Amazing New Cover Reveal!

It is so so exciting to share with you the cover of my February 2022 release from Sourcebooks: The Family She Never Met.

This book is so close to my heart because interwoven with the fictional story are real-life stories from my family history. I’ll be sharing the behind-the-scenes of those stories as well as photos with you in the future, but for today, you can visit the fabulous Nerd Daily blog for the inspiration for The Family She Never Met.

As for the cover, here she is! Isn’t she pretty!
The Family She Never met

P.S. – If you’re saying to yourself, isn’t this a departure from what I normally do, well, yes and no. It’s certainly a story steeped in history and a story about three women separated by the past, but there is also a strong romantic element as the heroine meets the man who just might be part of her future.

#TravelTuesday – Miami and South Beach

I’ve got quite a number of books that are set in Miami and South Beach, including some new ones: SOUTH BEACH LOVE (May 2021) and EXILED HEARTS(Tentative title – Release Date TBD). One of the reasons why I’ve set stories there is to highlight are the interesting places in the area. Today I’m sharing some of my favorite places in case you’re able to visit one day.

La Carreta and Versailles Restaurants: Set on Miami’s Calle Ocho in the heart of Little Havana, these are two Cuban restaurants not to miss. La Carreta has a kitschy and very large sugar cart – la carreta – in front of the restaurant. Versailles is the place you’ll always see whenever anyone is reporting on happenings in Cuba. The press always goes there to get impressions from the Cuban exiles still living in Little Havana.

Vizcaya: Vizcaya is John Deering’s estate and an amazing estate right on the edges of Biscayne Bay. The home and gardens are gorgeous and speak to an era of opulence and elegance.

Jungle Island (formerly Parrot Jungle): The original Parrot Jungle was established in the 1930s and after it moved to Watson Island, was renovated after hurricane damage into an “eco-adventure” park. Still a fav place where you can roam and see an assortment of tropical plants and birds.

The Venetian Pool: Located in Coral Gables, this public pool was created from a coral rock quarry. It has a lovely Mediterranean-style ambiance and waterfalls for you to explore.

Miami Seaquarium: The Seaquarium holds a fond place in my heart. I remember sitting and watching “Flipper” do tricks in one of the large lagoons where portions of that television program were actually filmed. There are a number of different aquatic shows you can watch and a small walk along the edges of the bay.

South Beach: There is a lot to see in South Beach. The Art Deco hotels. Lummus Park. Lincoln Road. So much to see and do along Ocean Drive and the nearby streets. Lots to eat and drink as well since this is where a lot of the nightlife goes on. I’d recommend not going to this area at Spring Break times or on busy weekend nights to avoid the real party animals that can make it unpleasant.

#WriteWed – A Feel Good Romance That’s Tasty Too!

I am so excited to be writing for Hallmark, especially since the story I’ve written has some of my fav things in it. South Beach. Chefs. Family traditions. What could make for a better story? I loved writing SOUTH BEACH LOVE, a tale of two rival teens who unknowingly throw a monkey wrench into the growing relationship between their aunt and uncle, who also happen to be top chefs. It was a lot of fun to show the growth in the two girls as well as the competition between the two chefs, Tony Sanchez and Sara Kelly. Plus I love to cook and really enjoyed exploring both my old family recipes and new twists on them as the chefs try to outdo each other. Today I’m sharing some recipes that were part of the inspiration for the cooking competition!

Caridad’s Citrus-Marinated Cuban Roast Pork: http://bit.ly/2pfKq9K
Cuban Black Beans: http://bit.ly/2pfS4kp
Ropa Vieja: http://bit.ly/2nN0U91

If you love to cook as well, please check out the other recipes on my Cook’s Treat page at https://www.caridad.com/meet-me/cooks-treat/.

Now here’s a teaser for SOUTH BEACH LOVE, available June 2020!

Teaser

Head to Miami for a Hallmark summer romance
celebrating family and tradition,
from New York Times bestselling author Caridad Pineiro.

Tony Sanchez, a celebrity chef, comes home to help with his niece’s quinceañera—a traditional big celebration for her fifteenth birthday. He meets up with Sara Kelly, an old friend’s baby sister, who’s now running a restaurant in South Beach. Attraction flares between them.

But Sara is enlisted to cater another quinceañera—for the girl who’s his niece’s rival. Many prominent families will attend, and Sara sees it as an opportunity to get more business for her restaurant and cement her reputation as a talented local chef. But Tony wants his niece’s celebration—and his own talent—to outshine the rest.

Can competing chefs teach each other a few lessons about cooking, culture—and love?

You can purchase SOUTH BEACH LOVE at the following retailers:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XUW8qZ
Apple Books: https://apple.co/2nMG3mh
B&N: Coming soon!
Kobo: Coming soon!
recipe book and spices south beach love

#ThrowbackThursday – Miami Seaquarium & My Hallmark Novel

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had been offered a proposal to write a book for Hallmark. The tentative title is SOUTH BEACH LOVE and the story is set in the South Beach/Miami area. The hero and heroine are competing chefs who are helping out family to plan the most spectacular quinceañeras anyone has ever seen and I’m excited to be able to work with this kind of story. For starters if I wasn’t a writer I’d love to be a chef so I can vicariously fulfill that dream. Plus I had a blast planning my daughter’s quince and keeping alive that tradition. I’m looking forward to sharing it with all of you. Finally, I’ve laid out some of the scenes in my fav places in the Miami area, like the Miami Seaquarium. We visited many times as kids and as adults we took my daughter there. Today I’m sharing a photo from one of those visits! Have a great Thursday!
Miami Seaquarium

Cuban Coffee How-To #TuesdayTip

I love Cuban coffee. It’s sweet and strong and I usually drink mine either with milk (cafe con leche) or with condensed milk (one of the variations of a cortadito). When my daughter asked me how to make “Cuban coffee” it turned out that I knew nothing about how to make it without milk. I especially didn’t know about the whole beating the coffee with sugar in order to get the forth that you find when you drink it straight. I guess I’m not a “real Cuban” that way. LOL! So today, a lesson on how to make “real Cuban coffee.” Thanks to SAVEUR Magazine for the video.

A Video How-To

How to make Cuban Coffee

#ThrowbackThursday – A Trip to Miami

An old joke, but funny. What’s a Cuban girl’s favorite whine? I want to go to Miami!

Lately I’ve been working on a lot of Works-In-Progress that are set in Miami and with winter still with us in the Northeast, I’m dreaming of warm nights and the beach. Plus it will let me do research on all the different locations in my WIPs. Being able to go there will really help up the authenticity in the stories. So here’s hoping one of them sells! For now, a snapshot from one of our earlier trips to Miami!

RIP Jose Fernandez

The shocking news came on while we were watching the Mets game last night. Cuban-American Jose Fernandez, who we feared as a competitor for the Miami Marlins, was dead at 24 in a boating accident.

Yoenis Cespedes, a fellow Cuban and Mets outfielder, hung up a Mets jersey with Fernandez’s name and number in tribute. Others followed suit all around the league.

Fernandez was voted the 2013 National League Rookie of the Year award. His was a promising life cut short, but it was a life of inspiration and as a fellow Cuban-American, it pained me to hear of his loss.

A Cuban-American sportscaster from Miami spoke about what Fernandez meant to the Cuban community, much like each and every successful Cuban resonates with Cubans all across the U.S.

We came here for freedom and to live the American dream. Fernandez embodied that spirit and attaining the dream.

At 14 he attempted to defect, but was caught and sent to prison. He tried again three other times and for each failure, he went to prison. During the successful attempt, Fernandez’s mother fell overboard and Fernandez had to rescue her, risking his own life to do so.

While Fernandez, his mother, and sister attained freedom here in the U.S. in 2007, his grandmother was left behind and it took six years before she could join her family in 2013. In 2015, Fernandez became a U.S. citizen.

Freedom was that important to Fernandez as it is to so many Cuban refugees who risked so much to get here. I understand. I lived it and have had the ability to attain the American Dream.

It’s why I stand and place my hand over my heart for the national anthem even when I’m at home and watching a game.

RIP Jose Fernandez. My sympathies to his family on their loss and to the families of the two other men killed in the boating accident.

José Fernández on April 12, 2016