Category: Caridad’s News!

Thank you to everyone who’s been taking part in the This or That on the blog. The winner of the last blog This or That is Ginny J. I’ll be sending her an email so that I can send her the $10 gift card. Later today, I’ll select 12 lucky winners from my VIP newsletter subscribers for one of my custom-made coasters and an autographed copy of ESCAPE THE EVERGLADES. Look for a very special 25th Anniversary VIP newsletter giveaway in my next newsletter! I’ll pick one lucky person to win a $50 gift card and autographed copies of three of my books. To find out how to enter, sign up for my newsletter at https://bit.ly/CaridadsNewsletter.

Fall is fast approaching and there are some things I really look forward to during fall! Strolls along the boardwalk without the summer crowds. Apple and pumpkin picking. Visiting either Holland Ridge Farms or Johnson’s Locust Hall Farm to pick sunflowers. I think I look forward to the sunflower picking the most and I can also pick up some pumpkins at those farms as well! What about you? What are you most looking forward to for the fall season? P.S. If you also love Jersey Shore boardwalk strolls, grab your copy of the At the Shore contemporary romance box set of three full-length novels for only 99 cents at https://amzn.to/47y0GE9.

One of the most exciting things I experienced in my writing career was watching the filming for the Hallmark movie based on my SOUTH BEACH LOVE novel. It was interesting to see how the process works and to also meet the various actors and actresses in the movie. They were all so friendly and welcoming. I also got to meet some of the behind the scenes staff and was lucky to score some of the props that were used on the set. I have extras of the signage that was used at the heroine’s restaurant: Munch. I was thinking of having a giveaway of that signage. What do you think about that? Would you take part in that giveaway? P.S. If you haven’t read SOUTH BEACH LOVE it’s specially priced at 99 cents at https://amzn.to/47v8jeA.

Ah, the days of school picture day. What will you wear? How will you look? Remember, that photo is going to last forever and everyone is going to see it! LOL! I had to dig around but I found this photo from my high school yearbook. This photo is of the young women of Leader’s Club. Leaders were student-athletes who would assist the gym teachers in various ways and also had good academic backgrounds. That’s me in the front row, second from the right! In my senior year, I was the President of the Leaders and we had the opportunity to help usher in the changes brought about by the passage of Title IX. Thanks to that, female student-athletes finally were a part of our high school’s Booster Night celebrations and received awards much like the male athletes had received for years. Momentous and not without some conflict. P.S. If you like strong women and stories with friendship, check out the At the Shore box set of three full-length novels. It’s specially priced at 99 cents! You can download it at https://amzn.to/3XmfFfQ.

As you can imagine from yesterday’s post, this time of year is always rough for me because my mom is no longer with me. But then came 9-11 and so many things would never be the same. My husband and I were in New York City that fateful day. My husband had called me early that morning to tell me that a plane had flown into one of the Towers. A short time later, I watched from the windows of my office as the second plane flew down the skyscraper canyons of Manhattan and then plowed into the second Tower. It was almost as if we were seeing a movie only it was anything but that. The fear was real as we rushed to leave the city and get home to our daughter. The fear was real in the days after. But then fear turned to anger and pain at the loss of so many innocent people. The weeks after 9-11 were difficult on multiple levels. It was hard to see the posters with the smiling faces of the fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, brothers, sisters, and friends who would never come home. I will never forget 9-11-2001. I will also never forget 9-11-2012 and the attack in Benghazi that took the lives of four Americans. Terrorism is an evil thing and I pray that one day we will no longer have that scourge in our world.

Today is my mom’s birthday and I want to wish her a Happy Birthday in Heaven. Sadly, my mom has been gone from my life for way too long. My mom was a huge influence in my life. She was a friend, a mentor, and a wonderful mother. She worked so hard to give us opportunities so we would be able to achieve the American Dream which we did. In Cuba, she fought for freedom only to be betrayed by Castro. It was a betrayal that she carried as a burden for all her life. Despite that, she taught us the importance of freedom and the amazing gift that we have to be Americans. I am forever grateful for all that she did for her family. I miss my mom every day but know that she is looking down at us and proud of what we’ve become. I hope she is able to see little Axel as well.

The last month or two have been all about baby Axel but come October I’m going to attend two wonderful events and I hope you might be able to join me! First up, the wonderful Fall in Love with New England Conference in Marlborough, MA on October 4 and 5. This is a great conference for readers and I’ll be doing several panels with friends, including a murder mystery readers will have to solve and a panel where I’ll share some fun facts about my Hallmark movie and writing the novel for the Jane the Virgin television show. For all of you in reach of the Jersey Shore, join me at the Belmar Public Libary Beach Readers Book fair on October 12. A number of authors will be there for you to meet, including my lovely daughter Samantha Ann who will have her K-pop and K-drama inspired bestsellers! P.S. If you can’t join me to get an autographed book, no worries. Just reach out to me on my contact form at https://www.caridad.com/contact-2/ and provide your mailing address and I’ll send you a bookplate! If you’ve got a book club and would like me to either Zoom in or visit in person (NYC/NJ/Philly area), just PM me and we can try to work something out! If you’re a writing organization, I’ve got a number of workshops available. Check them out at https://www.caridad.com/workshops/.