ThrowbackThursday | Caridad Pineiro® Romance Author

February 25, 2024

Happy Times at CMC 2024

I had such a lovely time at the 2024 Coastal Magic Convention! There were wonderful panels and social events and I loved meeting so many new people as well as getting together with old friends. I had a chance to take part in several panels and also attend a number of very interesting workshops. On Friday night we had a Murder Mystery party and I volunteered to be one of the actors and it was a blast! CMC volunteers did an amazing job of decorating the ballroom to look like a Las Vegas casino and all the actors dressed up for their roles. I played a butcher who was very upset with one of the other characters because they were dissed by her. Turns out she had annoyed a lot of people and ended up as the murder victim. The next day was lunch with my reader friends and I loved spending time with Franjessca, Alexia, and Patrice! We had a lovely time and it passed way too quickly. The book signing was fabulous and I loved seeing so many people come by to chat and pick up a book. The final event was a pajama party with all kinds of games as well as a planjama event where planner lovers got together to exchange stickers, washi tapes, journals, ideas and suggestions on how to get organized. I scored some lovely washi tape, stickers, and ideas on how to improve my social media calendar! A win win! If you love conferences, I would highly recommend the Coastal Magic Convention!

February 22, 2024February 21, 2024

Did Ikea nail this gamer station?

My daughter, her sister-in-law, and I hit our local IKEA to look for some cute items for the nursery we’ll be putting together in a couple of months. We found some fun items, but the one that had us chuckling the hardest was this demo display that IKEA put together for a gaming station. It hit us as being so accurate even down to the empty DAIM candy bag on the ground. What do you think? Did IKEA nail this display? P.S. – I could totally picture billionaire software developer and gamer John Wilson from Biscayne Bay Breach having a station that looks like this, maybe even messier as he works on finding out who’s trying to hack his uber-secretive program. You can find out more about Biscayne Bay Breach at https://amzn.to/497fWYa.

IKEA gamer station

February 15, 2024

A Touch of Tower Bridge & Tower of London

I’ve been lucky to travel to several countries for work, vacations, or research! My first very short visit to London was during a business trip but I fell in love with the city and vowed to bring my family to see it. Many years later, my daughter was doing her study abroad just outside of London so we did a family trip to visit with her and see the city. One of our stops was the Tower of London and the nearby Tower Bridge. We had a fun time exploring the area and finding out about the history of the tower and some of its less fortunate inhabitants as well as the Beefeaters (Official title: Yeomen Warders of His Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London) who guard the Tower and the Crown Jewels located there. The Beefeater we met there was named Dickie and he had actually given us a Jack the Ripper tour of London the night before (his side gig). Anyway, I hope you enjoy these photos from our visit on this Throwback Thursday. Fun Fact: When the showrunners for the Jane the Virgin show were trying to decide who would ghostwrite the novel tie-in for the show, we had to send them writing samples of historical scenes. I sent them excerpts from The Vampire’s Consort which has several scenes set in old England and that sealed the deal. That’s how I got to ghostwrite Snow Falling, the novel featured on the television show. Warning: The Vampire’s Consort is five chili pepper hot. You can download the e-book at https://amzn.to/3OKQgZw and it’s also available in print and audio.

February 8, 2024

Amazing Visit to Yongin Dae Jang Geum Park

We saw so many amazing places in and around Seoul, Korea. If you get a chance to visit this wonderful country, DO IT! The sights range from ancient temples and palaces to ultra-modern you-can’t-believe buildings. One of the interesting locations I visited was Yongin Dae Jang Geum Park on the outskirts of Seoul. It’s not a “park” in the traditional sense in that it’s a vast area owned by MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation). MBC is a South Korean television and radio broadcaster and uses the park to produce an assortment of historical dramas, and the site has also been used to film music videos like “Daechwita” by BTS member Suga.

The park has areas reflecting three different Korean dynasties and we were able to all the different areas which were actually quite different in style. By the time we reached the end of the tour, we ran into a movie crew that was getting ready to film another of MBC’s historical dramas. I even got a picture of one of a young boy who was taking part in the production. It was so interesting and I could imagine using this location as a setting for the new romantic suspense book I want to write, and which will be set in Korea.

Picture this (said in a Sophia voice): The hero, a baseball player who is also working for the CIA, meets the heroine in the ancient amphitheater where a party is being held by the billionaire who may just be a traitor selling secrets to North Korea and the Chinese. But is the heroine in on that duplicity as well?

Hopefully, I’ll get to work on that soon, but in the meantime, if you’re looking for a cinematic kind of read, check out Darkness Calls, my very first vampire suspense book. I actually had a producer interested in pitching this to Lifetime, but the day after he picked it up, a similar project got picked up by one of the cable channels. So close. So close! Darkness Calls is free on Kindle Unlimited and specially priced at 99 cents for the month of February. You can download it at https://amzn.to/3SMhqSr.

February 1, 2024

Amazing Cable Car Ride

One of our adventures in Seoul, Korea was a trip up to the Namsan Tower. The nearly 800-foot tower is a communication and observation tower on the top of Nam Mountain. Now you may remember that I fear heights, so getting into the cable car for the three-minute ride up to the top was…well…difficult and interesting. Somehow I managed to video it for you! Of course, the audio has been edited out to protect your delicate ears from an assortment of laughs, swear words, and prayers?! It’s also been speeded up in the interest of time since it is a longer ride. As for the views from the top, well they were definitely worth it as you can see if you watch to the end of the video. The views of the tower above us as well as the entire city once we walked up at least four or five flights of stairs to reach the tippy-tippy-top were absolutely stunning. There was also a long chain link fence where you could leave locks with a message. Of course, we had to buy some locks and leave them with our own message! If you ever get to Seoul, be sure to take the ride up to the tower! P.S. – This reminds me of a trip I didn’t take to the top of the Space Needle in Seattle. I was at a legal conference and online for the trip when we were called away to meet some colleagues. But I did get the Space Needle into the story for Trapping a Terrorist. You can download that romantic suspense at https://amzn.to/47XF034. I hope you enjoyed today’s Throwback Thursday!

January 25, 2024January 23, 2024

Beautiful Magnolia Plantation and Gardens

One of my favorite stops when we’re doing a road trip down South is Charleston, SC. It’s such a beautiful city with so much to see in the city and in the outskirts as well. During our stop in Charleston this year we visited the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. You know I love my gardens and this was a truly beautiful place. Besides the gorgeous South Carolina Low Country, there were amazing plantings of camellias. There was also a Japanese-influenced garden as well as a collection of azaleas. Unfortunately, it was the wrong season for azaleas but there were several camellias in bloom. Some of the wetland areas had once been for growing rice, which had been the plantation’s main crop and unfortunately, worked by slaves. An exhibit about the plantation’s slave past and laborers was also part of our tour. The hero in Darkness Calls, Southern vampire Ryder Latimer, had once owned a rice plantation but freed his people and instead devoted his life to being a physician. You can find out more about Darkness Calls at https://amzn.to/3S8mOhc.

January 18, 2024January 18, 2024

A Visit to New Orleans and Temptation

I’ve been lucky to visit New Orleans several times for various conferences. One of the most fun visits was for a Romantic Times Convention many years ago. I loved being with the readers and other authors but it was also so much fun to visit so many interesting places in and around New Orleans. One of the highlights was a visit to Mardi Gras World where they keep many of the floats that are used during the Mardi Gras festivities. Another fun part was doing a “vampire” tour with friends. It started off eerily as we waited for the guide at dusk and the bats started flying out of the church belfry in Jackson Square. Last but not least, a walk with friends through the French Quarter that started with beignets at Cafe du Monde and finished with Hurricanes at Pat O’Brien’s and roasted oysters at Felix’s. Today I’m sharing some photos from that trip! P.S. – Temptation Calls, the third book in The Calling is Reborn vampire novel series is partially set in New Orleans. Temptation Calls is the story of a woman who is abused and turned into a vampire but still finds the courage to help other women escape the same fate. The story also features an origin story for a villain who is a take on a chupacabra! Temptation Calls is free on Kindle Unlimited at https://amzn.to/424MKij.