Caridad Pineiro® Romance Author
NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Romance Author
Visit with me this morning at My Keeper Shelf and find out why I chose a prince as the hero of my latest romantic suspense release, THE PRINCE’S GAMBLE! Leave a comment at My Keeper Shelf for a chance to win a copy of THE FIFTH KINGDOM (one of my all time favorite books!)
Plus, I’m sharing a little something from a movie I mention in the guest blog. If you can’t see the video below, you can click here to watch!
Please take a moment to visit with me today at Fictional Candy as I chat about why I chose Atlantic City as the setting for THE PRINCE’S GAMBLE and also, why I LOVE Prince Alexander!
As I mentioned yesterday, lots of things have made it tough to get in the Christmas spirit, but last night changed all that. I had my baby home to help us trim the tree and we had a visit from Santa! That’s an old tradition in our neighborhood as Santa does a test drive through town with the help of the local fire department. Here’s a short video of that! If you can’t see it here, you can click here to view it.
Then we got to trimming the tree! It’s always fun to put out ornaments and remember from where they came. I’m sharing some of my favorites and some other trimming photos on Facebook. Don’t worry, even if you don’t do FB, you can view the album. Just click here to see the photos!
Here’s a shot of some of my favorite ornaments. No, not the beach Santa, but the five little angels playing in the orchestra. My sister and I used to play in the orchestra and this reminds me of those lovely days. These ornaments were handed down to me from my mom, so they are fairly old.
I hope the spirit of the holidays is with you! Please share some of your holiday favorites with us.
I’m having a hard time getting in the Christmas spirit this year for a variety of reasons. But the one thing that always makes me smile is a light display that one of the neighbors has up on his home. It’s one of those automated ones where you can tune in to a station to listen. We always have the station on and slow down to watch for a bit as we drive by.
So, I thought I’d share with you another light display. A little over-the-top, but it has to be appreciated.
If you can’t see the video below, you can click here.
It’s a busy Monday today! First up, some guest blogs at Parajunkee and at the USA TODAY Happily-Ever-After Blog. Please visit with me as I discuss the destruction along the Jersey Shore and my latest romantic suspense release, THE PRINCE’S GAMBLE.
Also, if you get a chance, please vote for KISSED BY A VAMPIRE over at the Paranormal Romance Guild! I’m nominated for Best Paranormal Romance! Thank you so much!
Today’s Man Candy Monday is a shout out to all my Wisconsin friends! Meet Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. He is such a cutie! Here he is talking about his ‘stache and having some fun. If you can’t see the video below, you can click here.
You know I always try to find something funny for you on Fridays and with my being a cat person and it being Christmas, this seemed to really fit the bill. To be frank, this must be some mellow cat ’cause I know that if I tried this with mine, it would shred me to tiny bits.
Of course, maybe if my daughter tried it the cat might go along. The cat ADORES my daughter and has from the moment she set eyes on her at the shelter.
Here’s wishing you a good weekend and lots of fun on this Friday! If you can’t see the video below, you can click here to watch!
Today we’re offering up some tips on writing. Wendy is here sharing her thoughts on “Making It All Fit” while I’m visiting Wendy’s blog and chatting about why I put my characters on the couch before I write!
So without further ado, here’s Wendy!
I was scanning through the cable channels Saturday morning looking for a something good to watch. After reading the description of The Crush, I decided to give the movie a shot. The movie was described as a suspense (my kind of genre!) about a college student who had sex with a woman. The woman then became obsessive. I started watching the movie and things that didn’t make sense started jumping out at me.
If you are an author you know what I’m about to talk about. If you are a reader only, you might find it interesting to know about this part of the writing process. When we are writing a book we have to make sure that the actions fit well with the plot. Everything has to run smoothly together or we get our edits back with comments like “Why is she doing this? It makes no sense at all,” or that the details don’t fit with the plot, or that something similar. Our books are like puzzles, every single piece must fit perfectly or the picture is not complete.
So back to the movie. One of the key points is that the college student is house-sitting for a rich stranger. As the owner of the house leaves, he mentions his niece stopping by occasionally for a swim. I had an issue with this. Why would the owner have a stranger live in the house while his niece (an adult) lives close by and can do it? Did not make sense to me. I kept watching. So the college student met the “niece” who happens to be there all the time! He has sex with the niece even though he has a girlfriend and the niece becomes obsessive over the college student. At one point she wraps her hands around his neck and makes him tell her that he loves her. The college student becomes so scared of this chick that he can’t sleep at night. It affects his schooling and the sport he plays. So why doesn’t he leave? I don’t know and that fact alone bothered me. The owner calls the college student who mentions that he had met the owner’s niece. Guess what? The owner told him that meeting his niece wasn’t possible since his niece had taken a trip out of town. Did the college student leave yet? Heck no. I would have packed up my crap and hit the road. He later finds out that she is a ghost and is in love with the college student.
There wasn’t any ghost stuff through 3/4 of the movie. There wasn’t any hint of the movie turning paranormal or even close. I kept watching though just to see how it ended. The ghost woman transformed from being a beautiful woman to an evil entity which the sudden change scared the crap out of me. I couldn’t look at her half the time. Even after the change, the actions didn’t make sense. She told the college student (now locked in the house so he couldn’t leave) that she was the one who would end all of this stuff but then she went into the water with slit wrists. Made no sense. Then she was back in the bedroom telling him he needed to die so he could be with her forever. She did manage to kill him as his girlfriend (who had been ignoring him all through the movie) suddenly appears to save him.
I love watching movies that reminds me of the “right way” to write a story. By showing me everything wrong, reinforced the desire to make everything fit smoothly together. I don’t want a single reader to ask why the heck I threw another puzzle’s piece in the center of the one the reader is enjoying. Thanks, crappy movie writers, for reminding me of this!
Wendy Ely is a contemporary romance author. She writes some romantic suspense, really hot stories, and the wonderful happily-ever-after. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her own real-life hero and her two teenagers. Wendy loves to hear from readers and you can e-mail her at authorwendyely at gmail dot com.
Can Chelsea and Jordan find their child, and rediscover each other?
When Chelsea Montgomery vanished eleven years ago, her hometown thought she’d been abducted. In truth, she’d given up the daughter she’d secretly had with Jordan Case.
Now he confronts her to help find the child. With a little girl’s fate hanging in the balance, will the uneasy partnership — stained by the past — transform into something else?
To purchase CONFESSIONS, please visit http://amzn.com/B00A3FVT84
In late October, I had the pleasure of going down to the Low Country Master Class Retreat where I met some fabulous people, including today’s guest, Cathy Perkins! Cathy is here to tell us about her latest release, HONOR CODE.
Take it away, Cathy!
Thanks for inviting me to join you on your blog today, Caridad. Donating the proceeds of your new book, The Prince’s Gamble is a wonderful “give-back†to your community and I hope conditions continue to improve as the rebuilding moves forward.
Just as The Prince’s Gamble was a new direction for you, Honor Code presented a new challenge for me. I’ve always written twisty novels with multiple suspects, numerous red herrings and a few subplots just in case things aren’t complicated enough. A novella was charting new territory.
Novellas fill that gray area (whatever shade you want it to be) between short story and novel. While I usually write complex subplots, with this novella, I stripped those out to focus on the central story and theme. In Honor Code, the story revolves around the way the three main characters choose to live their lives—their code of honor.
Or lack of one.
Here’s a little blurb for HONOR CODE:
In a small southern town where everyone knows each other’s business, veteran detective Larry Robbins must solve the disappearance of eighty-year-old widower George Beason.
When evidence arises that Beason may have left town on his own, it would be easy for Robbins to close the case, but his gut instinct tells him more’s at stake. As he uncovers clues about Beason’s deceased wife and his estranged daughter, Robbins must untangle conflicting motives and hidden agendas to bring Beason home alive.
With HONOR CODE, award-winning author Cathy Perkins delivers a mystery NOVELLA linked to her mystery novel, THE PROFESSOR.
Robbins looked across Miz Rose’s breakfast table at the toddler.
Cute kid.
Tasha cut her eyes and smiled, a natural flirt.
Her daddy’s gonna need a shotgun when this one gets older, he thought—then remembered she didn’t have a daddy.
Daintily pinching the Cheerio between forefinger and thumb, Tasha offered him a cereal circle. Mouth open, he lowered his head. She dropped the Cheerio inside. He kissed her fingers in return, a loud smack that drew laughter.
“Don’t you be encouraging her,†Miz Rose said. “Tasha, you eat that cereal. And use yore spoon.â€
The child jammed the spoon into the bowl, spilling more cereal onto the highchair tray, then lifted the mounded spoon toward her mouth.
“That’s right.†Miz Rose turned back to the sink and tackled the older kids’ breakfast dishes. Sunlight reflected off the glass beads in her hair. Overnight, she’d braided her hair into a bunch of cornrows, a sure sign she was worried.
Robbins sipped his coffee, watching both Tasha and her. Two months ago, when he and Child Services dropped the toddler off with Miz Rose, the kid had been a clingy, weepy mess. “Tasha seems happy.â€
“She just need to be where folks ain’t angry.â€
“Don’t we all?†Robbins considered the mood at home. The tension level there needed to drop below an “orange†threat level, but how was he supposed to change Sharon’s attitude?
“Most peoples forget to think about the other person,†Miz Rose said.
Robbins sat back. The woman had an eerie ability to say things that mirrored his thoughts.
Miz Rose had a point, though. How often did he consider Sharon’s feelings?
What would make her happy? Other than him taking out the trash and cutting the grass? He slurped more coffee. To be fair, how much of the tension in the house was his fault?
Miz Rose dried her hands and stepped across the kitchen. The place—the house and the furniture—was old and worn, but other than the area right around the highchair, it was clean. She wiped Tasha’s grubby face and hands, then plucked the toddler from the high chair and kissed her chubby cheek.
Tasha leaned into Miz Rose, molding against her body, stuck her finger in her mouth and sucked—the picture of contentment.
“I ‘spect you didn’t come over here for my coffee or to check on this chil’. You hear anything about George Beason?â€
Cathy Perkins’ award-winning suspense writing lurks behind a financial day-job, where she learned firsthand the camouflage, hide in plain sight, skills employed by her villains. Born and raised in South Carolina, the setting for HONOR CODE and THE PROFESSOR, she now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her work-a-holic husband and a 75-pound Lab who thinks she’s still a lap-puppy. You can learn more on her website http://cperkinswrites.com
To purchase HONOR CODE, please visit one of these online retailers:
Amazon http://amzn.to/QV32k6
B&N Â Â http://bit.ly/SZIW9k
Kobo http://bit.ly/VtB12y
Thank you for taking the time to visit with us, Cathy! I wish you all the best with this latest release.