Tag: caridad pineiro

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Thoughtful Thursday – Dying and Paying Taxes

taxesI think you know that old saying that goes: There are only two things you have to do – die and pay taxes.

Unfortunately, it seems that the paying taxes part only applies to you and me while some people are able to make “careless mistakes”.

Case in point — Our new Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner who said he hadn’t paid some taxes on time due to “careless mistakes.” According to an article in The Guardian, after a 2006 audit Geithner paid arrears on his 2003 and 2004 returns, but not immediately on his 2001 and 2002 returns. Apparently the three year statute of limitations had run on those. He did eventually pay them — after his nomination to the post.

Hmm . . . Does that mean that if he hadn’t been nominated he wouldn’t have paid them? What do you think?

I recall the IRS sending letters to my daughter when a math error meant she owed them like 5 dollars. The letter came with all kinds of dire warnings about what would be done if the 5 dollars and interest wasn’t paid on time.

So how is it some people get away with not paying thousands? Do you wonder how this happens?

Let me know what you think about the U.S. tax system or your own tax situation if you are not in the U.S. I know that many of you in other countries pay even higher taxes.

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Wicked Wednesday – HONOR CALLS Available February 1

HONOR CALLS Available February 1 at EharlequinI’m really excited about HONOR CALLS, the next installment in THE CALLING Vampire novels. HONOR CALLS is a Nocturne Bite e-novella which will be available on February 1 at eharlequin. It’s exciting for me because I get to introduce a new character into the world of THE CALLING – Michaela Ramirez. Michaela has a tortured past and is a really unique character. She’s hiding a secret and bound by a code of honor which will one day put her at odds with the very interesting man that Michaela will meet in HONOR CALLS.

Who’s that interesting man? FBI Assistant Director in Charge Jesus Hernandez who you have met in several of the previous CALLING novels. It’s also exciting for me to let you learn more about Jesus. I am hoping that I will be able to devote a future full length book to Michaela and Jesus.

But for now . . . Here is your Wicked Wednesday excerpt from HONOR CALLS.

Frustration clawed at his gut as he stared at the picture of the latest victim who had been found torn apart in a downtown alley. As he flipped through the status report on the investigation, a familiar name appeared in the FBI case report.

The Blood Bank.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Jesus Hernandez expected that there would be a fair share of crime in a city like New York, but judging from how often the edgy Goth bar appeared in the reports provided to him, the Blood Bank appeared to be Crime Central.

He supposed the easy way to find out more about the club would be to ask Diana Reyes or any of the other agents in his bureau what to make of the place. But he hadn’t gotten to be one of the top agents in the New York City Bureau by taking the easy way. On the contrary. He believed in personally getting involved when it was necessary.

As he picked up the file again and examined the photo of the body parts found in an alley just a couple of blocks from the bar, he raked his hand through his short-cropped hair and blew out a disgusted breath.

It was definitely time for a visit to the Blood Bank to get his own impressions.

Memorizing the address, he rose from his desk and slipped on his suit jacket. For a moment he considered going by his apartment to change, certain he would look out of place in the expensive suit, then opted not to.

His apartment would be seriously empty since his last lover had moved out nearly a year earlier, complaining about the time he devoted to his job. Considering that in the past year he hadn’t had time to fill the empty spaces on the walls and that the living room still boasted only the recliner she had left behind, plasma television and other high end electronics, she had probably been right.

Plus, as he mentally reviewed the contents of his closet, he knew he had nothing suitable to wear for a Goth bar anyway.

Best just to drive by, scope out the place and decide what to do next, he told himself and for good measure, checked to make sure his gun was loaded and tucked snugly into the holster at his side.

That was the one thing he was sure about the Blood Bank.

It wasn’t the kind of place you went without protection.

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Corn Salsa

cornI got tired of the same old same old that we’d been eating and decided to try something different last Saturday — Pulled Pork. I have a dry rub recipe that I use on my ribs and brisket and slathered that on some pork loins, slipped them into the oven to cook for some time and then pulled apart that tender pork and added some more rub and KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce (the tastiest so far in my book).

The problem was, what to eat with the pulled pork sandwiches? I decided on a simple corn salsa. In the summer I’d probably roast fresh corn on the BBQ, but this time I had to rely on some frozen corn and the other ingredients in my fridge and pantry. So here goes my recipe for a simple corn salsa, a bright side dish to any spicy or sweet meal.

CORN SALSA

4 cups cooked corn
1 cup finely chopped onions (red make a nice color variation if you have them)
1/2 cup chopped pimentos
2 cup chopped tomatoes
1 16 oz can black beans
fresh parsley or cilantro if you have (if not dried will work)
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil and pepper to taste.

Just mix all of the above in a bowl and let it marinate for about an your. Like your salsa spicier? Add a shot or two of Tabasco or Cholula sauce or even better, some chopped jalapenos. For more color variation, chop avocado and add it to the mix.

Hope you enjoyed this Tuesday’s Tip!

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Guilty Pleasures Monday – Tim Tebow

I was watching the Bowl Championship series and there was Tim Tebow, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner. My attention was caught by his determination, size, agility and cuteness!

So, I’m sharing Tim with you today as the Guilty Pleasure Monday choice. As well as being a cutie, however, I understand he’s quite a leader and a humanitarian since he does missionary work.

Also — the winner of last week’s Wicked Wednesday give-away is Cyclops8! Please e-mail me at [email protected] with your address so I can send the prize.

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Wicked Wednesday – Wicked Writer’s Mind

😈 I know you’re expecting a wicked excerpt from something, but I’ve been debating about which book to discuss and decided I wanted to give you some insights from this wicked writer’s mind into the two main characters in the upcoming CALLING books – HONOR CALLS and FURY CALLS.

I think I’ve mentioned that the heroes in FURY CALLS are ones you’ve met before in TEMPTATION CALLS. Blake and Meghan became favorites way back then, so I’m very happy to finish their story, particularly Blake’s. Now, I don’t know about you, but I hate perfect heroes. You know the kind. Look good. Act good. Know the answers to everything.

Boring. I like my heroes to be imperfect with lots of flaws. Heroes who mess up on occasion, but somehow rise above their flaws to become bigger than life.

FURY CALLS by Caridad Pineiro, Silhouette Nocturne, March 2009Blake is one of those kinds of heroes. He comes from a poor upbringing and difficult times. He survived them in the most harsh of ways and has been paying the price for his actions for centuries. When Blake finally acknowledges his own inner strength, he realizes he can be a hero in the true sense of the word. Somehow that transformation is much more rewarding for me as a writer, and I hope you enjoy such changes as a reader.

Michaela from HONOR CALLS is similar in some ways. Different at birth, she has dealt with loss and alienation from an early age. To avoid the pain the world brings, she has shut herself off and embarked on a campaign that honor demands she fulfill. Like Blake, it will take an extreme act of self-awareness to make her more than what she is — a slayer. It will be that self-awareness that will lead her on a new path where the call of her honor may conflict with that of her lover.

Imperfect heroes, Blake and Michaela. You gotta love ’em.

So what do you think about such heroes? As a surprise for you, anyone leaving a comment by midnight EST on Friday will be eligible to win a copy of DESIRE CALLS and a CALLING T-shirt!

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Building an Effective Web Presence Part 4

pc.jpgPart 4: Getting people to visit your site

You may be asking yourself, as a pre-published writer, why should I worry about getting people to visit my site?

If you’ve been reading the publishing news (and I’d highly recommend that if you haven’t already subscribed to Publishers Lunch that you do), publishing had its Black Wednesday recently. Layoffs at Simon & Schuster and Houghlin Mifflin announcing that it had a freeze on acquisitions. Lots going on at other publishing houses as well.

What does that mean for all of us? Maybe less slots available for commercial fiction.

If you’re a publisher and have a choice between two pre-published writers – one who has regular visitors to their website and one who doesn’t – who would you choose? One has demonstrated that they know how to get publicity and may already have an established group of people to notify about their book.

So how do you get people to visit your website?

I’m a firm proponent of blogging based on my own experience. I have nearly 4 times the visitors I had two years ago since I started blogging. But like anything else, if you’re not going to commit to doing it regularly, don’t start.

What’s regular? That’s really up to you. Once a week? That’s fine as long as you let your readers know and they can expect that weekly post.

If you’re going to post more than once a week, consider themed days. I do that so readers know when to visit. Some like the fun days, some like the excerpts. I do each on the same day each week so people know when to come back.

Also – you can feed your blog to various other sites, increasing your presence on the web. If you’ve got friends with blogs, get together and put together guest blogs. Share banners or links with those friends or get listed on other similar sites as well.

You can also consider writing articles to draw traffic to your site.

Finally, make sure you get listed on the search engines by submitting your site to the search engines and by making sure you’ve got the right metatags in your website (ask your programmer on how to do the metatags). That will help people find you on the web.

Hope this Tuesday Tip was helpful!

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Guilty Pleasures Monday – Cary Grant

Cary Grant in the Philadelphia Story - Photo in the Public DomainMy daughter and I were walking in New York City the other day when we passed the Warwick Hotel. We had spent a week there during a conference years earlier, and I mentioned that Cary Grant had lived there for many years.

She said, “Who’s Cary Grant?” Ugh.

So today’s Guilty Pleasure Monday is a blast from the past — Cary Grant. He was handsome, witty and charming on screen. He starred in more movies than I can list, although two of my favorites are THE PHILADELPHIA STORY and TO CATCH A THIEF.

Hope you enjoyed today’s Guilty Pleasure Monday.

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