Fun Friday – RT Convention Photos!

As you may recall, I was hard at work last week at the RT BookReviews Convention. Met lots of friends and fellow authors. I want to thank all of you who came to visit during the conference and at the book fair. It was awesome to get to meet you face-to-face.

It was also great to premiere the next book in the SINS series – STRONGER THAN SIN! I’ve got the covers and some excerpts for you.

STRONGER THAN SIN a paranormal romance by Caridad Pineiro Back Cover STRONGER THAN SIN

If you haven’t been to RT, it’s quite an event. Dozens of wonderful panels as well as some great balls and mixers. It’s in Los Angeles next year and I’m already excited about going.

Wanted to share some photos with you from the convention! If you can’t see the slideshow below, you can also click on this link to my Facebook page or cut and paste this link into your browser.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058425&id=1130005412&l=d1363d1735

Mix-It-Up Friday Contest!

mixWe’re having a spontaneous contest today! Leave your mixed up version of an old adage here by midnight EST on Saturday, November 14, for a chance to win a copy of FURY CALLS and a SINS OF THE FLESH T-shirt!

So how does this mix-it-up Friday contest work – here’s a sample:

    Old adage: A good man is hard to find.
    Mix-it-up Version: A hard man is good to find.

Also, don’t forget there are only two more weeks to the SINFUL THINGS contest. For a chance to win, or increase your chances of winning, please do the following by midnight EST November 30:

On Twitter please Tweet/Retweet (please be sure to include the bit.ly link):

Celebrate the Release of Caridad Pineiro’s SINS OF THE FLESH! RT for a chance 2 win a $50 Gift Certificate. http://bit.ly/2AZWlC

On Facebook please post to your profile (please be sure to include the bit.ly link):

Celebrate the Release of Caridad Pineiro’s SINS OF THE FLESH! Post this link to your profile for a chance to win a $50 Gift Certificate. http://bit.ly/2AZWlC

Looking for Weekend Fun?

beachI know I’m going to spend the weekend writing and working on some materials for our new writing group, the Liberty States Fiction Writers. But in between work, I hope to sneak in some relaxation and fun.

So where do I look to find out what’s going? Well, I pick up a local paper, but I also check out the Internet for events. You can too! Here are some of the places where you can find out what’s happening in your area:

Book tours and signings – http://www.booktour.com/
Library of Congress Book Events –
http://www.read.gov/events/

Also, you can visit your local state or city website. It will often have a calendar of events and suggest sites of interest. Here are few for those places close to me:

Jersey Shore – http://www.nj.com/shore/
New Jersey – http://www.visitnj.org/
New York – http://www.iloveny.com/home.aspx
New York City – http://www.nyc.com/events/
Pennsylvania – http://www.visitpa.com/index.aspx
Philadelphia –
http://www.gophila.com/Phila/EventsCalendar/

Hope you can find some fun and relaxation this weekend as well! Have a great one.

SINS OF THE FLESH
November 2009 – Grand Central Publishing

Click here for more on SINS OF THE FLESH

Caterina Shaw’s only chance for survival is a highly experimental gene therapy – a risk she willingly takes. Now Caterina has new, terrifying powers and she’s been accused of a savage murder, sending her on the run. Mick Carrera is a mercenary and expert at capturing elusive prey. Yet the woman he’s hunting is wounded, vulnerable, and a mystery of medical science. Caterina’s innocent sensuality tempts Mick to show her how thrilling pleasure can be. The heat that builds between them is irresistible, but surrendering to it could kill them both.

Preorder at Amazon
Preorder at Barnes & Noble
Preorder at Borders
Preorder at Books-a-Million
Preorder at Powell’s
Preorder at an Independent Bookstore

Want to find out a little more about SINS OF THE FLESH? Click on the links below to get a Behind the Scenes look at some of the locations in the novel as well as read some free excerpts!


Coming in October 2009

AWAKENING THE BEAST October 2009 Silhouette NocturneAwakening the Beast
October 2009
Silhouette Nocturne


A collection of sexy Nocturne Bites featuring:
Honor Calls, Return of the Beast, Mortal Enemy, Immortal Lover, Claws of the Lynx and Wilderness by Caridad Pineiro, Lisa Renee Jones, Olivia Gates, Linda O. Johnston and Barbara J. Hancock

Preorder your copy today!

Caridad’s Current Releases
FURY CALLS
March 2009
Silhouette Nocturne
Click here for more info on HONOR CALLSHONOR CALLS
February 2009
Nocturne Bite
Click here for more info on SOLDIER'S SECRET CHILDSOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD
December 2008
Silhouette Romantic Suspense
Click here for more info on MOON FEVERMOON FEVER
October 2007
Pocket Books
Click here for more info on SEX AND THE SOUTH BEACH CHICASSEX AND THE SOUTH BEACH CHICAS
September 2006
Downtown Press
Click here for more info on SOUTH BEACH CHICAS CATCH THEIR MANSOUTH BEACH CHICAS CATCH THEIR MAN
September 2007
Downtown Press


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Show, Don’t Tell

Click here for more on the Liberty States Fiction WritersBesides attending the monthly meetings of the Liberty States Fiction Writers, I have a smaller group that meets once a month at a local bookstore.

Last night we were discussing an oft-used phrase: Show, Don’t Tell.

One of my friends asked, “How do you know you are doing telling and not showing?”

My friend Anne Walradt is an expert on the subject and does a wonderful workshop on the concept. I can only offer some very basic advice and examples.

First, if you read it aloud and it sounds like a laundry list — You’re telling. An example of telling:

The alley was dark. It smelled of old garbage. There was movement at the end of the alley. It was a large man. He looked like a criminal. Fear gripped her. She ran away.

Was that interesting at all? Did you get involved in what was happening? Did you impart any of your knowledge to the scene, thereby becoming involved in the story?

If you answered “No”, then you understand what’s bad about telling rather than showing. So how you do write the above scene by showing? Here’s a shot at it:

Darkness swallowed her up as she entered the alley. Days old garbage filled a dumpster, making the air rank with the smell of decay. Shadows shifted at the end of the alley. A man stepped forward into the muted pool of light cast by a security lamp. Blue-black prison tattoos covered his arms and his face had the look of a boxer who had lost one too many fights. Her stomach clenched and a cold sweat erupted across her flesh a second before she whirled away.

A little better? Do you impart your own experience to what decay smells like? Did you wonder what the shadow was? Did the description of the man show you he was a criminal and/or trouble without telling you? How about the fear aspect? Didn’t use the word fear, but her reaction demonstrated it and you as the reader, recognized it.

That’s the biggest difference. When you show, the reader becomes involved in the story by interpreting what you are writing. With a laundry list, there’s no involvement on the part of the reader because it’s plan and simple. Of course, that does not mean that you should so confuse your reader with how you show something that they are lost.

So, that’s a very quick rundown on the concept of Show, Don’t Tell. I hope this Tuesday Tip was of help!

Fun Friday – Scream a Bit and Take Off More!

Since we’re on the topic of vampires, here’s another of the handsome ones! If you’ve ever been to a concert with a screaming teen, you will so get the caption. I’m convinced that if the Army could find a way to bottle those screams, they would have the most effective weapon ever!

funny pictures
moar funny pictures

Also check out this special which runs until June 30! Get an extra 10% off (for a total of 30% off the cover price). Also for right now, get free shipping on any purchase over $10! You can’t beat that deal! Just click on those sexy abs to visit eharlequin.com and use the coupon code AFFILIATE10.

Take 10% off all Print Books at eharlequin.com

Last but not least, it’s the LAST WEEKEND in the fabulous Brenda Novak auction. Please drop by to check out the items that I’ve made available at the Brenda Novak Diabetes Auction!

First there is this amazing Sabor Latino basket put together by my friend, Olga. Besides some of my novels, there are some wonderful food items as well as a lovely pair of silver earrings and matching pendant.

elsaborlatinobasket

To bid on this item, you can click here or paste this link into your browser:
http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/Bidding.taf?e=rb&id=1306195

You can also bid on the following items that I’ve donated for the auction:

A signed ARC of SINS OF THE FLESH (A November 2009 release)
A signed copy of FURY CALLS
A t-shirt for SINS OF THE FLESH
http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&Auction_uid1=1379107

Complete set of The Calling Vampire novels – PLUS — Calling T-shirt. Novels: DARKNESS CALLS, DANGER CALLS, TEMPTATION CALLS, DEATH CALLS, DEVOTION CALLS, BLOOD CALLS, HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE, DESIRE CALLS and FURY CALLS
http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&Auction_uid1=1341802

Also take a moment to check out this basket from the Liberty States Fiction Writers which contains:
Autographed copies of:
A DAUGHTER’S PROMISE by Christine Clemetson
NOBLE BLOOD by Linda Parisi
ARC of SINS OF THE FLESH by Caridad Pineiro
DREAMS AND DESIRES by Lois Winston
VENUS RISING by Annalise
As well as an audiobook of Stephen Colbert’s “I Am America and So Can You!,” a SINS OF THE FLESH T-shirt and lunch bag (color – red, B&W image attached). In addition, you will receive copies of thirty other romance novels (these 30 are unsigned).
http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&Auction_uid1=1401815

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Writing Goals

Pecking Away Old SchoolThat big sigh of relief you heard this morning — that was me! I finished the manuscript for my November 2009 release, SINS OF THE FLESH, and sent it to my editor at Grand Central Publishing. A big woo hoo since the novel had gotten moved up in the production schedule which meant I had to finish it way earlier than expected.

Which leads to this Tuesday’s Tips about writing goals, namely, how to set them and how to keep to them.

When I first got the call about the available slot in November 2009, I thought WOO HOO which was followed by OH MY. Could I finish a book in that time frame? I asked myself which quickly led to a plan — X number of pages a week would lead me to a finished book by X date. That was the plan.

Why haven’t I given you any numbers there, like 60 pages a week? For starters, and as I tell every writer who asks me, there is only one right way to write a book — sit down and write. Whether you write one page a day or five, it’s only wrong if you’ve made a plan for yourself and don’t keep to it.

Why didn’t you keep to it? Too busy? Not in a creative mood? Unrealistic expectations? A combo of all of the above.

While I am now a firm believer that if you fail to plan you plan to fail, the most important thing to keep in mind when setting a writing goal is that your plan be reasonable. Don’t say you are going to write 5 pages a day when you know that in a typical day you only have half-an-hour to write. Unless of course you are going to find more time in that day.

How many pages should you strive to do in a day? Again, there’s no right or wrong. I generally write anywhere from 4 to 10 pages a day during my weekday commutes to my job. More on the weekends when I can get a few more hours of writing done. The key to your success is finding what you can do each week and that’s the key — committing to a reasonable weekly goal.

For example, if you know you can’t write on Mondays and Wednesdays because of family demands, set aside time on the other days and make it part of your regular schedule just like anything else. Let the family know that on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 am to 10 am, you’re writing. Stick to it. If your family sees how committed you are to your writing, they will support you. If they think you’re not serious about it, it will be difficult to get them to respect your desire to write.

Say to yourself, in those two or three days that I write this week, I want to write X pages. (A reasonable X pages remember). Before you know it, the pages will begin to pile up!

I mentioned finding more time to write. How do you do that? Well, what time do you get up now? 8? How about getting up at 7?

Do you write at night? I don’t normally, but when deadlines demand it, I come home from work and after dinner, write for another hour or so to meet the writing goal I’ve set for myself.

How about weekends? If you sleep in late on Saturday or Sunday, could you pry yourself out of bed a little earlier?

You would be surprised at how much time there is for you to get back if you think about your “lost” time each week.

Finally — find a critique or support group and tell them your goals. Tell them how you are doing on your goals and ask them to help you stick to them. As with anything else, a strong support group will help keep you motivated and moving forward.

I hope today’s Tuesday Tip helped!