Lena Diaz He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not Blog Tour with Giveaway and Guest Post

I am so excited to have Lena Diaz here to to talk about He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not in a guest post here on Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews.

Lena is currrently touring to promote her new book He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not.

Thanks so much Goddess Fish for connecting us on this blog tour!

Please take it away Lena!

Thank you so much for having me on your blog today! I’m so excited to introduce my debut romantic suspense novel, He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not. This story is truly a labor of love, the book of my heart. It’s the second manuscript I completed, and the first to sell. This story gave me the honor of becoming a Golden Heart® Finalist in 2010, and then of course, my first sale to Harper Collins’ Avon Impulse line.

At its core, this is a story about forgiveness and redemption. The heroine is the only survivor of a serial killer’s brutal attack. Four years later, he comes back to finish what he started and eliminate the only witness to his crimes. Amanda, the heroine, is emotionally and physically scarred from her earlier ordeal. It takes an amazing hero, and an enormous amount of love, to heal Amanda’s wounds.  She begins the story as a victim, in every way imaginable. But by the end of the story, she has grown into an independent, strong woman who takes her own fate into her hands, rather than let fate happen to her.

The hero that I paired with Amanda is Logan Richards, who also has his own emotional baggage to overcome. As a rookie cop, he made a mistake that set a killer free.  That mistake haunts him and guides every decision he makes, both personally and professionally. Now, as the chief of police charged with stopping the serial killer hunting his town, Logan must learn to forgive himself and move on so that his mistakes don’t cost the life of the woman he comes to love, Amanda.

Seeing these two grow so much and learn to trust both themselves and each other was a cathartic experience for me. Do I have the kinds of emotional baggage these characters do? No, thank God! But I can relate to them on a primal level. Everyone has regrets in their life, something they wish they could change, something they’ve never forgiven themselves for - right? I’m not the only one, am I?  Logan and Amanda are the ultimate example of people who overcome their past to move forward, and the transformative power of true love.

I write dark stories, so be prepared for a bit of a gritty villain in this one. However, most of the violence if off-page. I prefer to focus on the aftermath of crimes and how they impact people’s lives. More specifically, I love to show how they overcome that aftermath and become stronger people. So don’t let the main premise - that a serial killer is stalking the heroine - scare you away!

I did enjoy creating the villain in this story. It was fun coming up with backstory that explained why he does what he does. If I did my job right, you might even find yourself feeling sorry for him once you understand him.

The most fun part of writing the entire story was in how I layered the clues. You might think you know who the villain is during most of the story, and then - hopefully - I turn everything around and surprise you. The best compliment I’ve received on this story so far has been from my editor, Esi Sogah. She said she was never sure who the real villain was until the big reveal, and that she loved all the twists and turns and red herrings.  Awesome!

Another fun part of this story is the rich tapestry of supporting characters. There’s a really strong male character who plays an FBI agent named Pierce Buchanan. He ends up in a minor romantic sub-plot with the hero’s sister, Madison McKinley. I totally fell in love with Pierce’s strength and honor, and Madison’s smart-ass, fun attitude. In fact, I’m working on their story right now which I hope to sell as a follow up to He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not.

I hope you’ll give my debut novel a try and that you love the characters as much as I do.  Happy reading!

You can find Lena on her website. 

Product Description

Four years ago, Amanda Stockton was forced to play a serial killer’s twisted game of chance. Since then, she has retreated from the world, bearing the scar from her ordeal and the burden of a terrible secret. But when another woman is found dead, clutching a long-stemmed red rose, Amanda knows she can hide no longer.
If there were any other way, Chief Logan Richards would never ask the only surviving victim for help. But it’s clear this killer will not be stopped and Amanda is the only link. Torn between catching a madman and winning the trust of the woman he’s come to love, Logan is caught in a dangerous game with Amanda. And there’s no guarantee they’ll come out on top.

Giveaway Rules

Lena and Harper Collins will be giving away a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

The contest runs till Aug 12th and closes at 11:59 PM EST!

Also Lena is running an additional giveaway:


Comment on any of the blog stops on my blog tour this week and your name will be entered into a drawing. There will be a winner on EVERY stop on my blog tour this week. You could win a free set of Romance Trading Cards for my debut romantic suspense novel, He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not.

Please follow the rest of Lena's tour, thanks:  http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2011/07/virtual-book-tour-he-kills-me-he-kills.html