HelenKay Dimon

Memoirs are huge right now. That’s nothing new. Everyone seems to have a sad tale and dysfunctional upbringing that, for whatever reason, publishers believe warrant a big book deal and public telling. I may be alone in this, but I think there are a few too many hitting the shelves right now. I know people like them. I get that reading about these folks’ lives can be cathartic or help you feel better about your slightly less messed-up childhood. I also understand that the constant parade of craziness combined with the fact a few of these supposed memoirs turned out to be fictional has soured me to the genre…at least for now.

And knowing all that, I give you this bit from the Boston Globe:

Eleven years after the publication of her best-selling Holocaust memoir – a heartwarming tale of a small Jewish girl trekking across Europe and living with wolves – the Massachusetts author yesterday admitted the whole story was a hoax.

In a statement issued by her Belgian lawyer, Misha Defonseca of Dudley, whose book, “Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years,” has been translated into 18 languages and is the basis for a new French movie, “Survivre avec les Loups” (“Surviving With the Wolves”), confessed that she is not Jewish and that she spent the war safely in Brussels.

That’s just fabulous.

RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW is out…have I mentioned that yet?

Well, today I thought I’d talk about someone other than me. Anyone read Denise Mina? She’s a mystery author, been nominated for the Edgar and has received great reviews for her work. Despite all that, I had no idea who she was until one of her books – The Dead Hour - landed on my doorstep. The publisher describes it this way:

Responding to a late night-call, Paddy Meehan arrives at an elegant villa, where a calm blonde with blood running from her mouth answers the door. She has already convinced the police to leave and soon Paddy realizes how—she slips 50 bucks into Paddy’s hands and begs her to keep the incident, whatever it is, out of the press.

The next morning Paddy sees the lead news story: The blonde woman has been murdered, and far from the spoiled trophy wife Paddy assumed her to be, the victim turns out to be a prosecution lawyer with a social conscience.

Bewildered why the woman didn’t take the chance to leave the house when she could, Paddy begins to make connections no one else has seen. When she witnesses the body of a suicide victim being pulled from the river shortly afterward, Paddy suspects links between the two deaths and follows her idea to its shocking—and deadly—conclusion.

I’m putting this on my post-deadline pile. Anyone else reading this one or reading Mina?

Go forth and purchase. Here is a link to help you do so.

Tomorrow RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW hits the shelves. Wahoo!! Larissa points out that many must have books release tomorrow, including UNLEASHING THE STORM. I also missed the fact Jordan’s OFF LIMITS comes out this month. Check out the list to see if you’ve forgotten any…then go buy them all.

And, just in case you are undecided about whether to buy RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW (and copies for all of your friends), here’s one more review snippet:

“The Romance was both fun and sensual, and I what I found to be very well-done were the minute little details that came forth out of the background story of manipulation, betrayal, and lack of communication which Ms. Dimon tied up rather well by the end of the story. Bottom line was RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW is a first rate entertaining book the reader is sure to enjoy.” -Marilyn Rondeau, Reviewers International Organization (RIO)

It is countdown time. RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW officially releases on Tuesday – wahoo!!! To celebrate (and convince you to buy 100 copies to pass out to all of your friends…and to anyone you run into on the street who looks as if he/she can read), here are some reviews:

Jennifer at CK2S Kwips and Kritiques reviewed RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW and gave it a fabulous review – thanks Jennifer! You can visit the site to see my review and others, but here’s an excerpt:

In the end, we enjoy a perfect happy ending for this pair, courtesy of the talented HelenKay Dimon. She wraps up their story with some unexpected events that proved simultaneously surprising and richly satisfying.

Romance readers who enjoy sassy, capable heroines and dominant, good-hearted heroes will find Right Here, Right Now is more than a must-buy, it is a book guaranteed a permanent place on the bookshelf.

I can’t get on The Good, The Bad And The Unread website right now due to some bizarre feud between my service provider and TGTBTU, but a RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW review is up. Here’s a snippet, and thank you Gwen!

Somehow, Dimon manages to drag this couple thru this huge break-up, a make-up, another break-up, another make-up, and thru some rather amoral usage, manipulation, and downright questionable behavior. We see spies, evil bureaucrats, and Internal Affairs. All in ONE book. It had snappy dialogue all over the place (read the excerpt, linked below) and some fantastic erotic scenes. Plus, both the hero and heroine have believable personal epiphanies that were very satisfying. Right Here, Right Now was just a blast to read.

Lettetia at CataNetwork Reviews read the book and had some lovely things to say. Take a look:

Right Here, Right Now is a marvelous battle of the sexes with enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. The dialogue is snappy and smart, and the secondary cast is a well balanced ensemble. I love HelenKay Dimon’s writing style; she is an auto-buy from this novel forward.

RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW also got a terrific Blue Ribbon review on Romance Junkies. Here’s what Rosie had to say:

They say breaking up is hard to do but maybe they should change that to making up, especially if you only have one day to do it. A cross between ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ and ‘True Lies,’ RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW is the perfect blend of suspense and comedy. Gabby and Reed are made for each other. Misunderstandings abound for these main characters, giving you non-stop banter which is hilarious and sex scenes that scorch your fingertips and singe your eyebrows. Throw in the rag tag sidekick friends who are a must to any great romantic spy story and you have a comedic caper that’s priceless beyond words. HelenKay Dimon has comedic timing down to a T that starts from the first page and carries on till the end of the book. I loved every page of it and, of course, hope with all my heart that there is a sequel.

What are you waiting for? Pick up that member benefit card for B&N or Borders or (name your favorite bookstore) and go buy a few copies. Shut off the computer and go.

Really…

Today I am over with the fabulous women at the Plotmonkeys blog. The subject is revising and re-working old ideas. Stop by and say hello.

There’s a new book out called Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. It’s probably self-explanatory, but the goal was to have people sum up their lives in six words. Eight hundred phrases made the cut and are included in the book. Here’s my favorite: “Revenge is living well without you.” Joyce Carol Oates. That could be the divorced person’s lament.

The book comes from Smith Magazine. The folks there explain the idea this way:

Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Last year, SMITH Magazine re-ignited the recountre by asking our readers for their own six-word memoirs. They sent in short life stories in droves, from the bittersweet (“Cursed with cancer, blessed with friends”) and poignant (“I still make coffee for two”) to the inspirational (“Business school? Bah! Pop music? Hurrah”) and hilarious (“I like big butts, can’t lie”).

You still can submit your six words at the magazine’s website. Click the link above and give it a try.

My friend Mike (who was also my personal trainer** when I lived in Maryland) is getting married. He started a blog about the general joy (or not) associated with wedding preparations. Check it out: The Groom’s Truth.

**This sounds much more impressive than it was. Sure, Mike is an amazing personal trainer. That part is true. It’s the part about me exercising that’s a bit of lie. See, I spent a few hours each week begging him not to make me do sit-ups and push-ups. It was a sixty-minute power struggle. I was your basic nightmare client. I did get healthier despite all that, which is a testament to Mike’s talents and the fact he would mis-count to make me do more, up the weights without telling me and explain how my hubby was in great shape (Mike also trained the hubby) to shame me into actually working out. Yeah, I miss Mike. He’s adorable. So is Sarah, the soon-to-be Mrs.

I’m blogging at Access Romance today. Go over and check out the excerpt from my upcoming release RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW…and the contest.

In a recent interview, John Grisham talked about writing popular fiction versus literary fiction. The literary/popular fiction fight is one that bores me. Really, what’s wrong with reading both or, at the very least, being respectful of what other people choose to read? I look at this the same way I look at movies. I view literary fiction as being the equivalent of an independent film (ex. Little Miss Sunshine) and popular fiction being the equivalent of a blockbuster movie (ex. Bourne Supremacy). Both can succeed. Both can fail. Some in each category are good and others suck. I generally go for the blockbuster, but I mix in independent films. It’s a system that works for me.

Here’s Grisham’s view on the subject:

>”I’m not sure where that line goes between literature and popular fiction,” the mega-selling author says. “I can assure you I don’t take myself serious enough to think I’m writing literary fiction and stuff that’s going to be remembered in 50 years. I’m not going to be here in 50 years; I don’t care if I’m remembered or not. It’s pure entertainment.”

Other points of note:
-He received 15 rejections before he sold.
-He made $9 million from writing last year.