HelenKay Dimon

It’s Banned Book Week, a time to celebrate books, for education and for general eyerolling. It’s a reminder that some folks out there want to ban specific books from schools, libraries and bookstores. Why those folks should get to decide what the rest of us read, I do not know. I’m guessing it comes from a place of fear and is a result of being narrow-minded and misinformed. I get wanting to watch over what your kids read and see, but this goes beyond that. These folks want to control the marketplace.

You don’t like a book – fine. You don’t want your kids to read it – fine, talk to them. But you don’t get to keep the book from everyone else.

According to the American Library Association, here are the ten most challenged titles:

1.ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: nudity, sexually explicit, offensive language, drugs, and unsuited to age group

2. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons: homosexuality

3. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, and unsuited to age group

4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Reasons: racism, offensive language, unsuited to age group

5. Twilight (series), by Stephanie Meyer
Reasons: sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group

6. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
Reasons: sexaully explicit, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group

7. My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
Reasons: sexism, homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group, drugs, suicide, violence

8. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
Reasons: sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group

9. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Reasons: sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group

10. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: nudity, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group

Lots of “unsuitable” complaints here. Makes me wonder who these folks are who complain and what they do find suitable. Probably not much.

My hubby and I like to vacation in Las Vegas. We stay at the Bellagio because the place is just gorgeous. One of my favorite parts of the hotel is the conservatory. The flowers and displays change seasonally. Here’s a spring shot from a few years ago:

Today’s topic is villians. I have a lot of those to pick from. I went with an early villian in UNDER THE GUN. Luke and Claire are stuck in an alley with a gunman.

Luke positioned his body in front of Claire’s. A bullet or knife or anything else would have to go through him first.

He could hear people on the other side of the building’s door and a dull thud as they pushed against it. He needed back-up and a way out that didn’t involve fighting through an angry crowd that viewed him as Claire’s attacker.

“He with you?” Luke asked her over his shoulder.

“Does he look happy to see me?”

Adam’s voice crackled in the transmitter in Luke’s ear. “Luke, there aren’t any security guards outside. They’re all buzzing around the lobby with their thumbs up-”

“Then who’s this guy I’m looking at?” Luke heard a short buzzing and saw the outside camera switch position to aim at the end of the alley.

The other man pulled his cap even lower. The gun pointed down but Luke knew that could change in a second and didn’t wait. He shoved Claire behind the dumpster, ignoring her squeal of surprise. The mystery guy’s footsteps fell faster against the pavement now. Luke ducked down and squeezed in next to Claire.

Her eyes grew wide when he slipped out the gun he had tucked at the small of his back. “Where did you get that?” she asked.

“Not important.”

“You told me you sold art for a living.”

“I find antiques.” That was his cover and he was sticking to it.

“Find them or shoot them?”

Luke ignored the sarcasm and checked his gun. “This is your last chance to tell me the truth. Do you know how to do that?”

“You may want to remember I’m wanted for murder. Ticking me off might not be your best move.”

As if he could forget that fact. “Who’s this guy coming after you?”

“Don’t know.” Her skin paled. “Probably someone Phil sent.”

Phil Samson. Her husband. Make that her very dead husband. Luke vowed to deal with her lies later. Now he needed to get them out of there alive.

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

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

I bet you think I’ve forgotten how to blog. Not so! It’s just been a circus around here. I have two writing projects that are just about due (one IS due on September 30th and the other is due on October 30th). The house has been under construction thanks to a mold problem. That meant taking our master bath and closet down to the studs and rebuilding. It also meant a parade of construction folks in and out of my house while I was trying to write. You can imagine how fun that’s been. And, of course, I’ve been sick. Not sure what’s up with this chronic sinus stuff, but I’m not enjoying it.

In the meantime, I went an RWASD meeting (the San Diego Chapter of RWA) on Saturday. We had an incredible speaker, Jennifer Miller who is an editor at Samhain and an author (she writes as Dawn Halliday and Jennifer Haymore). She was great. She made some interesting points about Samhain that dispelled some of the myths of digital publishing:

1. People seem to think that epublishers accept every manuscript submitted to them. Maybe some do but the reputable ones don’t. Jennifer accepts about 3% from her slush pile (ie, from authors other than the ones she already edits). I remember Angela James giving a similar percentage for Carina. So, submitting to an epublisher doesn’t mean you automatically get accepted. Quite the opposite is true.

2. I know this from experience…epublishing doesn’t mean no editing. At Samhain you go through at least two rounds of edits with your editors before the book heads off to the copyeditor. So, epublishing doesn’t mean the book goes straight through to publication. If you are with an epublisher and that’s what’s happening, think about finding another epublisher.

3. You can make money in epublishing. There’s a perception out there that epublished authors never make more than $100 on a book. Not true. I know from talking to fellow authors that some folks are making five figures every month from their digital books. Jennifer confirmed those figures. My short isn’t bringing that much in, but it’s exceeded my expectations. So, you can make money.

4. Epublishing is for more than erotic romance. True the erotic stuff seems to earn better but not always. Also, epublishing might be a better home for some niche markets – scifi romance, western romance, etc – because without paying advances epublishers can take more risks with their releases and buy books NY publishers might think they can’t sell well enough to justify the upfront costs. But you still need to submit your best work or it’s not going to be accepted. So, epublishing is not an excuse to clean out your “these should never be published” drawer.

Basically, Jennifer drove home the fact that epublishing is a different model but a viable one that is demanding on authors and potentially lucrative for them.

The winner of the Alison Kent’s ICING ON THE CAKE contest is…Moran. Congratulations!! Email me and I’ll get that book out to you.

In Tribute

Today’s topic is break-ups. It wasn’t very hard to figure out what to post. I have a book where the hero dumps the heroine in the first scene. I know it doesn’t sound romantic, but I think it works. The book is RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.

“This isn’t working.”

There they were. To Gabrielle Pearson the phrase stood second only to “it’s not you, it’s me” as the most lame male excuse on the planet for cutting out of a date before the dessert menus hit the table.

She glanced around the upscale restaurant looking for reinforcements. If anyone heard Reed Larkin’s big kiss off over the rumble of conversation and clanking of silverware, they were not letting on. No one held up a roll ready to lob it at Reed’s fat head. A shame, really, since his over-inflated ego made it the perfect target.

“Gabby? Did you hear me?” Reed asked with his suddenly not-so-kissable mouth turned down in concern.

“I’m not deaf. I was thinking.” Thinking that a woman never had a vial of strychnine when she needed one.

He frowned. “I was-”

“It’s interesting, don’t you agree?”

He switched to squinting. “You lost me.”

“Obviously.” She lowered her fork to the white tablecloth, but not before toying with the idea of stabbing Reed smack in the center of his perfectly angled chin. One hit of the sharp prongs and no woman would ever be lured in by his inviting sexy smile again. “I’m talking about your timing, Reed. You waited until you were done with your meal to make this announcement. You skipped the appetizer course and choked back your undercooked steak without taking a breath.”

Now she knew why. Reed was a man on the run.

The big weasel.

Here she thought tonight, formal date number nine, might be the date. The one to capture all the heat pulsing between them with a bedroom ending. Hell, she’d be lucky to get cab fare out of him now.

Reed took a long swallow of water and when he didn’t choke, Gabby cursed life’s unfairness.

“I’m assuming I’m the part of the relationship that’s not working,” she said.

“Look, it’s not you. It’s-”

Oh, no, no, no. “Don’t finish that sentence.” If he continued down that road the half of the salmon filet she did manage to swallow would make a repeat performance all over his expensive navy suit. Tempting but not going to happen.

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked as if he actually did not know.

“Just don’t.” She pointed a finger in the general direction of Reed’s heart to back up her threat.

Those ice blue eyes that were so attractive up until five minutes ago blinked several times. “Gabby, we should-”

“Stop talking before someone loses a body part.” Her gaze dropped to her fork. “Preferably you.”

The sexy sparkle behind his eyes faded as the grin on his full mouth fell flat. For the first time since they sat down to eat, Reed’s usual assurance slipped. Nice of him to show some reaction.

She learned long ago to control her emotions. To keep her reactions neutral and her anger at bay. No matter how fast that ball of anxiety started to spin around in her gut she held it all in. Forced her outside to defy her insides. She had been through far worse than a broken relationship, weathered much and never broke.

But something about the silliness of the scene, of Reed cutting her off at the same time she mentally planned his seduction, broke open the dam inside her and sent anger spewing in every direction. Pissed. She was down-to-her-bones pissed. A new sensation and one she chalked up to a build-up of stress without any release. One that refused to go away quietly.

If Reed intended to hand her a relationship pink slip, then she planned to give him an ending to remember. “Tell me something.”

He smiled at the older couple sitting at the table next to them. “Sure.”

“Where did it go wrong for you?”

Their relationship didn’t take any wrong turns for her. They cruised along just fine with her getting more interested and attracted every single day. Then the waiter put the entrees on the table and everything went to hell.

“The ‘it’ is…?” he asked.

“For a smart guy, you seem to be experiencing some trouble with small words.”

He stopped glancing around the restaurant and focused on her instead. “Talk slow and I’ll try to keep up.”

“Fine.” Actually, the scene was anything but fine, but she clearly did not get a vote. “Us. You and me. The relationship. Since we never even had sex, I mean.”

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

Mandy M Roth
Lauren Dane
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Shelley Munro
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
TJ Michaels
Ashley Ladd
Lissa Matthews

The launch of HCI’s True Vows is almost here. In case you don’t know, this is the new reality-based romance line. I’m writing one called VICTORIA’S GOT A SECRET – isn’t that a great title? – and it will be out in March 2011. But you don’t have to wait to test out the line. You can check out Judith Arnold’s MEET ME IN MANHATTAN or Julie Leto’s HARD TO HOLD.

Or you can leave a comment here and win a copy of Alison Kent’s ICING ON THE CAKE. Let me know your thoughts on reality-based romance novels and I’ll pick a winner on Sunday.

Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match . . . dot.com. An on-line dating service is not Michelle Snow’s idea of how to find love but when the Big 3-0 hits, Michelle decides she has nothing to lose since she hasn’t brought a date home in ten years, she’s professionally burned out, and her climb up the corporate ladder has come at the expense of abandoning her sweet dream: to own a boutique cupcakery.

Todd Bracken, early thirties and a successful technology consultant, isn’t exactly a player after being off the market for ten years, and pours himself into his dual passions of martial arts and home-sweet-home renovations. Only there’s no one to come home to so he decides to give Match.com a try. Todd isn’t so sure the Internet dating scene is his thing – until a message pops up in the wee hours on a weekend night: “I like your smile.” Todd likes – a lot – the whole package that glides into a French bistro in Washington, D.C.

It’s serious mojo-at-first-sight but there’s a glitch: Todd and Michelle live in different cities. Will love find its way in the digital age with a You’ve Got Mail courtship when video cam kisses just aren’t enough? And when Todd challenges Michelle to not only go for her dream but also let him share it, will they be able to make it happen together despite obstacles more plentiful than a shower of rainbow sprinkles?

I have a lot of books on my I-must-buy-that-as-soon-as-it-comes-out list. I added one yesterday. It’s PRECIOUS AND FRAGILE THINGS by Megan Hart. I think Megan is the best erotic romance author I’ve read. She takes risks and many times leaves me feeling uncomfortable and somewhat heartbroken when I finish one of her books. I know that sounds like a bad thing, but it’s not. It’s a very good thing.

This book looks like it’s mainstream fiction. It sounds pretty brilliant, and that’s not a word I throw around very often. Take a look:

He’s not about to let her leave.

And she cannot stay.

Gilly Soloman has been reduced to a mothering machine, taking care of everyone and everything except herself. But the machine has broken down. Burnt out by the endless days of crying children and menial tasks, and exhausted from always putting herself last, Gilly doesn’t immediately consider the consequences when she’s carjacked. With a knife to her throat, her first thought is that she’ll finally get some rest. Someone can save her for a change.

But salvation isn’t so forthcoming. Stranded in a remote, snowbound cabin with this stranger, hours turn to days, days into weeks. As time forges a fragile bond between them, she learns her captor is not the lunatic she first believed, but a human being whose wasted life has been shaped by secrets and tragedy. Yet even as their connection begins to foster trust, Gilly knows she must never forget he’s still a man teetering on the edge. One who just might take her with him.

I love the title, the cover and the concept. Very excited for this one.