Virtual Book Tour Guest Post & Giveaway - Lean On Me by HelenKay Dimon

Welcome to my stop on Helen Kay Dimon's Virtual Book Tour for Lean On Me, her upcoming release from Carina Press.  Please make sure to leave a comment or question for Helen as she will be awarding a copy of Lean On Me at each stop on her tour.  

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Guest Post for Lean on Me by HelenKay Dimon

Thank you for having me here today to talk about my upcoming release, LEAN ON ME. 

I love reading and writing contemporary romance. For me, it's all about hope. Whether it's an erotic romance or a sexy romance or a sweet romance, the promise of growing closer and moving into the future together in some way is one of my favorite things. In LEAN ON ME, hope is a recurring theme. The heroine, Cassidy, is down on her luck and out of options. She left town with big dreams of climbing the tallest mountains in the world. Due to an illness and some other unfortunate things, she back in her small town in West Virginia and people aren’t exactly thrilled to see her. While away, she gave an interview that didn't paint the town in the best light. She feels bad about it, but people aren’t quite ready to let her forget it. Except Mitch. In an early exchange he reminds her that they knew each other a long time ago:

She drummed her fingers against the wooden table and wondered for the hundredth time why she thought returning home was such a great idea. True, she didn't have a place to stay or money or a climbing career anymore. If she gave herself a second, she could probably work up a pretty good pity party, maybe even crawl under the table and hide. That would give the residents the kind of show they craved. But the whole how-dare-she-show-her-face thing was going to wear thin fast.
"Cassidy?"
She turned, ready to bat away any flying tomatoes that might come flying her way, and stared into a dark gray T-shirt straining against a firm, broad chest. Her gaze wandered up and over an open plaid shirt and a set of impressive shoulders underneath. Then she got to the face and the smile with the sexy cheek dimple.
Sweet Lord.
This guy could throw anything at her and she'd be fine so long as she got to stare at him for a few more seconds. Maybe run her fingers over the dark stubble on his chin and cheeks. He had a five-o'clock shadow at two in the afternoon, and, boy, wasn't that the sexiest thing ever.
Nice to know her girl parts still worked fine even on an unwanted limited-calorie diet. "Yes, may I help you with something?"
"When did you get back into town?"
Figured he'd have one of those deep, husky voices that vibrated right down to her…yeah, she wasn't letting her mind wander there. "Yesterday."
He put his hands on his lean hips. "Are you staying at the house?"
Something thunked in her brain.
His eyebrow lifted. "Cassidy?"
"I'm sorry." Boy, was she sorry. "But do we know each other?"
"We dated in high school."
This time her brain clicked off. When it flickered back to life an error message flashed. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, we would have if you had shown up as promised."
She could see every person in the room lean in closer. Even the soft music pumping through the speakers faded into the background. "Uh…"
His smile grew wider. "You don't remember?"
Because it never happened.

And, really, how is a woman supposed to ignore that sort of greeting? :)

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Lean on Me

HelenKay Dimon

Carina Press
Holloway #2

October 22, 2012

ISBN: 9781426894510

159 Pages

Contemporary Romance

Amazon

Blurb: 




Cassidy Clarke once climbed the world's highest mountains, but after an unexpected illness ends her career she's back in her hometown, broke and hoping for a little luck. But the townsfolk aren't exactly putting out a welcome mat for the woman who once snubbed them in the media, despite her apologies now.

Mitch Anders knows someone has set up camp on the grounds of his plant nursery, and he's surprised to find his sexy high school crush ducking questions about where she's staying. Though he's sworn to stop cleaning up other people's messes, Mitch offers Cassidy a job and a place to stay--his place. Bed-sharing optional, but definitely welcome.

Out of options and too attracted to Mitch to keep things platonic, Cassidy says yes to his offer. She wants to get back on her feet financially and start a new career. She never expects to suffer a different kind of fall, one that has her believing Mitch just might bring her something bigger and better than luck.

Short Excerpt: 

Mitch went back to the office only long enough to pick up some paperwork and head out again. Cassidy was

waiting in the car, not knowing they were about to go on a quick shopping run for whatever essentials women needed and the ones he wanted—groceries and condoms. He’d almost made it out of his office without getting stopped. He turned the lock and closed the door…and ran right into Spence.

“You’re leaving early,” he said. For a guy who spent most of his time outside, Spence sure was hanging around the office a lot lately. 

“Need to run an errand.”

“Is this errand called Cassidy?”

It was about her, and their dinner and his peace of mind. “I do have other parts of my life, you know.”

“If you say so.”

Since Spence wasn’t moving and people milled around them, Mitch decided not to fight the conversation. “Did you need something?”

“Just watching out for you.”

“I’m a little old to need help.”

Spence crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the office wall. “I find that stupidity doesn’t re-­

ally have an age limit.”

Mitch wondered if he’d come off this annoying when he was trying to help Austin through his troubles with

Carrie. “Go ahead. Say whatever you need to say.”

“I tried to talk to Allan today.”

But that was too much. Mitch grabbed for patience. “About Cassidy?”

“No, the weather.” Spence scoffed. “Of course, Cassidy.”

“Want to tell me why you thought you needed to stick yourself in the middle of this?”

“Well, she’s trespassing on my property and has you tied in knots. Seemed like stepping in was the smart

thing to do.”

“I’ve got this under control.”

“Haven’t seen your common sense this twisted up since Susan.”

Hearing his ex’s name tore through Mitch. She no longer had a hold on him like she once had, but the way

she’d dumped him had left a well of anger he struggled to control. When other women walked into his life, he measured them by how close they came to Susan. Not that he wanted to duplicate her. It was the exact opposite. He vowed to bolt rather than walk down that road a second time.

With Cassidy he didn’t see Susan. On the surface, yeah. They both wanted out of Holloway at some point

in their lives and craved something bigger from life. But the similarities ended there.

“This has nothing to do with Susan,” he said, knowing the truth of the comment as he spoke.

“You sure?”

“I’ve dated other women since Susan left.”

Spence mumbled something. “So you are dating Cassidy?”

Damn. “Don’t twist my words.”

Spence glanced at the ground as he moved some gravel 

around under his shoe. When he looked up

again, a new determination filled every inch of his face. “There’s a lot of talk about Cassidy and how she

treated Allan.”

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Author Bio & Links:

HelenKay Dimon is an award-winning author of more than a dozen novels and novellas. Her first single title, Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy, was excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine in August '07 and spotlighted at E! Online. She made Cosmopolitan a second time in December 2009 with her novella "It's Hotter At Christmas" from the Kissing Santa Clausanthology. Her books also have been published by Doubleday Book Club and Rhapsody Book Club and translated into several languages.

HelenKay's road to publication took a few turns. She's not one of those authors who burst out of the womb with a notepad in one hand and a pen in the other. She didn’t know she wanted to write until much later in life. She tried international travel and journalism and enjoyed careers in politics and law first. After graduating from Syracuse University with a double major in newspaper journalism and political science, she landed in Washington, D.C. A few years as a legislative assistant to a member of the House of Representatives convinced her law school might be a good idea. Three years at Wake Forest University and one bar exam later and HelenKay moved back to the D.C. metro area as a lawyer. General civil litigation gave way to a specialty in family law and an eventual partnership in a highly respected boutique firm.

After twelve years as a divorce lawyer specializing in unhappy endings, HelenKay now writes romance for a living. The sudden career change resulted from her husband getting one of those "can't turn it down" job offers. With only a few months' notice, his work took the family from Maryland to their current home in California. So, instead of days filled with court, clients and a great deal of whining and complaining, HelenKay now writes for a living. She thinks of herself as a "recovering lawyer" and is grateful every day for the ability to write full time.

Website: http://www.helenkaydimon.com/index.php
Email: hkdimon@gmail.com

Blog: http://helenkaydimon.com/blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelenKayDimon?fref=ts
Twitter: @helenkaydimon

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My Review: 

Lean on Me by HelenKay Dimon is a light second chance romance with likable lead characters, witty dialogue and just enough sexual heat to keep things hopping.  Ms. Dimon captured my attention from the first page and never let go.  Tied to Ms. Dimon's previous Holiday release from Carina, It's Not Christmas Without You, this story focuses on Cassidy Clark, once the small town's "Golden One" and Mitch Anders, the local football hero who always had a crush on her while growing up.

Cassidy Clark has had a terrible year; illness has taken away her career as a world class mountain climber, her mother passed away and her business manager stole all of her money.  Without any viable choices, Cassidy has come back to Holloway, her hometown, hoping to move back into her childhood home.  She never planned on her stepfather denying  her entrance to her childhood home or on having the town turn against her.  Having no place to go, Cassidy finds herself camping out in the grounds of the local nursery.  She never planned on getting caught by one of the owners, Mitch Anders, or on falling in love with him.

Mitch Anders has always had a crush on Cassidy Clark, "The Golden One".  Finding out she's come home, he's hoping for a second chance to get to know the girl who got away.  He never thought he'd catch her trespassing on his company's grounds, or discover she's really down on her luck.  Offering her a place to stay and a job seemed like the right thing to do, falling in love with her wasn't really a part of his plan.

The scenes between Cassidy and Mitch are fun, sexy and full of lots of give and take.  While they both know they're attracted to each other, Cassidy wants to take things slow.  At least at first.  I liked how Ms. Dimon  let us get to know both Cassidy and Mitch as individuals before she brought them together as a couple, it didn't seem rushed because they grew up in the same small town.  Both Cassidy and Mitch have issues from their past they will have to work through and not everything goes easily, especially since Cassidy keeps waiting for something to go wrong.  It's been her experience for the last year.

Will Cassidy and Mitch be able to withstand the pressures of living in a gossipy little town?  And will they really learn to trust each other with everything they are?  You'll have to read Lean on Me to find out.  I really enjoyed it.

My Rating:  5 out of 5 Stars

FTC Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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Please make sure to leave a comment or question below to enter HelenKay's giveaway for one digital copy of Lean on Me.  Please check out the partial schedule below for more of HelenKay's tour stops. 




October 18th: Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews http://www.guiltypleasuresbookreviews.com
October 19th: Ramblings From A Chaotic Mind http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com
October 22nd: Book Lovers Inc http://www.bookloversinc.com
October 23rd: The Romance Dish http://www.theromancedish.com