Tag: at the shore

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#WriteWed – Inspiration for Sea Kiss from ONE SUMMER NIGHT

As you might guess from the At the Shore series name, the stories in my new contemporary romance series are set on the Jersey Shore in the fictional town of Sea Kiss. Sea Kiss is a mix of several of my favorite towns along the Jersey Shore. Today I’m going to share a little bit about Ocean Grove which is one of my favorite shore towns.

Located just south of neighboring Asbury Park, Ocean Grove is a quaint town filled with lovely Victorian homes and a shopping district with a hometown feel. You’ll get to taste some of that atmosphere in ONE SUMMER NIGHT as the characters stroll through town. There’s even a little homage to my daughter’s surf and skate shop on Main Avenue. You’ll actually get to meet her in #2 in the series, WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER.

Ocean Grove was originally founded by the Methodists and is today still owned by the Camp Meeting Association. For that reason, the town is dry and many of the homes are on land that is owned by the Association and only leased to the homeowners. Not that long ago, residents could not park their cars in town on Sunday and to this day, the beach does not open until noon on Sundays to allow residents to attend religious services. Some of those services are actually held in a small pavilion on the boardwalk.

One of the most interesting elements in town that track to its faith-based mission are the tents which are erected every May and taken down in late September. The tens are a holdover from when the Methodists would hold their camp revival meetings on the beach. At some point the structures became more permanent with small sheds to hold the kitchens and bathrooms and the tented area for sleeping. They are lovely to see and are decorated quite nicely by the summer residents. Over 100 of them remain in town.

In ONE SUMMER NIGHT, the families of the heroe and heroine have lived in Sea Kiss for nearly a century and have grand Victorian homes on the beachfront. It was so much fun to craft these homes and the nearby town to give you a taste of what I love about the Jersey Shore and Ocean Grove in particular. The town is a unique gem, so much so, that the entire town has been designated a National Historic landmark.

I hope you enjoyed this look into the inspiration for Sea Kiss, my little town in the At the Shore series. I hope you’ll check out ONE SUMMER NIGHT which is now available for pre-order and will be out in print and e-book on October 3. The second book in the series, WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER, will be out in late Spring 2018 and you’ll get to spend some more time with Owen’s brother Jonathan and Maggie’s best friend Connie Reyes. Plus you’ll get to see a little more of Sea Kiss!

You can pre-order ONE SUMMER NIGHT at the following retailers:

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2krMwfE
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2kYLWZV
B&N: http://bit.ly/2kNuo0p
iBooks: http://apple.co/2qsqdwx
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2fuEphL

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#ManCandyMonday Tyler Hoechlin is my choice for Owen Pierce!

OMG! Just 8 days to go until the release of ONE SUMMER NIGHT so we have to get to the really important stuff, like who to cast for the movie! The hero in the story, Owen Pierce, is dark-haired and has charcoal grey eyes shot through with silver. He is drop dead handsome and dresses like someone off the pages of GQ in bespoke suits since he is a real estate tycoon.

After giving it a lot of thought and doing thorough research – a tough job but someone has to do it — my choice to play Owen Pierce in a movie version of ONE SUMMER NIGHT is Tyler Hoechlin! So what do you think?

You can buy ONE SUMMER NIGHT at these retailers:

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2krMwfE
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2kYLWZV
B&N: http://bit.ly/2kNuo0p
iBooks: http://apple.co/2qsqdwx
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2fuEphL

Tyler Hoechlin SDCC 2014 (cropped)

Photo Credit: By Gage Skidmore [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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#ThrowbackThursday A Visit to the Turn the Page Bookstore & Nora Roberts

I’ve had the immense pleasure of not only visiting the Turn the Page Bookstore, but also being able to sign there next to the amazing Nora Roberts! What a lovely person and an immense writing talent. Her IN DEATH series is one of my favs of all time.

This is a picture of Nora, me and little Spottie. Spottie was the hero’s beagle in THE LOST and this was taken the year THE LOST was nominated for a RITA. Spottie was with me for the whole journey that year!

If you get a chance, it is truly worth it to go to the bookstore or maybe even splurge for a night at the Inn at Boonsboro.

P.S. – Don’t forget to check out the ONE SUMMER NIGHT Pre-order Blog Tour & Giveaway and also take a moment to pop by my buddy Lois Winston’s blog for a behind the scenes look at ONE SUMMER NIGHT and an ARC Giveaway.

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#WriteWed Inspiration for ONE SUMMER NIGHT and the At the Shore Contemporary Romance Series

My idea for ONE SUMMER NIGHT got started when the heroine, Maggie Sinclair, just didn’t want to leave me alone. She kept on bugging me to write her story, an enemies to lovers with a marriage twist, and then brought along her best friends, Connie and Emma, to have them nudge me as well!

Maggie is spunky and determined to save her family’s Fifth Avenue department store for a number of reasons. She wants to protect the many loyal employees who had worked there for so long. She wants to salvage the legacy of a mother who died too young. Last, but not least, she wants to put her own stamp on the store where she had literally grown up.

Maggie has to raise a lot of cash to implement needed changes in the store, but to do that she has to reach out to the one person who is going to make her life difficult: Sexy Owen Pierce. Maggie has had the hots for Owen since they were teens, but there’s one big problem: Their families have been feuding for the last twenty-some years.

As for Owen, he’s just as interested in exploring his attraction to Maggie. He thinks she’s smart, beautiful, independent, and stubborn, but wants to explore the sizzle he feels whenever she is near.

Owen and Maggie decide to toss aside their normally responsible selves and find a way to end the rift between their families. What follows is a story that has humor, heat, and heartbreak, but also the happily ever after you want, just in an unexpected way.

I hope you’ll take the time to check out ONE SUMMER NIGHT at these retailers:

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2krMwfE
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2kYLWZV
B&N: http://bit.ly/2kNuo0p
iBooks: http://apple.co/2qsqdwx
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2fuEphL

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#ManCandyMonday Danny Pino & Carlo from At the Shore

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month so I’m going to tempt you all month long with some sexy Latin men! Today’s choice is a familiar face for fans of COLD CASE, LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, or THE SHIELD. Danny was born in Miami, but is of Cuban descent and has appeared in a number of television shows and movies as well as motion pictures. He has been nominated for numerous ALMA and IMAGEN awards and has taken home two IMAGEN awards for his work on COLD CASE and LAW AND ORDER. You can visit Danny on Instagram and Twitter.

I actually think Danny would be a good choice for Carlo in #3 in the At the Shore Series. You get to meet Carlo in ONE SUMMER NIGHT, but his bigger role starts in #2 and he is the hero of #3.

Danny Pino

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#TeaserTuesday Only 3 More Weeks to ONE SUMMER NIGHT

OMG! It’s so exciting to think that my new book — ONE SUMMER NIGHT — will be out in bookstores on Oct 3 and is and already available online! That’s why we’re celebrating! Don’t forget to visit with me at all the blogs helping me to celebrate the upcoming release of ONE SUMMER NIGHT and enter the Pre-Order Blitz giveaway and if you’re on Facebook, enter another giveaway for a chance to win some awesome swag and gift cards!

Today I’ve got a teaser for you from ONE SUMMER NIGHT. In this scene, Maggie Sinclair and Owen Pierce, the hero and heroine, have just attended the wedding of a friend. The wedding had been held at Maggie’s beachfront home which is located right next to the Pierce home in Sea Kiss, New Jersey. The Sinclair and Pierce families have been involved in a decades long feud, but despite that Maggie and Owen are finding it hard to battle the attraction pulling them together.

If you cannot see the teaser below, please click here to read it!

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#TeaserTuesday & A Pre-Order Blitz #Giveaway

OMG, it’s only a month away from the release of ONE SUMMER NIGHT and I’ve got so much going on!

For starters, check out these blogs that have been kind enough to share teasers and more about the book and enter the giveaway for a chance to win a $25 Gift Card!

Visit my Facebook Fan Page for a chance to win this awesome collection of swag! Also, if you pre-order ONE SUMMER NIGHT and send a Proof of Purchase to contest at caridad dot com, I will send you a link for a free e-book! For those of you not on Facebook, just leave a comment on this blog post for a chance to win!

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