HelenKay Dimon

I’m at The Romance Reader’s Connection today, talking about Christmas in Hawaii. Stop by and say hello.

I saw that Julie Garwood has a book coming out at the very end of the year. I’m a fan and have been a fan since I first started reading romance. I prefer her Scottish historical romances, but I buy the contemporaries, too. I’m loyal like that.

Now, I have to admit that when looking at her upcoming release I had a meh reaction to the cover. It’s a bit dull to me. Okay, it’s really dull. Maybe it looks better in person? Dunno. [And please do not write and tell me how she's an author and doesn't get to pick her cover. I know that. I'm an author. I get how the cover thing works, though I'm betting she gets more say than I do.] What do you think:

The cover copy for SIZZLE is more intriguing. Here it is:

Lyra Prescott, a Los Angeles film student, is closing in on graduation and facing important decisions about her future. She’s already been offered a job at her hometown TV station, an opportunity that could ultimately launch her dream career as a film editor. But heading back home would also mean dealing with her overprotective brothers, social-climbing mother, and eccentric grandmother. Unsure of her future, Lyra dives into work on her final school assignment: a documentary transformed by a twist of fate into a real-life horror film.

After she unwittingly captures a shocking crime on camera, a rash of mysterious, treacherous incidents convince Lyra that she’s trapped in a sinister scenario headed for a violent ending. Running scared, she turns to her best friend, Sidney Buchanan, whose connections bring dauntless and devilishly handsome FBI agent Sam Kincaid into Lyra’s life. As the noose of deadly intrigue tightens and the feelings between them deepen, Lyra and Sam must place their faith in each other’s hands—and stand together against the malevolent forces about to break loose.

Yes?

I saw the cover for my first Harlequin Intrigue, UNDER THE GUN. Take a look:

Would just like to say that it stinks to be sick over the holidays. Of course, I’ve been sick pretty much all year, so you’d think I’d be used to it by now. Yeah, not.

Good thing I have this to make me feel better:

I love Alison Kent’s books. WITH EXTREME PLEASURE goes like this:

Only Something This Dangerous…

After three weeks in Manhattan, Kingdom Trahan is ready to get back to bayous, crawfish boils, and afternoons fishing on the Gulf. But before he can pull out of the parking garage, he meets a curvy detour. King noticed Cady Kowalski on the photo shoot he just endured—sexy and confident, with a waifish look that belies the way she corralled him into submission using only a can of hairspray. Yet Cady isn’t confident now. She’s bruised, edgy, and desperate to get out of town…

Could Feel This Good…

For years, Cady has been looking over her shoulder, wondering when the gang of drug-running criminals who killed her brother would make their move on her. She’s grown used to having no one to turn to, no one to trust. But King isn’t walking away—not even when their lives are threatened, again and again. Drawing Cady’s pursuers out of hiding is the only way to end this, and it’s also the most reckless thing they can do…short of diving into a red-hot affair from which there’s no turning back…

Go buy it!

My June 2010 release from Harlequin Intrigue has a new name – NIGHT MOVES. It’s perfect for the book. There’s a lot of, uh, moving at night. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it is one of those on-the-run books. I am intimately familiar with it because I just turned it in. It features a science geek heroine (Maura) and a former cop hero (Liam). She tends to talk in half sentences as her brain races here and there. He’s a practical what the hell is she talking about kind of guy. And, since it’s an Intrigue, they get shot at, almost set on fire, chased and otherwise live in peril for 200+ pages, all while falling for each other. I’m exhausted just from writing the thing.

A small and unedited taste:

Liam stared at her. “So, you did see the kidnappers.”

“No, I’m saying Dr. Hammer wasn’t kidnapped.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do.” When Liam continued frowning, Maura tried again. “I have a theory and I’ll find proof.”

“Of what exactly?”

She wasn’t ready to give the details. “With your help.”

“I’m thinking we’re having two different conversations.”

Her mind raced ahead. She needed the documents she hid under the deck in Liam’s back patio. She needed the laptop from her apartment. She needed to stay hidden while she worked out where Dr. Hammer went and why.

“We’re talking about evidence,” she said.

“We are? But I still don’t know what we’re proving.”

For her investigation to work she needed to be mobile. Being interrogated would ruin everything. “No police. I’m supposed to be dead, so I’ll be dead.”

“Hey!” He clapped his hands together. “I can see your mind spinning. Stop thinking for a second and talk to me.”

“How do I stop thinking?”