Hoping to have a little fun this Friday with the video premiere for Lost in Little Havana! I can’t believe release day is nearly here (only 46 more days!) and I hope you will enjoy meeting the Gonzalez family and their South Beach Security agency. The first book in the series features Trey Gonzalez and Roni Lopez, two Miami Beach police detectives who must solve a murder, find missing coeds, and prevent Roni from being killed! It’s an action-packed story set in and around Little Havana, South Beach, and Downtown Miami. You can pre-order your copy at https://amzn.to/36KrDcR.
A visit to the Manasquan Reservoir
With the weather starting to turn chillier, hubby and I are trying to fit in as many outside activities as we can before we have to stay inside because of inclement weather. We’d heard about the Manasquan Reservoir but had never been there so we decided to head out and explore it and the surrounding areas. We discovered we weren’t far from a horse farm as well as a turkey farm as well as the reservoir. We opted for a shorter walk that actually ended up being 5 (yes FIVE) miles around part of the reservoir and a nearby cove. It’s a beautiful place and you can launch small boats and kayaks as well as walk, jog, bike, or ride your horse along several different trails. If you’re in this part of New Jersey, I would recommend that you check it out.
When One Book Closes Another Book Opens
I’ve just turned in the first book in the South Beach Security K-9 series, tentatively titled Rescue at Redland Ranch. Now I’m finishing up some research so I can start writing the second book in the series, tentatively titled Escape the Everglades. I love doing the research, especially since the Everglades is such a fascinating location. Many years ago we did an airboat tour and I’m excited to include some of that experience in the opening scenes of the book. I think that if you liked Decoy Training, you’ll love seeing the dogs in this new romantic suspense series. The SBS K-9 division series will be available in 2023, but I hope you’ll check out the first book in the SBS series. Lost in Little Havana will be available in November 2022! You can pre-order your copy today at https://www.caridad.com/books/suspense/caridad-little-havana/.
“Grown-up” Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
When the day is rainy and we can’t go out for a walk on the boardwalk, hubby and I will often hunker down and watch some of our favorite cooking shows, namely Cook’s Country and America’s Test Kitchen. We love seeing what Bridget and Julia will be cooking up and have often tried to replicate the dishes. On this rainy day the ladies were cooking a creamy tomato soup and fancy grilled cheese. They looked so good that we decided to replicate the recipes and are we glad that we did! The tomato soup was fabulous. The only changes that I made were to use a Vidalia onion as I didn’t have shallots and a touch of paprika instead of allspice, again because I didn’t have any at home. As for the grilled cheese, we used plain white bread instead of rye, but the sandwiches were still delicious. So if you’re in the mood for a grown-up version of grilled cheese and some amazing tomato soup, try these recipes! You can find the videos at https://youtu.be/YeyHV-PPpPU (soup) and https://youtu.be/VzbODAaf0Vk (grilled cheese). FYI – you did need some wine for the grilled cheese sandwich so I used this Friuli Pinot Grigio from Costco. Totally delicious wine for under $6.
Help Your Kids Love to Read
I love to read and I think one of the reasons is that my mother and grandmother were avid readers. They taught me to love reading and reading opened up so many new worlds for me in the books that I read. Because of how important reading was to me, I made a point of trying to pass on that love to my daughter. It wasn’t easy because she wasn’t a big reader at first, but little by little reading and writing became an important part of her life. I was so relieved when that happened. Today I’m sharing some tips on how you can help your kids love to read!
Happy Visits to Miami and South Beach
The South Beach Security series was inspired in part by my family’s trips to Miami and South Beach over the years. We used to love spending time there and popping over to Little Havana as well as some of the tourist attractions like the Miami Seaquarium. I’ve included some of those spots in books like South Beach Love and also the upcoming SBS series. On this Throwback Thursday, I’m sharing one of my favorite pictures taken during one of our visits to Miami. When I was a kid and we visited, we would always go to the Miami Seaquarium because it was the home of Flipper the dolphin. I even had a large dolphin plush doll!
Meet the Gonzalez Family from South Beach Security
I can’t wait for you to meet the Gonzalez family from the South Beach Security series. Actually, you met some of them already if you read Cold Case Reopened when tech gurus Sophie and Robbie Whitaker (cousins to the Gonzalez family) helped Jackson Whitaker and Rhea Reilly discover the truth about her sister’s disappearance. In the South Beach Security series you’ll get to see Sophie and Robbie help their Gonzalez family solve crimes revolving around murder, human trafficking, domestic abuse, fraud, and hacking! I decided to make this little family tree to show you the relationships between the family members and their books. Oldest son Trey (since he’s the third Ramon) is the hero of the first book Lost in Little Havana. Middle brother Ricardo (Ricky) finds love in the second book Brickell Avenue Ambush. Baby sister Mia is the star of the last book Biscayne Bay Breach. You’ll also get to see more of the Gonzalez siblings and Whitaker cousins when SBS decides to establish a K-9 division. I’m also hoping to give Sophie and Robbie their own stories when they visit Jackson and Rhea in Colorado and find themselves caught up in more suspense! I hope you’ll check out the South Beach Security series which is now available for pre-order at https://amzn.to/3e5qr7I. The first book will be out on November 29, 2022!
