Sometimes I wrack my brains trying to think about what to share with you! But today it came immediately: THANK YOU! You are the ones who make my writing possible by your amazing support of my books and stopping by to chat with me. You make all the frustrations of deadlines and other things worthwhile. Thank you for your support of my latest releases Trapping a Terrorist and South Beach Love. As a way to say thanks, look for a very special #giveaway on October 7! I won’t say more yet, but it’ll be a good one because you are all so wonderful!
Happy Birthday Trapping a Terrorist
It’s the book birthday for my new Harlequin Intrigue release Trapping a Terrorist. This is my 25th release for Harlequin which is so exciting. I look forward to writing many many more for them.
Teaser
An FBI agent puts everything on the line…
To keep a deadly threat at bay.
When FBI agent Miguel Peters and his father land squarely in the crosshairs of a bomber terrorizing Seattle, the last thing Miguel wants is to also entangle a lovely stranger in a terrorist’s web. Yet while Maisy Oliver might look innocent, her father’s one of the most notorious men in Washington State. Miguel knows Maisy will do anything to help him and his team catch a killer. But does that include confronting a past she’s worked far too long to forget?
From Harlequin Intrigue: Seek thrills. Solve crimes. Justice served.
Discover more action-packed stories in the Behavioral Analysis Unit series. All books are stand-alone with uplifting endings but were published in the following order:
Book 1: Profiling a Killer by Nichole Severn
Book 2: Decoding a Criminal by Barb Han
Book 3: Tracing a Kidnapper by Juno Rushdan
Book 4: Trapping a Terrorist by Caridad Piñeiro
Excerpt
King Street Station, Seattle, 10:16 a.m.
I need the perfect hostage.
Tucked behind the protection of the column, he watched the people coming and going in King Street Station, unaware of the danger. Unaware that he intended to grab one of them, and soon.
Peering around the edge of the column, he spied a young boy at a nearby kiosk. The boy, who was maybe six or seven, was focused on the shelves of candy before him, eyes wide in anticipation of a treat. His distracted parents, tourists if he had to guess from the expensive camera dangling around the man’s neck and the map tucked into his back pocket, were a few feet away, their attention on a display of postcards, probably to commemorate their visit to Seattle.
He laughed, thinking about how it would be a visit they would never forget if he grabbed their boy. But parents could be overly protective when their kids were involved. If the two of them went crazy when he snatched the boy, it could all go south.
Still, if this was a video game, kids would score high points for being fast, hard to control and too young to die.
A few yards away a dainty young thing stood chatting to an older man. She was pretty in that girl-next-door kind of way. Brown hair with caramel highlights was tucked up in a feminine braid and as she glanced his way, he noticed her eyes. Blue, but a blue so deep they were almost indigo. A man could get lost in those eyes. Angel Eyes.
He imagined grabbing her, but her body was toned and no matter how angelic she looked, something about her warned that she’d be scrappy.
Again, high points for that feistiness and beauty.
Not so many points for the old man with her.
He looked like an absent-minded professor with his tweed cap, sweater with leather patches on the elbows and silver-rimmed eyeglasses that made his eyes look way too big. The professor didn’t seem feeble, but he didn’t seem like a problem either.
I could take him, he thought until a tall, muscular man turned to speak to Angel Eyes and the professor. The man was fit and powerful looking but leaning heavily on a cane. He looked like a younger version of the professor. Enough to maybe be a son. This man could be major trouble, but trouble would definitely earn more points in any game.
A second later the man’s phone rang. He held up a finger, turned and took a few steps away, probably for privacy during the call.
Perfect. This is my chance.
Video
Order Caridad’s New Release
Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/3stMJSx
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3dmWs6L
Amazon Box Set: https://amzn.to/3lWYdvf
Apple: https://apple.co/3fp4NcL
Apple Box Set: Coming Soon!
BN E-book: http://bit.ly/BNTrap
BN Box Set: http://bit.ly/BNBoxSetTTrap
Kobo: http://bit.ly/KoboTrap
Kobo Box Set: http://bit.ly/KobpBoxSetTrap
Additional Retailers: https://books2read.com/TrappingATerrorist
Control Your Own Destiny
I have so much going on in the next few weeks. Tomorrow’s release of Trapping a Terrorist, my 25th book for Harlequin. A board retreat for a non-profit. The South Beach Love movie on the Hallmark Channel! Two conferences and upcoming deadlines! OMG!!!
So many things that it’s easy to feel as if things are spiraling out of control and yet a spiral doesn’t necessarily mean losing control. I think of the nautilus whose spiral is about as near to perfection as you can get. It’s almost a golden spiral in perfect ratio, each chamber carefully made and closed as the nautilus grows.
It reminds me on this Motivation Monday that I can control my destiny. No matter all these things that need to be done, I have the power to decide how and when to do them. It’s an important thing to remember so that you don’t let worry and fear keep you from doing what you need to do!
Matzoh Ball Soup from Trapping a Terrorist
It was rainy the other day and I was just craving something warm. I imagine my characters in Trapping a Terrorist would love something like this Matzoh Ball Soup on a rainy day! The secret ingredient is leeks. My grandmother always said that you can’t make a good chicken noodle soup without leeks. As for the matzoh balls, I must confess that I use a box mix for these. The tip to them being tasty is to not make them too big so they can absorb the broth more easily. I generally make my balls a little smaller than a golf ball. If you try this recipe, please let me know how you liked it!
Caridad’s Matzoh Ball Soup
Ingredients
1 cup sliced leeks
1 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery leaves (You can use the stalks but I think the leaves have more flavor!)
1 box low salt chicken broth
1 box vegetable broth
4 thighs with skin
1 cup sliced carrots (to be added later)
Matzoh Ball Mix
2 cups egg noodles
Directions
Saute leeks, diced carrots and celery in a little olive oil. Do not brown the vegetables, just sweat them (about 4-5 minutes).
Add broths and chicken and bring to a boil. Lower to a very low boil and cook for about three hours or so. Rremove chicken from the broth. Remove skin and either toss or make a cracklin’. Fork meat from bone and return to the broth.
An hour before you are going to eat, add the sliced carrots.
It takes about 20 minutes to make the matzoh ball mix but most of this time is letting the balls sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Once the matzoh balls are ready, add to the broth and bring to a boil again. Cook for 14 minutes and add your egg noodles.
Cook for another 6 minutes if you like a firm noodle. 7-8 minutes for softer noodles. Serve in a nice deep bowl!
Miguel Peters from Trapping a Terrorist
I had a blast writing Trapping a Terrorist, my contribution to the Behavioral Analysis Unit ensemble collection. There was the thriller part as FBI Supervisory Special Agent Miguel Peters works with his team to locate a serial bomber who is terrorizing Seattle. Of course, there was also a romance with Miguel and Maisy Oliver, a woman whose past may hold the key to identifying the serial killer.
When I was thinking about who to cast as my FBI Agent, Eduardo Verastegui came to mind. I just love men with light eyes and dark hair and Eduardo was a perfect choice! What do you think?
Credit to lukeford.net (permission statement at en:User:Tabercil/Luke Ford permission), CC BY-SA 2.5
Potato Chip Purist or Adventurer?
There are so many new potato chip flavors. Ketchup. Red Hot. Sour cream and onion. My daughter’s fav Middleswarth BBQ chips. Even, believe it or not, Cuban sandwich flavored chips!
I have to confess I’m a potato chip purist. I love them plain with lots of onion dip. I love onion dip.
What about you? Are you a purist like me or an adventurer?
Sadness at Losing the Past and the Future
This year we lost our local bowling alley, the Lanes at Sea Girt. The lanes had survived COVID, but not the need for another strip mall apparently. The lanes had been there for 61 years.
Just this month the last of the Circus Diner disappeared when the well-known clown sign came down. The sign will go into storage until the town can decide what to do with it.
Like the Lanes at Sea Girt, the Circus Drive-IN had been around for over 60 years. I had the pleasure of eating there several times. Loved their onion rings and people would go there for the soft-shelled crab sandwiches and lobster rolls.
What’s going up in place of the Circus Drive-In? No word yet as far as I know except that it’s being redeveloped despite attempts by many to keep the restaurant alive.
It’s sad seeing so much history disappear and be replaced by another strip mall, fast food joint, or bank. It’s not just that we’re losing a piece of the past, but the future as well. Do we really want to live in a sterile America defined by one strip mall after another?
How about you? Have you lost any interesting landmarks, restaurants, etc. that really bummed you out?
