Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Today's Special - - HelenKay Dimon



It's our pleasure to welcome HelenKay Dimon to the Romance Dish today!  This multi-published, award-winning author took several other careers for test drives before settling into full-time writing.  Following time spent in journalism, politics and divorce law, HelenKay now scripts happy endings for a living.  HelenKay writes contemporary romance novels, many of which have an element of suspense.  Her most recent release, LEAN ON ME, is the second book in her Holloway small town contemporary romance series.  

Find more information about HelenKay at her website and connect with her at Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Please give her a warm welcome!




Thank you for having me here today to talk about my newest release, LEAN ON ME.  It just came out, so I'm thrilled to talk about it.

I'm going to tell you a little secret…I like talking about this book, specifically this heroine, Cassidy, because I can pretend (for a second) to have her bravery. See, she's a Himalayan mountain climber.  Well, she was until an illness sidelined her high-altitude mountaineering career.  Her goal was to be the first U.S. woman to climb all fourteen of the highest peaks in the world. 

When it comes to heights, my goal is to get to the top of a step ladder without melting into a puddle of tears.  Yes, I am terrified of heights.  Actually, is there a word that's stronger than terrified?  Whatever that word is, that's what I am.  With this fear it's hard to believe that in high school I was a member of a high adventure explorer group. I blame my then best friend, Missy, for convincing me to join the group.  Missy was the fearless one.  Even now, she a forester and fights forest fires in her off time. By the way, go ahead and add fires to the list of things that scare the crap out of me.  Anyway…as part of this group we went caving, camping, hiking, kayaking and a whole bunch of –ing things that the grown-up me is stunned she once did.

Reading LEAN ONE ME, you'll see the hero, Mitch, has trouble with heights. He's a guy so he doesn't admit to things like being terrified. But he doesn't like them and I feel his pain. There's a scene where he sees the Cassidy on a ladder and is panicked for her, never mind the woman once climbed Mount Everest. Take a look:

"You should not be crawling around up there. You could fall or slide."
She didn't show any signs of moving. Didn't even come down a step. "I'm standing on a ladder, not hanging off a cliff by a rope."
That visual image made his stomach flip. "On the fourth step."
Those dark eyes widened. "Mitch, are you afraid of heights?"
"Did I use the word fear?"
"I did, but it was an educated guess based on the color of your face and wild terror in your eyes."
As far as he was concerned, this was a matter of common sense not fear. "I'm not scared of anything. But if I were, plunging to my death would be at the top of the list."
And if you need proof that I was once this high-adventure queen, you can look here – I'm in the left front (but please ignore my taste in hairstyles and clothes – it was the 80s after all).


HelenKay is giving a digital copy of LEAN ON ME to one randomly selected person leaving a comment on today's blog. (Open to everyone!)  So tell us, dear readers, are you a high adventure queen, able to climb high mountains...or to the fourth step of a ladder?  Or do you prefer to leave the adventure seeking to the characters in the books you read?  



29 comments:

  1. Hi HelenKey and congratulations on your new release! I SO do not care for heights that I do not even wear high heels anymore. I can find all the thrill that I need in my fav novels and my kids...with them it is always like being on roller coaster!
    minadecaro@hotmail.com

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    1. I'm with you on the heights, Mina though it's bad feet that keep me off the high heels these days.
      ;-)

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  2. Hi Helen! I saw your book on B&N when looking at books coming out and wanted to tell you I really like the cover!! I am not a thrill seeker so live my life thru the eyes of my books...lol Even 4 steps up makes me dizzy. I dislocated and fractured my elbow in June and the thought of going out on my deck makes me sweat....must get brave!!!

    Good luck with the new book


    Donna

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    1. Hope your elbow is fully recovered by now, Donna. Sounds very painful!

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  3. Hi Helenkay,

    Looking forward to reading Cassidy and Mitch's love story LEAN ON ME!!

    Luckily I don't have a fear of heights. I can climb to the top of ladders. I go up on the roof to clean out gutters. I was lucky enough to hike at Zion and several other Utah parks. No problems scaling those huge cliffs.

    I rarely get a chance to test my fear level as I lead a pretty ordinary life.

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    1. I envy you, Laurie. Three steps up and I start to sweat!

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  4. Hi HelenKay! Welcome! I have to echo Donna and say I really do like the cover of LEAN ON ME. Makes me want to dive right into this story!

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  5. Welcome to you, look forward to reading your book, would love to win too...thanks

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  6. I will take the 4th step, too old for high mountains...LOL

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    1. I am happy to announce that I climbed to the 4th step today (to change light bulbs) and (hardly) broke a sweat! :)

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  7. HelenKay, this couple sounds great!

    I'm not really a adventure person. I like indoor plumbing, hot water, and a comfortable bed. I did go camping once, the week before high school graduation, and enjoyed it a lot. A bunch of us almost-graduates went, with one dad along to chaperone. But there were showers with actual hot water, as well as toilets.

    I do love vicarious adventures, though, ones I can enjoy from an armchair. When it comes to that kind of adventure, I quail at neither danger nor lack of modern conveniences, and I really love when stuff blows up. *g*

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    1. I loved camping when I was younger, Nancy. These days, not so much. Give me that plumbing, hot water and comfy bed! ;-)

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  8. Hello and welcome, HelenKay! I really like the sound of Lean on Me! Great excerpt, too.

    My dad is afraid of heights which is why when we go to Six Flags, Dad is the one who stays with our stuff and anyone else who doesn't want to ride a particular ride. LOL

    Personally, I like to leave the adventure to the characters in the books I read...unless said adventure is mild. ;-)

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    1. Andrea, the last time I rode a roller coaster was 1964. That should tell you something. ;-)

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  9. Congrats on the new book. I am such a timid sole. Don't like heights, speed or anything where I could lose total control. I do however, love for my books to have a fearless heroine and hero.

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    1. I'm with you on the heights, Trish however, I do like speed. A lot. :)

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  10. 4th step on the ladder for me! I will leave all the adventures to fictional characters! Do love to read about them. Thanks for the chance, this one looks awesome.

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    1. We seem to have a lot of people here today who prefer to leave the adventures to the characters in our books. Works for me! :)

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  11. Thanks for a great post and congrats on the newest release! I'm not a high adventure person but I'm a bit fearless. I think that's mainly cuz I'm short and very independent and don't like to ask for help :) My BF gets very exasperated at me cuz he'll find me crawling up counters/cabinets to get stuff instead of using a chair/ladder or get him.

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    1. LOL! Glad to know I'm not the only shorty around who has to climb on the counters!

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  12. Awww, he's afraid of heights! So cute. No, I'm not afraid of heights, but I'm not physically capable of climbing mountains. It's always fun to read about those adventurous types, though.

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    1. I love that he's the one with the fear of heights.

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  13. I am kinda afaird of heights. It just depends on how high I have to go. Thaks for the giveaway.

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    1. I'm kind of weird. Terrified of open heights but I love to fly.

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  14. I leave the high adventure to my reading list! Congrats on your new release HelenKay, it sounds delicious!

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  15. I am not a high adventure type but I do enjoy seeing new places and meeting new people.

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  16. I was a high adventure person, at one time. I am not thrilled with heights, but learned to deal with them. Unfortunately, a bad back and two bad knees have prevented me from doing much of what I really enjoy. I miss the hiking the most. I still try, but can't handle the hills. Going up is hard and coming down even harder.

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  17. I am the queen of a 3rd step on the ladder, refusing to ride roller coasters or rides like them, but enjoy flying in a plane as long as I don't look out the window and we don't have bad weather. In other words, I will leave the riskier stuff to the characters in my books that I love to read.

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