'Hearts in Danger' box set raises awareness of heart disease

Mandy Harbin joins HEA to share the wrenching and inspiring origins of the box set Hearts in Danger: Fourteen Thrilling Romances to Benefit the American Heart Association. In addition to Mandy, authors in the set are Sharon Hamilton, Roxanne St. Claire, Paige Tyler, Elle James, Lynn Raye Harris, Carolyn Crane, Cheyenne McCray, Nina Bruhns, Misty Evans, Susan Stoker, Parker Kincade, Megan Mitcham and Barb Han. The set, releasing on June 2, is 99 cents and up for preorder now.

Mandy: Oct. 2, 2014, started out like any normal day, but my life changed with a simple phone call. "They found Paul unresponsive at work." By the time I'd made it to the hospital, he'd died.

Paul was healthy, or so we thought. He'd recently had a checkup, and everything was good. He needed to lose about 20 pounds, but so does pretty much everybody. He was a black belt in Kenpo. He gave private lessons in the martial art to people, including a police officer. He line-danced with a group on Tuesday nights. He worked around the house.

Then one morning, a massive heart attack took his life. He was 44 years old.

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the United States. Everybody should not only know the warning signs, but heed them. We thought the pain in his arm a few weeks before was due to our kitchen remodel. We'd been wrong.

After months of immense grief, and some long chats with one of my dearest friends and fellow writer, Parker Kincade, I decided I needed to do something to get the word out about heart disease. We talked to some author friends of ours and we decided to do a box set. We liked the idea of romantic suspense because of the danger element, and Hearts in Danger was born. When we reached out to fellow romantic suspense authors, we were blown away by those who wanted to help. The romance community is truly the best!

Hearts in Danger: Fourteen Thrilling Romances to Benefit the American Heart Association is only 99 cents. And although a portion of the proceeds is going to charity, this set is really about bringing awareness to heart disease. That's why we priced it so cheaply. We want to spread the word far and wide.

Because we had so many people who wanted to help, we decided to go even further and offer free bonuses to people who pre-order the set (or purchase it the first week) and fill out the form on the website. It is up for pre-order now with a release date of June 2, and will be up only through the end of June.

We didn't stop there, either. We are also giving away a Tiffany & Co. heart necklace (to stress the heart theme … and c'mon, it's Tiffany's!). No purchase necessary! Information on how to enter can also be found at www.heartsindanger.com.

But most important, please help spread the word. Learn the warning signs. Don't let heart disease sneak up on you like it did us.