Live to Love on the Edge Blog

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#WriteWed The Inspiration Behind the Books

Wow, the inspiration behind the books. Where do I start? It’s such a tough thing to pinpoint because the inspiration can be so varied.

Vampire Reborn novella from The Calling Reborn seriesFor The Calling-Reborn series, the inspiration for the series and FBI Agent Diana Reyes was very much the emotion I was feeling during a dark time in my life. Her character totally epitomized someone mired in darkness who needed to find herself again and be reborn (namely me!). I shared more of that inspiration in the blog titled Into the Abyss with Vampires.

In the 10 years since that first book, Diana has definitely grown and learned so much and I am so very happy to see where she is in Vampire Reborn. She’s a very different person now and a much stronger one, but opening herself up to love makes her vulnerable in so many ways.

I’m really looking forward to exploring that in future stories.

To Catch Her Man, on the other hand, was inspired by location, location, location and also mother/daughter relationships. That’s kind of been a recurring thread in the Charity Pineiro books set in South Beach – friends, family, mothers and daughters.

Why location? Well, South Beach is all glittering and glamorous, filled with celebrities, but amidst all that hype is the dark side of what goes on in all those party places. I thought South Beach would be the perfect place to have a romance with suspense elements, namely, an investigation into whether an undercover cop is dirty and responsible for the murder of one of his fellow officers.

To Catch Her Man is available alone or as part of the Dangerous Dozen Romantic Suspense Boxed Set. The boxed set is specially priced at .99 cents for a limited time.

Thank you for making it an Amazon and B&N bestseller!

    Amazon
    Barnes & Noble
    Itunes
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#ManCandyMonday & Release Day Dangerous Dozen #Romance

OMG, the big day is finally here! It’s the release day for the Dangerous Dozen Romantic Suspense Boxed Set. It seemed apropos to share with you my vision for Carlos Ramirez, the sexy undercover detective who is tying investigative reporter Sylvia Amenabar into knots! LOL!

Here’s how I pictured him hanging out in South Beach, waiting for Sylvia to finally commit to their relationship.
Carlos

Sexy, right? But more importantly, Carlos is a true hero who not only saved Sylvia’s life, but also that of his former partner. He’s a man with a heart of gold who is in love with a woman who sometimes doubts she even has a heart.

I loved exploring their relationship as well as the mystery of whether or not Carlos is a dirty cop. That’s the suspense part in the book as Sylvia is told that Carlos is responsible for the murder of another undercover officer and it’s up to her to either prove that he’s innocent or deal with the consequences of not only her feelings for him, but the damage she will do Carlos, his family and her friend Adriana, who is dating Carlos’s old partner, Riley Evans. The man who accused Carlos of being a dirty cop has also fingered Riley as being part of the murder.

I hope you’ll take a moment to check out the boxed set which is specially priced for only .99 for a limited time.
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#FoodieFriday Chocolate Pudding

Who doesn’t like chocolate pudding? It’s so rich and thick and tasty. Comfort food.

I still remember coming home from school and my grandma would be standing at the stove, making it for us. She’d be stirring and stirring and when it was done, we’d fight over who got to eat was left in the pot and who got to lick the spoon!

My grandma was an amazing cook and could make just about anything tasty. Even leftovers.

But this recipe is one ANYONE can make. Yep, you read that right, ANYONE. It’s that simple and fast.

Keep It Simple Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

    2/3 cup sugar (you can substitute Splenda)
    2 1/4 cups milk (you can substitute skim milk or almond milk)
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 cinnamon stick
    3 tablespoons corn starch
    1/4 cup powdered cocoa (milk of dark or a mix!)

Directions:

Blend together all the dry ingredients and set aside. Add milk, cinnamon stick, and vanilla to a saucepan and start to heat it. Whisk in the dry ingredients. Over medium heat, stirring regularly, bring the mixture to a boil. Stir it for another minute and then pour it into either a big bowl or individual dessert dishes.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours. Let the kids lick the bowl and spoon clean or give yourself a Cook’s Treat!

Some people say to cover the warm pudding with plastic so you don’t get a skin. For a lot of us, the skin is one of the best parts of the pudding, but I leave it up to you since it’s a matter of individual taste.
Chocolate Pudding

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#ThrowbackThursday Turn the Page Book Store Signing

It’s Throwback Thursday, but I’m not throwing you all that far back! LOL! Only to 2012 and when I was lucky enough to not only get nominated for a RITA for THE LOST, but also get to do a book signing with Nora Roberts (fan girl squeeee) at her lovely store, Turn the Page.

Nora was so gracious and even posed with me and Spottie, my companion for the big RITA journey! Here’s a picture of us at the book signing.
nora&caridad

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#WriteWed Location Inspiration South Beach & NYC

One of the things I love about being a writer is sharing interesting locations with you in my novels. If I’m lucky, I actually either get to visit those locations, like South Beach, or live near them, like New York City.

South Beach has been the location for several of my latest re-releases and the upcoming TO CATCH HER MAN in the Dangerous Dozen Romantic Suspense Boxed Set.

This is a photo of the pool area of the Loew’s Miami Beach Hotel which is right in South Beach near Lincoln Road and Espanola Way, two locations that the heroine in my book, Sylvia Amenabar, frequents often. You may also remember those locations from Kissed by a Vampire.

The Loew’s is a combination of new and a restoration of the former St. Moritz Hotel.

southbeachhotel

New York City is the location for The Calling-Reborn Vampire Novel series. Much like this is a series of my heart, New York is the city of my heart. I can’t imagine not living nearby or visiting on a regular basis.

I snapped this photo this morning of Herald Square in front of Macy’s. Herald Square is formed by the intersection of Broadway and Sixth Avenue at 34th Street and is named after the long gone New York Herald. In the popular song, Give My Regards to Broadway, there is a reference to “remember me to Herald Square”. This location is also where the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade ends every year!

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On the opposite southern portion of the intersection is Greeley Square which is named after Horace Greeley, the publisher of the Herald’s rival newspaper, the New York Tribune. Greeley is best known for his words, “Go West young man” which urged the westward expansion of the U.S. after the Civil War.

Hope you enjoyed today’s Writer Wednesday!

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#TeaserTuesday TO CATCH HER MAN Romantic #Suspense

Dangerous Dozen Romantic Suspense Boxed SetI want to thank those of you who dropped by the VAMPIRE REBORN & 10th Anniversary Celebration for The Calling-Reborn last night! I hope you had a good time and got lucky and won a prize!

Today’s teaser is from TO CATCH HER MAN, my contribution to the Dangerous Dozen Romantic Suspense Boxed set. You’ve seen bits of the first chapter, but I thought I’d share the whole one with you today!

Also, take a moment to visit with me at the fabulous Lois Winston’s Anastasia Pollack Blog where I’m sharing a recipe from TO CATCH HER MAN.

If you can’t see the teaser below, you can click here to read the first chapter of TO CATCH HER MAN from the Dangerous Dozen Romantic Boxed Set.

TO CATCH HER MAN from Dangerous Dozen Romantic Suspense

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