Category: WriteWed

NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Caridad Pineiro shares her thoughts on the writing life as well as tips for writers.

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#WriteWed When Inspiration Disappears . . .

So sorry to have missed you yesterday, but it was a hectic day since my daughter, one of her friends and I went to see Jimmy Fallon. I had to finish a lot at work before I could go, took them to lunch and then went over to 30 Rockefeller Center to line up for the show. Along the way my daughter got interviewed for one of the skits and we can’t wait to see if it made it into the show. Here’s a picture of us waiting in line!
jimmyfallontrio

But back to reality. What happens when inspiration disappears? I have to confess I’ve been struggling with what to do this year and when. I have a new proposal and just got back some comments from my new agent! Yeah. That’ll get me going, but what really got me going was attending my local writing group’s meeting last Saturday. You can check out the Liberty States Fiction Writers here along with their awesome March conference that has both readers and writers tracks.

We had a wonderful speaker – Anne Frazier Walradt – a dear friend and amazing lady. I talked with others about what they were doing and I mapped out a schedule for me for the year. That seemed to open floodgates in more than one way. Suddenly I had some ideas for a new story and then another dear friend asked me to join another box set for mid-year. It has to be new material so . . . have to think about that story as well.

Friends inspire as do fellow writers. Much like Weight Watchers or AA, there is something about being with people with common goals and ambitions and yes, problems, that makes you feel not so alone and can help you keep on moving in the right direction.

I guess the morale of the story is – When inspiration disappears, find like-minded individuals to help you keep on the path if you feel you are drifting away from your intended course.

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#WriteWed The Boys of Summer and Rookie of the Year

I’m really excited to have released ROOKIE OF THE YEAR mainly because this was a series of my heart when I wrote it over 10 years ago. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR was originally slated for release in 2001, but the line for which I was writing went on hiatus and the book was never released. This is what the original cover looked like! Cartoon covers were big back then, but I like the new cover much better!

rookie RookieoftheYear

I love baseball as you know and back then very few publishers were willing to take on any kind of book with a sports hero. It was therefore quite awesome to be able to do the series about a sport I love. Plus, I got to give NJ their own team finally! Yes, we do have lots of minor league and independent ball clubs in NJ, but I wanted a Major League Baseball franchise in NJ. Maybe one day we’ll get one.

I hope you’ll check out ROOKIE OF THE YEAR. It’s specially priced at 99 cents for a limited time.

The next book in the series, A WINNING SEASON, will be out soon!

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#WriteWed Thank you!

I can’t say this enough, but one of the best things about being a writer is getting to meet all of you. I love going to conferences and events and getting to spend time with you. It’s totally awesome. I love hearing from you on the comments and in e-mails.

So this Write Wednesday, all I’ve got is a big THANK YOU! for your support. THANK YOU for taking the time to reach out to me. THANK YOU for the reviews because they really really really do help.

thankyou

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#WriteWed We’d Rather Be #Writing #Recipes

RatherBeWritingI want to thank my friend Lois Winston for rounding up a group of author friends to share time saving recipes and other tips to help you stay organized.

My recipe in the book combines a number of very healthy elements and you can change it up in a variety of ways with whatever you may have handy. Plus, you can use it as a side dish or make it a hearty meal by pairing it with some nice crusty bread. I like to fry an egg and put it over the dish to make it a main meal.

If you like this recipe, please check out the others in We’d Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips. It’s a total bargain at only #99cents!

Swiss Chard with Chorizo and Cannellini Beans

Ingredients

2 pounds Swiss Chard chopped
1 cup cured chorizos chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can (14 ounces give or take) white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Preparation

Place olive oil in skillet and heat the oil. Add chorizo and cook on medium heat.

While chorizo is cooking, wash Swiss Chard, dry, and remove larger tougher stems. Chop.

When chorizo is browned, remove from heat and add onion, garlic and Swiss Chard. Wilt the chard and let any juice from the greens evaporate a bit.

Add beans and toss to heat. Add the cooked chorizo to the greens and beans. Salt and pepper to taste. You may want to give it another drizzle of olive oil at the end. Total prep time is about 20-30 minutes and the above will serve two people as a main dish or 4 as a side dish.

Variations

Instead of the chorizo, try bacon, prosciutto, kielbasa or ham.

Instead of the Swiss Chard, substitute spinach, mustard greens, kale or escarole.

To bulk up the dish as a main meal, cube potatoes or sweet potatoes and cook along with the chorizo. Remove before adding the greens so the cubes will stay crunchy and then add back after you’ve warmed the beans.

Feeling in a soup kind of mood? Heat chicken broth, place the chorizo, greens and beans in a bowl and add a few ladles of broth to the bowl.

Voila, a dish that can have a myriad of variations! We call dishes like this refrigerator-cleaners in our house, but we also call them something else: Tasty! I hope you enjoyed this recipe from We’d Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips.
SwissChardRecipe

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#WriteWed Recipes for the Romantic Soul

I’ve been stuck on the next scene for EMBRACE THE NIGHT, but had a revelation this morning about it! Yeah. I’ll write it on the way home and hopefully have this story ready for you in early September. I’ll also have a new book for you with a baseball hero – ROOKIE OF THE YEAR. This is a contemporary romance revolving around a fictional NJ baseball team. The sequel to it – A WINNING SEASON – will be out in October.

Today’s Write Wednesday inspiration is all about recipes. You know I’ve been sharing them with you and I’ve decided to put them all together into a cookbook. I’ve been searching for the just right image for the cover and in truth, it occurred to me that just one image would not do it. I like the idea of a collage for the front cover of the book. RECIPES FOR THE ROMANTIC SOUL will not only have recipes, it’ll have stories about my family, friends and/or scenes in my books that inspired the recipe.

For now, if you’d like to try out some recipes, please visit the Cook’s Treat section of the website!
Cookstreat

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#WriteWed August Funk & Smell the Roses

What is it about August that has so many people in a funk? Is it that summer is almost over and we’re dreading certain things? Back to school? Although I always loved going back to school, but I know some don’t.

I’ve been in an August funk and I think I know the reasons why, but that doesn’t make it easier. Although I did see a sign on a local church the other day that I’m going to seriously take to heart and I’m going to share that with you today.

If you’re not happy with the things you have now, what makes you think you’ll be happier with more?

And I think you can think of those “things” as other than material things. I think one of my issues is that I’m a Type A personality and always striving to do more, but then what? When I reach “more” where do I go from there?

Anyway, I’m working through it and trying to change my mindset about some things, like the end of summer. And writing. And work. And getting fit.

It’s time to stop and appreciate the now and stop charging ahead to the future because the now disappears way too quickly! Like that old adage says, Stop and smell the roses!
smelltheroses

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