Caridad Pineiro® Romance Author
NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Romance Author
Sorry I’ve been MIA, but I’ve been swamped at work and with the revisions. Good news is the revisions are almost done and I’m loving the book – THE LOST – which is the next one in the SINS series.
If you’ve got some time, drop by Tawny Weber’s fabulous blog and spend some time with me today! You can click here or cut and paste this link: http://blog.tawnyweber.com/2010/10/15/quick-six-with-caridad-pineiro/
Today I have a special guest with me! James Mowery is a computer geek who writes about technology and related topics. James is here today to offer us some insights into the Basics of Hacking. To read more blog posts by James, please visit him at www.laptopcomputers.org
Without further ado, here’s James!
Hacking is a rapidly lost art in this world. While the reports of cybercrime are on the rise, these very rarely involve hacking of any kind, but rather the simple exploitation of a system’s owner through duplicity and the use of a script that the ‘hacker’ didn’t actually assemble themselves. These unscrupulous individuals, also known as ‘script kiddies’, are not truly hackers, but rather the web’s equivalent of cowardly bullies too afraid to take an actual swing at their target.
Hacking takes three primary traits: knowledge of computer systems, knowledge of networking, and raw chutzpah.
The rudiments of hacking hark back to the days of telephone modems and analog distance communication; previously, phase-shifted dial tones were used to duplicate and deceive phone companies, allowing for free long-distance calls to be made. In one larger assault, Pacific Bell’s clocks were shifted twelve hours, allowing everyone on their more common plans to use the much cheaper night rate for their daytime calls.
Now, hacking revolves around manipulation of data taken in to create a desired result. An example of this is perhaps the most basic means by which to seize control of a website: the buffer overflow. Many systems are not unlike any liquid vessel; there is finite room. The data can be thought of as liquid. Buffer overflow attacks involve inputting so much data into an open, unsecured field on a site that the data actually overflows past the memory and is forced to execute. If the attack is being done with proper code, this code will actually be injected into the system, allowing the hacker to commandeer it, damage it, or anything else.
Wirelessly, hackers should be aware of packets. Packets are the bits of data sent by computer systems to each other. They are often encrypted little nuggets of data that will make no rational sense to anyone simply viewing them raw, even if they are decrypted. However, packets can often contain private information that hackers can use for purposes of identity theft. A patient hacker can intercept many of these packets over time, and begin to decrypt them in batches. Once the encryption is broken through this method, they can begin to send packets of their own, once again burying their own code to be executed.
Hacking is an art finding itself lost, but these two basic techniques open the doors to the rest of it, for any willing to experiment and experience it.
Thank you, James! We appreciate you taking the time to visit with us and share your knowledge of hacking.
I’m going to be doing some quest blogging and one of the things on my mind for the guest blog has been “Why are paranormals still so popular? What is that keeps on pulling readers back for more?”
For me it’s about the eternal struggle of good and evil and what happens when someone has immense power. You know that whole, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I guess it’s why the Founding Fathers developed a unique system of checks and balances on the various branches of government and why the press needs to be free of government interference.
But I digress…
Imagine absolute power. Would you use it for good or evil? Is anything ever absolutely good or evil?
Whenever I sit down to write a book, that’s one of the first questions that I ask myself about each and every one of the characters. I’m much more intrigued by people who aren’t perfect and yet choose to use their power in the right way.
What about you? What keeps you coming back to the paranormal genre? I’d like to know so that I can include your thoughts in the blog I’m going to write!
The other day I did a blog over at the Savvy Authors about Dealing with the Day Job and one of the things I mentioned was finding a place and time for your writing as well as how to recharge. I like to call it finding your creative center because it’s one of the most important things you can do as a writer or any other kind of artist for that matter.
For me, being near the shore energizes me. Maybe it’s because I’m a Pisces, but there is something about the ocean and beach that I find invigorating. When I head down the shore, I know I am going to get a mess of writing done as well as a spiritual uplift.
Now I know I am luckier than some that I can pick up and take the hour, or two hour or three hour (there is a reason why it’s called the Garden State PARKway) trip down the shore. But even if you can’t get away, you should try to carve out a place and time where you can work more effectively and also a way to recharge when you’ve emptied your brain of all thoughts and need a break.
When I’m not down the shore, I have my office at home and I’ve filled it with things that I love. Family photos, useful books, my keeper and TBR collection of novels, candles, DVDs of my favorite movies and television shows as well as a comfy couch, sweater and comforter since I don’t like working at a desk when I write.
Even if all you can do is carve out a small space down in the basement next to the washer and dryer, make it your own. Surround it with things that you love and will make you feel creative.
Also find a time during which you feel most creative. As I mentioned in that earlier blog, I discovered I was a morning person. My most creative time is from around 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and I take advantage of those early hours for some truly peaceful time because there are very few crazy people up at 5 a.m., especially down the shore!
What about when you hit a block? Well, a long shower or walk work best for me. There is something about those activities where you don’t have to be thinking about doing something and can just think that help me work through problems in the story line or visualize the next scene I want to write.
I hope you found this Tuesday Tip helpful! Good luck with the writing.
I am so excited to have my friend and fellow author Kaye Manro here to tell us a little about her latest release. Plus, we’ve got a contest for you since I’m also doing a guest blog over with my friend JoJo to help her celebrate her birthday! So, if you leave a comment at JoJo’s blog, you have a chance to win an ARC of STRONGER THAN SIN, my November release, a copy of SINS OF THE FLESH, the first book in the SINS series as well as a T-shirt! Double your chances to win by leaving a comment here and also, if you’re selected at JoJo’s site and leave a comment here, you will also win a copy of your choice of either FURY CALLS or SEX AND THE SOUTH BEACH CHICAS!
So without further ado, here’s my buddy Kaye!
Thanks to the lovely Caridad Pineiro for inviting me, a new author, as a guest on her blog today! I’m so excited to be here, and to share my short ebook, FORBIDDEN LOVE, which is not a paranormal, but a science fiction romance!
Readers may not know exactly how sci-fi relates to the romance genre. So let me show you. In the subgenre of science fiction romance, authors use technology and not magic. Rather than fantasy characters such as shape shifters, the characters are alien or human. The settings are anywhere, but it is common to see stories taking place on alien worlds or on advanced spaceships. For an author, this genre, called SFR can be very exciting and fun to explore. I have to say it was for me.
Forbidden Love released at Red Rose Publishing on May 13, and has consistently stayed on the bestseller lists. Here’s a little of what you’ll find in the story:
Forbidden Love is a futuristic sci-fi romance. There is space travel at FTL (faster than light). But there is also lots of sensual exploring between the hero T’Kon and the heroine Maya, who hail from different galaxies and evolutionary paths. Rules on T’Kon’s planet forbid interspecies mating. Yet when he crashes his spacecraft on Maya’s world close to her desert home, what else is he to do but let this audacious alien tend his injuries?
For those who are new to this exciting genre, I have included a Science Fiction Lexicon on my Website. You can find phrases that may be unfamiliar to you there. The terms relate directly to those used in Forbidden Love.
For example, FTL is the ability a spacecraft has to travel in deep space far exceeding the speed of light. While in FTL, your ship could essentially reach billions of miles per second or more.
Now back to Forbidden Love, which is first and foremost a romance even though the subplot is science fiction. Here’s an excerpt so you can get a feel for the Forbidden Love romantic elements:
…She was upon him so near he could feel her breath, sense her warmth. She reached out and ran a hand through the air, searching the length of him.
“Maya,†he blew her name on a sigh.
“Take me with you,” she implored, as tears filled her astounding tawny eyes. “I want to be with you, T’Kon.†She melded her body against his invisible one.
“You know nothing of me or my world.â€
“Teach me, show me everything.â€
He felt her heat burning inside him, yet the absurdity of her request burned brighter. “What you ask is not possible.â€
“Will you please become visible so I can look at you?†She asked. “We need to talk about this before you go flying off into the universe.â€
He unshielded his body so she could see him. “I cannot take you.â€
“Why not? You can’t say it was coincidence that you happened to crash land in my back yard.â€
No, an unfortunate accident. The truthful certainty traced across his mind. Yet his arms enclosed her and he lifted her up. Her legs straddled his waist, and he held her close against his body. A fit so right he could not deny it.
“I wish it were not so, but it is,†he whispered, breathing in her pungent scent. “You would not survive on my world.†He dropped his head to taste her lips before she had a chance to counter his words. “Just one last kiss.†Her mouth opened to allow his tongue entry and he explored the soft moistness, losing himself in her tang.
The stars help him. He did not want to leave her.
Without warning, a sudden and dangerous noise yanked T’Kon from his enamored stupor. He sensed peril approaching. In a rapid-fire move, he raised his palm. A copper arch flashed and shimmered before them revealing the entryway to his concealed spacecraft. He dragged her inside. Tapping a pad the opening closed leaving them hidden behind an undetectable shield.
Kaye’s Bio: As a romance author, I lean toward the adventuresome in my writing. I love science fiction and all the enticing quantum theories surrounding it. Where characters rush through outer space at FTL, or teleport into another time, and even slipstream into an alternate reality. I like creating sizzling love scenes too with sexy heroes, and captivating heroines. It just seemed natural to combine all these elements together in my stories.
Kaye Manro
You can purchase FORBIDDEN LOVE by clicking here or visiting this page:
http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/product_info.php?products_id=772
For more information on Kaye, please visit her Website at http://www.sfr.kayemanro.com or Kaye’s blog at http://kayemanro.blogspot.com/.
Thanks so much!
This Fun Friday we’ve got two things going on! The first is another Tax Day Freebie, but this one runs all the way to May! If you’re near Charlie Brown’s check out their three course special deal via this link.
I had the special dinner last night after getting home an hour late thanks to NJ Transit. Another of their ungodly messes. When they announced a 25% fair hike yesterday, I guess they decided to add to the pain we were all feeling by having no service out of Penn Station. But the updside to the debacle was the Charlie Brown’s dinner courtesy of the coupon. Totally worth it!
The next Fun Friday thing is a guest blog with Lisa Pietsch. Drop by there today and leave a comment at Lisa’s blog for a chance to win a STRONGER THAN SIN T-shirt and a copy of FURY CALLS! The contest ends at midnight EST today, April 16th!
I hope you all have a marvelous weekend!
Today we have with us a very special guest – Rene Colato – a writer of books for children! It’s a change of pace, I know, but nothing is more important than getting your children to read.
I was an avid reader as a child and some of my fondest memories are of walking to the library with my grandmother or eagerly waiting for the bookmobile to stop at the corner so I could pick up my latest horde of books to read. My parents also provided lots of books for us and to this day I have a box filled with my favorites that I read to my daughter as a child.
So please give a big welcome to Rene and learn a little about him and his latest release, MY SHOES AND I.
I always wanted to write a book. In high school and college, I wrote seven novels for my family and friends. All of them are on their first drafts and have potential to become novels in the future. Also in college my short stories “Blood Tears†and “White Sheep Among White Lambs†became plays. I was confident that I could write a book and be an author.
Then I became a teacher and when I opened the door of room 11 at Fernangeles Elementary School, I discovered wonderful, colorful, excellent picture books. It was an instant love and soon I was writing my books for my students.
In my classroom, I loved to tell funny, scary, sad, happy and adventurous stories.
One day, one of my students asked me, “Can you write that story and draw the pictures?”
“What a wonderful idea!” I told him.
That night, I wrote and illustrated my first picture book- “El número 1/ The Number 1.” I finished the book at 1:00 A.M. and I was thrilled. I used watercolors to illustrate the book. The story is about Big Number One visiting a Number One Island. In the island lived little number ones and they were scared of Big Number One. Years later, I published this story in the Spanish magazine for children Revista Iguana.
After “El número 1†, I wrote and illustrated more books. Soon, I had a box labeled “Mr. Colato’s Booksâ€. I discovered that during independent and silent reading, this box was empty. All around the classroom, my students were reading my books. I was so excited and decided to write more and more books.
After presenting a new book, Elvis told me, “You are the teacher full of stories.â€
“SÃ, yes! He is the teacher full of stories,†all the children said at the same time.
And I became the teacher full of stories at Fernangeles Elementary. Teachers began to borrow my books. I created poems and songs for the school. One time, I even illustrated a flyer title “Wash Your Handsâ€.
Soon, “Mr. Colato’s box†included books such as: Fabiola, Fabiola , The Three Delicious Pies, In Search of a Baby, I Am, Dear Journal, A Year Full of Adventures, Teacher What I need to do?, A Story Full of Color, My House is a Castle and many more.
One morning, children’s book authors Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy visited my school and told me, “You have to send this wonderful books to publishers.†Then, I joined their workshops “Teachers in the Classroom†that Project M.O.R.E. was offering for LAUSD teachers. Both Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy inspired me to create more books and to begin to send manuscripts to publishers.
The journey to publication was hard but in my way, I found many learning opportunities to craft my writing with UCLA, SCBWI, Highlights Foundation, the Institute of Children’s Literature and finally I obtained a MFA in writing for Children and Young Adult at Vermont College.
In November 2004, I published my first picture book Waiting for Papá/ Esperando a Papá. The following year, I published I Am René, the Boy and Playing LoterÃa. In September, my book number 7th is coming out, From North to South (Children’s Book Press).
Yeah! I am still The Teacher Full of Stories and there are many books coming soon.
My goal as a writer is to produce good multicultural children’s literature; stories where minority children are portrayed in a positive way, where they can see themselves as heroes, and where they can dream and have hopes for the future. I want to write authentic stories of Latin American children living in the United States.
You can purchase this book at the Dulce Bread and Book Shop by clicking on this link:
René Colato LaÃnez is the Salvadoran award winning author of I Am René, the Boy, Waiting for Papá, Playing LoterÃa, René Has Two Last Names and The Tooth Fairy Meets El Ratón Pérez. His picture books have been honored by the Latino Book Award, the Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, the California Collection for Elementary Readers, the Tejas Star Book Award Selection and the New Mexico Book Award. Rene was named “Top Ten New Latino Authors to Watch (and Read)†by latinostories.com. Rene is a graduate of the Vermont College MFA program in Writing for Children & Young Adults.
March 08 Mayra Calvani
http://www.examiner.com/x-6309-Latino-Books-Examiner
March 09 Lori Calabrese
http://www.examiner.com/x-7597-Childrens-Books-Examiner
http://loricalabrese.com/blog/
March 10 Christina Rodriguez
http://www.christinarodriguez.com/
March 11 Silvia
http://www.mamalatinatips.com/
March 12 Monica Olivera Hazelton
http://www.latinbabybookclub.com/
March 15 Tina Nichols Coury
http://www.tinanicholscouryblog.com/
March 16 Michael Sedano
http://www.labloga.blogspot.com/
March 18 Sandra Lopez
http://sandrasbookclub.blogspot.com/
March 19 Sheila DeChantal
http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/