Good news! SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD is now available at Eharlequin.com and even better — it’s a special offer! You can get SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD for $3.99 while the special offer lasts.

Just click here to visit Eharlequin for this special offer.

This was a really compelling story for me. Single Mom. Troubled Teen. Sexy Soldier. It was a challenge to combine all three into a heart warming and emotionally charged story that was realistic in its depiction of how a single mom handles problems while also dealing with her attraction to a former love. I hope you’ll find that I was able to do that in a way that was realistic, sexy and romantic.

Without further ado . . . A Wicked Wednesday excerpt from SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD!

Deputy Rawlings stepped from one of the back rooms. He grimaced when he noticed them standing by the front desk, but swaggered over, his shoulders thrown back. Hands cocked on his hips.

“Macy. Fisher,” he said with a curt nod.

“Evening, Adam. I came to see when I could take TJ home,” she said, bracing her hands along the edge of the front desk.

Adam looped his thumbs through his pants loops and swayed side to side on his feet for a moment. “I’m sorry, but I’ve decided to keep TJ overnight while we continue our investigations.”

The other deputy rose from the desk, wisely making himself absent for the discussion that would follow.

“Excuse me,” Macy said, her voice rising with each syllable, prompting Fisher to reach over and place his hand on her shoulder to try to calm her.

“We need to be sure there’s no foul play,” the deputy said and beneath his hand, the tension escalated in Macy’s body.

“Come on now, Adam. There’s no reason — “

“A young girl is missing. We have a witness who claims to have seen your son with her on the night she disappeared.”

Macy inched up on her toes, ready to erupt, but he applied gentle pressure to keep her in control. Macy didn’t normally have a temper, but when it involved her family, he didn’t doubt that she would tenaciously defend her son.

“You know Jericho wouldn’t do this,” she urged and he had no doubt about that. Jericho would not be handling this situation as badly as Deputy Rawlings, but he could see that the man was not responding well to being challenged.

He opted for a different approach, hoping that he could calm the deputy until his brother returned in a day or two. “No one doubts your concerns, deputy, but wouldn’t it be possible to release TJ into his mother’s custody? I’m sure she can — “

“Handle him?” The deputy chuckled harshly and shook his head. “Mrs. Ward hasn’t done a very good job of controlling TJ so far. Until we know that there’s been no foul play, I’m going to hold TJ overnight. Maybe even longer.”

Macy’s body trembled beneath his hand, but she somehow kept her cool. “Please don’t do this, Adam. I promise to bring TJ back in the morning — “

“I don’t think so,” the deputy said and Fisher was about to jump in and offer his assurances, but bit the words back. He knew little about TJ other than that both his brother and dad believed he was good, but confused. Worse yet, he knew nothing about how to deal with the boy and even if he did . . .

He would be gone in another couple of weeks.

Becoming involved in their lives not only made little sense, it would be cruel since he could promise nothing of permanence. But he needed to help Macy now.

“Let’s go, Macy. We’ll come back in the morning.”

Macy shot a worried look at him and while glancing her way, he said, “The deputy knows what he needs to do. He’ll take good care of TJ.”

He faced the other man and left no doubt about his words. “You will take good care, right?”

Adam stalked the remaining distance to the front desk and leaned over the barrier toward him. “That’s not a threat is it?”

“Just a reminder,” he said, dipped his head and smiled, making sure that the other man understood it was a promise of what might happen if TJ wasn’t cared for. Then he urged Macy back from the desk while he said, “We’ll see you bright and early, Adam. Have a nice night.”

Slipping his arm completely around Macy’s shoulders, he steered her out the door of the station and onto the steps, where she shrugged off his touch and wrapped her arms around herself.

“Jericho wouldn’t do this. He would know that TJ could never hurt that girl,” she said.

“But is TJ involved in her disappearance?” Fisher asked, but as Macy’s face paled at his words, he cursed beneath his breath.

“I’m sorry,” he said and took her into his arms. She was tense at first, but then she slowly relaxed and embraced him. Laid the side of her face on his chest as she said, “Thank you. I was a little tired of going it alone.”

He suspected that up until her cockamamie idea to marry Jericho, she had been going it alone ever since Tim’s death nearly six years earlier.

As she raised her face and her brown eyes, shimmering with unshed tears, met his, he wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to go it alone any more. That he would be there for her, but he couldn’t. But he also couldn’t resist the pull of that emotional gaze or the desire to soothe the spot on her lower lip that she was worrying with her teeth.

He bent his head as she rose up on tiptoe. Licked the abused spot on her lower lip before covering her mouth with his.

She pressed into him, cupping the back of his head with her hand and he dug his fingers into the silky lushness of her shoulder length brown hair.

When she opened her mouth to his, he pressed on, sliding his tongue along the perfect edge of her teeth before dancing it against her tongue. He wrapped his one arm beneath her buttocks and brought her full against him and with that dangerous full body contact, sanity returned.

They pulled apart abruptly, both of them breathing hard and obviously shocked by the intensity of the emotion they had unleashed with one simple embrace.

“Macy, I’m –”

She raised her hands to stop him. “Please don’t say you’re sorry because I’m not. There’s no need for apologies or regrets. All I want to say is thank you for being here for me.”

He dragged a hand through the short cropped strands of his hair and held back on telling her what he wanted — that he wanted her again. Wanted her next to him. Wanted her lips beneath his, opening to his invasion. Inviting him to take it further.

Instead, he took a deep breath and stuffed the tips of his fingers into the pockets of his snug jeans to keep from reaching for her again.

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you home.”

She wrapped her arms around herself once more and shook her head roughly, sending her hair into movement with the action. “You don’t need to do that — “

“I do. Until Jericho is home, I want to make sure you’re okay.”

She looked away then, but he couldn’t fail to see the tear as it slipped down her face and she said, “I understand, Fisher. I won’t mistake what just happened for anything else.”

He longed to take her into his arms and shake her until she did understand only he wasn’t sure he knew why they were both standing there, shaking with desire. Hungry for another taste, but fighting it.

Because of that confusion, he said, “How about I just watch you walk to your car. If you need me in the morning — “

“I’ll call,” she said, but as she walked away, he understood that she wouldn’t.

Just click here to visit Eharlequin for this special offer.

While I was watching the Mets game the other night, I got to work on a video trailer for my new book, SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD. Here’s the blurb I came up with for the book, as well as the trailer! Let me know what you think.

18 years earlier she had left him for another man. Will the secrets of the past risk their lives and that of their son? SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD is filled with action, suspense and touching family emotions. Look for this romantic suspense thriller from USA TODAY and NY TIMES Bestselling author Caridad Pineiro in December 2008. Available everywhere from Silhouette Romantic Suspense.

As I may have mentioned, this is Book 4 in the COLTONS:FAMILY FIRST series from Silhouette Romantic Suspense. Be sure to check out the other books in the series (listed below).

COLTON’S SECRET SERVICE - by Marie Ferrarella Sept 08
RANCHER’S REDEMPTION - by Beth Cornelison Oct 08
SHERIFF’S AMNESIAC BRIDE - by Linda Conrad Nov 08
A SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD - by Caridad Pineiro Dec 08
BABY’S WATCH - by Justine Davis Jan 08
A HERO OF HER OWN - by Carla Cassidy Feb 08

“We are family. I got all my sisters with me . . .” Come on, everybody. Sing it! You all know that great Pointer Sisters song!

So how does that become a Tuesday Tip? Well, people often ask me about how to do effective promotion as a writer and there’s lots of ideas to discuss. A website, blog, Myspace and Facebook page. Penny for penny, the Internet is probably one of the most effective ways a writer, or any other artist, can meet people and spread the word about what they are doing.

But like anything else, going it alone on the Internet can be a lonely affair, as it can be going it alone at signings and other events.

But if you’ve got family, especially writing family, the world becomes a much smaller place. For me, I got my first writing family at my local RWA chapter in New Jersey. I recently joined the Orange County chapter in California since I have a number of friends in the chapter and like getting out to California.

One thing I’ve recently done is band together with other writers for some new endeavors. A few years ago I went to a conference down in Miami and got to hang out with some old and dear friends, but also got to know some new and really great women. We banded together to form an e-mail loop to share ideas and thoughts and not be so alone. We actually titled the group and our new website NUNCASOLA which means “Never Alone”.

Another thing I’ll be doing next year as part of a group of friends is hosting a mixer at the 2009 RT Convention in Orlando. We’ll be meeting readers, booksellers and other writers and sharing a good time with them. The STREET PARTY mixer was the brainstorm of my friend Kimberly Terry, but the lesson of the story is that together we can do more than we could alone.

When you’re considering promotion, consider not only the things that promote only you, but see if you can’t find a writing family to help support your efforts to get the word out about your writing.

For your enjoyment, courtesy of The Pointer Sisters and Rhino Entertainment, here’s WE ARE FAMILY!

Today’s FUN FRIDAY is all about my new covers! I am so excited about them. The cover on the left is for my December romantic suspense release, SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD (I think the model is hot, do you?). The cover on the right is for the e-book collection of the novels in the CAPTURING THE CROWN series which includes my August 2006 release, MORE THAN A MISSION.

Also for fun, I decided to collect all the different versions of my covers since when the books are re-released overseas, they sometimes change the cover or change the line under which the book is released. For example, in the United Kingdom the romantic suspense stories used to come out in a line called SENSATIONS, but they are now releasing these books as part of the United Kingdom INTRIGUE line. In Japan, the cover says the book is part of the LOVESTREAM line.

I’m trying to track down the Australian covers and hope to have them up soon.

If you check out the DARKNESS CALLS United Kingdom cover, it’s really cool. Of course, my all time favorite is the MANGA cover of MORE THAN A MISSION. It was so-o-o amazing to see the story turned into a cartoon! You can read more about this one by clicking here.

Click here or visit this link (http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006451&l=1fc77&id=1130005412) to see my collection of covers!

A BIG BIG thanks to Lisa Jackson for providing us with an amazing excerpt and dropping by to visit. Also a BIG BIG thanks to everyone who came to visit and left a comment on the blogs. I’ll be answering all your comments over the weekend, picking the two lucky winners and also, the winners of the copies of HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE.

For those of you who left the answer — SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD — Yep, that’s the name of my upcoming December release from Silhouette Romantic Suspense. As you may know, SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD is part of the COLTONS: FAMILY FIRST Series from Silhouette Romantic Suspense. Check out all the books in the series by this wonderful group of authors!

COLTON’S SECRET SERVICE - by Marie Ferrarella Sept 08
RANCHER’S REDEMPTION - by Beth Cornelison Oct 08
SHERIFF’S AMNESIAC BRIDE - by Linda Conrad Nov 08
A SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD - by Caridad Pineiro Dec 08
BABY’S WATCH - by Justine Davis Jan 08
A HERO OF HER OWN - by Carla Cassidy Feb 08

As for a Fun Night — yesterday was my daughter’s b’day and I drove down to Philly and she and I had a girl’s night at the ballpark. I had my friends Linda and Lena with me and my daughter had two of her friends. The Mets were playing the Phillies — always a good rivalry. Our group was a mix of Philly and Mets fan and one lone Yankees fan.

The weather was amazing and so was the company. We had a great time and for my daughter and me, it was even better since the Mets won after losing the night before. That puts them back in first place, but it really is a pennant race this year with the Mets and Phillies both shooting for the division title.

Let’s hope the Mets don’t repeat last year’s historic collapse. Ugh. That was heart-breaking which is why I guess you really need to be a fan to love the Mets. Like they said in 1969 - YA GOTTA BELIEVE.

The highlight of last night’s game for us was two solo blasts by Carlos Delgado which we were able to watch clear the fence since we were sitting up along the third base line (so we could be sure to watch David Wright!).

If you didn’t watch the game, you can click here to see Delgado’s second solo blast which I think tied up the game:
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200808273378683

It happens often. You go to the bookstore and see a cover that looks familiar, but the title is different. Turns out, it’s a different book with a very similar cover. I had that happen recently with the JEWEL OF MEDINA (that we discussed the other day)(shown below) and another book titled SISTER TERESA. At first glance the women on the covers looked very similar to me.

Of course seeing them side-by-side now makes me realize they don’t look that much alike, but now I dare you. Actually, double dog dare you to say that the two covers which follow don’t look alike!

Are you ready? Click to see more! Read the rest of this entry �

Hate to say it, but sometimes I’m a little more forgetful than I used to be. We all experience those brain fog moments for many reasons. Age. Stress. Medical reasons. So to stay sharp, I’ve gone back to doing something I used to do all the time as a kid — playing word search games and doing crossword puzzles.

For a great article from LIFETIME on playing games to keep your brain sharp, you can click here! The article mentions a number of games/DVDs, but you can also do puzzles, Soduku and other activities. Also check out what the article says about chocolate and cocoa! Always a good thing when science reaffirms the magic of such tasty things.

Also, for all you Harlequin fans, they are running a Buy One Get One Free promotion from today, August 12 to August 14. You can click here for the BOGO Sale going on at Harlequin.

Not to mention a big WOO HOO as the first book in the Coltons series has hit the shelves. You can click here for Colton’s Secret Service by the wonderful Marie Ferrarella. My contribution to this series, SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD, will be out in December 2008.

This Wicked Wednesday’s treat is an excerpt from my upcoming December release - SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD. But first — the winner of the Fear of Flying Blog Contest is Ellen! I’ll be contacting her about her box of books! Also, look for a special guest blog and contest with books and other goodies from Lisa Jackson. Lisa will be dropping by on August 26th to blog.

Now back to SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD.

This story was a wonderful change of pace for me. There’s suspense and action, but also a truly heart-warming tale about two people separated by time and misunderstandings. Macy Ward, the heroine, is the mother to troublesome teenager TJ Ward. TJ’s a good kid, but he’s still not handling the loss of his father from cancer six years earlier. The hero, Fisher Yates, is a decorated Army Captain who is at a cross roads at his life. He has the choice of going back for another tour of duty in the Middle East or teaching at West Point. He’s not really considering the latter since he doesn’t picture himself as a family man . . . until Fate brings him back together with Macy Ward. Fisher can definitely imagine a family with Macy, but what he doesn’t expect to find out is that he already has one — TJ is his son. Together Macy and Fisher must not only work out their differences and rediscover love, but also deal with a threat to TJ and their family. SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD will be out in December 2008 from Silhouette Romantic Suspense.

Today’s Wicked Wednesday excerpt is from a flashback scene to the fateful night when Fisher and Macy first get together! Hope you enjoy it. (P.S. - You may be wondering why a picture of a cowboy. Well, even though Fisher is a soldier, the story is set in Texas so he does his fair share of wearing a Stetson!)

He wanted to lick the plate of the last remnant’s of Miss Sue’s famous apple cobbler, but his dad had raised him to be a gentleman so he held back.

Macy must have seen the hunger that remained in his gaze since she offered up the last few of the pie on her plate. “You can finish mine.”

His mouth watered at the site of those extra few bites, but he shook his head. “I couldn’t take the last of your dessert.”

“Go ahead. I need to watch my figure anyway,” she said, moving aside her plate and pushing hers before him.

Fisher dug into the cobbler, but after he swallowed a bite, he said, “Seems to me you’re worrying for nothing, Mace.”

Truth be told, she had a wonderful figure. Trim and strong, but with womanly curves in all the right places. As he thought about that, he shifted in his seat as his jeans tightened painfully. He had imagined those curves next to him once too often since that fateful kiss.

“Something wrong, Fisher?” she asked, innocently unaware of the affect she had on him.

“Not at all,” he lied, quickly finished the cobbler and paid the tab.

With his hand on the small of her back, he walked her out to the sidewalk where they stood there for a moment, enjoying the early summer night. Dusk was just settling in, bringing with it the cooler night air and the soft intimate glow of the street lights along Main Street as they snapped to life.

“Thank you for dinner,” Macy said, glad for not only the fine food, but his company. He had always been a distant fourth Musketeer to their little group and tonight she had been able to enjoy his presence without the interference the others usually created.

As he turned to look at her, she noticed the gleam in his green eyes. The kind of gleam that kicked her heart up into a hurried little beat. She might have been going out with Tim for as long as she could remember, but she could still recognize when a man found her attractive. And considering her break up with Tim, it was a welcome balm that someone as attractive as Fisher appeared to be interested.

He smiled, his teeth white against his tanned skin and his dark five o’clock shadow. He was the kind of man who needed to shave more than twice a day. He was a man, she reminded herself, trying to ignore the pull of her attraction to him. Nothing like Jericho and Tim even though Fisher was only two years older. There had always been a maturity and intensity about him that had set him apart from the others even when he had been younger.

“It’s early still,” he said, the tones of his voice a soft murmur in the coming quiet of the night.

“It is,” she said.

He leaned toward her and a lock of nearly jet black hair fell forward onto his forehead as he said, “Too early to call it a night, don’t you think?”

She met his gaze, glittering brightly with interest, the color like new spring grass. Kicking up that erratic beat of her heart and making her want to reach up and brush away that wild errant lock of hair.

“Did you have something in mind?” she asked in a breathless voice she didn’t recognize.

“How about a drive? I’ll even put the top down on the CJ.”

She imagined driving through the night, Fisher beside her. The scents of the early summer wildflowers whipping around them as they sped along in the open Jeep through the Texas countryside.

“I think that sounds really nice.”

#

They drove through the open meadows and fields surrounding Esperanza, the scented wind wrapping them in its embrace while bright moonlight lit the road before them until Fisher took a dirt road to one of the few nearby hills. He parked the CJ so it faced the lights of town and the wide starlit Texas sky.

She imagined she could see the lights of San Antonio, well to the south of their hometown. She and Tim had planned on going to college together there until Tim had said he was reconsidering that decision. She gazed at the lights of Esperanza and noticed the cars parked around Bill’s house where Jericho and Tim would be with the rest of the baseball team. Where she might have been a few weeks earlier if things hadn’t changed recently.

“Penny for your thoughts,” he said and pushed back some strands of wind-blown hair from her face. The pads of his fingers brushed the sensitive skin of her cheek, sending a shiver rocketing through her body.

“Do you ever wonder if some things happen for a reason?” she asked.

“Meaning?” He arched one dark brow in question.

“Tim and me. His breaking it off.” She shrugged and turned in her seat to face him. “If it hadn’t been for that –”

“Being the nice girl that you are, you wouldn’t be here tonight.” He once again brushed the tips of his fingers across her cheek, then trailed them down to cup her jaw.

“Is that what you think I am? A nice girl?” she shot back, slightly perturbed which was ridiculous. She was a nice girl unlike many of the women with whom Fisher had been seen around town.

“Don’t get so riled, Mace. There’s nothing wrong with being a nice girl.”

The words shot out of her mouth before she could censor them. “And boys like you don’t think about doing things with nice girls.”

“Boys like me?” he asked with another pointed arch of his brow and a wry smile on his lips.

Macy fidgeted with her hands, plucking at the seat belt she still wore. “You know, love ‘em and leave ‘em types like you.”

He chuckled and shook his head, but he never broke the contact of his hand against her chin. Instead, he inched his thumb up to brush softly across her lips.

“Let’s get something straight, Mace. First of all, I’m not a boy, I’m a man. A man whose daddy would tan his hide for the thoughts he’s having right now about the nice girl who happens to be sitting next to him.”

The warmth on the pad of his thumb spread itself across her lips and with his words, shot through the rest of her body. “Thoughts? What kinds of thoughts?”

He chuckled again, only there was something darker and dangerously sexy there this time. “You always were the daring type.”

“He who dares, wins,” she reminded him.

The smile on his face broadened and he leaned toward her until the warmth of his breath replaced that of his thumb against her lips. “Then I guess I should dare,” he said and brought his lips to hers.

The shock of his hard mouth against hers was quickly replaced by a sense of . . . rightness which surprised her considering that this was Jericho’s brother. That up until a few weeks ago, she had thought she was about to embark on a life with another man.

Another man who had rejected her. Who had never made her feel the way Fisher was now making her feel.

The tip of his tongue tasted her lips, gently asked for entrance at the seam of her mouth. She opened her lips and accepted the thrust of his tongue. Joined it with hers until they were both breathing heavily and had to break apart for air.

Fisher turned away from her and clenched his hands on his thighs, struggling for control. This was Macy, he reminded himself, rubbing his hands across the soft denim of his jeans. Jericho’s best friend and Tim’s intended, he reminded himself as he held back from reaching for her again.

Only she wasn’t Tim’s anymore, the voice inside his head challenged and then urged, “And now she can be yours.”

He faced her and seeing the desire in her eyes, he asked, “Are you sure about this?”

She nodded quickly and he didn’t second guess her decision. Reaching into the back seat of the CJ, he grabbed a blanket he kept there and stepped out of the car. Swinging around the front, he met her by the passenger side door and slipped his hand into hers. Twined his fingers with hers as he lead her a few feet away from the Jeep to a soft spot of grass on the overlook.

He released her only long enough to spread out the blanket and then he urged her down.

For long moments they lay side-by-side on their backs, staring up at the late May moon. Listening to the rustle of the light breeze along the taller grasses and the profusion of wildflowers which perfumed the air.

Fisher rolled onto his side and ran the back of his index finger along the high straight ridge of her cheek. He had known her all his life and all his life he had thought she was the prettiest woman he had ever seen.

“You’re beautiful.”

Much like before, an embarrassed flush worked across her cheeks as she avoided his gaze. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Now why do you think I’m such a hound dog?”

“Because I’ve seen you around town with all those dangerous women,” she answered and the blush along her cheeks deepened.

“Jealous?” he asked, but then immediately confessed, “Because every time I saw you with Tim, I was jealous.”

A little jolt of excitement rattled her body before Macy turned onto her side and cradled his cheek. His five o’clock shadow tickled the palm of her hand. As she met his gaze, made a silvery green by the light of the moon, she detected no deception there, just honesty.

“Why didn’t you — “

“You were Tim’s girl and Jericho’s best friend. I wasn’t going to be responsible for breaking up the Three Musketeers,” he said and shrugged.

“And now?” she asked, mimicking his earlier move by bringing her thumb to trace the warm fullness of his lips which broadened into a sexy dimpled smile with her caress.

“He who dares, wins,” he said and brought his lips to hers.

Copyright 2008 Caridad Pineiro Scordato www.caridad.com

It had to finally happen. I couldn’t keep on ignoring Brad Pitt, especially considering how great he looked in TROY. Didn’t like his character very much, but you can’t argue with the fact that he was ripped for that movie.

Then of course, there was the first time many of us laid eyes on him in THELMA & LOUISE. Wow! He was so amazing. I wondered, “Who is this guy and where can I see him next?”

I’ve often thought that he resembles Robert Redford a lot and that was quite apparent in SPY GAME. The similarities between the two men was absolutely amazing!

Also, I really like Mr. & Mrs. Smith. I thought it was a great romantic comedy/spy/action/black comedy. You get it. A mix of a lot of things, which actually may have turned some people off. Also — little known fact. When I was asked about the cover for MORE THAN A MISSION, I said, how about something like the poster for Mr. & Mrs. Smith and here’s what I got!

I loved the knife on the thigh!

Hope you liked this Monday’s Guilty Pleasure.

Today’s the Day! My Women, Words and Wisdom story. When I first heard about the topic, I had no doubt what I was going to write about . . . my mom and the lessons she taught me.

Actually, one lesson in particular — That you could accomplish anything in life if you worked hard enough and never gave up.

My mom knew about never giving up. When she lived in Cuba, she didn’t like Batista so she helped make a change. When that change didn’t work out the way she envisioned, she tried to undo what she had done. That forced her into exile, but worse yet, had her making a very difficult decision — ending up in jail or leaving her two young daughters behind in Cuba while she fled to the United States.

When I mean young, I really mean young. I was just over two years old and my little sister was six months old. Even before I was old enough to have a child of my own, I understood how difficult a choice that must have been. Your life or leaving behind the things you loved most.

But my mom did it. And in the years that followed, she not only taught my sister and I that we could accomplish anything we wanted, she showed us by doing the same. She worked hard, struggling against a lot of odds back in the early sixties.

For starters, people didn’t want Cubans in their apartment buildings or neighborhoods even though they loved watching Ricky and Lucy. That kind of acceptance was mostly on the television tube. Mostly because there were some very kind people as well. Kindness overcame intolerance, a lesson also learned.

Mom was a working woman, something more common in the Sixties than in the Fifties, but certainly not as common as it is today. Worse, she was a woman in a man’s world — the legal profession.

But she persevered and worked hard. She pursued and obtained the American Dream — a house in the suburbs, car and college for her kids. Education was something she firmly believed in for her children because she believed, as had her dad, that they can take everything you own away from you, but they can’t take what’s in your mind. That’s yours forever.

So by example and by word, mom tattooed in my brain to never give up and always work hard. It’s something that’s served me well in my life. When things don’t necessarily go my way, I stop and ask myself, “Is this something I really want? Is this what’s best for me and my family?”

If the answer is yes — I go for it. Wholeheartedly and with every fiber of my being. Some say I’m mad crazy driven and they’re probably right. I’m my mother’s daughter and I know that I can accomplish anything that I desire if I persevere.

In the publishing world, that’s an especially good attitude. My friend Lara Rios blogged during the tour about Wisdom Applied to Writing and had Persistence as a necessary trait for writers as well as for all other aspects of your life. So true.

Persistence. Perseverance. Couple them with hard work. It equals Heart to me. It’s what keeps you always reaching for your dreams.

So I leave you those thoughts today from a very wise woman — my mom. I also have a special gift to you from me and from another friend who understands the words persistence and perseverance — Berta Platas.

Long before Indiana Jones found the Crystal Skull, six remarkable women came together and became the Skull Sisters. I had been working on this concept with some good friends and Berta and I were on the verge of selling the Skull Sisters series when the publisher decided to close the line!

Perseverance, I tell myself. We haven’t given up hope that one day this series will be acquired. For now, enjoy some action and adventure with some totally kick-ass heroines and the mystical crystal skulls. Be sure to pop over to Berta’s Blogspot to read from her story in the series!

Don’t forget that coupled with those thoughts, we’ve got a contest going on! Leave a message on this blog to win a prize of a complete collection of the SOUTH BEACH CHICAS books as well as a HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE color t-shirt!

And don’t forget to check out all the other stops on the tour for their stories and prizes (look at the end of this post for the other stops!). I hope you enjoy reading from all these amazing women.

So last but not least, here’s the extra special Women, Words and Wisdom Free read — an excerpt from Book One in the Skull Sisters series! You can visit www.skullsisters.com for more info on the series.

Chapter 1
“Run!”

Sara Mendoza had taken no more than a step or two from the temple excavation when an explosion rocked the structure behind her.

She hurtled through the air, arms and legs flailing. A huge fireball from the detonation chased after her. As she neared her objective — a strategically placed crash mat — Sara tucked tight, preparing to absorb the blow from the landing. At the speed she traveled, the mat could be as hard as cement.

Her shoulder connected with the foam, but she maintained her natural momentum by rolling. Then that sixth sense that had served her so well in the past kicked in. Something was different from the earlier rehearsals.

Flattening instead of continuing with her controlled tumble, Sara raised her hand in anticipation of the blow. A tingle danced along her fingertips a second before sizzling heat skimmed along her body. A large piece of fiery debris sailed past her. With a dull thud, part of the scaffolding from around the excavation landed only a few feet away. It was a section that shouldn’t have come off the set.

The trio of pullers who had been busy helping her fly through the air thanks to the harness at her waist now quickly rushed forward with fire extinguishers to keep the crash mat from igniting.

Sara rose and stretched to work a kink out of her back. Reaching behind her, she undid the shackle which attached the cable to the harness beneath her shirt. Seeing that her co-workers had things under control, she hurried toward the trailer reserved for the stunt crew’s use. The RV was set quite a ways back from the temple built by the film crew in the Puerto Rican jungle.

She had one more scene to shoot today. She needed to mentally prepare and eventually change into the duplicate wardrobe that matched what the heroine of the movie would later be wearing. Plus — although she would deny it if anyone
asked — she was a little shaken about how close she had come to being pancaked by the flaming piece of the set.

“That was awesome, Sara. Way cool,” said the new assistant, a young man who was more boy than man and hoped to break into the business.

She forced a smile while they walked along and the assistant continued to carry on about her luck during her recent exploit. Her past luck during such feats had made her famous throughout the industry. No stunt was too hard or too dangerous for Sara Mendoza. The amazing part was that after nearly four years in the business, she was still in one piece, uninjured except for the occasional minor bump, bruise or road rash.

She snapped her hand up to silence the overeager assistant. “Gracias, Billy. Let’s just concentrate on the next one.” She hated the talk. Not that she was superstitious, but acknowledging her luck was almost like tempting the gods to remind her that she was human. Humans broke and bled and worse.

Right now soreness gradually awakened in the shoulder that had absorbed the brunt of the landing’s force. She opened the door to the trailer, but stopped the young assistant as he went to enter. “Do you think you can scrounge up an ice pack for my shoulder?”

“Do you need to see the doc? Is it bad?” he asked, almost too eagerly.

“An ice pack will do. Gracias.”

He scurried away, and she took a deep breath and entered the trailer.

Once inside, she walked to the small refrigerator, grabbed a can of Pepsi, and slugged down a good portion of the soda. Bracing her shaky hands along the counter in the kitchenette, she thought about the fact that she had just survived a close call. Not her first, but nevertheless scary.

Weakness slowly crept into her limbs along with a chill. A byproduct of the adrenaline rush from doing the stunt, she told herself, and finished off her drink. Combined with a little rest and some meditation to center herself, she would be ready for the next stunt later that afternoon.

A knock came at the door. Billy with the ice pack, she remembered, walked to the door and opened it.

His face was in shadow as he stood in the entryway, but Sara would have known it was Matt even if it was pitch black.

“Heard you had a slight problem,” Matt said.

Great, she thought. The shittiness of her day was now complete.

“I’m fine,” she said with a shrug, then grimaced at the twinge of pain and rubbed her shoulder.

Matt instantly moved to her side and eased away the collar of her shirt to expose the reddened spot at the top of her shoulder. Gently he ran his hand over the area and said, “I’ve already seen the crash mat and heard what the crew had to say. That’s not my idea of fine.”

She jerked back from his touch, flinching at the slight pain it created in her shoulder. “It’s nothing to worry about, ‘Mom’.”

“I checked and double-checked everything. That piece of the set shouldn’t have — “

“Come off? We both know the unexpected can happen during a stunt. So just leave it alone already,” she nearly shouted, tired of Matt’s overprotective smothering. No one would intentionally rig the set to cause harm. Everyone on the crew was almost like family. None had a grudge to settle. At least, not that she knew, but in a cut throat business like Hollywood, anything was possible.

Matt clearly thought the accident might have been something else, but then again, Matt had been in paranoid mode since an accident on the set nearly two years earlier had badly injured him. He had been lucky to survive, but their relationship hadn’t. The stress and fear that remained with him after the incident had made it impossible for them to stay together.

Sara sensed that Matt itched to dredge up their battle about her stunt work. But instead he just stood there as she removed her shirt, followed by her black jeans to expose the flying harness. The main part of the harness encircled her waist snugly, while two straps slipped down and around the uppermost portion of her thighs. They were there to keep the harness from being jerked out of place during the stunt.

She tried to ignore Matt, who seemed disinclined to leave, but it proved difficult. Too much history joined them. A funny thing really. Matt had been the one to introduce her to the business. He had taught her much of what she knew. Had become her first lover.

Her hands fumbled with the webbing of one buckle and suddenly he stood there, brushing her hands aside.

He loomed over her, close to a foot taller than her own 5′4″ height. Broad-shouldered and still well-muscled despite the fact that he was now normally a stunt coordinator rather than an active participant.

She wouldn’t look at him while he undid the safety binding as easily as he had once undressed her. Caressed her.

She refused to notice the slight tremble in his hands when he accidentally brushed her skin with the back of his hand as he undid the second buckle and main lacings of the equipment.

The harness slipped off and Matt grasped it. She rushed to the opposite side of the trailer and grabbed her robe off a hook. Belting it securely, she turned and watched Matt check the equipment carefully, making sure that it was still in usable condition.

“It worked just fine.” She wished he would leave so she could get a little respite from his presence and prepare herself mentally for the next stunt.

“It’s great that the harness worked fine. What about the friggin’ piece of lumber that nearly flattened you? Was that fine as well?”

“I’m in once piece, Matt. That’s all that matters.” Despite saying that, she was a little spooked. Matt was right about one thing — he ran a tight ship where accidents rarely happened. She would have to keep a close eye on the preparations for the other stunts which remained to make sure no one was up to no good.

Meeting Matt’s gaze, she faked unconcerned and said, “There’s nothing to worry about.”

Matt nodded and seemed about to say something, but an angry buzz from her phone as it rested on the table prevented it.

She grabbed the cell phone and even though unfamiliar with the number showing up on the caller id, answered in order to avoid continuing the fight with Matt. “Sara Mendoza.”

“Ms. Mendoza? This is Detective Alvarez from the Huntington Beach PD. There’s been an incident at your home.”

Check out the rest of the tours on the Women, Words and Wisdom Blog tour:

May 19 - Mary Castillo (http://www.marycastillo.blogspot.com/)
May 20 - Barbara Ferrer (http://www.fashionista-35.livejournal.com/)
May 21 – Lara Rios (http://www.lararios.blogspot.com/)
May 22 – Mayra Calvani (http://www.thedarkphantom.wordpress.com)
May 23 – Caridad Pineiro (http://www.caridad.com/blog)
May 24 – Jamie Martinez (http://www.jamiemartinezwood.blogspot.com/)
May 25 – Berta Platas (http://www.bertaplatas.blogspot.com/)
May 26 – Tracy Montoya (www.tracymontoya.blogspot.com)
May 27 – Kathy Cano-Murillo (http://thecraftychica.blogspot.com)
May 28 – Misa Ramirez (http://chasingheroes.com)

Also — the winner of the contest at Marya Calvani’s blog is ZULMARA! Congrats. Please contact Mayra for your prize.

As you may have realized by now, I am a TV junkie and so today’s Thoughtful Thursday is about some happenings in my favorite shows and the cliffhangers and character assassinations that effect the continuity of those shows.

For starters –

STOP IF YOU WATCH NCIS, BONES OR CRIMINAL MINDS and haven’t seen the season finales. THERE WILL BE SPOILERS in this post!!

Okay, you’ve been warned . . .

I’m watching the two part NCIS and never saw it coming. A good thing I guess, except . . . Did we ever have a clue before the show the other night that Jenny Shepard was dying from some kind of wasting disease? Did I sleep through that (my family will likely say YES!) Truly character assassination and I will miss Lauren Holly because romantic optimist that I am, I kept on hoping her and Gibbs would reunite.

But if that wasn’t enough (especially after they killed off the other female agent a few years back just when it was getting good with DiNozzo), they end the show by transferring out all of the major characters. HUH?? They pulled a HOUSE?

I didn’t much care for it in HOUSE when we lost most of the regular cast that we had grown to know. I’m not sure how NCIS will start off the next season, but it would sure be damned disappointing if we didn’t have Ziva, Dinozzo and McGee back as regulars because without them, the show is losing continuity much like HOUSE lost continuity. To be honest, HOUSE used to be a do not miss and now, I have a backload of DVR’d episodes to watch since I lost interest with some of these new characters.

In CRIMINAL MINDS, the show ends with each of the characters getting into the similar black Suburban SUVs and then fade to a shot of one of them blowing up! So who is dead? Who knows? Will it be the newly pregnant and about to be happy one, the dour one, the quirky one . . . You get it (Sorry, but I tend to forget their names on this show. Maybe not a good thing).

I wonder why the writers feel they need to do these shake-ups? Do they assume the fans don’t want continuity? Do they think the show needs some new blood?

One of the things I admired most about Buffy was how in general, the characters grew with each show and season. We learned more and more about their strengths and weaknesses. What led them to where they are and how they will take that knowledge and move forward with it — in their careers and their lives.

With new characters we don’t get that. We lose all continuity and all the time we’ve invested in these characters (not much different from books and series in print).

BONES at least has seemed to strike a better note with its season finale. We lost a favorite and yet that loss will certainly prompt the other characters to reconsider not only what they knew about him, but about themselves. Already Hodgins is questioning how his actions may have led a friend astray. Bones is wondering what she gave Zak and maybe will wonder how much she gives of herself to others (I hope). The relationship with Bones and Seeley has certainly progressed, making all of us romantic optimists salivate at what will come next season.

Now that’s what I call a good cliffhanger!

Don’t forget to join me tomorrow, May 23, for my contribution to the Women, Words and Wisdom blog and the related contest.

Leave a message on tomorrow’s blog to win a prize of a complete collection of the SOUTH BEACH CHICAS books as well as a HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE color t-shirt! Here’s the line up for the tour and I hope you enjoy hearing words of wisdom from these amazing women.

And don’t forget to check out all the other stops on the tour for their stories and prizes!

May 19 - Mary Castillo (http://www.marycastillo.blogspot.com/)
May 20 - Barbara Ferrer (http://www.fashionista-35.livejournal.com/)
May 21 – Lara Rios (http://www.lararios.blogspot.com/)
May 22 – Mayra Calvani (http://www.thedarkphantom.wordpress.com)
May 23 – Caridad Pineiro (http://www.caridad.com/blog)
May 24 – Jamie Martinez (http://www.jamiemartinezwood.blogspot.com/)
May 25 – Berta Platas (http://www.bertaplatas.blogspot.com/)
May 26 – Tracy Montoya (www.tracymontoya.blogspot.com)
May 27 – Kathy Cano-Murillo (http://thecraftychica.blogspot.com)
May 28 – Misa Ramirez (http://chasingheroes.com)

So sorry to be late with today’s Guilty Pleasures Monday, only it was quite a weekend! I was busy finishing up A SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD which will be out from Silhouette Romantic Suspense very soon and getting to work on the proposal for the next book in THE CALLING series — VENGEANCE CALLS (#11 if we count the two novellas!)

Of course, doing the synopsis for that one got me thinking about the two that preceded it. You may remember that bad boy Blake will be the hero in #9 - FURY CALLS. Blake’s been in a number of books already, but had a sexy time with Stacia in DESIRE CALLS, which is still a free read at eharlequin.com.

Stacia is the heroine in #10 — ARDOR CALLS and as you can guess from her various appearances, it’s going to take quite a man to be able to stand up to her and reach her heart after the nearly two millenia that Stacia has been a vampire. The hero in ARDOR CALLS — Alex Garcia — is someone you’ve seen already in DEATH CALLS. He’s Diana ex-love and a Miami DEA Agent.

Alex is sexy and slightly exotic, much like Stacia. He’s also determined and passionate. So far, the sparks are flying in the draft I’ve done and I hope you’ll think so as well when I get the okay to post an excerpt. In the meantime, here’s my idea of what Alex might look like as he takes a dip in the South Beach waters. FYI — this novel in THE CALLING will be set in Miami and I hope you’ll enjoy the tropical change of pace.

Also, for those of you with the Kindle, Amazon has an amazing price on the entire CALLING Collection — 9.99!

Have you seen that new Propel commercial telling you how many sit-ups/walking/jump roping you have to do to make up for drinking that other exercise water?

It says something like “492 situps to burn off this water”? I thought 492 situps to burn off 100-something calories? Wow, like can that be right? Do you wonder sometimes how many calories something is or how long it takes to burn it off?

Well, here’s some good tools for you from Kraft Foods (yes, I do love that site. Lots of great stuff!)

You can click here for all their calculators! Some of the ones you might want to use:

Calorie Burn: Find out how long you need to exercise to burn off that donut.

Food analyzer: Not sure how many calories in something? Check it out here.

So — how long would it take to burn off those 100 calorie packs? Here goes:

30 minutes of slow walking
20 minutes of fast walking
10 minutes on an elliptical trainer

Hope these calculators help you when you’re stumped!

But now for the fun part!

WOW — what a lot of March b’days in all the comments yesterday! Hubby and I had a great time down the shore. Although it was wet and windy, it was lots of fun.

I’ll be writing to each and every one of you who left a comment, it just may take a few days since I’m also trying to put the finishing touches on my next romantic suspense book — A SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD — which will be out this August!

And now . . . drum roll please . . .

The winner of Monday’s B’day Blog Contest is Stacia H. Wow — a real person named Stacia like from DESIRE CALLS and the upcoming ARDOR CALLS. Too cool.

FYI — word is that the next 3 in THE CALLING will probably hit the shelves in late Spring 2009. Sorry for the wait, but I’ll try to offer you some free reads in the meantime!

WHOA! It’s my b’day and also, happy b’day to my hubby, nephew, best friend’s daughter, colleague’s wife, hubby’s aunt, Rita’s niece and a whole mess of other people born on my b’day.

Well, can I still call it my b’day since I share it with so many other people? LOL! Since I’m about 12 hours older than hubby — a fact he never lets me forget — I guess I can!!

So, we’re starting a celebration today that’s going to run all the way to next Friday! Anyone who leaves any kind of comment on the blog will be eligible to win a copy of SOUTH BEACH CHICAS and your choice of either HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE or MOON FEVER or SECRET AGENT REUNION along with a t-shirt and some other goodies.

If you’re also a member of my newsletter/contest loop and are the daily winner, you’ll get an extra special treat — a copy of one of the out-of-print CALLING vampire novels as well as another special treat. If you haven’t already signed up, it’s not too late to do so. Just click here to get to the contest page and sign up.

Sis and I played hooky yesterday and went to the Philly Flower show. We had a blast and I’ll be posting photos from this year’s show soon for you to check them out!

Have a great day and a great weekend! Good luck with the contest. Remember, just leave a comment on the blog any day from today to next Friday and you could be a winner.

Besides writing romantic suspense, in my other life I’m an attorney and also responsible for the technology at my office. Plus, I lean toward the nerdy if you haven’t gathered. So, while using Stumbleupon (a very addictive way to surf the net), I came across this great quiz at Malevole.com which kind of combines two of my biggest interests — suspense and computers!

Take the quiz to find out if you can identify the serial killer or the computer programmer. And remember that old adage, “Don’t judge a book by the cover” while you’re at it.

Here’s the link to the quiz: http://www.mattround.freeserve.co.uk/files/killerquiz.swf

Here’s hoping it at least gets a chuckle from you on this Fun Friday.

When I wrote MORE THAN A MISSION over a year ago, I was more than eager to write the sequel - Dani’s story. Luckily I was able to do so and that book, SECRET AGENT REUNION, came out just this past August.

I loved Dani and Mitch and being able to do an action-packed romantic suspense. I also loved being able to set it in romantic places like Paris, Rome and London.

Today’s Wicked Wednesday, therefore, is a short excerpt from that book, which is still available at both Amazon and B&N. In this scene, Mitch and Dani are on the run after their cover is blown in Rome. They are still in search of the mole that has infiltrated S.I.S. (the British equivalent of the CIA) and their elite organization, the Lazlo Group.

The tension is building as they are on the run for their lives, but also fighting their growing attraction to one another.

Hope you like it!

“Disguise time?”

She grimaced at the thought of the smelly hair dyes and what they were doing to her hair, but the thought of a nice long bath before they got back to work was all the incentive she needed. Grabbing hold of his hand, she said, “Come on. I’ll do you first.”

“You sweet talker, you,” Mitch teased, but followed her into the tight quarters of the bathroom. He put down the toilet seat cover and plopped onto it, leaned his head back so that it rested on the edge of the porcelain sink. “Do me,” he said with a wink.

Do him! Unfortunately, the earlier dinner and his teasing resuscitated one too many images of just that and as she had told herself from the first, being like Lazarus didn’t mean they were the same anymore. That their feelings for one another were the same.

As she wet his hair, running her fingers through those familiar strands, she repeated that warning over and over. Slipping on the gloves that had come with the hair dye, she worked it into the strands, massaging it in. Wrinkling her nose at its odor as she counted down the minutes until it would have to come out.

When it was close to the time, she tested a small piece of a strand, pleased to see that the color had taken. Once again she washed his hair, removing all the dye, but then she said, “Hold on a sec while I shampoo it.”

She worked in the shampoo, the almond scent fragrant. The thick lather heavy and luxurious on her fingers and in his hair. She massaged his scalp and he sighed with pleasure.

“Feels good,” he murmured, his big body relaxed as she worked on him.

“Hmm,” she said, losing herself in the simple task and the intimacy of the moment. When she was done, she almost regretted being finished since it had been so restful.

She handed him a towel and he rubbed it through the strands of his hair as he rose and faced her.

The shock of the color faded quickly as she realized how the black accented the slate grey of his eyes. She understood now why Elvis had gone dark. The contrast of his hair with the light eyes made him even more appealing.

“You okay?” he asked and she brushed past him, sat on the toilet bowl so that Mitch could color her hair.

“My turn,” she replied, not wanting to admit that he still moved her physically.

Closing her eyes against the sight of him, she braced her head on the edge of the sink, but battled for balance to keep
her position from aggravating her side. Mitch must have sensed the tension in her body.

“Side bothering you?”

“A little,” she admitted and the cool of the hair dye made her jump.

“Relax,” he urged, his breath warm against the shell of her ear, surprising her with his proximity.

Relax, as if she could between the pain in her side, the press of his hip against her shoulder as he labored and his fingers working the dye into the short strands of her hair.

By the time Mitch rinsed the color out, beads of sweat had popped out on her upper lip and the pain in her side had grown exponentially. “I need to get up,” she said, not even waiting for him to hand her a towel.

Water dripped down her neck before she snagged a towel from the rack and she faced Mitch.

“Why don’t we run a bath? The heat will help your side and we could shampoo your hair.”

We. That simple “we” and the imagining of her and him and the bath brought a rush of heat into her body. Reason said to tell him “No”, but somehow her brain shut down and she mumbled, “Okay.”

Mitch schooled his surprise at her acquiescence, but wasn’t about to question it. He immediately went to the tub and got a bath going. For extra protection, he spilled in the entire bottle of bath gel the hotel provided. Bubbles would provide adequate cover. Cover being essential to avoid making another mistake tonight. Bad enough that some part of his brain had shut down and offered up the shampoo and bath in the first place.

Luckily, despite the age of the hotel, the water pressure was exceptional and the bath filled quickly. The gel perfumed the air with something floral and brought mounds of bubbles.

Bubbles were good, he thought again and only caught a glimpse of a naked Dani slipping beneath those bubbles.

Only a glimpse, but enough of a peek of gorgeous smooth ass to make him itch to touch more than the now light auburn shag of her hair. Fisting his hands, he kneeled beside the tub.

Dani had leaned back against the edge, her body safely ensconced beneath the bubbles. Eyes closed. As she sensed his presence, she peered at him through one half-opened eye. “Can I soak for a bit? This feels heavenly.”

Soak. Yes, a soak would help loosen her muscles. Reduce any discomfort in her side. Reduce the bubbles, his brain reminded him, but he agreed to her request and bolted from the bathroom.

Outside, he walked to the serving cart where his wine glass sat, empty. But the bottle of Sangrantina still held a little and he poured it out. Barely a mouthful, but it would have to do to brace himself for his return to the bathroom.

He paced in the room, counting down the minutes. Telling himself that it would be better for both of them if he didn’t return. He should just sit back down at the table with the laptops and work on getting more information on their suspects. Fists clenched, he went to the table, determined to sit, but then temptation won out.

Stalking to the door, he knocked and heard her muffled, “Come in.”

As he entered, he realized that she had already tried to shampoo her hair, but was having problems — the pulled muscle hampered her ability to fully raise her arm above her head. She was awkwardly trying to work up a lather with one hand. Luckily, bubble coverage still provided some protection.

“Let me,” he said, kneeling by the edge of the tub and replacing her hand with his. He worked up a lather and then massaged into her hair, probing his fingers against her scalp until she closed her eyes and said, “Feels good.”

He lingered in the lather, wanting her to relax and enjoy. Maybe subconsciously recognizing that with each minute that passed, the protection of the bubbles ebbed. By the time he was scooping his hands and using the water to rinse out the shampoo, he had a clear view of her amazing body and his reacted accordingly.

When Dani slicked back her hair with her hand and met his gaze, she knew just what had his attention.

A throb began between her legs as his gaze settled on her breasts and in response, her nipples tightened in anticipation of his touch. She had to admit it then, she wanted his touch much as she had the other night. No matter how she wanted to deny that he still held any sway over her emotions, there was no denying he still held control over her body.

But then, he wasn’t unaffected. She didn’t need to peer over the edge of the tub to know he was aroused. It was there in the way the color of his eyes had darkened and his mouth had dropped open a little. It was in the shaky breath he took and the tremble in his hands as he laid them on the edge of the tub.

“Dani, love. We both know — “

“This would be another big mistake. The other night. Now. It’ll bring nothing but problems, right?” she said, wanting him to agree and back away.

Instead, he eased his hand into the water and cupped her breast. Ran his thumb over her distended nipple. “Right. A problem, but we’re problem solvers, aren’t we?”

She sucked in a breath and bit her lower lip as he took her nipple between his thumb and forefinger and tenderly rotated it. Fighting her desire, she said, “Other people’s problems. Somehow we can’t solve our own.”

“Maybe because we’re giving it too much thought. Maybe we should just see where this all takes us,” he said, moving his hand away from her breast and up to cup the side of her face. He leaned closer, until his lips were barely an inch from hers.

“What if it doesn’t take us anywhere?” She laid her hand on the side of his face and then upward, into the still damp strands of his now way short hair.

“How can we know if we don’t start the journey?”

Copyright 2007 Caridad Pineiro Scordato www.caridad.com

Take an early lunch and join me and authors Michelle M Pillow and Mandy M Roth on Raven Radio as we talk calls, talk books, vamps, kitty shifters and sexy, sassy chicas! Read the rest of this entry �

This Wicked Wednesday we’re doing some serious holiday blog hopping. Catch up with me at the Harlequin Paranormal Romance blog and The Writing Playground where I’ll be discussing my latest release, HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE. Leave a comment on either of those blogs for a chance to win a copy of HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE! You’ll get a chance to meet my friend and fellow author — the amazing Maureen Child as well at those blogs, so please drop by.