Tag: portuguese

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#ManCandyMonday – Carlo from A Sea Kiss Christmas

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.

Man Candy Monday Carlo from A Sea Kiss Christmas

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Aaron Diaz & At The Shore #ManCandyMonday

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:

Website: http://aarondiazspencer.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AaronDiazMX/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aarondiaz/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AaronDiazSVK

🍊

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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

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#WriteWed The Ironbound Section & At the Shore

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

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Thoughtful Thursday – The Power of Language

Raul Ramos y SanchezMy friend Raul Ramos y Sanchez (who will be visiting us on August 14th) talked a little about learning his first English word yesterday at Mama Latina Tips.

I remember learning my first English words from television:

Doublemint adds to your fun
Double pleasures all in one
So refreshing, great taste, too
Chew Doublemint, Doublemint, Doublemint gum!

LOL! Had to look up the lyrics to that classic commercial.

Actually, we had the television on constantly. It was how my sister and I started to learn English before I was plopped into kindergarten with barely any understanding of the language (I had only been in America for a short time at that point). There were no ESL classes back then. You learned by immersion which is much the same way most people effectively learn a foreign language today.

In no time I was speaking and reading English and eventually I learned Italian, some French and because all the Romance languages have their roots in Latin (which I took in high school), I realized I was able to read Portuguese as well.

Being able to speak and/or read all those languages has really been a blessing. Whenever a project came up at work that required someone who was bilingual, I was the one handed the assignment which means that I’ve been able to visit over a dozen countries for an assortment of projects and conferences.

Learning other languages opens up new worlds and not just because you can visit somewhere else. When you take the time to learn even a few words, it opens doors of communication. If you learn a little more, you’ll also come to know more about other cultures.

For those who don’t speak English, learning it is important because it is the lingua franca of the business world. Get ten people together in any country and chances are, a large number of them (if not all) will speak English.

For those who only speak English, learning another language gives you new opportunities for growth. Many companies are global now and need people who can communicate with those in other countries. Even though these people may speak English, conversing with them in their own language makes them feel more comfortable and establishes an immediate bond. With another language under your belt you are that much more marketable in today’s economy.

Do you speak another language? Did your parents or grandparents?

Want to visit some more with Raul? Check him out on one of these other stops on his virtual blog tour:

WEEK ONE
August 3: “Musings” by Nilki Benitez http://Nilkibenitez.blogspot.com
August 4: “Chasing Heroes” http://chasingheroes.com
August 5: “Mama Latina” http://www.mamalatinatips.com
August 6: “Efrain’s Corner” by Efrain Ortiz, Jr. http://efrainortizjr.blogspot.com
August 7: “Writing to Insanity” by Icess Fernandez http://www.locacrazywriter.blogspot.com

WEEK TWO
The AMERICA LIBRE “Virtual Book Tour” continues…
August 10: “Sofrito for Your Soul” by George Torres http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/sofrito-for-your-soul
August 11: “Author Terri Molina” http://terrimolina.com
August 12: “Latino Books Examiner Mayra Calvani” http://www.examiner.com/x-6309-Latino-Books-Examiner
August 13: “Unloaded” by Ricardo Lori http://www.un-loaded.com
August 14: “Author Caridad Piñeiro” https://www.caridad.com

WEEK THREE
The AMERICA LIBRE “Virtual Book Tour” continues…
August 17: “Author Julia Amante” http://juliaamante.blogspot.com
August 18: “Author Charlie Vazquez” http://charlievazquez.wordpress.com

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