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Author Features

MEET: HelenKay Dimon author of “Moorewood Family Rules”

HelenKay Dimon is a former divorce lawyer with a dual writing personality.

Last Updated on April 28, 2023 by BiblioLifestyle

author HelenKay Dimon
Moorewood Family Rules by HelenKay Dimon

What was the last book that you read that you’d now recommend?

FLICKER IN THE DARK by Stacy Willingham. It’s a fast-moving thriller that expertly weaves trauma and grief with a tense serial killer chase. I’m not sure why I waited so long to pick it up.

Have you read any classics lately that you were reading for the first time?

I haven’t! I talk about reading a few and pretend I’m going to…then don’t.

Do you re-read books   And if yes, what was your last re-read?

I re-read my favorite romances when I get in a reading slump and need a sure thing. My most recent re-read was RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE by Casey McQuiston. I wanted to be charmed and it worked.

What are your go-to genres?

I love thrillers, mysteries, romantic suspense, and contemporary romance. Also, if you have a novel with lots of family dysfunction and some secrets, I’m in.

What is your favorite childhood book?

Anything by Nancy Drew or Judy Blume.

What books are on your bedside table right now?

I have books everywhere…so many. The ones I plan to read next are THE DO-OVER by Suzanne Park, VERA WONG’S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERERS by Jesse Sutanto, and a thriller debut that’s not out yet but coming soon called, TWENTY-SEVEN MINUTES by Ashley Tate.

Do you bookmark or dogear your page in a book?

I dogear. That’s a bad answer, right?

What is your ideal reading setting?

I love to read on this one comfy chair in my backyard. If I leave my house, I’d pick somewhere outside on a big deck, overlooking water.

Tell us about your favorite indie bookstore?

We are so lucky to have great independent bookstores in the San Diego area. I’m a huge fan of Mysterious Galaxy and Warwicks. We have a few new ones and I need to venture out and visit those.

HelenKay Dimon's favorite bookstore

What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?

I went to Syracuse University for undergrad. While I was there, the Pan Am 103 disaster happened and many students from the S.U. international study program were on board. The student president gave a speech that resonated and still does. I remember him talking about how painful and immediate it felt to lose 35 students on a campus of 12,000 undergraduates. He spoke for all of us in a powerful way, and that’s never left me.

What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?

I try to visit some of the places that double as settings for my books. Most recently, I went to Maine. My next thriller (I write those under the name Darby Kane) comes out December 5th, and I traveled to Bowdoin College and along the coastline to get the feel, smells, and sights in my head.

Where do you get most of your writing and editing done?

I write almost exclusively at my desk in my office. I’ve tried other places and I get too distracted.

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

It energized me while I’m doing it, but I’m exhausted when I shut off the computer for the day.

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

I’m not sure. Maybe five. I need to remember to burn those.

Do you read your book reviews?  How do you deal with bad or good ones?

I’m tempted to read them but try not to because they can derail me. The reality is, once the book is out there, on the shelf in stores, it’s no longer just mine. Of course, saying that is easy. Accepting it is harder, but it’s reality.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

An editor once told me this career is a marathon not a sprint, and that’s the best advice I can give. I’d also warn my younger self that this business never gets easier—sorry!—so just accept that now and move forward.

When you’re not reading or writing, what are you doing?

I love to travel. After years away from the pool, I’ve started swimming again, which is fun. But my favorite thing is to spend time with my husband and close friends.

What are your three favorite things right now?

The television show SHRINKING because it’s funny and emotional. Slipper socks because my feet are always cold. My aqua exercise classes because they start at 8:00 a.m. and fire me up for the day.

Your favorite travel destination and why?

London. I went there as a teenager for the first time with the American Institute for Foreign Study. A sheltered girl from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and the trip started a lifetime romance with the city and opened up my thinking in ways I never imagined possible.

What’s your favorite meal and go-to drink order?

I’m not a drinker, but I’m always on the lookout for a terrific seared tuna salad. When that salad is bad is horrible. When it’s great, it’s amazing.

HelenKay Dimon's favorite food

What six people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party?

Michelle Obama. Emma Thompson. Nick Offerman. Ryan Reynolds. Stephen King. Agatha Christie.

If a movie was made of your life, what genre would it be, and who would play you?

Probably a friends-to-lovers romance with a bit of a women’s fiction bent about a small-town girl who changes her life when she goes searching for bigger things. Melanie Lynskey should play me because I love her.

What’s the last TV show or movie you watched that was really good?

I am a big tv fan. LAST OF US ripped me apart emotionally. I’m watching SUCCESSION and dreading the end. I just finished SHRINKING and loved it.

You have to sing karaoke; what song do you pick?

Cool Change by Little River Band. Yes, I’m old.

If you were being taken to a deserted island and could only bring one book, what would it be?

RAVISHED by Amanda Quick. I might read it again because I mentioned it and now it’s in my head.

Moorewood Family Rules

Buy Moorewood Family Rules by HelenKay Dimon from: AMAZON / BOOKSHOP

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