HelenKay Dimon

I’ve been a Linda Howard fan since I started reading romance. I had the great fortune to attend a small dinner and booksigning with her last year. Talk about a huge fangirl moment. She was funny and charming and a little bawdy. I loved every minute of meeting her.

In addition to loving her MacKenzie books and many others, two of my all-time favorite romances are Linda’s Duncan’s Bride and After the Night. Basically, I got my love for damaged alpha heroes from Linda’s books. I haven’t connected with some of her more recent books as much, but I continue to buy every one.

In light of my disconnect, I found her recent Facebook posting about her medical condition (a thyroid issue) very enlightening. She says:

But I’m getting better and better at judging how much to take and when to take it. Veil of Night is more in the old style than anything I’ve written since 2005. I connected better with the characters. There was about a six-week stretch when I was writing it that my brain disconnected again, that I was so completely removed from the creative part of me that I couldn’t even read. It’s scary. It’s maddening. It really pisses me off. But the more I learn about handling this, the better I’ll get at it — and the closer I’ll get to the old way of writing.

It’s tough to think about anyone struggling with health issues. I hope Linda feels better soon and send good thoughts her way.

Now I’m going to get bossy…

This type of news is why I have ZERO tolerance when folks say they want to be published but don’t have time to write. Linda has time despite her health issues. No offense but you have time, too. I think what you’re really saying is you don’t want it enough yet. That’s okay, just don’t use time as an excuse. I know authors who write while undergoing chemo, while dealing with significant children’s health issues, while working long hours at day jobs, while nursing sick family members, while dealing with the break-up of their marriages, while handling serious health and family issues. They do it and so can you. If you want it you can make the time and shut out all the excuses. It’s not easy but, honestly, it’s not supposed to be easy. If you let scheduling and unexpected difficulties derail you, you’ll never be able to handle scathing reviews, nasty remarks and rejections.

I know this sounds like a lecture. In a way it is. This is a pet peeve…as you can probably tell. I’ll refrain from talking about my writing struggles and the struggles of other authors you know. Just know that whatever your excuse is, someone who has published a book has the same issue and managed to overcome it to put a book on the shelf. Also know, there are people who fought through even worse things to get published. I’m not kidding. Some of the stories would astound you. I am genuinely amazed how some authors find the strength to get out of bed and keep going. They do it. You can. Really, you can. Get writing.

Today the hubby finished another half marathon:

He’s wearing two medals because with this race he completed something called the Triple Crown, where he ran three half marathons in San Diego over the course of a few months. I’m so proud of him. Yay hubby!!

I, on the other hand, am exhausted from getting up at 4:30 a.m. to drive him to the race. Didn’t run a step. Barely walked.

This week’s topic is all about characters interacting with some humor. Seemed like the perfect time to give you another peek at IMPULSIVE, my November release. Eric and Katie started their relationship by having sex in the bathroom at a wedding. No, really. I’m not kidding. That’s the first scene. But you’ll have to wait to read it. Here they are a bit later in the book, trying to play catch-up…

“I thought we were overdue for a meal together,” Eric said as he watched Katie’s guard drop and some of the stiffness leave her shoulders.

She dug into the food, peeking in each container and sniffing one before dumping piles on her plate. “Is this food thing part of your no-sex plan?”

He stole a quick glance behind her to make sure her sister wasn’t standing there, ready to kick his ass. “I believe normal people call it a date.”

There, he said it. It was official. This was a date.

“Coming to my house without telling me is a date?”

But maybe he was the only one who saw it that way. “I’m going to go with yes.”

She pointed her fork at him. “Using that reasoning, if I hadn’t come home tonight you would have had a date with Cara.”

Something about the wording caught his attention. They didn’t have an agreement or even an understanding about what they were doing or what the parameters were, but the idea of Katie seeing another guy sent an icy cold rage wash through him. If she wanted to sleep with someone, she could damn well sleep with him. “Where would you have gone?”

Her fork scraped against the plate as her head shot up. “What?”

“If you stayed out.” Tension crept up out of nowhere and pummeled him. He had no idea what she was going to say. Nothing in the sudden stillness of her body or her blank expression gave it away.

“For a lawyer, you’re not being too clear.”

That was on purpose. It was a matter of self-protection he learned the hard way from his ex, Deana. “Meaning?”

“What exactly are you asking, Eric?”

It was as if Katie wanted to torture him. “I think you know.”

“I’m not seeing anyone but you, if that’s what you’re getting at.” She folded her napkin and put it next to her glass. “Hell, I can’t even figure out if I’m seeing you, but whatever we have here is monogamous.”

The churning in his stomach died down to a steady rumble. “Good.”

“That’s all you have to say?”

“We agree.” When her I’m-going-to-shoot-him scowl didn’t subside, he tried again. “We’re on the same page.”

“Really?” She folded her arms and leaned against the table. “About which part?”

He was walking into a shit storm. He saw it and ran in anyway. “All of it.”

“You’re telling me that there aren’t any other women in your life.”

He shrugged just to tick her off. “I like visit my mom now and then.”

“You know what I mean.”

He did. Looked like he wasn’t the only one who needed some reassurance. She’d probably heard the rumors about Deana. Even though Katie acted cool and confident, as if not seeing him again wouldn’t matter, he could understand how the garbage about an ex might shake her.

He held up one hand as if taking an oath. “I haven’t been with anyone, dated anyone, had sex with anyone, since meeting you.”

“That’s quite an accomplishment thinking it’s only been a week.” Katie shrugged, acted like she didn’t care either way, but her smile came through.

“If it’s any consolation, it feels longer.”

Her hands fall to the table. The fingernail drumming started a second later. “Speaking of your mother…”

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Don’t forget to check out the other Snippet blogs:

Lauren Dane
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Shelley Munro
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
Jody Wallace
Shelli Stevens
Mandy M Roth
Ashley Ladd

My November release, IMPULSIVE, has a hero named Eric Kimura. I never intended to write his story. He was the heroine’s ex in HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO. My main goal was to show that a romance novel heroine, in this case Deana Armstrong, could have an ex who wasn’t an asshat. Eric wasn’t abusive or jerky. He did the best he could under very difficult circumstances. Deana dumped him. They were wrong for each other. End of their story. And then I wrote this exchange:

Josh couldn’t hold it in anymore. He had to know. “What happened with you two?”

“You asking for the case or for you?” Eric asked.

Josh refused to directly respond because there was no way to do so without looking like a complete ass. “Just getting background.”

The corner of Eric’s mouth kicked up in a smile. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I could say the same thing about you.”

“There’s nothing much to tell. She left me.” Eric delivered the answer without any fanfare or anger. The words came out with all the emotion of someone reading baseball scores.

For Eric the three simple words might not have meant much, but they lifted a weight off Josh’s chest that he didn’t even know was there. “Sorry, man. Any idea why?”

“I thought turning Ryan’s case over and stepping out of it was the right thing to do. Deana disagreed.”

“You still…?”

“We’re over.” With his elbows on the desk, Eric leaned forward. “Where are you two?”

“I work for her.”

“Uh-huh.”

Josh knew he should drop the topic to avoid looking desperate. Still, he had to be clear. Leaving and letting Eric think this was all a fact-finding mission on Deana would not be good for anyone. “She’s not the easiest woman to decipher. I’m just looking to understand her so that our work relationship can function.”

Eric barked out a dry laugh. “Sounds as if she hasn’t changed much in the last nine months.”

After that, for whatever reason, I decided I wanted to give Eric a happy ending. He gets it here:

Trouble In Paradise….

Katie Long was supposed to be undercover. She was just supposed to watch Deputy Prosecutor Eric Kimura at his ex’s wedding and gather intel on his campaign for prosecutor. But he’s a lot hotter in person, and the kind of intel they accidentally shared in the hotel bathroom might lose both of them their jobs. Especially since it seems to be a recurring incident. Is it possible for a one-night stand to last ten days?

Kimura isn’t usually the impulsive type. He’s driven, he’s ambitious, and he knows what he wants—a respectable future in Hawaii politics. Which means wild half-public sex with a beautiful stranger in a short little caterer’s skirt is just tabloid fodder waiting to happen. Conveniently, just as his campaign is coming under attack. Sabotage, media gossip, and an insatiable desire for a woman he just met? If he’s not careful, Counselor Kimura might lose all control…

I know the RWA conference in Orlando has been over for more than a week at this point, but I was out of commission last week (damn bronchitis!). So, you’re stuck hearing my belated thoughts about the conference now.

-Orlando in July would not have been my first choice for a conference location, but it wasn’t the first choice of the RWA folks either. Flooding in Nashville landed us in Orlando. I have to say it was nothing short of a miracle that the RWA staff and Board pulled off this conference. I am in awe. The place was nice, the conference ran smoothly. Kudos to everyone in charge.

-I visited the PRO Retreat (the special workshop track for career-minded unpublished writers) long enough to receive the PRO Mentor of the Year Award. It was a huge honor, one for which I am deeply grateful. And I was so happy to get a peek into that room. The mood was electric. The published authors at the PAN Retreat next door were cautious and concerned. The PROs at their retreat were excited and ready to take on publishing. It was thrilling to walk into the room and feel all that excitement. I’m hoping a record number of PROs sell and switch to PAN this year…and bring their energy with them.

-I roomed with Jill Shalvis. Jill is as awesome as her books. We laughed and stayed up too late and ate way too much. In other words, she’s the perfect conference roommate. I was her date for the RITA ceremenony and still believe she should have won. When she does win in the future, and she will, I will be there cheering her on.

-The continued struggle of contemporary romance and romantic suspense – the two subgenres I write – to find an audience and get bought by editors confuses and saddens me. The rush of romantic authors out of romantic suspense and into other subgenres (see: women’s fic) makes me frustrated as a reader, as does the lack of single title non-knitting, non-sweet contemporary romances out there. People can write whatever they want to write, but I want books on the shelves that I want to read!!! Seems to me those of us who write these books have two options: pick another subgenre or hang in there and write something truly great that gets some attention. I’ve decided to stop whining and try for the latter option.

-I attended my first publisher booksigning (Kensington doesn’t have them) with Harlequin. The folks who came by to pick up my Intrigues were awesome. Thanks to all who stopped and chatted. You made my first publisher signing very special.

-The Harlequin party, as always, was a fine affair. I even got to dirty dance (not kidding) with some of my fellow Intrigue authors and hang out with author buddy Jackie Barbosa. And let me just say the Intrigue authors are amazing. They are talented, funny and welcoming. It’s an honor to write for the same line with them.

I’m sure there’s more, but that’s what I can remember without straining too hard. If anyone has a question, I’ll try to answer it. Just let me know.

This week’s topic is The Black Moment. For those who are wondering, that’s a writing term for the all-is-lost moment in the book. Now, I admit I’m a little reluctant to set out a scene here because it feels a little spoilerish. Still, I thought this one from UNDER THE GUN (Harlequin Intrigue, March 2010) worked. Luke and Claire have been trapped in a room on the second floor of a mansion and break out to find…

The door clicked open but neither of them rushed into the hall. They waited for something to rise up and attack, but nothing came.

Luke held up a finger. “Wait here.”

“No.” She grabbed his arm and kept him from running ahead. “We do this together.”

“I don’t know what’s out there,” he said in a whisper.

“I know what’s in here and it’s not freedom, so I’ll take my chances so long as I’m going in the direction of an exit.”

“Well said.” He leaned down and treated her to a quick, hard kiss.

She held onto his shirt, keeping him close for a few precious seconds. “Besides, I watched you collapse once. I will not wait around and then stumble over your body at the bottom of the stairs.”

“Have some faith.”

“In you? Completely.” She wondered how he could doubt that at this point, after all they’d survived.

His smile disappeared as fast it came. “Then let’s do this.”

They got into the hall before she smelled it. She coughed and tasted the acrid mix of chemicals and hot metal on her tongue. Her gaze went to the soaring ceiling. Gray smoke hovered along the sloped walls.

She covered her mouth as harsh breaths hammered in her throat. “I think I know what they wanted us to see.”

Luke nodded. “They set the house on fire.”

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Don’t forget to check out the other Snippet blogs:

Lauren Dane
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Shelley Munro
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
TJ Michaels

I’m finally feeling better. I’ve been having coughing fits. Apparently that’s a good thing. Doesn’t really feel like it when I’m hacking up a lung, but okay. I did want to sign on and say hello and thank everyone for sending good thoughts my way. I truly am better. Also wanted to tidy up a bit.

First, we have a winner for the July blog contest. The Amazon gift certificate goes to…Mary G. (comment #2 on the July 10th blog). Congratulations!!!

Second, my next Halrequin Intrigue is up for pre-order. Wahoo!!! GUNS AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR comes out January 2011 and follows up my first Intrigue UNDER THE GUN. Go forth and pre-order (and pick up UNDER THE GUN while you’re at it ).

Third, and now I’m going back to bed.

That allergy I thought I had at RWA? Yeah, it’s actually sickness crud. Feeling kind of awful and plan to sleep most of the day. Will talk about RWA, books and some other stuff once I’m up and feeling better. I’m hoping that will be tomorrow.

Also, I know I need to pick a July monthly contest winner. Will do that tomorrow. Promise!