News Alerts

NewsI was searching for a friend’s website the other day when I ran across some nice comments about him at a blog site. I sent him the link and suggested that he set up some news alerts so that he would know about such comments.

Whether you’re a pre-pubbed or published author, interested in a particular topic or have a client you wish to follow, news alerts are a great way to stay abreast of what’s happening.

I use both Yahoo alerts and Google alerts to keep me advised about possible reviews of my novels, but it also helps me to judge the efficacy of online press release sites as well as keep an eye out for people who are pirating my books.

I recently had an incident where a Google alert brought my attention to a site offering downloads of the MISSION: IMPASSIONED series in which I participated for Silhouette Romantic Suspense. I immediately sent the link to my publisher’s piracy contact.

I also watch for reviews and make a point to visit any reviewer who has been nice enough to read and comment on the book. Word to the wise, however – Don’t engage if there’s negative comments. It accomplishes nothing and everyone is entitled to their opinion. Just agree to disagree.

How do you set up a news alert? Click on one of these links to some of the news alert services that are available:

Yahoo: http://alerts.yahoo.com/
Google: http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en

You may need to open an account with them and check to make sure the account is free.

You can also sign up for news alerts at your favorite television stations, newspapers and magazines, but these may not include searches for activity on the Internet, such as reviews on blog sites, etc.

Keeping abreast of what’s happening puts you one step ahead and will help you to meet lots of new interesting people! Try it out and see!

Rockin’ Day at RWA!

Starting to feel a little pooped with all the running around!

Breakfast with friends and the goody room. Ran into tons of people in the halls and chatted with them about all kinds of writing things and how they were doing. Hit the Harlequin book signing to get some books for research and my buddies at work.

Lunch was wonderful! My buddy Eloisa James did a marvelous talk at the luncheon. Go Eloisa!

Then after the signing, I started to prep for my first ever Grand Central Publishing signing. It was so exciting to get there and see the galleys of SINS OF THE FLESH (Nov 2009)!! Here’s a photo of me at the signing.

After the excitement of the signing, I dropped some excerpts off at the Goody room and went back to my room where I did some plotting with my friend and fellow author Rayna Vause.

Helped her with a story idea and she helped me refine the concepts for books 3 and 4 in the SINS series! Really excited about writing a proposal for them (once I finish book 2 in the series!)

Then it was time to relax. Had a great dinner with some friends before headed off to the Harlequin party. Harlequin really does it up! Great DJ (the same one as last year) and everyone had a blast. Started up the fun with an intro and then everyone hit the dance floor for “We are Family” and it really is. All those women and the Harlequin people really make you feel like a part of a huge sisterhood at these parties.

Here’s some shots from the party. Harlequin did a fun thing with covers from the past and also, drinks and food that were for particular decades so I thought I’d give you a retro look to match that theme.

Wicked Wednesday – Take a Visit to the Nocturne Author’s Blog

This morning I’m blogging over at the Harlequin Nocturne Author’s blog! Stop by and leave a comment at the Harlequin blog for a chance to win a CALLING T-shirt and an autographed copy of HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE, one of my favorites. All comments must be left by midnight EST on Friday, May 22.

Just click here or cut and paste this link into your browser:
http://community.eharlequin.com/content/good-and-evil-world-calling

Dangerous Women Blog Contest!

Dangerous ReadersThanks to those of you who have signed up for the Dangerous Women group, my new venture with a number of my writing buddies!

For those of you entering the Saturday contest, just post your answer on this blog to the following question:

What are the names of the hero and heroine in HONOR CALLS, my February e-novella Nocturne Bite?

I’ll pick a winner from all the comments entered by midnight EST on Saturday, April 4.

Here’s an extra goodie for you! If you place the banner above on your site and link it to the Dangerous Women group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dangerouswomen/join

just let me know and you’ll be eligible to also win a T-shirt for my upcoming release, SINS OF THE FLESH.

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.

Wicked Wednesday – HONOR CALLS

HONOR CALLSThe countdown is on for FURY CALLS, the next full length book in THE CALLING Vampire novels, but if you need a fix in the meantime, check out HONOR CALLS, my e-novella Nocturne Bite that’s available now at eharlequin.com.

In HONOR CALLS I’ve brought back a character who may be familiar to some readers – FBI Assistant Director in Charge Jesus Hernandez.

Since DARKNESS CALLS, Jesus has been in the periphery of the stories, advising Diana and her partner during their assignments. Always calm and reserved and functioning by the letter of the law. Honorably discharging his duties until the day he runs into Michaela, a vampire slayer who’s now challenging what Jesus knows to be the right thing to do. What will win out — honor or Michaela’s need for vengeance against the vampires who killed her mother and forever changed Michaela’s existence?

I loved writing about these two and hope to write a full length book in the future. In the meantime, here’s a snippet from HONOR CALLS. This scene happens shortly after Jesus has run into Michaela while she is slaying a vampire.


His physical presence was difficult to ignore. As he shot a glance at her, his dark brown eyes seeming fathomless in the dim light, she hoped he would not prove to be as fascinating as he appeared and tried to dampen her initial interest.

“So you expect me to believe the bouncer was a vampire and that there are other ones here as well?” he said, returning to their earlier conversation. He leaned toward her as he said it and examined the interior of the club.

There were definitely vampires present, she thought, sensing the push of their undead force, but before she got into proving it, she wanted him to buy her a drink. She was low on cash and most men disappeared once they discovered the truth around them.

The truth about her.

Raising her hand, she signaled to a waitress.

As the young woman arrived, Michaela said, “Cuervo shooter.”

Slipping a glance at her companion, she realized he was checking out the waitress, but not in that way. In a vamp way, not that she expected him to pick up on the signs so quickly. She shook her head and he understood, ordered a shooter as well.

The waitress hesitated and Michaela explained. ”You’re new. You’ve got to pay up front.”

He snorted in disbelief, but quickly dug into his pocket, peeled off a twenty from a moderate wad of cash, and tossed the bill on the scarred top of the table, which had obviously seen a great deal of abuse judging from the gouges and scratches in its cheap black formica surface. The waitress immediately scooped up the money and walked away to place their orders.

“Must get nice clientele in here,” he said as he tucked his money away into his pocket. The motion pulled his suit jacket back, exposing the butt of his gun. At an adjacent table, one of the patrons noticed the weapon also and quickly scurried away.

Jesus followed his flight and wondered why the man felt compelled to run. In his line of business, it was an obvious sign of guilt, but in here . . .

He once again peered through the dim interior of the club, checking out the various patrons within and found it amusing that for all their Goth rebelliousness, they were quite uniform in their manner of dress. Lots of black, from the leather and jeans to their hair. Pale faces which made him turn his attention back to his companion.

“You said you’d make me believe,” he reminded just as the waitress came to the table with their drinks.

He watched as the waitress placed the lime, salt shaker and shot of Cuervo on the table. His companion bit into the lime, skipped the salt and then downed the tequila in one gulp before ordering another.

“Thirsty?” he asked as he paid in advance once again.

“Once guys see how things are, most of my dates don’t last beyond the first drink,” she admitted, a self-deprecating tone in her voice as she fidgeted with the empty shot glass, twirling and spinning it on the table top.

“Didn’t realize that buying you a drink made this a date,” he said, perplexed by the self-assurance on the surface that seemed to hide a well of vulnerability beneath.

“Not your usual type, I suspect,” she said and fully faced him.

Not his type? He wondered about that as he sipped at his shot of tequila and studied her. Her dark, nearly black hair fell in choppy layers against her roundish face. Cerulean blue eyes bore an exotic slant and hinted at extreme intelligence while pale, creamy skin appeared to be as soft as satin sheets.

The black leather jacket she wore fit tight against her body, accentuating both her slimness and slightness of stature, but the tank top beneath the jacket exposed the lushness of her curves.

He imagined exploring those curves. Raising that lean strong body up against his and slipping within.

Maybe his type, he thought, fighting back his body’s response especially since now that they were up close, he guessed her to be over a decade younger than his thirty-eight years of age.

“Don’t have a type and I’m not the kind to drink and run,” he offered, taking another sip of the Cuervo to quell the desire awakening within him.

She laughed, the tone of her merriment rich and uninhibited. It occurred to him that it had been a long time since he had allowed himself that kind of freedom, but she clearly was not one to hold back.

It only intrigued him even more, especially as she challenged with, “You may be the kind to run after you see what goes on in here.”

Elegantly raising her hand, she gestured in the direction of the farthest edges of the club close to where they sat. He could make out the shadows of people engaged in various activities in those nearly dark areas.

Leaning close to him, she said in hushed tones, “Look carefully if you dare.”

Her warm breath against the skin at the base of his neck was sweet. He imagined the kiss of that breath elsewhere and decided that it warranted the risk just so she would continue talking to him.

So that he might experience that sweetness elsewhere.

“I dare.”

Guest Blogging

blog1I’m a firm believer that one of the most effective ways for any writer to spread the word about themselves is via the Internet.

Whether you do it by having a website or blog, doing press releases or video trailers, the Net is the way to get more bang for your buck. Another of those ways is by doing guest blogging on other people’s sites.

How do you go about doing guest blogging? First, build a network of connections. Reach out to friends with blogs or visit blogs that you find interesting and ask them what you need to do to be a guest blogger.

I’ve done that recently and am guest blogging at two sites this week! For those of you who visit those sites and leave a message, you’ll be eligible for a drawing to win a CALLING T-shirt, copy of DESIRE CALLS and SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD. Just leave a comment at either of these blogs!

http://bronzeword.wordpress.com/ – Just mention Caridad sent you on the blog!

TRC Reading Blogpspot – I’ll be blogging there tomorrow to discuss FURY CALLS, so please drop by and leave a comment.

Sign up with one of the promotion companies that will put together a blog tour for you. I’ve used my friend Dorothy Thompson’s service, PUMP UP YOUR PROMOTIONS, and she does a nice job!

Hope this Tuesday Tip gives you some ideas for your next book promo.

Also — Harlequin is celebrating it’s 60th Anniversary and to do so, it is giving away 16 free books — one from each of its imprints. Click on the icon below to get your free books or visit www.HarlequinCelebrates.com.

Click here for free books!