#ThrowbackThursday RT Book Cover 1999

Today’s throwback seems somehow appropriate since I’m going back to my contemporary romance roots with the At the Shore series. I’ve been very happy to hear all your positive comments about how much you liked those original novels and how you’re looking forward to the new stories. ONE SUMMER NIGHT will be out in October 2017 and I think you will really love that Romeo and Juliet tale. It’s even got a balcony scene, but not in the way you might expect. Please take a moment to add ONE SUMMER NIGHT to your Want to Read pile on Goodreads!

This is the cover of my very first novel, NOW AND ALWAYS, on the cover of Romantic Times magazine. I was told by a reputable source that the cover model was the famous John DeSalvo.

#ThrowbackThursday The Very First Book Signing & Thanks

It’s not possible to talk about reaching the ONE MILLION BOOKS SOLD mark (still can’t get over it) without talking about the very first one as well as some people who have been so very very instrumental in giving me the opportunity to write for you!

First of all, a big thank you to the fabulous Fern Michaels who took the time to read my first works and put me in touch with her editor. Her advice and support was invaluable in my deciding I might actually be able to write.

Another big thank you to the late Gwynne Foster who I sat with at one meeting and basically told me, “What are you waiting for! Just send it to them!” I did and got a call just a few weeks later from my very first editor, Diane Stockwell. It was such a pleasure working with her on the Encanto line and if it wasn’t for her support (and buying my very first book).

Things don’t always go smoothly in the publishing world and when Encanto disappeared, it took me a few years to sell another book. This time it was to the awesome Stacy Boyd who always brought out the best in my writing and who has been a wonderful advocate at Harlequin. Thank you, Stacy.

There have been many many other people and I don’t want them to feel left out, but I’ll share more thanks in the future (since I really really really want to milk this moment – LOL!).

To end today’s Throwback Thursday, here is a photo from my very first signing in Menlo Park Mall.
samMeFirstsigning

#WriteWed The Boys of Summer and Rookie of the Year

I’m really excited to have released ROOKIE OF THE YEAR mainly because this was a series of my heart when I wrote it over 10 years ago. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR was originally slated for release in 2001, but the line for which I was writing went on hiatus and the book was never released. This is what the original cover looked like! Cartoon covers were big back then, but I like the new cover much better!

rookie RookieoftheYear

I love baseball as you know and back then very few publishers were willing to take on any kind of book with a sports hero. It was therefore quite awesome to be able to do the series about a sport I love. Plus, I got to give NJ their own team finally! Yes, we do have lots of minor league and independent ball clubs in NJ, but I wanted a Major League Baseball franchise in NJ. Maybe one day we’ll get one.

I hope you’ll check out ROOKIE OF THE YEAR. It’s specially priced at 99 cents for a limited time.

The next book in the series, A WINNING SEASON, will be out soon!

#ThrowbackThursday My Very First Book!

As I’ve mentioned, it’s been 15 years since my very first release, NOW AND ALWAYS! It was so exciting to get “The Call” from the editor saying that they wanted not only that book, but a second. Wow!

I was totally doing the happy dance that day. To celebrate today, NOW AND ALWAYS is free at various locations and is part of the specially priced SOUTH BEACH SIZZLES COLLECTION, now only .99 cents for the month of September.

Today’s throwback is to the cover of RT Magazine which featured NOW AND ALWAYS on the cover. I’m told the very sexy man on the cover is none other than well-known cover model John DeSalvo. I remember the first time my boss saw the cover. He said, “It’s very . . . pink.” I guess he didn’t know what else to say although he’s been a good egg about my writing gig over the last 15 years.

Thanks to RT Book Reviews Magazine! All rights to this cover belong to them.
1999RTMagazine

Release day NOW AND ALWAYS & Cover Reveal #Giveaway

It’s release day! YEAH! The e-book is now available at Amazon and the print book should be up by later today. So excited.

I want to thank those of you who have requested an ARC in order to do a review. It is much appreciated.

I’ll be having a cover release party for NOW AND ALWAYS and FAITH IN YOU on July 16th. If you wish to participate, please fill out the form below. You will receive the covers, an excerpt and some links which you can post on your website, blog, Facebook, Myspace, or anywhere else on the Net.

From all the participants, I will pick one person to win a $50 gift card! Thank you!

Here are some of the earlier reviews for the book!

    Romantic Times: 4 Stars – Pineiro “ignites her own brand of Miami heat in this sexy and humorous romance.”

    Rendezvous: “. . . a fast-paced, well-developed plot . . . anxiously await other books by this gifted author!”

    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “. . . a compelling love story. . . beautifully imbued with details of everyday life in Miami….”

Discover Diane Escalera’s Dangerous Desire & Giveaway

Over ten years ago, Kensington Publishing launched the short-lived, but innovative, Encanto Latino romance line. The women who came together to write for that line formed the Encantadoras sisterhood. A sisterhood that has continued for many of us through the trials and tribulations of the publishing world.

That’s why it’s so exciting and joyful for me today to have with me Diane Escalera, one of my writing sisters. Diane is going to share with us her new release, DANGEROUS DESIRE, from Lyrical Press.

Please welcome Diane today! To help celebrate the release, I am offering up a $10 gift card and a copy of THE LOST to one lucky reader who leaves a comment by July 21, midnight PST (I want to give my California friends the time to post!)

About Diane Escalera

Born and raised in the Bronx, NY, I relocated to South Florida, a sultry paradise I instantly fell in love with. Unlike most authors, I didn’t know I was destined to write. In fact, I worked in banking for many years, but deep down knew that it wasn’t my dream job.

At the young age of thirty-five, my sister died of an illness. I realized the same thing could happen to me. There are no guarantees. I couldn’t waste another moment doing something I didn’t love.

Writing was one of my greatest joys when I was growing up. While still working at the bank, I decided to enroll in an intensive course where I learned everything I could about the craft. It didn’t take long before I left the bank to pursue a writing career.

Still living in South Florida, I’m married, have two children and a super cute Dachshund I can’t get enough of. I feel truly blessed to be able to share my stories. I only wish I could have shared them with my sister.

Dangerous Desire will be available on July 18th at Lyrical Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Digital Bookstores everywhere. The Print Edition comes out in October.

Please visit www.DianeEscalera.com to learn more about my sexy tales. I love to interact with readers! “Like” my fan page at www.Facebook.com/DianeEscaleraOfficial. Follow me on www.Twitter.com/DianeEscalera.

DANGEROUS DESIRE Excerpt

In full view, Cruz stripped off his sweaty black tee and Sienna nearly had a heart attack. Jesus Christ. The men at her gym would’ve despised him.

Her eyes slowly drank him in. Good God. He had the sexiest bod she’d ever seen. Taut and tan, his muscles were chiseled in a way that gave his dimensions beautiful symmetry. Tori would’ve been impressed. She’d always preached about the importance of muscle balance. Some men took it to the extreme. Not Cruz. He sported a tapered waist with shredded abs, V-shaped torso, and arms that made her drool because, if she had to pick a favorite body part, arms were it.

He used the dirty shirt to dry sweat off his gorgeous frame. Her eyes followed his movements, stopping at the bulldog tattoo etched on his sculpted pec, with the word Marines below. He’d been in the service, a kickass Marine. How hot!

He busted her checking him out.

She yanked her eyes away. Jeez. Her face probably looked as red as it felt.

Holding up a fresh shirt, he shook it out a few times. The sound of fabric caught her attention. Her gaze slid that way again. Okay. Sound had nothing to do with it. She just had to look one more time. He pulled the shirt over his head. Terrific. Now he wore a white muscle shirt tailor-made for his ripped physique. The thing should’ve been outlawed.

Wearing a sly smirk, he combed his fingers through his short, spiky hair. Running down the inside of his arm below his rock-hard biceps, he had another tattoo, this one with five small Chinese symbols. What a unique spot for a tattoo, and unbelievably sexy, like everything else about him.

Even his name sounded hot.

He climbed into the driver’s seat and snapped his door shut. He didn’t look at her, but then, he didn’t have to. She knew he knew what kind of effect that little display had on her. Oh yeah. He had it written all over that smug face. He might be a soaking-wet dream she didn’t mind entertaining on a nightly basis, but she didn’t have to be so obvious.

Sienna grabbed her seatbelt and tried to latch it.

“Damn,” Cruz mumbled, as he watched her struggle with the belt. He turned on the ignition and flipped the air conditioning to the highest setting.

She looked at his face instead of his sinewy arm. It took willpower, because those arms really did it for her. “Is there a trick?” The mechanism wouldn’t click into place.

“I keep forgetting to get that thing checked,” he said. “Don’t usually carry passengers except for Roman.” He looked back at his dog and grinned. Roman sat on the bench seat patiently waiting to go bye-bye.

“It doesn’t work at all?” She preferred to wear a seatbelt, and not just because of the law. South Florida had some loony drivers.

“It just takes a little maneuvering,” he replied. “Let me give it a try.” He turned all that magnificence toward her and reached across her chest.

Holy crap, he was totally in her face, his delicious body stretched across her lap. She held her breath and pressed her back into the seat, felt his weight, smelled his soap and baby shampoo. Her every cell fell under his spell. She tried to find her voice. “Any luck?” she squeaked out.

They were eye-to-eye, his mouth so close that if she puckered her lips, that would be it. His gaze traveled downward. He tilted his head like he wanted to kiss her. Uh-oh. She hadn’t made out in years. She probably sucked at it by now. A magnetic intensity pulled her to him, and she had a feeling she’d relearn pretty quickly. Her body buzzed with sexual urgency. Not once in her life had she felt this consumed, this desperate to feel a man’s lips on hers.

Whew, is it hot in here or what? I hope you enjoyed Diane’s visit. Feel free to leave questions and comments for Diane and the giveaway.

Also, if you feel like chatting, I’ll be at the Writerspace chat room tonight at 9 pm EST. Stop by for some fun and prizes!

Wicked Wednesday – Soldier’s Secret Child

SOLDIER'S SECRET CHILD by Caridad Pineiro Today’s Wicked Wednesday is a blast from the not so distant past – SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD, my December 2008 release from Silhouette Romantic Suspense.

This book was am immense change for me since it really made me focus on the family dynamic between the hero, heroine and their teenaged son. I hadn’t dealt with family dynamics involving children for many years. Not since BETTER THAN EVER, one of my early contemporary romances.

I loved dealing with the challenges of single mom Macy handling a troublesome, but basically good, teenager. Then there was the issue of the hero, Fisher, discovering he had a son and how he deals with that revelation.

I truly enjoyed this book and the change of pace from The Calling series and hope you will also! This excerpt is a flashback scene to Fisher and Macy’s first encounter.


They drove through the open meadows and fields surrounding Esperanza, the scented wind wrapping them in its embrace while bright moonlight lit the road before them until Fisher took a dirt road to one of the few nearby hills. He parked the CJ so it faced the lights of town and the wide starlit Texas sky.

She imagined she could see the lights of San Antonio, well to the south of their hometown. She and Tim had planned on going to college together there until Tim had said he was reconsidering that decision. She gazed at the lights of Esperanza and noticed the cars parked around Bill’s house where Jericho and Tim would be with the rest of the baseball team. Where she might have been a few weeks earlier if things hadn’t changed recently.

“Penny for your thoughts,” he said and pushed back some strands of wind-blown hair from her face. The pads of his fingers brushed the sensitive skin of her cheek, sending a shiver rocketing through her body.

“Do you ever wonder if some things happen for a reason?” she asked.

“Meaning?” He arched one dark brow in question.

“Tim and me. His breaking it off.” She shrugged and turned in her seat to face him. “If it hadn’t been for that –”

“Being the nice girl that you are, you wouldn’t be here tonight.” He once again brushed the tips of his fingers across her cheek, then trailed them down to cup her jaw.

“Is that what you think I am? A nice girl?” she shot back, slightly perturbed which was ridiculous. She was a nice girl unlike many of the women with whom Fisher had been seen around town.

“Don’t get so riled, Mace. There’s nothing wrong with being a nice girl.”

The words shot out of her mouth before she could censor them. “And boys like you don’t think about doing things with nice girls.”

“Boys like me?” he asked with another pointed arch of his brow and a wry smile on his lips.

Macy fidgeted with her hands, plucking at the seat belt she still wore. “You know, love ’em and leave ’em types like you.”

He chuckled and shook his head, but he never broke the contact of his hand against her chin. Instead, he inched his thumb up to brush softly across her lips.

“Let’s get something straight, Mace. First of all, I’m not a boy, I’m a man. A man whose daddy would tan his hide for the thoughts he’s having right now about the nice girl who happens to be sitting next to him.”

The warmth on the pad of his thumb spread itself across her lips and with his words, shot through the rest of her body. “Thoughts? What kinds of thoughts?”

He chuckled again, only there was something darker and dangerously sexy there this time. “You always were the daring type.”

“He who dares, wins,” she reminded him.

The smile on his face broadened and he leaned toward her until the warmth of his breath replaced that of his thumb against her lips. “Then I guess I should dare,” he said and brought his lips to hers.

The shock of his hard mouth against hers was quickly replaced by a sense of . . . rightness which surprised her considering that this was Jericho’s brother. That up until a few weeks ago, she had thought she was about to embark on a life with another man.

Another man who had rejected her. Who had never made her feel the way Fisher was now making her feel.

The tip of his tongue tasted her lips, gently asked for entrance at the seam of her mouth. She opened her lips and accepted the thrust of his tongue. Joined it with hers until they were both breathing heavily and had to break apart for air.

Fisher turned away from her and clenched his hands on his thighs, struggling for control. This was Macy, he reminded himself, rubbing his hands across the soft denim of his jeans. Jericho’s best friend and Tim’s intended, he reminded himself as he held back from reaching for her again.

Only she wasn’t Tim’s anymore, the voice inside his head challenged and then urged, “And now she can be yours.”

He faced her and seeing the desire in her eyes, he asked, “Are you sure about this?”

She nodded quickly and he didn’t second guess her decision. Reaching into the back seat of the CJ, he grabbed a blanket he kept there and stepped out of the car. Swinging around the front, he met her by the passenger side door and slipped his hand into hers. Twined his fingers with hers as he lead her a few feet away from the Jeep to a soft spot of grass on the overlook.

He released her only long enough to spread out the blanket and then he urged her down.

For long moments they lay side-by-side on their backs, staring up at the late May moon. Listening to the rustle of the light breeze along the taller grasses and the profusion of wildflowers which perfumed the air.

Fisher rolled onto his side and ran the back of his index finger along the high straight ridge of her cheek. He had known her all his life and all his life he had thought she was the prettiest woman he had ever seen.

“You’re beautiful.”

Much like before, an embarrassed flush worked across her cheeks as she avoided his gaze. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Now why do you think I’m such a hound dog?”

“Because I’ve seen you around town with all those dangerous women,” she answered and the blush along her cheeks deepened.

“Jealous?” he asked, but then immediately confessed, “Because every time I saw you with Tim, I was jealous.”

A little jolt of excitement rattled her body before Macy turned onto her side and cradled his cheek. His five o’clock shadow tickled the palm of her hand. As she met his gaze, made a silvery green by the light of the moon, she detected no deception there, just honesty.

“Why didn’t you — ”

“You were Tim’s girl and Jericho’s best friend. I wasn’t going to be responsible for breaking up the Three Musketeers,” he said and shrugged.

“And now?” she asked, mimicking his earlier move by bringing her thumb to trace the warm fullness of his lips which broadened into a sexy dimpled smile with her caress.

“He who dares, wins,” he said and brought his lips to hers.