My newest release isViva Las Bad Boys!
The title probably gives it away, but this one takes place in Las Vegas. Why Las Vegas?
Well, can you think of a better excuse for a tax-deductible vacation at Bellagio than to write a story about a fictional hotel and casino based on Bellagio? Me either.
Actually, I owe Bellagio for the idea behind Viva.
See, a few years back my husband and I journeyed to Las Vegas and Bellagio for a few days of sun, spa, gambling and food. We thought we’d also have electricity.
Silly us… The first night there, while we were sleeping off a food coma induced by significant overindulging at the buffet, the Bellagio experienced a blackout. 
Not a little one that lasted only a few minutes, mind you. Noooo. This one went on for days. No electricity. No gambling. No restaurants. No spa.
Blasphemy!!
The good news – yes, there’s good news – is that the staff at Bellagio acted with complete professionalism, transferred us to another hotel and ensured a wonderful vacation.
The even better news is that the incident stuck in my mind. When my editor asked me to come up with an idea for a single author Bad Boy anthology, the Bellagio blackout popped into my mind.
Viva Las Bad Boys! takes place in a fictional place – the Berkley Hotel and Casino – during a blackout.
The novellas follow guests and hotel personnel as they find ways to occupy their time while the lights are out…
Viva Las Bad Boys! by HelenKay Dimon
JACKPOT
Jack McAllister is looking to get lucky on his vacation, and the jilted bride sitting at the slot machine next to him just might be his answer. Getting her up to his room is a breeze. Ditto getting her out of that formal, white dress. Laine Monroe isn’t a bride at all. The pretty blonde accountant is playing P.I. to help a client she’s sure Jack conned out of his money. But now that she’s got him in a compromising position, she finds he’s all too willing to compromise…PLAYER’S CLUB
Jenna Barrister didn’t get to where she is in the business world by being a pushover. So how exactly did she end up here, playing corporate babysitter to playboy super-chef Zach Jacobs? This is one MBA who isn’t falling for his “speak naughtily and carry a big spatula” routine. But when the lights suddenly go out in the hotel, Jenna’s resolve crumbles. She wants to experience the heat, and the rebellious chef knows just how to turn it up…TWO OF A KIND
As the casino faces its first blackout, Assistant Manager Alex Mitchell figures there are worse places to get stranded than in the soon-to-open spa with a mysterious and sexy guest. Hey, what happens in the massage room, stays in the massage room. Travel reviewer Caroline Rogers has road-tested plenty of places, but she’s never had a steamy, four-star experience like this one. She should confess her secret, but who knew mixing business and pleasure could be this much fun…
I did wonder if that was possible, especially since I did read somewhere about your “improbable” premise of a hotel losing electricity for so long. Now we know LOL.
I read the “acknowledgment” page and I admit that helped me buy into the story which seemed improbable. Truth is always stranger than fiction.
I can’t imagine a hotel being without power for that long. I bet lots of interesting things can happen when no one can see what one is doing. lol Looking forward to reading your story.
Possible and, well, hot. Las Vegas isn’t really a place to be without electricity. Trust me. And, yeah, I know it sounds unbelievable. I probably would wonder if I hadn’t been there…without food…without lights…
The Acknowledgement at the front of Viva, the photos on my website and the photos I posted on the Tell Tale I did at the beginning of August at Access Romance – all of that was my way of saying “I know you’ll doubt, but it’s true.” The photos make me chuckle. I didn’t chuckle that much at the time, but I do now.