I’m hard at work on #3 in the At the Shore Series and it’s taken a turn to becoming a Christmas story so I’ve tentatively titled it “A Sea Kiss Christmas.”
This story picks up where #2 – What Happens in Summer – ends, but I don’t want to give you any spoilers for that one! Actually, I will share that this story is about wedding planner Emma and her sexy caterer Carlo.
Carlo has always been a gentleman and Emma’s go-to guy, but somehow I think I’m going to have to peel some layers off Carlo to get him and Emma together. Maybe even a little bad boy side we hadn’t seen before, like this sexy Santa. What do you think?
If you haven’t checked out the first book in the series, ONE SUMMER NIGHT, you can read three chapters for free at Radish or pick up the e-book for only 99 cents at various retailers.
Happy Man Candy Monday! I’ve started the timeline for #3 in the At the Shore series and am creating in my brain the image for Carlo Teixeira, the hero in #3. Carlo is of Portuguese descent and his family lives in the Ironbound section of Newark. He has a number of older brothers who run the Caminho bakery, but two younger brothers (who I hope to spin off into their own stories later!).
There are a number of Latin men who could fit the part of Carlo, the caterer extraordinaire, and he’s taking shape physically in my brain. As I was searching for assistance with this, a hard job but someone has to do it, I ran across sexy Aaron Diaz.
Aaron was born in Mexico on March 7. OMG, we share a birthday. How right is that?
Aaron has appeared in a number of telenovelas and also had a role in the short-lived PAN AM series on ABC and is now appearing on QUANTICO.
Thanks to Aaron Diaz’s Instagram for this photo! You can follow Aaron at the following sites:
Speaking of At the Shore, don’t forget the #AttheShore Cover Reveal for One Summer Night on May 11. Sign up and get behind the scenes tidbits and a chance for a slew of #giveaways! http://bit.ly/2qs0vYO
One of the things that I wanted to show with the At the Shore contemporary romance series is the diversity of New Jersey, both ethnically and economically. While Maggie and Owen from ONE SUMMER NIGHT are both well-off, Connie and Emma, the heroines of #2 and #3 in the series respectively, have both had to work hard to achieve what they have.
As for ethnically, Connie represents the large Cuban population of Union City. Emma is a suburban girl from Edison. The hero in #3 is Carlo Texeira from the Ironbound section of Newark.
I’m getting ready to write a scene in #2 where you find out a little bit more about Carlo and his family, who play a substantial role in #3. In that scene, you get to see a big Portuguese-style family dinner at their Ironbound home.
The Ironbound is a unique section of the city of Newark. It’s located not all that far from Newark Penn Station and between the airport and the Passaic River. It is a largely Portuguese neighborhood with the first immigrants from Portugal arriving in the early 1900s along with Spaniards from Galicia (my family’s part of Spain). In fact, many Portuguese food dishes are very similar to those from Galicia.
The main avenue in the Ironbound is Ferry Street which abounds with a number of mom and pop Portuguese shops along with a number of other Latin restaurants. In #3, the hero’s family has owned a successful bakery there since the 1930s. Carlo’s older brothers now run the business and Carlo has struck out on his own to make a life down the shore. He’s Emma’s Go-to-Guy in more than one way, although she refuses to admit that.
Ferry Street, as you might guess, was named after a ferry that ran between Newark and other locations to the east. Check out the video below that shows you Ferry Street. If part of it looks familiar, it’s because it made an appearance in the beginning of the 2005 remake of War of the Worlds (2:30 to 2:45 in the video). If you can’t see the video below, use this link: https://youtu.be/PGP_94G3Vms
