A lot of you have been asking if THE CALLING series continues past the books that are out  — DEATH CALLS and DEVOTION CALLS –  and the answer is YES!

In April, you can read the DESIRE CALLS novella for free up at eharlequin.com.  I will let you know when the first chapter of it goes up.  They are putting up one chapter at a time.

In May, BLOOD CALLS will be released.  BLOOD CALLS features Diego, the Spanish Lord turned vampire, that you have met in earlier books.  The heroine, Ramona Escobar, is a painter who unwittingly becomes involved in an art fraud.  A sneak peek at one of their first encounters follows this blog!

In addition — cross your fingers — the proposal for another 3 books is sitting on my editor’s desk.

So here’s a question for you if you’ve read the earlier books:  What secondary characters would you like to come back as main characters in their own book?

Excerpt from BLOOD CALLS, May 2007, Silhouette Nocture

     As he had two days earlier, he stood before her paintings, admiring them.  Appreciating the sweep of her brush as it almost made love to the figures she had placed on the canvas.  The movement of the brush strokes so alive, that he found himself laying his fingertips against the image on the canvas as if to prove to himself that it wasn’t real.

     Ramona wondered what he was doing as he stood there, scrutinizing her artwork once more.

     When he picked up his hand and touched the canvas, she had to go see what had drawn him.  Feeling stronger thanks to the rest in the cab and the tea that had provided a boost to her flagging energy, she set the mug on the table and joined him.

     He brushed his fingertips along the line of the woman’s hip in the painting.  Slowly moved his hand upward along the slender sweep of her waist and within her, she imagined the motion of his hand against her body.  Imagined how it would be for him to touch her the way he caressed the woman in the canvas — the woman she had imagined herself to be, lost in the throes of a lover’s embrace.

     As he shifted his hand upward, over the shadow beneath the woman’s breast, she felt his energy beside her.  Sensed his growing desire and her own.

     When he looked at her, his ice blue eyes blazed with fire.  “Did you feel this way as you painted?”

     She had felt that way and more, she wanted to say, but couldn’t confess that with each stroke of the brush, she had imagined it was them together.

     “No,” she said, but he faced her and laying a hand at her waist, said “Liar.”

     He bent from his larger height, but she was already meeting him halfway, wanting to experience him if only for this one moment.  A moment that had sprung from nowhere but was not to be missed.

     His lips were a bit cold, but wonderfully soft on hers.  Exploring as he sampled the edges of her lips with his and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

     The body she had admired from afar was much like she had imagined.  Big.  Strong.  Hard.

     He was so hard beneath her hands as she grabbed hold of his shoulders.  Hard against the flatness of her belly as he swept his arm beneath her buttocks and tightened his embrace.

     She moaned at the thought of that hardness within her.  Of his big body urging her downward into the giving softness of the bed that was just at the other side of the loft.

     The sound of her need and the press of her small body jolted Diego from the enjoyment of her response.

     As right as it felt — as she felt in his arms — this was so wrong, he thought and slowly eased away from her.

Let me preface this with, I’m far from any kind of expert on Santeria. My exposure to it is because as a Cuban, santeria was something that everyone knew about. Even my parents and grandparents, devout Catholics that they were, would do things that I later recognized as being tied to Santeria beliefs.

What kinds of things? Well, the first thing you saw in my house was the statue of the Virgencita de la Caridad.

Who’s that? you might ask. Caridad del Cobre was an apparition of the Virgin Mary in Cobre bay. Our Lady of Caridad (or Charity) is also the Patron Saint of Cuba and my patron saint.

Anyway, on special days, the parents and grandparents would leave sweets or bring flowers to the Virgencita, much like you see Ricardo doing in DEVOTION CALLS as a way to honor the beliefs of those people who think he is a santero. I think those actions were a natural blending of their Christian beliefs with those of the Afro-Cuban santeria religion that was practiced in Cuba.

What’s a santero? It’s someone who is a priest in the Santeria religion. Santeros learn their practices orally from another santero.

What’s Santeria? As I said, I’m no expert. I researched the subject for the book and included what I could from my personal experiences in visiting an occasional botanica in NY, NJ or Miami. We sometimes went to get a statue or medal of La Virgencita Caridad for a new baby or home as the Virgencita was always with us.

What’s a botanica? It’s a place where you can acquire religious objects and other things, including what you may need to practice Santeria.

For a little more on this, including some links to other sites that explain Santeria, you can visit the Ricardo’s Botanica page at the new site we are developing.

Before I get to characters of the heart, just a few quick things.
1. I gained back a pound as you can see from the progress meter on the right hand side of the blog. Must be all that muscle I’m building on the treadmill and bike since I’ve been a good girl.
2. Speaking of good, check out the Entenmann’s Little Bites Fudge Brownies. A bag is 100 calories of delicious chocolatey goodness — but you’ve got to stop at just one bag because they are so good!
3. If you want to subscribe to the blog, just click on one of the buttons at the bottom right of the blog and you can add the blog to your personalized browser page. It works great.

Finally, 4. Thanks for your comments. I don’t normally reply on the blog itself as I like to reply to each person personally and if they want, continue the conversation. If you’d rather that I did it on the blog, please let me know.

Okay, characters of the heart. Diana Reyes and Ryder Latimer (DARKNESS CALLS, DEATH CALLS). Definitely special to me. Tori , Sylvia and Virginia from the Chicas books. Also sharing a place there. Your heart can never be too crowded with people you love.

Yes, I called them people because when you’ve been involved with them for so long, they almost become real which is why it’s so hard to think about letting them go . . . eventually.

Ryder is special because he represents so many different things. Eternal love. Strength. Honor. Caring. He was always a special character from the moment he came to life in my head.

Diana has many of the same traits, but she’s wounded and troubled. I wanted to find a way to make her whole and hence THE CALLING was created because even though each story is about different characters, in my mind, each story also takes Diana a step closer to becoming whole.

If you want to see how I originally pictured Diana and Ryder, you can click here for a sneak peek at some scenes that were either deleted or changed in DARKNESS CALLS. Once you visit there, you can also check out a slightly more intense scene that was changed in DEATH CALLS.

Much as Diana and Ryder represent the darkest aspects in my heart, Tori, Sylvia and Virginia are the light. The yin and yang of me.

Why Tori? Deep dark secret time here . . . She’s the one who is most like me in real life. Responsible. Dependable. Demanding of herself, but with a good heart and lots of buried passion (I luckily can release that passion through my writing!)

Sylvia and Virginia! I am so excited that their story will be coming out in September of this year. The tentative title for the book is SOUTH BEACH CHICAS CATCH THEIR MAN, but this book is so much more than a story about two women finally finding love. It’s a story about a headstrong and temptestuous daughter, Sylvia, who has a successful and sexy mom, Virginia.

The relationship between mother and daughter is special and it’s very similar to the relationship I had with my mom and which I know I’ve created with my daughter.

I also wanted to show that women in their forties are still sensual and desirable, especially since 40 is the new 20!

Do you have any characters you’ve fallen in love like that? (And it’s okay if they’re not in one of my books!) Let us know who and why?

Do you believe in life energies and otherworldly things? In alternative treatments for illnesses?

I don’t know what made me choose such topics for DEVOTION CALLS, or maybe I do. When my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer (and a big KEEP IT UP for all of you who had New Year’s resolutions to quit smoking), we followed all the regular avenues for treatment.

Since then I’ve asked myself, were there others to try . . .

So, Life Energies? Are there such things?

In DEVOTION CALLS, Ricardo Fernandez has learned to augment the gift he was born with — the gift to heal or kill — by using certain meditation techniques. Research showed me what kinds of things people said they experienced in such states and from there, Ricardo’s experiences were born.

Alternative Treatments?

Much like I must have felt, Sara Martinez is willing to try anything to save her mother and so she visits Ricardo and relies on his powers.

So do they work? What do you think?

I know this — I do believe that prayer and meditation can accomplish things if the will is strong enough. If love is present. If you have read DEVOTION CALLS, you know what I’m talking about. If you know the scene to which I’m referring, let me know what you thought.

So, I guess I’m warning you all that there could be spoilers in the comments to this post, but they will not ruin the mystery in the story involving the chupacabra. They will, however, maybe give you something to think about.

As for the procrastination and all your comments to JUST DO IT! Okay, I am (and have been) hard at work on multiple sets of revisions. Right now I’m deep into the last of them which I hope to have ready within a week or two.

But even I need a little break and so while watching HOUSE last night (yes, I do watch TV and work at the same time), I took some of your suggestions and fixed the trailer I had done. Here’s the new one:

First, here’s the answer the “Who’s the Hunk” question: Benjamin Bratt was the model for Ricardo Fernandez in DEVOTION CALLS.

He appeared in THE GREAT RAID, a WWII story about an Army Ranger raid to save American POWs in a Japanese camp. BB was also on LAW AND ORDER for several years and more recently, in the cancelled E-RING on NBC. I loved that show and boy could BB fill out that uniform nicely.

Congrats to Cathy for guessing the right answer!

The villain in DEVOTION CALLS is a chupacabra and many of you have asked what is a chupacabra?

Chupacabra (or chupacabras) means “goat sucker” in Spanish.

According to the legend (which is actually not all that old), the goat sucker kills animals by draining them of blood, much like a vampire. Sightings of the chupacabras have supposedly occurred throughout the Americas.

One theory as to the origin of the chupacabra is that it’s an alien pet that escaped. Another is that it’s either an alien genetics experiment that got loose or a human genetics experiment.

The chupacabra is described as being anywhere from 4 to 6 feet tall when upright, with green/gray scales, It has quills along its head and neck, possibly a long tail and clawed fingers. In addition, it has large glassy eyes that can be reddish in color.

I’ve given the chupacabra in DEVOTION CALLS a Beauty and the Beast twist as the demon was once human, but slowly became a chupacabra after being bitten by one. The bite occurred because the human lacked any compassion for a poor tinker. The tinker entices the man to look inside a box at something very special and the man gets bitten.

Remember, all of you who comment are eligible to win the tin of Hershey’s kisses.

Also, if you would like to subscribe to the blog, check out the various buttons at the bottom right of the blog. You can add this blog to your Google or Yahoo home page, or any of the other pages shown. Just click on the button!

To those who dropped by the chat last night, thanks! I hope all those who won books enjoy them!

If there’s anything you’d like me to discuss on the blog, please drop me a line and let me know.

I always try to picture someone in my mind when I create the characters for the books. I definitely had one Hollywood Hunk in my mind when I dreamed about Ricardo Fernandez, the psychic healer from DEVOTION CALLS.

For today’s blog comments, can you guess who it is?

Here’s some clues:

He’s done at least one big screen movie in the past year — a WWII epic.
He was a regular on various shows on NBC.
He’s Latino and his sexiness grew on me slowly.

For a little bit more information on Ricardo and Sara, the hero and heroine in DEVOTION CALLS, I’m giving you a sneak peek at THE CALLING site that is under construction! Just click on these names (and no that’s not the hunk in the picture. I can’t use his photo on the site. The photo though could be one way that people see Ricardo)

Remember, all of you who comment are eligible to win the tin of Hershey’s kisses.

Also, if you would like to subscribe to the blog, check out the various buttons at the bottom right of the blog. You can add this blog to your Google or Yahoo home page, or any of the other pages shown. Just click on the button!

To those who dropped by the chat last night, thanks! I hope all those who won books enjoy them!

I’ll post the answer to Who is the Hunk tomorrow morning!

Just like the process of movie editing, writing often involves various revisions and sometimes the writer’s version of a scene is changed during the editing process.

This is the first love scene from DEATH CALLS and it happens pretty early on in the story because these are two characters who have been involved for some time. The scene is in the print version, but in a shorter form, so I’m presenting you here with what I’m calling the Director’s Cut of the scene.

To set the stage – FBI Agent Diana Reyes has had lunch earlier in the day with her pregnant best friend. For some time Diana has been wondering about her love affair with Ryder Latimer and the pregnancy and her friend’s normal life brings home just how much Diana may be giving up by remaining with Ryder.

For that reason, Diana has opted to not see Ryder that night, but when Diana arrives at home, Ryder is on her fire escape. Diana is pissed off by his not respecting her wishes and begins to pay him back with a little striptease that backfires. The striptease leads to this scene.

“I don’t regret . . . us,” she whispered and cradled his cheek. Funny, but it was the truth despite the doubts she had been having lately. In some ways, he was her damnation and her salvation all rolled into one inexplicable package.

“Let’s not talk about this tonight,” he pleaded. “The night is short and I . . . I don’t want to spend it . . .”

Burying her head against his chest, she wrapped her arms around his waist beneath his shirt, savoring his substance.

Her embrace shook loose something inside of him.

Ryder needed to make it impossible for her to deny that this was real even though it had been born out of unusual circumstances. Meant to be, no matter how unlikely it seemed. No matter how many doubts both of them now seemed to be having.

Ryder eased her away slightly, bent and brought his lips to hers, his touch gentle and questioning at first. Beneath his lips came the soft brush of hers, almost hesitant, possibly fearful, but soon she answered his every kiss, biting and opening her mouth to him, her small body pressed close.

It was sweet torture, the feel of her breasts skimming his chest. Her warmth, slowly working its way into the cold of his body. The heat of her passion drove the chill from his skin.

He opened his mouth, invited her inside and she entered, tasting and urging him on with the movement of her mouth and of her hands at his back, clutching him.

“Ryder,” she murmured against his lips and moved her hands around to the snap on his black jeans which she quickly undid. “Come with me.”

She eased away, but grabbed hold of his hand and tugged him toward her bed. Ryder followed, pausing at its edge as she climbed into the center and lay down. At his hesitation she asked, “This is what you want, isn’t it?”

She wore her false bravado face. Funny how he could recognize it so easily. Funny how he wanted to drive the fear from her until she truly welcomed him into her bed that night. Invited him into her heart. Driven by that desire, he eased over until one small movement would be all he needed to touch her.

“Can you deny it’s what you want as well?” He didn’t give her a second to answer as he brought his hand to her breast. Rubbed his thumb across the straining tip. As she sucked in a rough breath, he smiled, satisfied, and lowered his mouth to her. He licked the very tip and she moaned, cupped the back of his head and drew him down the rest of the way so that they were lying together.

Diana nearly bolted off the bed as he suckled more roughly. Warmth raced over her and between her legs came the throb of want. The wetness of desire.

She lied to herself that it wasn’t love and brought her hand to the middle of his back, stroked the muscles there as he continued to pleasure her with his mouth, not touching her anywhere else. The problem was, she needed more of him. She always needed more even if she refused to give a name to that desire. Even as she wondered if it was a result of some vampire head game, much as Foley had suggested.

Ask me to touch you, he told her.

Why?

His demanding reply came swiftly. It echoed her earlier wish and erased her doubt about the why of it. Because I need you to want me as much as I want you.

“Dios, Ryder. I need you,” she husked and loosed the bonds of his restraint. Of her own.

With a groan he brought his hand to the middle of her belly, caressed her skin. Slowly, way too slowly, he lowered his hand until it rested on top of the nest of curls between her legs. She pressed her hips up, urging him on. He paused, gazed up at her as he breached the edge of her panties, and then unerringly found her center.

She jumped as his thumb pressed against her and closed her eyes as he eased one finger inside.

Open your eyes. I want to see your hunger.

She slowly dragged them open, locked her gaze with his as he moved another finger within, imitating the act of love while he pressed against the nub between her legs, starting a quickening inside her.

Diana gasped and raised her hips up as he brought her closer and closer to the edge. She grabbed hold of his shoulders, held onto him as her body trembled.

Beneath his fingers, Ryder experienced the pull of her. The scent of her arousal perfumed the air, so strong that it brought forth the heat that signaled that the vampire within wanted a taste too. It was always a struggle to keep the vampire restrained around her. To let the human make love to her. He had lost that battle last time, his defenses breached by her begging him to loose the beast.

He wouldn’t allow it to happen tonight. He knew he had to show her his human side, his mortal love so that if the animal came . . . she might not hate him or herself as much for surrendering to the demon.

He shifted lower, dropping a trail of kisses along her body. She opened her legs, knowing his intent and welcoming it. He slipped between her legs, brought his mouth to the sensitive nub.

Her hips arched up off the bed in acceptance.

Ryder kissed the center of her as with his fingers he continued to stroke. Her wetness — slick against his hand — and the smell of her . . . the heat . . . He groaned and she held his head to her.

He lost the battle.

The change surged over him, but even as it did so, he continued to kiss and suckle, replaced his hand with his tongue and mouth until her body arched into a tight bow. He bit the nub gently, but then paused, struggling to contain the vampire.

It was almost all too much. The animal smell of their sexual musk. Her racing pulse reverberating in his ears. Her nether lips, wet and flush with blood. The demon imagined feeding there, at her most private of places.

He gasped at the roiling passion making his loins ache at the thought of taking her there, and looked up at her with his vampire face. Fangs exposed. Eyes glowing. Skin flushed and warm.

Diana stared at him. His arms were braced at her sides, shaking. Shoulders heaving from the force of his breaths. His rough, harsh pants reminded her of a lion at a zoo, caged. The human in him was barely keeping the animal behind bars.

In her mind, suddenly, the picture came as clearly as HDTV. Her own breathing. Sharp little pants. His teeth, sinking into her swollen flesh. Blood, rich with life. Passion. Flowing through both of them. Charging them. Her strangled cry of pain followed by pleasure that robbed her of herself.

Her lips throbbed and she gasped at the thought of his bite there. Nearly climaxed from the images the vampire wanted her to see. Wanted her to desire so it could do as it wished. So it could control her much as Foley had warned.

She shook away those thoughts and with years of skill and strength, reversed their positions, shoving him hard onto the mattress. His arms pinned above him. His hips trapped by hers. Erection brushing her lips.

She drove down onto him, fucking him before he could continue fucking with her mind. With her heart. Riding him, quickly at first to slake the burn, but gradually slowing. Becoming more tender to draw out the human. To make him Ryder again and not the beast.

As she locked her gaze with his, moved on him, the demon slowly fled. Ryder’s eyes became their intense dark brown once more, losing their demony glow. His fangs remained however, as if he couldn’t muster the last little bit of command necessary.

She released her hold on his one wrist and reached down, traced his mouth and the edges of his sharp pointy teeth with her thumb.

“I won’t bite again,” Ryder promised, growing fearful she would suddenly decide to leave him. To run away and take with it the one thing which grounded him — her love.

A little furrow appeared across her forehead and her gaze skittered across his face. She continued to touch him with her hand, but long minutes passed before she finally answered, “I know.”

Her trust in him brought a delight so intense, he had to close his eyes and take a deep, shuddering breath to finally rein in the demon. Without waiting for more, he flexed his hips and shifted upward, building the passion. Bringing her closer and closer to the edge.

Diana studied the myriad of emotions cross his face — one that was neither human nor vampire. Watched as his passion rose and the human reappeared. At that her own desire rebounded until the tension inside her grew so intense, she had to stop for a moment. Her body trembled. Her breath was ragged with the length of him, impaling her.

“Diana?” His voice had a thread of fear along with something indefinable. Something she didn’t want to consider. She just wanted release. Freedom.

Riding him, friction creating the increased heat of body against body, she deepened his penetration and finally took them both over the edge.

She followed his shout of release, with the satisfied growl of the animal, with her own cry of completion.

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Realms of Fantasy magazine and am featured in this month’s magazine discussing DEATH CALLS, my December release from Silhouette Nocturne.

To check out the interview online, please click here.

DEATH CALLS has now hit the stands!  Look for it at your local bookstore as well as at eharlequin.com.

I’m also excited to let you know that in addition to being available in print, you can pick up DEATH CALLS as well as the three earlier books in THE CALLING series — DARKNESS CALLS, DANGER CALLS and TEMPTATION CALLS — as e-books at eharlequin.com.  Check it out here!

Sometimes you know from the moment the character comes alive for you that you have something special.  Something you truly believe in.  Almost everyone I know calls them “Books of the Heart” and they truly are because you believe in them no matter what anyone is telling you.

That was definitely the case with DARKNESS CALLS, which I had originally titled BORN TO DIE.  From the moment the character of Diana Reyes came to mind, I knew that I had something unique to do.  Being as special as she was, I knew Diana needed something equally as complex and compelling and Ryder Latimer was born.

Why Ryder?  We had a delightful waiter at an anniversary dinner once and his name was Ryder.  I thought, this is a great name.  But why Ryder as he is?  Diana is dark, possibly even darker than the monsters she chases after.  I needed someone as dark, but also someone who was as honorable as she was.  Someone who believed that good could triumph eventually.

I think that’s what drew them together — that they both saw beyond the tough exteriors to the souls beneath searching for something.

The original story didn’t end happily.  I didn’t think it could right away with Diana and Ryder because they were just too complex with too many layers to peel away before I could really reach the heart of them.  I immediately knew there would be another story and told my editor that.  Surprisingly, she was receptive to the idea and DEATH CALLS was born.

DEATH CALLS begins with the Happily-Never-After I had envisioned in the first book.  Two people torn between their love and the realities of the world around them.  In Ryder’s case, the vampire underworld which he can no longer deny and which calls to him more and more everyday.  Especially when he realizes he can use his vampire powers for good causes.  For Diana, it is the call of the normal world, reminding of all she is giving up not just by loving Ryder, but by choosing the rough path of being an FBI agent.

Like DARKNESS CALLS, this became a book of my heart as I explored the struggle between Diana and Ryder and all that would make them happy.

Does it end with a Happily-Ever-After?  I won’t give it away, but it’s clear to me there’s at least one other chapter that needs to be written for Diana and Ryder.  The proposal for that work has already been submitted to my editor and I hope she likes the concept well enough to let me write DEATH CALLS AGAIN.

Thanks for all your support of THE CALLING series and of Diana and Ryder!

I can’t tell you how excited I am about all the promotions that are going on for Harlequin’s new Nocturne line!

Look for the December issue of Realms of Fantasy magazine which has a free Nocturne sampler containing my short novella DESIRE CALLS which will be a free electronic read on eharlequin.com in April. In January, this magazine will have an interview with me about THE CALLING Vampire series.

Also check out the Realms of Fantasy Community Forum where I’ve posted some information about DESIRE CALLS! Come join me and ask some questions about this novella, my December release, Death Calls (Nocturne), or any of the other books in THE CALLING vampire series.

I was recently featured in the Detroit Free Press and here’s a link to the article:
PAGING ALL MONSTERS

Check out the cover of my January release, Devotion Calls (Nocturne). I’ve given you a change of pace since the blood-sucking demon in this book is a chupacabra! The hero, Ricardo Fernandez, is a psychic healer who is posing as a Santero in Spanish Harlem.

Thanks for all your support!
Caridad

What can I say but that THE CALLING is a series of my heart that I hope to continue for several more books!  There is just so much to explore in this world that I’ve created and so many interesting and fascinating creatures.  I hope you’ll join me here to discuss these books!