Category: WriteWed

I love heroes that are not what they seem. That’s why I love Jose from KILLER IN THE KENNEL so much. He’s not looking to be a hero but when danger calls, Jose is not afraid to risk life and limb in order to help K-9 trainer Sara and his South Beach Security cousins. As for Sara, she has lots of reasons for avoiding a man like Jose who seems too slick for her taste. But as they work together to find and stop a serial killer before he kills again, their attraction grows until it’s too hard to resist. Today’s teaser is from that first moment when they finally give in. Grab your copy of KILLER IN THE KENNEL and my upcoming December 24th release, DANGER IN DADE, at https://amzn.to/4dt8sk3. P.S. All books are standalone but have connected characters.

Teaser

“Is she protective?” he asked, and from the tone of his voice, she sensed that he thought that the dog wasn’t all that keen on him.

“Not really. Bloodhounds are very easygoing, and they think everyone is a friend,” she said, and almost as if Bongo knew they were talking about her, the dog raised her head and looked at him.
*
JOSE TOLD HIMSELF it was a friendly look even though he felt like Bongo was their very determined chaperone. He sipped his whisky, falling silent as he considered what to do next.

Sara spared him by asking, “I’m sure this isn’t how you pictured this sale going.”

“You can say that again,” he said with a rough laugh and rattle of the ice in his glass. But the emotions that had been building in him reared up and he blurted out, “I sure didn’t expect you.”

Her hand trembled as she set her glass on the coffee table in front of the couch, and she shifted to face him.

“Me? You didn’t expect me?” she said and tapped her chest with her finger.

He nodded and caressed her cheek. Ran his thumb across the creamy skin there and then drifted it lower to trace the edges of her lips. “I didn’t,” he said, before leaning forward to finally do what he’d wanted to do for hours.

He kissed her.

One of the fun things about writing the South Beach Security K-9 Division series was finding out all about the different dogs that would be the heroes in each of the stories. In my upcoming November 26th release, KILLER IN THE KENNEL, the K-9 hero is bloodhound Bongo. The olfactory area of a bloodhound is one of the largest of any dogs and their big ears and loose skin also help in both directing and holding onto scent particles. Because of their keen scent, bloodhounds are great for conducting searches of all kinds. In KILLER IN THE KENNEL, Bongo will help locate a number of cadavers near the kennel and also lead an exciting life and death search at the end of the book! Pre-order your copy of Bongo’s story today at https://amzn.to/4dt8sk3.

I’m so very excited about the special pricing that’s happening during November on three of my Intrigue releases, especially COLD CASE REOPENED! Why? Well, you’ll get to see what’s happening with Jackson and Rhea in the first book of the Crooked Pass Security series, CLIFFSIDE KIDNAPPING, which takes South Beach Security tech geniuses Sophie and Robbie Whitaker to Colorado to help rescue their kidnapped parents! As a reader, I love seeing what’s happening to characters and how their happily ever after is going. Plus, I love cold case stories. I’m actually thinking of doing a series of books where Crooked Pass Security helps solve some cold cases. What do you think about that? Grab your copies today while they’re specially priced! The sale ends on November 30!

COLD CASE REOPENED: https://amzn.to/4fzY7Ee
SABOTAGE OPERATION: https://amzn.to/3YuiPi8
ESCAPE THE EVERGLADES: https://amzn.to/3NYdNWi

One of the fun things about writing KILLER IN THE KENNEL was creating a hero that was not your typical romantic suspense hero. Jose “Pepe” Gonzalez isn’t former military or law enforcement. He’s a real estate agent. He’s also trying to build his business and run his life away from the powerful South Beach Security agency. But family is family and when his cousin Trey Gonzalez, the new head of SBS, calls for help to find a new location for a K-9 training center, Jose doesn’t hesitate to help. When it draws Jose into a race to find a serial killer before he strikes again, Jose doesn’t hesitate. Especially when that means being around newly hired K-9 trainer Sara Hernandez. I hope you’ll enjoy reading KILLER IN THE KENNEL as much I enjoyed writing it. Today I’m leaving you with this little teaser of a first encounter between Jose and Sara. Grab your copies at:

SBS K-9 Series: https://amzn.to/3Kt2G5Q
KILLER IN THE KENNEL: https://books2read.com/KillerInTheKennel
DANGER IN DADE: https://books2read.com/dangerdade

Teaser

He nodded. “I’m not leaving. Not until we figure out what’s happening, and I know you’re safe. Plus, I imagine you would rather not be plastered across the news,” he said and cupped her cheek.

“I wouldn’t. People don’t understand how hard that is,” she said, and leaned into that caress, drawing comfort from it and something else. That something else that she’d been feeling about him since the moment she’d laid eyes on him.

“I do. I understand,” he said as she reached up, cradled his jaw, and ran her thumb across his lips, the gesture as intimate as any kiss.

He smiled and leaned close. Ran his thumb across her lips as his gaze traveled over her face. “You feel it too,” he said.

At her nod, he shifted closer, so close his warm breath spilled across her lips, but just then the whoosh of elevator doors had them jerking apart guiltily.

I had a fun time writing reluctant hero Jose “Pepe” Gonzalez from KILLER IN THE KENNEL. A cousin to the Gonzalez family that runs South Beach Security, he’s kept his distance from the business to pursue his own dreams. A successful real estate agent, he’s drawn into an SBS case when the property he finds for their new K-9 Division training center turns out to be a serial killer’s hunting ground and burial site. Jose will help his cousins and new K-9 trainer Sara Hernandez solve the mystery of who’s responsible for the murder of multiple women at the site. In this scene, Jose and Sara are finally giving in to the attraction that’s grown between them during the investigation! Grab your copy of KILLER IN THE KENNEL today at https://amzn.to/4dMu8rx.

Excerpt

His lips were hard and mobile. Soft and demanding. Needy and gentle all at the same time.

Her head spun with the whirlwind of emotions swirling through her, as conflicted as the vibes she was getting from him.

That was confirmed as he expelled a rough breath against her lips and shifted away slightly as he said, “Like I said before, I didn’t expect you. This.”

“I didn’t either. It’s…confusing. There’s just so much going on,” she admitted, but even as she did so, she slipped into his lap, straddling his legs so that they were face-to-face because she didn’t want to miss any nuance of what was happening.

He smiled, a lopsided smile, and cradled her jaw before easing his hand around to cup the back of her skull. Tangling his fingers through her hair, he applied gentle pressure to draw her close.

“It is confusing. It’s hard to separate the craziness of this situation from what I’m feeling,” he confessed, and his warm breath spilled across her lips. This close, it was impossible to miss the crystals of darker teal in the aqua of his eyes or the stubble of his evening beard on his face.

“What are you feeling?” she asked, raising her hand and running it across that sandpapery stubble, and then dipping her thumb to rub it across his lips.

It’s been a rollercoaster ride in my writing career but no matter what, I wouldn’t trade it for anything since it’s let me meet so many wonderful people. As I mentioned earlier, I’m having a very special g*veaway through my newsletter to celebrate those 25 years in publishing. To find out how to enter, please sign up for my newsletter at https://bit.ly/CaridadsNewsletter. Contest will be open until midnight EST October 31. While you’re busy signing up, don’t forget about the upcoming December release of DANGER IN DADE, #4 in the South Beach Security K-9 Division spinoff. I’m so excited about this second chance at love romantic suspense. This story is action-packed with car and boat chases, but also emotionally uplifting and romantic as a soldier and a chef get a chance to make things right.

I’m putting the finishing touches on Defended by the Bodyguard, #2 in the new Crooked Pass Security series that debuts in August 2025 with Harlequin Intrigue! I’m so excited about this story that finally gives Robbie Whitaker, one of the South Beach Security tech gurus, his happily ever after. It’s an action-packed story about a musician who’s being terrorized by a series of threatening notes and attacks. I can’t wait for you to start this series but in the meantime, I’ve got two releases coming up with KILLER IN THE KENNEL and DANGER IN DADE, the last two books in the SBS K-9 series. You will love these stories with hard-working K-9s and heroes and heroines you will be rooting for! Grab your copies today at https://amzn.to/4dt8sk3.