HelenKay Dimon

I’m a big believer in taking a short break between writing books…when possible. Not a long one. Nope. See, if I take a long one my latop becomes a vehicle by which I endlessly play that tile game and nothing else. Too much time away from writing makes it really hard for me to get back to it. More than likely this is an offshoot of my general laziness and desire to waste as much time as possible during every 24-hour period.

A short break is different. It’s those few days I take where I’m not plotting or writing dialog or thinking about characters or doing anything else relating to a particular book. Those days where I do fun and frivolous things like, oh, the laundry. Where I look at everything piled up on the dining room table with a what the hell is that stuff look on my face. Where I pay the utility bills before they get cut off. Where I pick out an old fav book and re-read it. Where I order all of those books from Amazon that I’m convinced I missed while on deadline, never mind the fact I have 300 unread books stacked up all over the house.

Basically, I veg because my mind is blank. I have a project I want to work on, even tried to sit down and look at it yesterday. Couldn’t do it. There’s just nothing going on in my brain except for those dashes from the Peanuts cartoon. That’s all I’ve got right now.

Monday will be better. That will be about a week post-deadline, and I’ll be ready to go. I hope…

There are a few things I would do differently if I sold for the first time today. One of those seems kind of basic. I’d make a character name chart. With eight novellas and five single titles written and turned in, I’m having the did I already use that name somewhere issue in my no-short-term-memory brain. Between main characters and secondary characters, the possibility for doubling up and causing confusion is great. This is especially true since, as a friend just pointed out to me, I have a habit of using one syllable hero names. There are only so many of those out there. Well, that’s probably not true, but you get the point.

Now is the perfect time to do this. My next book is due on November 15th. That gives me plenty of time to do some writing and writing-related projects I’ve been putting off. The character name chart is at the very top of the must-do list. And how simple, really. It’s a matter of setting up a spreadsheet with three sections – first name, last name and title of book. A quick use of the “Find On This Page” function and – voila – problem solved.

Why don’t I think of these things when they’d be less work for me…?

This is just the most fabulous summer photo ever:

It’s a pool in Penglai in Sichuan, western China.

And…wow. Just, wow.

Yesterday was not a good day. Really. Not. Good.

Today is much better. It’s deadline day and the book is done – yay!!! I just sent it. For those who have been waiting and asking, there’s more good news!!! See, this one is Josh’s story. He’s the DEA agent/hero’s best friend from YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY. He also plays a part in the upcoming IT’S HOTTER IN HAWAII (April ‘09).

The basic idea for Josh’s book goes like this:

A DEA agent who’s done with the rescuing business (that part unfolds in IT’S HOTTER IN HAWAII) + a socialite who’s in desperate need of a miracle + a kid who’s in trouble of the absolute worst kind = the romance story of Josh and Deana.

Like with most of my single titles, there’s a bit of mystery and some humor with the emphasis staying on the romance. The book will be out in late 2009. September, I think. It’s the third Hawaii-based book. This one takes place on the island of Oahu instead of Kauai. Derek, Kane and Annie from YMDMC are all back in secondary roles. And, well, I love it.

Now I’m off to take a nap…

I’m blogging with the fabulous ladies at Writeminded today. The topic is heroes and their faults.

Stop by and say hello.

I’m at Access Romance today talking about real estate…okay, not really. I’m talking about HARD AS NAILS and the role home & hearth plays in it.**

For those looking ahead, HOT AS HELL now is officially up for pre-order at Amazon, Borders and Barnes & Noble. And since the cover is so gorgeous, let’s take another look, shall we?

Yeah, baby.

**And there are two chances to win a copy of HARD AS NAILS, so check it out.

I was looking through those back pages of Romantic Times and saw the list of upcoming releases for October. One caught my eye. It’s DEFENSELESS by Celeste Marsella. Here’s the blurb:

They’re overworked, underpaid, and unstoppable: four young women in a big-city attorney general’s office. But when best friends Marianna, Laurie, Shannon, and Beth find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time, it’s not just their careers that are in danger—it’s their lives.

It’s after midnight when a young coed’s body is thrown from a car—right before their eyes. When their boss finds out that their presence at the scene might jeopardize the prosecution, Marianna takes the fall, exiled to a job inside an ivy-walled private college—where the murdered girl had been a student. Suddenly Marianna is in the eye of the storm alone as a vicious killer strikes again…and again. With no one to trust on either side of the law except themselves and a secretive ex-cop, Marianna, Laurie, Shannon, and Beth will have to join all their smarts, savvy, and loyalty to stop the killer from taking one of their own.…

A lawyer writing suspense centered on lawyers – love it! Marsella is a debut author…I think. This appears to be the first in a series. The second is called PERFECTLY CRIMINAL and comes out in April ‘09.

I’m plan on grabbing a copy of DEFENSELESS when it comes out. Anyone else?

Actually, Ian Fleming is dead. That’s not news. He died in the 60s. For those who can’t place the name, he’s the guy who wrote the James Bond books. His estate picked a guy to write a new Bond book. His name is Sebastian Faulks. He’s considered more of a literary writer than a thriller writer, but cool for him. The book is called DEVIL MAY CARE.

I read somewhere that it’s selling really well, which is not a surprise. Haven’t bought it, but I did read an excerpt in last month’s Vanity Fair. Have to say I didn’t love it. That could be because I’m on deadline and probably slightly less charming that usual. You guys can give it a try and see what you think:

DEVIL MAY CARE excerpt

With advance apologies to Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh and Linda Winstead Jones…

I know authors don’t pick their book covers. Really, I do. I’m not blaming anyone or making fun. I’m just saying I really don’t like this one. More importantly, I’m not sure how this cover for the antho THE MAGICAL CHRISTMAS CAT will sell this book. Good thing the authors in it are so awesome. I’m thinking their combined talent will get people buying it:

Now, here are the problems I have with it:

1. I love animals. I have two cats and one dog, and all three are rescue animals. But, unless this is a romance about cats – not a shapeshifter romance, or about people who like cats, but a romance involving actual cats – I don’t get the kitty on the cover.

2. I’ve read many Lora Leigh books. She writes super hot. Nothing about her books makes me think of white fluffy kitties. Just saying.

3. The cover strikes me as being potentially misleading. For some reason I see a cute kitty and think, to the extent this is even a romance, that it’s a sweet romance (ie, the only action is a kiss). That doesn’t match with what I know about these authors’ styles.

4. And while I’m at it…I don’t like the title either.

Of course, I absolutely must buy this book because I am strangely fascinated by it.

To all those writing memoirs or contemplating writing memoirs:

Stop. Please write something else. At the very least, understand that it’s unlikely every single moment in your life is worthy of being memorialized in a book. Hate to say it, but your life probably isn’t that much different from the lives of the rest of us. My theory of why so many supposed memoir writers have gotten in trouble for marketing books as memoirs that were something other than true life recounts? Because most people do not lead lives that would sustain an interesting 400-page book, let alone two…or three, so they make crap up. It’s called fiction. Learn a lesson from James Frey and try that.

I know this sounds harsh. I know your life is the one that is so compelling. Still, the market is flooded. This sort of thing happened to chick lit and look what happened to that. Yeah, I bet I have your attention now.

Go forth and write great fiction.

Sincerely,

HelenKay (who has reached her saturation point on memoirs, supposed memoirs, and whatever the hell fictionalized memoirs are)