As part of our downsizing, I scanned a lot of our family photos to save space in our new smaller home. I scanned this elementary school photo of me. I’m guessing I was about 11 or 12 maybe? We had moved to Levittown that summer and I started the fourth grade that year at Gardiners Avenue Elementary. It was a nice time, although I definitely felt like a fish out of water at first.

Celebrating My Version of the 2020 Olympic Games
Here’s a fun one! If clutter was an Olympic event, I would most definitely win a Gold Medal! How about you? What thing do you do that would qualify you for your own special Gold Medal?

Video Premiere for Trapping a Terrorist Romance Thriller
I am so so excited about the release of Trapping a Terrorist because I love stories with FBI heroes! In this story, my hero is Supervisory Special Agent Miguel Peters who must work with his Behavioral Analysis Unit team to stop a serial bomber from terrorizing Seattle. They are running out of time before someone gets seriously hurt, especially since the bomber has fixated on Maisy Oliver, the heroine in the story. Miguel and his team must figure it out, including whether Maisy is a part of the terrorist group. Did I mention her father is in prison for being a serial bomber?
Teaser for Trapping a Terrorist
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?
Video Premiere
Order the Book
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.
Do Blondes or Brunettes Have More Fun?
I remember reading years ago that women did not like blonde men on romance novel covers. That always surprised me because Fabio was one of the most successful romance cover models of all time. According to Body and Soul News, Fabio appeared on 462 romance novel covers. Now there’s a new romance novel cover king in town since brown-haired Jason Baca has appeared on over 500! What about you? Do you like blondes or brown-haired men on romance novel covers? What about redheads? I’d love to know!
Choose your romance novel cover model

Beards, beards, beards, everywhere a beard!
Facial hair seems to be all the rage lately. But do women really like beards on men? A poll taken by The Guardian in 2018 found that nearly 50% of women would not sleep with a man with a beard! WHAT?! My hubby has had various tonsorial changes over the years (yes, that’s the word of the day, LOL!) but I like him with facial hair whether a full beard or a goatee. What about you? No beard? Stubble? Nicely trimmed hair? Are you a ZZ Top hair kind of girl? Or – and I’m really going here – the monkey tail beard? Yes, that’s a thing!
So which one do you like? 1, 2, 3, or 4? Do you like seeing men with beards on romance novel covers? Share and let’s start off the weekend with some fun!

Celebrating My Daughter’s Quinces
Since one of the storylines in South Beach Love is about two rival teens and their upcoming quinceañera parties, I decided to share a picture with you from my daughter’s quinces! It was such a fun time celebrating such a big moment in her life with all our family and friends. It was also important to keep that tradition alive and sharing it with others was a very special moment.
If you want to read more about quinces, you can visit https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/cultural-traditions/10-fun-quinceanera-traditions.htm.
A Feel Good Romance Gets a Feel Good Review
I am so grateful to be able to follow my passion and love when you follow along with me! It’s especially rewarding when you take the time to leave a review and share your thoughts about what you liked about the book. So a big thanks to Carla the Reader for her review of South Beach Love. Thank you so much, Carla!
If you want to help a fav author, please take the time to leave them a review! Reviews really do help authors.

