovering over my own book with a stupid impression on my face and was looking for something to do other than stare and drool, but MySpace is the reason I grabbed this one and not another one. And, after reading the back cover, I bought the book.

It’s DEATH BY CHICK LIT by Lynn Harris. I’m not a huge first-person fan but I enjoy it when it’s well done. I read a few pages of this one and got hooked. Here’s the cover copy:

SOMEONE IS KILLING ALL THE IT-GIRL AUTHORS. BUT LOLA’S STILL ALIVE, AND FRANKLY, SHE’S A LITTLE OFFENDED.

Then one night at a swanky book party, Lola finds her frenemy Mimi McKee, author of Gay Best Friend, dead in the basement, throat slashed with a broken martini glass. And when the bodies of It-Girl writers begin to pile up, Lola starts asking dangerous questions: Are the murders connected? Am I next? If not, um, why not? If I solve the mystery, then will my agent remember my name? And as Lola digs deeper, the stakes get higher. Will getting her hands on the killer—and the book deal bound to follow—mean losing the people she loves most?

This one sounds good, doesn’t it? Another contemporary read worth checking out.

I saw a book called ‘Scuse Me While I Kill This Guy by Leslie Langtry in an ad in the newest issue of Romantic Times . It’s not out yet but has anyone snagged an early copy and read it?

The cover grabbed my attention. I’m thinking about getting it. [Please excuse the small and crappy cover photo. Click on it for a better image. I'm on my mom's computer and no matter what setting I use or protection I turn off, I can't get my usual image browser to upload the cover photo in a normal way.]

Here’s the copy:

YOU CAN’T PICK YOUR FAMILY…

Death by Chocolate is her favorite dessert. And those knitting needles aren’t just for craft projects. To most people, Gin Bombay is an ordinary single mom. Then again, they don’t know she’s from a family of top secret assassins. Somewhere between leading a Girl Scout troop for her kindergartner–would nooses count for a knot badge?–and keeping their puppy from destroying the furniture, Gin now has to take out a new target.

BUT YOU CAN PICK THEM OFF

Except this target has an incredibly hot Australian bodyguard who knows just how to make her weak in the knees. But with a mole threatening to expose everything, Gin doesn’t have much time to let her hormones do the happy dance. She’s got to find the leak and clear her assignment…or she’ll end up next on the Bombay family hit list.

I’m always looking for new contemporary voices. This one sounds good, doesn’t it?