Tag: caridad

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Guilty Pleasures Monday – Chace Crawford

So I’ve been wondering who beat out Zac Efron (one of my too young guilty pleasures) for the lead role in the remake of FOOTLOOSE. Turns out the lead will be played by GOSSIP GIRL actor Chace Crawford.

I had heard the buzz about Chace and checked him out and wow! Here he is today as this Monday’s Guilty Pleasure. Chace is a such a cutie. No wonder PEOPLE magazine picked him as one of the hottest bachelors.

I may just have to give GOSSIP GIRL a try.

On another note, thanks to all who left comments for our guest bloggers. The lucky winner is Theresa N. Please send your postal address to cpsromance @ att.net so I can get you your prize.

Finally, one of the things we’re thinking about doing on the new website is having a wider look. I’ve made the blog wider as a test. Can you read it all? Do you find this size font easier on the eyes? Inquiring minds want to know.

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Thoughtful Thursday – The Code of Conduct Blog Tour

codePlease welcome K.M. Daughters the authors of the romantic suspense novel, Beyond the Code of Conduct (Wild Rose Press), as they virtually tour the blogosphere in June on their first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

K.M. Daughters is the multi-published writing team of sisters Pat Casiello and Kathie Clare. Their pen name is dedicated to their parents Katherine and Michael, the “K” and “M” in K.M. Daughters. Their author career began in January 2008 with contracts from The Wild Rose Press for an inspirational romance, Jewel of the Adriatic, and a romantic suspense novel, Against Doctors Orders, Book #1 in The Sullivan Boys Series. Beyond The Code of Conduct, Book 2 in the series, is rated 4-stars, compelling, page turner, by Donna M. Brown, Reviewer for Romantic Times Book Reviews (June 2009 Issue #304). A contemporary romance, Past, Present and Forever is available in E-book from Sapphire Blue Publishing. Residing in Illinois and New Jersey, the sisters continue to work on The Sullivan Boys Series. Book #3 will release later this year and two additional books are anticipated to complete the series. You can visit their website at www.kmdaughters.com. Follow them at http://twitter.com/kmdaughters!

Also – anyone who leaves a comment by midnight EST time on Friday June 19 will be eligible to win a SINS OF THE FLESH T-shirt and lunch bag!

About the Book

FBI Agency Brass and Sullivan family connections force Special Agent Bobbie Leighton into an undercover operation with inactive Homicide Detective Joe Sullivan.

Posing as a cattleman and his arm-candy wife the couple is assigned to infiltrate NY attorney Bradley Sterling’s illegal operation. Suspected of baby trafficking, Sterling maybe be connected with Joe’s brother, Jimmy Sullivan’s murder.

How do Bobbie and Joe adhere to their professional code of conduct living under the same roof? Can they forget their personal history, ignore their volatile feelings for each other and ensnare their target when they might be next on Sterling’s victims list?

Excerpt

“You want hot? I’ll give you hot.” In one swift motion she picked up a mug off the table and whipped it towards him, a perfect strike.

Lucky for him he still held his jacket in his hand. He swept it up like a toreador in front of his face. The coat took the brunt of the hit, but hot liquid splattered on his hands.

“Ouch. Damn. Stop it.” He dropped the wet coat on the floor. His hands burned and he wiped them on his thighs to stop the heat. It had the opposite effect on his arousal.

She batted her eyes around, apparently for something else to throw at him and tugged at the pillow on the back of the sofa. When it didn’t give, she hopped up on the seat cushion and tugged at it harder. If she realized how seductive she looked, she’d stop doing that. A glimpse of lace panties made him groan.

“Honey, add a sorority sister and a little water on the front of your T-shirt and you have everyman’s wet dream. You’re killing me here.”

The fury mounted on her face and he laughed.

She stepped down from the couch and stormed off to the kitchen.

“I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you.” No response from the kitchen.

Gathering together the launched items, he stacked the books and magazines on the coffee table and tucked her shoes beneath. He kicked off his shoes and placed them in a neat pair next to hers before settling on the couch.

It’s fun to goad her. “While you’re in there could you grab me a beer?”

Realizing a little too late why she had marched to the kitchen, a plate swished past inches from his ear and crashed against the bookcase.

“Damn.” The next plate hit him in the shoulder. “What is wrong with you? Stop it.”

“What is wrong with me? With me? You take off. Leave me here alone to face the home inspection. And you are stupid enough to ask me what is wrong with me?” Each sentence was punctuated with the crash of a dish around him.

Hands empty, she disappeared again, surely on her way to stock up on ammo.

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Wicked Wednesday Redux – Estevan Vega

sacred-sinWe have with us again a really special guest blogger – Estevan Vega. As I mentioned yesterday, Estevan’s second novel, THE SACRED SIN, was published when Estevan was only 18 and it’s really a testament to his determination that he’s going after his dream at such an early age.

I hope Estevan keeps it up and has great success in the publishing world.

Midwest Book Review said of THE SACRED SIN “A deftly written psychological thriller sure to grip readers all the way through, “The Sacred Sin” is highly recommended for community library thriller collections and fans of the genre.”

So please welcome Estevan back again and take a moment to check out his novel! Anyone leaving a comment on the blog by midnight EST on Friday, June 19th will be eligible to win a SINS OF THE FLESH T-shirt as well as a SINS OF THE FLESH lunch bag.

**Excerpt**

“Do you think you’re crazy?” Dr. Irons asked for the third time.

It wasn’t a question someone like Jude Foster could answer with ease. Such questions simply wouldn’t permit an effortless yes or no. They came only with prerequisites, like “I don’t think I’m crazy, but if you keep asking me, we’re gonna have some problems,” or “Damn it, I’ve already told you what I thought.” Either way, Jude wasn’t in the mood for embellishing on his sad little story yet again. But, as always, the old doctor couldn’t stop himself from taking that meddling crowbar of his and prying Jude open like a reluctant wooden coffin. Sure, Jude tried hard as hell to forget about the night he almost died, but feelings of betrayal don’t willfully vacate merely because they were asked to leave. Dr. Irons filled his head with “all in good time” that “in time” meant absolutely nothing. But, like all things in his life, Jude buried the memories and the hurt in the farthest parts of himself so that not even he could exhume them. The medication wasn’t doing much either. All they left behind to show that they were even there in the first place were droopy black pools shadowed beneath his condescending eyes. Insomnia had certainly taken its toll…perhaps a small price to pay for a life full of mistakes.

“I told you I didn’t want to come today,” Jude began, “but I dragged myself out of bed because I have no choice. I’m not here for me; I’m here out of obligation.”

“You’re right. But your obligation to the commissioner is equally as relevant as your obligation to yourself. Not to mention I’m doing Chief Mike Harrison a favor.”

Jude was taken aback. He’d never heard a shrink say that one before.

“Although your psyche has become beaten and broken, it can be healed.” A long pause. “In time.”

There it was again. The phrase Jude loathed every bit as much as he loathed green beans or weekday mornings.

Jude rolled his eyes and cracked his spine. His narrow back tapered upward in a V-line toward his much thinner neck, and eventually formed his jaw-line. His face, and every crease in it, was like a page, read and re-read by hundreds of people, but not one could decipher what went on inside of him. His seemingly misguiding features were offset by two arctic eyes, brown in the sunlight, but gray at the core. He’d gotten away with being Hugh Jackman now and then, as long as most kept their distance. He didn’t exactly come across with the same starstudded charisma or finesse. As he smoothed his dark hair, he felt his eyes linger onto anything but the gargoyle in front of him.

“I hate it here. I hate talking to you.” Jude couldn’t even hear himself anymore. It was like a silent film he couldn’t get out of. The old black and whites his teacher forced down his throat when he was in eleventh grade, the films with Chaplin and others he never cared to remember. He was a prisoner locked in this cell, and the gatekeeper had no intention of letting him out.

“You don’t hate it here, Jude. I’m trying to help you get your life back, and you’re almost there. Now, I know it seems odd for me to keep asking you this, but do you believe you’re crazy?”


****

Thanks for taking the time to read Estevan’s excerpt.

Also – thanks to all of you who have entered the various blog contests! The winners are:

Happy Marriage Sins of the Flesh Lunch Bag Winner: Pam S
Nocturne Blog CALLING T-shirt and an autographed copy of HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE Winner: KCE1976 (is that you Karin?)

If you’re a winner, please mail your postal address to cpsromance @ att.net (no spaces).

Thanks!

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A Slightly Different Tuesday – A Guest Blog by Estevan Vega

sacred-sinWe’ve got a really special guest blogger today – Estevan Vega. At an early age, Estevana realized he was interested in writing and at 15 published his first book. THE SACRED SIN, Estevan’s second novel, was published when Estevan was only 18!

Midwest Book Review said of THE SACRED SIN “A deftly written psychological thriller sure to grip readers all the way through, “The Sacred Sin” is highly recommended for community library thriller collections and fans of the genre.”

So please welcome Estevan and take a moment to check out his novel! Anyone leaving a comment by midnight EST on Friday, June 19th will be eligible to win a SINS OF THE FLESH T-shirt as well as a SINS OF THE FLESH lunch bag.

**Excerpt**

“Do you think you’re crazy?” Dr. Irons asked for the third time.

It wasn’t a question someone like Jude Foster could answer with ease. Such questions simply wouldn’t permit an effortless yes or no. They came only with prerequisites, like “I don’t think I’m crazy, but if you keep asking me, we’re gonna have some problems,” or “Damn it, I’ve already told you what I thought.” Either way, Jude wasn’t in the mood for embellishing on his sad little story yet again. But, as always, the old doctor couldn’t stop himself from taking that meddling crowbar of his and prying Jude open like a reluctant wooden coffin. Sure, Jude tried hard as hell to forget about the night he almost died, but feelings of betrayal don’t willfully vacate merely because they were asked to leave. Dr. Irons filled his head with “all in good time” that “in time” meant absolutely nothing. But, like all things in his life, Jude buried the memories and the hurt in the farthest parts of himself so that not even he could exhume them. The medication wasn’t doing much either. All they left behind to show that they were even there in the first place were droopy black pools shadowed beneath his condescending eyes. Insomnia had certainly taken its toll…perhaps a small price to pay for a life full of mistakes.

“I told you I didn’t want to come today,” Jude began, “but I dragged myself out of bed because I have no choice. I’m not here for me; I’m here out of obligation.”

“You’re right. But your obligation to the commissioner is equally as relevant as your obligation to yourself. Not to mention I’m doing Chief Mike Harrison a favor.”

Jude was taken aback. He’d never heard a shrink say that one before.

“Although your psyche has become beaten and broken, it can be healed.” A long pause. “In time.”

There it was again. The phrase Jude loathed every bit as much as he loathed green beans or weekday mornings.

Jude rolled his eyes and cracked his spine. His narrow back tapered upward in a V-line toward his much thinner neck, and eventually formed his jaw-line. His face, and every crease in it, was like a page, read and re-read by hundreds of people, but not one could decipher what went on inside of him. His seemingly misguiding features were offset by two arctic eyes, brown in the sunlight, but gray at the core. He’d gotten away with being Hugh Jackman now and then, as long as most kept their distance. He didn’t exactly come across with the same starstudded charisma or finesse. As he smoothed his dark hair, he felt his eyes linger onto anything but the gargoyle in front of him.

“I hate it here. I hate talking to you.” Jude couldn’t even hear himself anymore. It was like a silent film he couldn’t get out of. The old black and whites his teacher forced down his throat when he was in eleventh grade, the films with Chaplin and others he never cared to remember. He was a prisoner locked in this cell, and the gatekeeper had no intention of letting him out.

“You don’t hate it here, Jude. I’m trying to help you get your life back, and you’re almost there. Now, I know it seems odd for me to keep asking you this, but do you believe you’re crazy?”


****

Thanks for taking the time to read Estevan’s excerpt. For those nightowls out there, I’ll be a guest on Paranormal Radio at 10 EST time tonight. You can click on this link to listen in!

Also – thanks to all of you who have entered the various blog contests! The winners are:

Happy Marriage Sins of the Flesh Lunch Bag Winner: Pam S
Nocturne Blog CALLING T-shirt and an autographed copy of HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE Winner: KCE1976 (is that you Karin?)

If you’re a winner, please mail your postal address to cpsromance @ att.net (no spaces).

Thanks!

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Guilty Pleasures Monday – Will Smith

Sexy, funny, smart, witty, decent. I could go on about all the things I think of when I think of Will Smith, but those few are a good start. Always thought he was kind of cute in Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Will has only gotten better with age.

This is a shot of him in I AM LEGEND. I definitely would recommend you see that movie. Really interesting, although I’m not so sure about the ending. Don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but the ending bothered me on various levels, but I would still say go and rent/buy this movie.

Here’s a little more of Will and the movie for you to enjoy on this Guilty Pleasure Monday.

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Wicked Wednesday – Behind the Scenes of SINS OF THE FLESH

SINS OF THE FLESH, Available October 27, 2009 from FOREVER Grand Central PublishingMy friend Jacquie Rogers did a fun thing the other day on her blog – she told all about the setting for her novel Down Home Ever Lovin’ Mule Blues. You can check it out by clicking here or cutting and pasting this link: http://jacquierogers.blogspot.com/2009/06/where-heck-is-grasmere-idaho.html

Thanks for sharing that behind the scenes look, Jacquie!

It only seemed right to follow Jacquie’s wonderful lead and give you some behind the scenes info about SINS OF THE FLESH. Hopefully you’ll find some of the places that will be appearing in the book interesting and worth a trip next time you’re in the area.

Today I’m sharing with you a bit about the hero’s home – Bradley Beach, New Jersey. According to the town website, “(t)he earliest accounts of Bradley Beach can be traced back to 1679 when it is said that Captain William Kidd anchored his vessel off Duck Creek, now known as Sylvan Lake.”

Captain Kidd! How cool is that, although I don’t have any pirates in my book, just some arguably mad scientists doing weird gene experiments.

The town was named Bradley Beach in 1871 and over the next century, became a popular beach resort. It’s the kind of small town where you feel safe walking around and people say “Hello” and “Good morning.” It’s got a gorgeous paved beachfront walk dotted with gardens, gazebos, a playground and mini-golf course.

I love taking long walks along the beachfront and through town. It’s quite relaxing and because of that, it was a natural choice for me to be Mick Carrera’s home. As a mercenary, Mick needs somewhere to go where life is safe, relaxing and people can be trusted. Bradley Beach is the kind of a town where I can imagine Mick having a Happily-Ever-After.

Bradley Beach is also where Mick’s family lives and runs a Mexican restaurant along Main Street. If you visit Bradley Beach and come “down the shore” as the Jersey natives say, you’ll find that Main Street is just loaded with an assortment of different restaurtants, ice cream parlors, and bakeries.

I visited Bradley Beach several times to do research and am continuing to go back for more research as I write the second book in the series which will feature Mick’s little sister Liliana. Liliana is a doctor at a local hospital and is doing a residency in orthopedic surgery.

Since I’ve been visiting, I’ve got some recent shots to share with you so you can appreciate the laid back and friendly vibe of this Jersey Shore town.

Hope you enjoyed a slightly different Wicked Wednesday. I’ll be giving you some more behind the scenes snippets into SINS OF THE FLESH so you’ll get to meet all the characters and know a little bit more about the various places you’ll see in the book.

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