Science Fact and Fiction in SINS OF THE FLESH

SINS OF THE FLESH by Caridad Pineiro, Oct 27 2009 Grand Central PublishingToday’s Wicked Wednesday is a look at the science fact and fiction in SINS OF THE FLESH. By now you may know that the “paranormal” part of my exciting new paranormal romantic suspense series is the genetic engineering that has occurred with Caterina, the heroine.

Caterina had been suffering from a brain tumor and goes to the scientists at Wardwell Laboratories in the hopes of curtailing the pain from the tumor. Told that a radical new gene therapy might not only help with the pain, but eliminate the tumor and restore her sight, Caterina willingly takes the risk. Unfortunately, the scientists also decide to use Caterina for a guinea pig and implant other genes which produce a number of side effects, the most evident of which are the changes to Caterina’s blood, skin and eyes.

Did I mention Caterina is glowing in spots as depicted on the cover? The glow is the uncontrolled proliferation of the genes implanted in Caterina which have been tagged with green fluorescent proteins (also known as GFPs). GFPs are used by scientists to track the expression of genes since they know where the GFP-tagged genes have gone when phosphorescence occurs.

Scientists have even been able to create fish, cats and mice that glow in the dark using these GFPs. Why do this? Some might say that it’s because you can, but the reality is that it also helps scientists determine if the genes they wish to use are being incorporated where they should go. With the glowing fish, scientists use them to track the effects of pollution and other problems associated with fish populations.

If you want some glowing critters of your own, you can visit www.glofish.com.

That’s the fact. As for the fiction part of it, while the first thing Mick Carrera notices about Caterina is her glowing blood after she’s been shot, it’s certainly not the last thing that grabs his attention!

Interested in more? Here’s a short video showing a cat that has been implanted with GFPs. Watch for the glow in the visible skin areas of the cat.

You can also sign up for the RT Book Reviews SINS OF THE FLESH giveaway contest for a chance to win a SINS OF THE FLESH lunch bag, t-shirt and autographed copy of the book. Just click here to enter!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Thoughtful Thursday – The Code of Conduct Blog Tour

codePlease welcome K.M. Daughters the authors of the romantic suspense novel, Beyond the Code of Conduct (Wild Rose Press), as they virtually tour the blogosphere in June on their first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

K.M. Daughters is the multi-published writing team of sisters Pat Casiello and Kathie Clare. Their pen name is dedicated to their parents Katherine and Michael, the “K” and “M” in K.M. Daughters. Their author career began in January 2008 with contracts from The Wild Rose Press for an inspirational romance, Jewel of the Adriatic, and a romantic suspense novel, Against Doctors Orders, Book #1 in The Sullivan Boys Series. Beyond The Code of Conduct, Book 2 in the series, is rated 4-stars, compelling, page turner, by Donna M. Brown, Reviewer for Romantic Times Book Reviews (June 2009 Issue #304). A contemporary romance, Past, Present and Forever is available in E-book from Sapphire Blue Publishing. Residing in Illinois and New Jersey, the sisters continue to work on The Sullivan Boys Series. Book #3 will release later this year and two additional books are anticipated to complete the series. You can visit their website at www.kmdaughters.com. Follow them at http://twitter.com/kmdaughters!

Also – anyone who leaves a comment by midnight EST time on Friday June 19 will be eligible to win a SINS OF THE FLESH T-shirt and lunch bag!

About the Book

FBI Agency Brass and Sullivan family connections force Special Agent Bobbie Leighton into an undercover operation with inactive Homicide Detective Joe Sullivan.

Posing as a cattleman and his arm-candy wife the couple is assigned to infiltrate NY attorney Bradley Sterling’s illegal operation. Suspected of baby trafficking, Sterling maybe be connected with Joe’s brother, Jimmy Sullivan’s murder.

How do Bobbie and Joe adhere to their professional code of conduct living under the same roof? Can they forget their personal history, ignore their volatile feelings for each other and ensnare their target when they might be next on Sterling’s victims list?

Excerpt

“You want hot? I’ll give you hot.” In one swift motion she picked up a mug off the table and whipped it towards him, a perfect strike.

Lucky for him he still held his jacket in his hand. He swept it up like a toreador in front of his face. The coat took the brunt of the hit, but hot liquid splattered on his hands.

“Ouch. Damn. Stop it.” He dropped the wet coat on the floor. His hands burned and he wiped them on his thighs to stop the heat. It had the opposite effect on his arousal.

She batted her eyes around, apparently for something else to throw at him and tugged at the pillow on the back of the sofa. When it didn’t give, she hopped up on the seat cushion and tugged at it harder. If she realized how seductive she looked, she’d stop doing that. A glimpse of lace panties made him groan.

“Honey, add a sorority sister and a little water on the front of your T-shirt and you have everyman’s wet dream. You’re killing me here.”

The fury mounted on her face and he laughed.

She stepped down from the couch and stormed off to the kitchen.

“I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you.” No response from the kitchen.

Gathering together the launched items, he stacked the books and magazines on the coffee table and tucked her shoes beneath. He kicked off his shoes and placed them in a neat pair next to hers before settling on the couch.

It’s fun to goad her. “While you’re in there could you grab me a beer?”

Realizing a little too late why she had marched to the kitchen, a plate swished past inches from his ear and crashed against the bookcase.

“Damn.” The next plate hit him in the shoulder. “What is wrong with you? Stop it.”

“What is wrong with me? With me? You take off. Leave me here alone to face the home inspection. And you are stupid enough to ask me what is wrong with me?” Each sentence was punctuated with the crash of a dish around him.

Hands empty, she disappeared again, surely on her way to stock up on ammo.

A Slightly Different Tuesday – A Guest Blog by Estevan Vega

sacred-sinWe’ve got a really special guest blogger today – Estevan Vega. At an early age, Estevana realized he was interested in writing and at 15 published his first book. THE SACRED SIN, Estevan’s second novel, was published when Estevan was only 18!

Midwest Book Review said of THE SACRED SIN “A deftly written psychological thriller sure to grip readers all the way through, “The Sacred Sin” is highly recommended for community library thriller collections and fans of the genre.”

So please welcome Estevan and take a moment to check out his novel! Anyone leaving a comment by midnight EST on Friday, June 19th will be eligible to win a SINS OF THE FLESH T-shirt as well as a SINS OF THE FLESH lunch bag.

**Excerpt**

“Do you think you’re crazy?” Dr. Irons asked for the third time.

It wasn’t a question someone like Jude Foster could answer with ease. Such questions simply wouldn’t permit an effortless yes or no. They came only with prerequisites, like “I don’t think I’m crazy, but if you keep asking me, we’re gonna have some problems,” or “Damn it, I’ve already told you what I thought.” Either way, Jude wasn’t in the mood for embellishing on his sad little story yet again. But, as always, the old doctor couldn’t stop himself from taking that meddling crowbar of his and prying Jude open like a reluctant wooden coffin. Sure, Jude tried hard as hell to forget about the night he almost died, but feelings of betrayal don’t willfully vacate merely because they were asked to leave. Dr. Irons filled his head with “all in good time” that “in time” meant absolutely nothing. But, like all things in his life, Jude buried the memories and the hurt in the farthest parts of himself so that not even he could exhume them. The medication wasn’t doing much either. All they left behind to show that they were even there in the first place were droopy black pools shadowed beneath his condescending eyes. Insomnia had certainly taken its toll…perhaps a small price to pay for a life full of mistakes.

“I told you I didn’t want to come today,” Jude began, “but I dragged myself out of bed because I have no choice. I’m not here for me; I’m here out of obligation.”

“You’re right. But your obligation to the commissioner is equally as relevant as your obligation to yourself. Not to mention I’m doing Chief Mike Harrison a favor.”

Jude was taken aback. He’d never heard a shrink say that one before.

“Although your psyche has become beaten and broken, it can be healed.” A long pause. “In time.”

There it was again. The phrase Jude loathed every bit as much as he loathed green beans or weekday mornings.

Jude rolled his eyes and cracked his spine. His narrow back tapered upward in a V-line toward his much thinner neck, and eventually formed his jaw-line. His face, and every crease in it, was like a page, read and re-read by hundreds of people, but not one could decipher what went on inside of him. His seemingly misguiding features were offset by two arctic eyes, brown in the sunlight, but gray at the core. He’d gotten away with being Hugh Jackman now and then, as long as most kept their distance. He didn’t exactly come across with the same starstudded charisma or finesse. As he smoothed his dark hair, he felt his eyes linger onto anything but the gargoyle in front of him.

“I hate it here. I hate talking to you.” Jude couldn’t even hear himself anymore. It was like a silent film he couldn’t get out of. The old black and whites his teacher forced down his throat when he was in eleventh grade, the films with Chaplin and others he never cared to remember. He was a prisoner locked in this cell, and the gatekeeper had no intention of letting him out.

“You don’t hate it here, Jude. I’m trying to help you get your life back, and you’re almost there. Now, I know it seems odd for me to keep asking you this, but do you believe you’re crazy?”


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Thanks for taking the time to read Estevan’s excerpt. For those nightowls out there, I’ll be a guest on Paranormal Radio at 10 EST time tonight. You can click on this link to listen in!

Also – thanks to all of you who have entered the various blog contests! The winners are:

Happy Marriage Sins of the Flesh Lunch Bag Winner: Pam S
Nocturne Blog CALLING T-shirt and an autographed copy of HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE Winner: KCE1976 (is that you Karin?)

If you’re a winner, please mail your postal address to cpsromance @ att.net (no spaces).

Thanks!

Memorial Day Monday

Today’s post is in memory of all who sacrifice so that we might be free . . .

Please visit back tomorrow for a Tuesday Tip about having a happy marriage and a chance to win a SINS OF THE FLESH Lunch bag! We’re going to have a guest blogger, renowned Wall Street analyst Tim Kellis. For a sneak peek at Tim, you can visit his website at www.happyrelationships.com or his blog at www.happymarriages.com.