My niece asked for the kids to spend the night Friday night AND Saturday night, so I said “Sure!”. Hubby and I went to a singing Friday night and by 9:30pm I was ready to go home. It was hot in there and I was freezing, my chest and back were hurting and I wanted a bed.

I had been sore all day, but didn’t think anything of it since the kids and I had been in the pool a lot. I just figured I pulled a muscle or something.

Saturday at 1:00pm I was ready for the Urgent Care Clinic since my doctor is closed on the weekend.

I get to Urgent Care and explain that I had 102 fever at midnight the night before and it had been 100/101 since then. My chest and back hurt, I’m coughing…I felt like I had the flu. The only reason I doubted it was the flu was for the fact my oldest just got over Atypical Pneumonia and she said the same thing, “I feel like I have the flu”.

Urgent Care wanted to rule out a problem with my heart because my lungs sounded clear to them. Off to the ER I go for an EKG…just to be safe, they said. Yeah, by now my chest is REALLY hurting. Scared the shit out of me.

Two hours, blood work, EKG and chest x-rays later, I find out my heart is good. And I have Atypical Pneumonia…what I figured I had to begin with.

This is the first time I’ve had Pneumonia of any kind and I pray to God it’s the last. I hurt so bad. I’ve never been so thankful that I had already quit smoking as I have this weekend.

Cindy
also wishes she could get some sleep

The first book I read and really enjoyed was:

And then (I liked this one too):

Lorabeth Holdridge longed for life and experience! Cloistered by her strict father, her world was confined to chores and prayer. Her chance of escape came when she took a job as housekeeper to a boisterous family. Lorabeth reveled in her newfound freedom. And when Benjamin Chaney visited, she felt the stirrings of her first crush.

Jaded and cynical, Ben found it hard to trust, though Lorabeth’s sweetness soothed his battered soul and taught him joy. But he would have to face the demons of his past to find a glorious future in Lorabeth’s arms!

One author I read was Lorraine Heath.

The first book:

A dashing duke. . .

A wealthy heiress. . .

An infuriating chaperone. . .

A scandal that will leave one of the ladies with. . .

A DUKE OF HER OWN

Lady Louisa Wentworth knows she will never marry well—her family’s impoverished estate has ensured as much. Resigned to spinsterhood, the proud beauty has agreed to chaperone a young American heiress who seeks a titled husband through the turbulent waters of London society.

The dashing Duke of Hawkhurst must marry wealth for the sake of his family. This well-heeled young American, Miss Jenny Rose, would do quite nicely. But the girl’s infuriating chaperone seems determined to keep them apart. And worse still, Hawk finds himself far more attracted to the intoxicating Lady Louisa than to her innocent charge!

A romantic subterfuge is called for—as desperate Hawk plots to draw the heiress into a compromising position, making marriage a necessity. But when it’s lovely Louisa instead who falls into his sensuous web, this game of hearts takes a passionate and most unexpected turn. . .

The second book:

Desperate for riches, penniless Michael Tremayne, Marquess of Falconridge, is willing to auction away his only possession of any value–his title–to the highest bidding American father. But Kate Rose was the last daughter he had in mind to marry. The willful and headstrong Kate requires from marriage the one thing Michael is unable to give–powerful, unending love..

Kate refuses to give into her husband’s sensual demands until he has earned her love. Michael is not one to back down from a challenge, but neither does he believe in playing by the rules. While he is unfamiliar with love, he is extremely intimate with passion. He is determined to convince Kate that one can substitute for the other. And what better way to convince her than by patiently and skillfully seducing her?

Tomorrow I’ll post about the second new-to-me author I’ve read.

But when I actually SEE someone FORCING their child to get their ears pierced, it royally pisses me off.

There ARE little girls that don’t shed that first tear…they don’t even whimper. That’s great. Everyone (even kids) have their own pain tolerance and some can (and do) handle ear piercing.

But what I saw today made my blood boil.

O

M

G

I’m walking through Wal-Mart and as I go past the jewelry section, I look over at this woman struggling with her daughter. The child looked to be about 3 years old. And really, struggling isn’t really what she was doing…she was WRESTLING with her to hold her head to the side so the lady working there could pierce that ear. Then you hear this head splitting scream come from this child.

O

M

G

My daughters were with me and both of them were .

The oldest asked me if she could get her ears pierced at the age of 11 (last year) and I said ok. I explained that I had mine done when I was 11 and it DID hurt *me*. I didn’t know if it would her or not. I wasn’t about to lie to her.

My youngest is 7 and she asks me to let her get hers pierced every time we go to town. I say sure and when we are at Wal-Mart, she changes her mind. This is no skin off my back. I told her having her ears pierced is NOT a necessity in life. She does NOT have to get it done. After seeing and hearing that little girl today, I don’t think she’ll ever get them done and that’s ok with me!

But to FORCE it on a child just because YOU (general you) think it’s cute and want it done??? That is beyond wrong, IMO.

And seeing that woman hold that child against her will and MAKING her go through that….I snapped and announced pretty loudly that she should be horse whipped. Wonder how she’d like that?

Naw. Mr. Dude was being funny and did that for the pic. I wasn’t expecting it, so that’s why I have my arms crossed. LOL

My little demon…I mean angel…picked a winner for me.

The winner of a copy of HARD AS NAILS is…

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First, I’d like to congratulate you on your upcoming release, Hard As Nails. Can you tell us a little about this book?

Thank you for inviting me here today!

HARD AS NAILS is an anthology of three related novellas. It’s fun and flirty with a bit of humor. The stories center on a house rehab project. In the first, This Old House, the hero has to get the heroine out of the house…and figure out why she’s there when the house is supposed to be empty. In the second, All About Adam, two lawyers who shared a one-night stand eight months before try to negotiate the contract for the house rehab while fighting off their mutual attraction. And in Man At The Door, the rehab job foreman and the new owner of the house spar over details, including how they really feel about each other.

How long have you been writing and what was your first published book?

I wrote more as a hobby for a few years. After being named a finalist in Lori Foster’s online Brava Novella Contest, I decided to try to turn that hobby into a career. In May 2005, after 18 months of seriously trying to get published, I got The Call from Kate Duffy at Kensington.

That first published book was actually a novella. It’s called Hardhats and Silk Stockings and is in the anthology WHEN GOOD THINGS HAPPEN TO BAD BOYS (Brava, April ‘06) with Lori Foster and Erin McCarthy – two of my favorite authors! My current release, HARD AS NAILS, is extra special because it follows secondary characters introduced in that very first published novella.

Do you plot out your stories first or do you let the characters lead you?

I have tried to plot the story first and…well, it doesn’t work for me. I once heard author Jayne Ann Krentz speak. She said she can’t write an outline because once she does it’s as if the characters have spoken and the book is done. She can’t then go back and try to write the book from the outline. My writing mind works the same way.

I start with a kernel of an idea and start writing. After about three chapters, I step back and see where I am. At that point, I can write notes and get a feel for where the book is going. As I write, the story unfolds in my head. I do a lot of revising as I go along and, for me, it works. For others it would be a nightmare.

What are you currently working on?

I am writing a single title based in Hawaii. It follows up my first single title romance, YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY (Brava, Aug. ‘07), which was spotlighted in Cosmo magazine and at E! Online. This book will be out in late 2009. The hero is Josh Windsor, the DEA agent and hero’s sidekick in YMDMC. Here, Josh gets his own book. Many readers have asked for it. I’m having a great time writing it.

Of all your characters, do you have a heroine that you identify with the most? If so, which one and how do you identify with her?

Good question! I tend to write feisty heroines with a level of maturity – ie, no virgins here – and a difficult past. My favorite so far is probably Lexy from my upcoming release, HOT AS HELL (Brava, Nov. ‘08). She is tough yet vulnerable. I think she’s pretty relatable. I hope readers think so too.

Is there a genre that you haven’t written, but would like to try one day?

Right now I write romance with some suspense elements. I am a huge mystery and true crime fan. I’d like to incorporate those aspects into my writing and try a more traditional romantic suspense book – one that has equal parts of romance and suspense. I’m working on an idea. We’ll see if I can get it to work.

What is the best thing about your job as an author? What is the hardest thing?

The best thing – working at home and for myself. It is the best job in the world. Really, there is not a hard thing. I was a divorce lawyer for 12 years. That was hard. I love what I do now. If I had one complaint, it would be with my habit of procrastinating. Putting that butt in the chair is tough now and then, but I have no one to blame for that but me.

Have you ever had any embarrassing moments at a book-signing that you can share with us?

I’ve been pretty lucky, but I did have this exchange recently:

Some guy: Do you practice the love scenes with your husband?
Me: I prefer to practice the murder scenes on him.

The guy stared at me for a second and then scurried away.

Describe a day in the life of HelenKay Dimon.

Procrastinate…procrastinate…panic that it’s so late in the day and I haven’t done anything…write…

I’m working on eliminating some of that procrastination and all of the panic.

Favorites…

Favorite Season?

Fall. Until about 18 months ago, I was an East Coast gal. I grew up in Pennsylvania and lived in Washington, D.C. for about 15 years after college. There was just something reaffirming about the change to cool weather and the beauty of the changing leaves.

Morning person or night owl?

Night owl. Definitely.

Favorite movie?

I love actions movies with big things exploding. Any action movie. Really. For example, National Treasure totally works for me.

Favorite song?

Anything by Coldplay or the Goo Goo Dolls.

Favorite color?

Hmmmm…probably purple.

Fun Questions…

If you had a shrinking device, what’s the one thing in your house you’d miniaturize first?

My hips.

If a movie was made about your life, who would you like to see play the lead role as you?

Julianne Moore. She’s older and we look nothing alike, but I adore her.

If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?

She Got Back Up

Instead of leaves or money, what do you wish would grow on trees?

Common sense.

If you had to smell like one thing for the rest of your life, what scent would you pick?

The Tom Ford scent my hubby wears. I smell it and think of him. Makes me smile every single time.

HelenKay, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview with me!

Thank you!

As I have mentioned in other posts about her, she was mother and father to us. I always got her a Father’s Day card…it was the running joke in the family.

When I went to bed last night, I started thinking about Mama and the fact that she really is gone and I’ll never hear her voice again. I’ll never again hear her tell me things will be ok when I call to vent about whatever.

I’ll never again hear her tell me she loves me.

The tears started and I couldn’t get them to stop.

I was ok this morning. Got up and got dressed, went to church and when church was almost over with…the tears started again and still haven’t stopped. A took the girls out to eat to spend some time with them for Father’s Day, so I’m trying to get this out of my system before they get back. It worries them when they see me cry. I guess because I’ve done it more in the past 3 months than I have since they’ve been in this world (12 years for the oldest).

I can’t believe she’s gone…it just doesn’t seem real.

I still need her.

Through the Veil isn’t exactly easy to classify. It’s part urban fantasy, part paranormal. It’s romance, but the romance isn’t the only part of the story. It’s about a world on the brink of destruction, but that doesn’t dictate the story.

Actually, a review described it better than I could…over at Errant Dreams:

Shiloh Walker’s Through the Veil spans so many genres: romance, erotica, fantasy, science fiction, horror, paranormal. What makes it so good is the fact that it’s a story first and any genre considerations are simply a part of making that story what it needs to be.

It’s a romance…but genre considerations are almost incidental, because I was just trying to tell the story.

How long have you been writing and what was your first published book?

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