#WriteWed – Savor One Summer Night at the Shore

I love doing a series set in one of my favorite spots on earth – the Jersey Shore. That’s why I came up with the At the Shore series. Today I’m sharing an excerpt from ONE SUMMER NIGHT, the first book in the series. This book was a Publishers Weekly Top 1O romance and featured in the NY Times Round-up of Romance. It’s on sale right now for 99 cents and I hope you’ll check it out!

Teaser

An offer that’s impossible to accept . . .

Maggie Sinclair has tried everything to save her family’s business, including mortgaging their beloved beach house on the Jersey Shore. But now, she’s out of options.

The Sinclair and Pierce families have been neighbors and enemies for almost thirty years. That hasn’t stopped Owen Pierce from crushing on Maggie, and he’s determined to invest in her success. Now he has to convince her that he’s more than just trouble with a capital T!

Excerpt

With keen interest, Owen Pierce took note of the three women as they hurried away from the dais and into the Sinclair mansion.

“Put your eyes back in your head, Bro. She’s nothing but trouble,” Jon warned in low tones.

Owen bit back the retort that if anyone knew about trouble, it was his brother. Jonathan had always marched to a different drummer and had set out on his own as a teenager to explore what he wanted out of life. Now a successful entrepreneur, he had captured the media’s attention with his innovative designs and daring adventures. That left Owen to shoulder most of the burden of the family’s real estate business, as well as deal with his father’s anger over Jonathan’s latest newsworthy escapade.

He envied his brother’s carefree spirit and determination, especially as Maggie Sinclair marched back onto the patio with her friends, an angry bride, and an obviously inebriated groom. Both the bride and groom looked far from happy as they approached the elaborate multi-tiered wedding cake that had been wheeled out to the middle of the makeshift dance floor.

He worried the bride might plunge the long knife she held into her new husband, but luckily for the newlyweds, Maggie directed the blade toward the cake.

Jon playfully elbowed him. “Seriously, Owen. She’s not for you. Father declared the Sinclairs off-limits ages ago. He would have a stroke if he thought the two of you were involved.”

Involved with Maggie Sinclair, Owen thought and sighed with regret.

In a way, he’d been involved with her forever. He’d like to chalk it all up to a sloppy, hurried, and stolen kiss at eighteen and the allure of forbidden fruit. But since that kiss, he’d watched her mature into a smart, beautiful woman. One who was willing to work hard for the town and business she cared about as well as friends and family. With every encounter, he’d grown more intrigued with the person Maggie had become.

But his father had come down hard on them about mingling with the Sinclairs right after Maggie’s mother’s death. For years, they’d been unable to come to their Sea Kiss home, and even when they’d returned, they’d done so without their father, who refused to be so close to the family he thought had wronged him.

Not that Owen expected that Jon would kowtow to such rules, since his brother was the kind of man who didn’t hesitate to take what he wanted.

He arched a brow and met his brother’s blue-eyed gaze, which glittered with a mix of undisguised challenge and amusement. “Do you think you’re the only one entitled to a little adventure in your life?” he said.

Jon chuckled. “My kind of adventure is way safer than what you may be considering.”

“Why’s that, Li’l Bro?” he asked, appreciating the sight of Maggie in a dusty-rose gown that hugged dangerous curves. Her chestnut-brown hair fell to her shoulders in soft waves and framed ice-blue eyes and a sassy, sexy face that snared his attention every time he saw her.

Jonathan took a last sip of his champagne and barely stifled another laugh. With a shake of his head, he replied, “Because all I risk is an occasional broken bone, but that!” He jerked his head in Maggie’s direction as she stepped back beside Connie and Emma. “That will break your heart.”

Order

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2krMwfE
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2kYLWZV
B&N: http://bit.ly/2kNuo0p
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2ik8EfG
iBooks: http://apple.co/2qsqdwx
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2fuEphL
Audible: https://amzn.to/2l2D0S2

May 12, 2020

Chicken Pot Pie – #TuesdayTip

It was one of those nights where I needed a little comfort food and to also clean out some things in the fridge. Rotisserie chicken, peas, some carrots getting a little past their prime. I thought, why not a Chicken Pot Pie! Total comfort food for me and I hope for you as well. While I normally would do my white sauce for the filling, I’m trying to clean out the pantry so I dug in there for things I might use. I hope you enjoy this easy recipe!

Caridad’s Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

2 pie crust shells (Pillsbury, box mix, or made from scratch)
3 cups chopped chicken
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup peas (Fresh, canned or frozen. If canned or frozen, pre-cook and drain to eliminate excess liquid)
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup celery chopped
1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 can Half and half
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (the real stuff!)
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Lightly grease large 9-inch pie pan. You can do individual, but I did one big pan to save time. If you’re using dark metal pans, you may need to cut down on the cooking time.

Saute mushrooms in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Olive oil is my go-to but you can substitute vegetable oil or butter if you prefer.

Saute mushrooms for about 3 minutes to get rid of their liquid.

Add carrots and celery and saute for another 3 minutes or so.

Add onions and saute until softened, about another 2 to 3 minutes.

Add mushroom soup and the half and half and stir well. Remove from the heat and add the chicken. Mix well until all the chicken is coated with the sauce. I’m not cooking the chicken at this stage since it’s already cooked and I don’t want to overcook it since it’s going into the oven for at least 30-40 minutes.

Salt and pepper to taste and add peas, mixing them in gently. I had canned peas and they are softer, so I added them last. If you’re using frozen ones that you’ve cooked, you may add them in earlier, but don’t mush them up.

Prepare your pie pan with the bottom layer of crust, stretching it up carefully to reach up the sides.

Fill the pan with your chicken, soup, and vegetable mixture and make sure it’s level. Top with the grated parmesan cheese.

Cover this mix with the top pie crust shell. Close the edges of the pie by folding and crimping the edges all around.

Cut a few slits in the top pie crust to allow steam to escape so you won’t burst that top crust with the steam.

Cook this pie for about 30 minutes. Remove and place a tin foil collar on the crimped edges of the pie so they won’t brown too much. Cook for another 10 or so minutes or until the top crust is golden brown.

Let sit for about 5 minutes and then slice and eat.

Some people will do an egg wash on the top of the crust. That will give you a nice glaze and color, but that extra color can throw you off as to the pie crust being cooked.

You can also do this pie Spanish-style by using tomato sauce and paste instead of the mushroom soup. Add some olives and capers to that red sauce for some brininess and kick. Maybe even some chorizo for another pop of flavor!

Bon Apetit!

May 11, 2020

#MotivationMonday – Hang in there!

I know it’s a tough time for lots of people thanks to the lockdown and the coronavirus. Some people may not have spent time with their moms. You may not be working. You may be stuck in your house or apartment. You may be gaining weight because you can’t go to the gym and you’re not eating the way you should. Especially since food can be a source of comfort at times. In the last month I’ve been struggling with losing weight, but I haven’t gained. That’s a plus even though I haven’t really budged the needle on the scale all that much. I’m trying to hang in there until things get back to normal or the “new normal.” I’m sending good thoughts your way to hang in there also. Things will change and they’ll change for the better! Hugs to you all!

May 10, 2020

Happy Mother’s Day

Wishing you all a very Happy Mother’s Day!

May 7, 2020

#ThrowbackThursday – Some Piping Plovers

Chunks of our beach were closed off last year since the threatened piping plovers were making a comeback in our area along with seabeach amaranth. These little birds nest in the sand and their offspring are really small. I mean like tiny at first! This year there seems to be more of them and I think this is a flock on one of the jetties off the beach.
Piping Plovers Belmar beach NJ

May 6, 2020

#WriteWed – A First Night in Never a Bride

Good morning! Today I have a little teaser for you from NEVER A BRIDE. In this scene, Carlo and Emma have spent the night together, but probably not in the way that both would have expected.

Teaser

Emma woke to tempting warmth and a teasing tickle against her cheek. Half asleep, she tried to smooth away whatever was causing it and encountered a wall of hard muscle and crisp chest hair. She groaned and screwed her eyes shut as memories of the night before pummeled her brain.

“You okay?” Carlo said and his deep voice rumbled through her, awakening other parts of her body.

“I am so so sorry,” she said and met his amused gaze.

“I have to confess that in all the dreams I had about our first night together – ”

“You dreamed about us being together?” she asked and her heart pounded, rushing blood to all those already alert parts.

With a half-grin, he shifted so they were face-to-face on the pillow and covered the hand she had splayed on his chest. “I never imagined our first night together or the morning after would be quite like this.”

There was no mistaking the look in his eyes and what he had expected, but that didn’t keep her from saying, “What did you imagine?”

Order

Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/2MLZRyK
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1482927575
B&N: bit.ly/BN_Bride
Kobo: bit.ly/kobo_Bride
Never a Bride First Night

May 4, 2020

#ManCrushMonday – Ryder Latimer from The Calling is Reborn Vampire Series

The idea for The Calling is Reborn first came to me while I was facing a deadline for another book I was writing. Despite the deadline, the heroine of the book, Diana Reyes, kept on screaming for me to write her story. I found that I had to stop writing the contracted book and sit down and do a few chapters in her story. From that moment, I also knew what kind of hero Diana would need and Ryder Latimer was born. He was the perfect counterpoint to my determined, edgy, and loyal FBI Agent. Ryder was protective, caring, patient, and so so sexy. Just the kind of man that would be impossible to resist, only Ryder wasn’t a man. He was a centuries-old vampire determined not to fall in love, especially with a human who was born to die. I hope you’ll take a moment to check out Ryder in the first book in the series, DARKNESS CALLS. You can find out more about DARKNESS CALLS at https://bit.ly/DarknessCallsCaridadPineiro.

Southern Vampire Ryder Latimer