Addicted to True Crime Stories?

I have a confession to make: I’m a True Crime addict. Do you love them as well? The moment hubby goes up to bed, I flip to what he calls “The Murder and Mayhem Channel.” What can I say? Something is fascinating about the horrible things that “humans” can do to other humans. I use that first human loosely since what some people do is truly barbaric. Plus, since I’m writing romantic suspense, it keeps me thinking about what I’ll include in my stories. One of my fav kind of true crime stories are cold case files. It’s amazing how a case can be open for ten, twenty, or even thirty years only to be solved by the tenacity of law enforcement and modern technology. That’s why I loved writing Cold Case Reopened although the person with tenacity in that story is the sister of a woman who has been declared dead even though no body has been found. You can find out more about Cold Case Reopened at https://amzn.to/48F0Usn. If you’re like me, you may also want to check out this list of 50+ True Crime Stories that will have you looking over your shoulder as you walk home in the dark! You can find them at https://bit.ly/3S6PHeE.

cold case reopened

What do readers want for Christmas?

What do readers want for Christmas? Books, books, books of course! But what else can you get the reader in your life? Gift cards for books. Nice bookmarks if they still read print like I do. A nice cover for their kindle or tablet. A subscription to Kindle Unlimited or the new Kobo Plus. More books and gift cards. A registration to a readers conference or driving them to a fun FREE event like Roz Lee’s Day of Wine, Romance, and More! If you’re a reader how can you gift yourself? Check out all my FREE Kindle Unlimited reads at https://amzn.to/3SG2rtz.

bookworm booknerd wish list

#Throwback Thursday – What Happens in Summer Release Day Lunch

It’s always nice to do lunch with friends, but it’s even more fun when you’re celebrating something special – like the launch of a new book! Today’s throwback is to release day for WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER. My friends and I (and my sis who works with me!) all went out to our favorite place to celebrate.

WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER release day lunch at El Rio Grande Restaurant, Midtown, NYC

Thanks to everyone for their support of WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER and the marvelous reviews you’re leaving! They really do help an author and we appreciate you taking the time to read and leave a review. If you haven’t read #2 in the At the Shore Series yet, WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER is available at these retailers:

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2y6hi4h
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2y92UIQ
B&N: http://bit.ly/2BJNcov
B&N Paperback: http://bit.ly/2sHmY3l
Google: http://bit.ly/2hKg3BW
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2HlVlly
iBooks: http://apple.co/2hKgP1J
Kobo: http://bit.ly/koboWHS
Audible: https://amzn.to/2M2ZWfY

#ThrowbackThursday A Visit to Sunnydale High School

For those of you who watched the show, you’ll recognize that facade immediately. For others, a little background. I was flipping through the channels one day when I caught this amazingly sensual scene between a young blonde girl and a very hunky guy. Buffy and Angel. I flipped away, but then had to go back and watch. That was it! I was hooked! I went back and caught up with every show I had missed and faithfully followed Buffy the Vampire Slayer for all the remaining seasons. To this day it is my favorite show of all time and as a writer, I learned a lot about dialogue, character-building and pushing boundaries.

To honor my love of the show, I convinced my family to take a trip with me to Torrance High School, the real life location of the fictional Sunnydale High School where the shot was set in the early seasons. You’ll notice that to make it truly official, I wore my Sunnydale High School t-shirt! And in case you haven’t guess it by now, I am truly a nerd at heart. (I was also a lot blonder and thinner in case you didn’t notice! LOL)

#ThoughtfulThursday Jersey Girl Bridesmaids and the Jersey Shore

I took a day off to go to the spa with my daughter. Fate intervened and instead, we had a lovely girls day down the Jersey Shore. We watched a Korean drama, we biked to have a fabulous vegan lunch (no I’m a certified meat eater and the lunch was a delicious surprise), and we relaxed before doing dinner and some retail therapy. In the midst of all that, we also took time to just sit on the beach and enjoy a truly fabulous summer-like day. There were even people in bathing suits soaking up the sun.

My daughter and I sat there and just took a few moments to breathe and then did some work on our respective stories. My daughter is an aspiring author and has journals full of stories. She self-published her first work, FOLLOWING JANE, in 2013 and is busy working on other stories.

I just finished Book 1 in the Jersey Girl Bridesmaids series and am now busy plotting #2. Having lots of fun with it and I think it’ll be a truly amazing story! The tentative title of that one is WE DANCED ALL NIGHT although if they had, we wouldn’t have the unexpected surprise that will force two people to face their past and the kind of future they could have together.

Anyway, I’m sharing a photo from our writing on the beach and some peaceful waves, sand, and sun with you!
Working on Jersey Girl Bridesmaids

Click here if you cannot see the Jersey Shore Writing Inspiration video below.

#ThrowbackThursday Fun Family Times

I don’t really remember when this was taken, although I remember the day! My parents took us out to one of the Long Island parks to relax and have some fun. That’s my younger sister Carmen to the left, my mom Carmen in the middle, and me to the right, all just hanging out having fun.

The three men in the back are my dad, my older brother, and a family friend.

We had such a good time heading out to “the country.” LOL. My mom would always pack a big picnic lunch for us and we’d spend the day out on Long Island before heading back to Queens where we were living at the time. We eventually moved out to “the country” and I grew up there.

For those who are wondering, my sister and I are not twins. My parents just used to dress alike. I think it was a thing back then and I always felt like I had stepped out of The Sound of Music or something like that. I hated those Mary Janes. They’d come home scuffed and dirty every day and my poor granddad would have to make them look spiffy again.

CarmenMomMe

The Wonders Around You

Every year we head up to Union City to pick up an assortment of items for the Cuban half of our Christmas Eve.

We always detour out of our way to go through Weehawken and see the amazing views of New York City. It was pretty atmospheric this year with a lot of fog due to unseasonably warm weather. You can see the fog in this photo as it rolls along the river.

We’ve been making this trip for over 25 years and in all that time we never took the time to make a quick right and see what else was on this road.

We discovered that the little strip of road to the right was just above the Dueling Grounds and the spot of the famous Aaron Burr-Alexander Hamilton duel. Burr was the Vice President at the time and Hamilton was a General. The duel was said to have come about because of Hamilton’s comments about Burr during the New York Gubernatorial race. Hamilton was mortally wounded during the duel and died the next day in Manhattan. Burr was indicted for murder in both NY and NJ, but nothing ever happened with the charges. Burr even served out his term as Vice President.

I guess what I’m saying, in a very long roundabout way, is that there are lots of things around you, lots of wonders, that you never know about or even explore. I think from now on, I’ll take a little more time to stop and check them out!

You can click here to see more photos of our Weehawkin adventure.