| Caridad Pineiro® Romance Author

July 18, 2009May 9, 2017

Rockin’ Day at RWA!

Starting to feel a little pooped with all the running around!

Breakfast with friends and the goody room. Ran into tons of people in the halls and chatted with them about all kinds of writing things and how they were doing. Hit the Harlequin book signing to get some books for research and my buddies at work.

Lunch was wonderful! My buddy Eloisa James did a marvelous talk at the luncheon. Go Eloisa!

Then after the signing, I started to prep for my first ever Grand Central Publishing signing. It was so exciting to get there and see the galleys of SINS OF THE FLESH (Nov 2009)!! Here’s a photo of me at the signing.

After the excitement of the signing, I dropped some excerpts off at the Goody room and went back to my room where I did some plotting with my friend and fellow author Rayna Vause.

Helped her with a story idea and she helped me refine the concepts for books 3 and 4 in the SINS series! Really excited about writing a proposal for them (once I finish book 2 in the series!)

Then it was time to relax. Had a great dinner with some friends before headed off to the Harlequin party. Harlequin really does it up! Great DJ (the same one as last year) and everyone had a blast. Started up the fun with an intro and then everyone hit the dance floor for “We are Family” and it really is. All those women and the Harlequin people really make you feel like a part of a huge sisterhood at these parties.

Here’s some shots from the party. Harlequin did a fun thing with covers from the past and also, drinks and food that were for particular decades so I thought I’d give you a retro look to match that theme.

July 1, 2009October 30, 2018

Wicked Wednesday – Behind the Scenes Philadelphia

SINS OF THE FLESH Grand Central Publishing Forever November 2009 I love Philadelphia. Went to school on the Main Line and now have been visiting pretty regularly. There are so many interesting and fun things to do. Historical things like Constitution Hall and the Liberty Bell. Educational things like the Art Museum and Franklin Institute. Funky things like South Street and creepy things like the Mutter Museum. Tasty things like Pat’s Cheesesteaks and the Italian Market.

Loving Philly so much, I knew it was time to pay it homage in a novel and so I set some of the early scenes in SINS OF THE FLESH in Philadelphia.

Copyright has expired and work is in the public domain Caterina Shaw, the heroine, is a celebrated cellist who plays with an orchestra in the Kimmel Center and lives not that far away in a townhouse just off South Street. She also has spent time playing at the Academy of Music. The Academy is one of the oldest opera houses in America that is still in use for its original intent. It’s a National Historic landmark which sits on the corner of Broad and Locust Streets in Philadelphia.

One of the early scenes in the novel describes a chase through the Academy of Music building where the heroine has sought refuge. Here’s a little excerpt from that scene.

*****

He continued down the section of Broad known as the Avenue of the Arts until he stood in front of the plain red brick facade of the Academy of Music.

The building was quiet tonight. The only life was the muted glow of the gas lanterns glimmering light onto the empty sidewalks surrounding the building.

The gated entrance near the front of the building was too conspicuous, even though the recessed stage door lay in the shadows, providing some protection from prying eyes.

Mick had downloaded the blueprints for the building from the Internet and knew just where to go. Turning onto Locust, he proceeded to a narrow alley behind the building. The light from the street lamps illuminated the mouth of the alley, but beyond that only darkness lingered.

He looked around.

The cobblestoned street was empty of any pedestrians, so he slipped into the narrow alley and paused a few steps in to allow his eyes to adjust to the lack of light and to check for signs of anyone else.

The long slender alley was also empty.

Time for him to move in.

He stole down the alley while hugging the wall, the ground uneven beneath his feet. The area lit only by the small beam from a flashlight he pulled from his pocket. He moved quickly, every action efficiently cautious, until he located the entrance shown on the blueprints.

Pointing the flashlight at the door, he prepared to jimmy the lock but found that someone had beaten him to it. Rather inexpertly at that. Large sharp gouges along the seam of the door and at the lock gleamed silvery bright in the beam from his flashlight.

He reached behind him, withdrew his 9 mm Glock from beneath his leather jacket and released the safety. With a gloved hand, he slowly opened the door and risked but a sharp glance inside before he cleared the entrance.

The interior was almost as gloomy as the night outside, but since his eyes had adjusted already, he could make out the tangle of shapes before him.

Large lockers and an assortment of equipment lined the edges of a hallway, but a fairly wide and navigable path existed down the center. Slowly he inched along, pausing well before the low light cast by an illuminated exit sign so that he would remain hidden.

He recalled from the building plans where the stairs would be that led to the manager’s office and dressing rooms, as well as the stairs to the basement level and trap door area. Crouching, he rushed past the dim circle of light cast by the exit sign.

As he did so his foot brushed against a cable housing on the ground. It slithered and shook like an angry rattlesnake. The rattle bounced loudly off the walls in the quiet of the hall and he stilled, waiting to see if anyone would respond to the sound.

Only silence answered.

Mick released a low grateful sigh and proceeded, decidedly more careful of the objects littering the floor and sides of the hall. More cables. A Klieg light. A box brimming with colored gels for the spotlights.

Muscles tense, every inch of him on alert, he skirted all the items until he neared the stairs to the basement level.

Pausing, he peered down the darkened stairway, vigilant for any signs of life.

As before, the space was empty and the area down below was deadly quiet.

He took the first step down the stairs.

A muffled thud sounded in back of him.

June 24, 2009

Wicked Wednesday – Behind the Scenes: The Pine Barrens

sinscoversmall One of our last Wicked Wednesdays was a Behind the Scenes look at Bradley Beach where our hero, Mick Carrera, has his home in my November paranormal romantic suspense release, SINS OF THE FLESH.

This time I’m going to give you a little Behind the Scenes look at another pivotal location in the novel — The Pine Barrens in New Jersey, also known as the Pinelands. Also known as the supposed home of the Jersey Devil.

The Pine Barrens is an enormous area of coastal plain, over 1 million acres large in South Jersey. It contains one of the state’s largest water aquifers and is both a National Reserve and a United Nations International Biosphere Reserve.

Because of its size and location close to the Jersey Shore and Camden, not to mention its protected status, it became the perfect place for me to locate the buildings for Wardwell Laboratories, the company that is supposed to provide Caterina Shaw, our heroine, with her gene therapy. The Wardwell buildings are right on the edges of one of the Pine Barrens’ non-developed areas and because of that, there are several scenes which take place in the woods nearby.

Today’s Wicked Wednesday is about Mick’s first visit to the Wardwell offices and a meeting with one of the company’s founders.

Chapter 1

Mick Carrera understood what kind of man he was.

Ruthless.

Determined.

Skilled in the art of killing.

People came to him when no one else could handle their problems because Mick either solved them or eliminated them — if Mick thought elimination was justified. Some scruples remained buried in his soul, a secret he closely guarded. In his line of work, having scruples equated to weakness.

Dr. Raymond Edwards had presented him with the kind of job that possibly ended with elimination, although Edwards hadnâ€™t come right out and said so during their short telephone conversation. The doctor had skirted around the subject with the skill of a ballroom dancer, insisting time and time again that all he required were the services of a security specialist to assist with a problem at their facility.

Mickâ€™s initial misgivings made him wonder why he had even come to the doctorâ€™s office for this additional discussion. His typical clientele preferred meeting places that were much less visible, but then again, maybe such transparency meant that the doctor had been truthful about the nature of this assignment.

He scoped out the office as he entered, taking note of the fact that there was only one entrance in and out. Not good in case of the need for a quick escape. As he passed a credenza located beneath a wall filled with diplomas, framed news articles and photos, he noticed a small bronze statue of a horse mounted on a heavy marble base.

The size and weight of the statue would make it a handy weapon for either cracking open a manâ€™s skull or breaking through the plate glass windows which lined one long wall of the office. The clear windows were now darkening, the color becoming as deep and dense as squid ink and likely for the same reason â€“ concealment.

Mick had noticed all the high tech security on his way through the entrance of the building. He had expected it even while worrying about it. He knew his image would end up saved on a hard drive somewhere from the assorted cameras throughout the offices, but if Dr. Edwards was on the up and up, this was one job that was too good to not consider.

â€œI thought you might like some privacy,â€ the man behind the desk said as he rose and offered his hand.

â€œDr. Raymond Edwards,â€ the man said.

Mick shook his hand and with a nod said, â€œMick Carrera.â€ As Mick sat, he caught a glimpse of another security camera behind the desk, aimed directly at his chair. When Edwards tracked his gaze, he said, â€œDonâ€™t worry, Mr. Carrera. Iâ€™ll make sure all traces of you are erased from our systems.â€

â€œI appreciate your understanding,â€ he said, even while wondering again why a supposedly distinguished scientist like Raymond Edwards seemed compelled to seek out the services of a man like him. Wondering what else the good doctor had erased from the companyâ€™s security videos.

Dragging his attention to the man seated behind the desk, he listened as Edwards offered a rather lengthy introduction about the work that his biotech company did and their many accomplishments. Edwards’ manner was outwardly confident and business-like, but Mick couldn’t help but notice how the doctor kept his right hand on the face of the file on his desk and fiddled with one corner of the thick folder, thumbing it again and again. The curled corner of the papers confirmed that Edwards had opened up that file more times than the good doctor wanted him to know.

When Edwards paused for a breath, Mick seized the opportunity. “Your mission is clear, Dr. Edwards. Your company specializes in developing gene therapies for the terminally ill.”

The man stiffened and immediately corrected him. “Our present group of patients is terminally ill, but we hope that what we learn from our current research –”

“Will help all of mankind in the future. So why do you require my services?”

April 29, 2009

Wicked Wednesday – SINS OF THE FLESH

sinscoversmall The cover gods have been very very good to me! Just look at the stunning front and back covers for my November release SINS OF THE FLESH. A big thanks to my publisher – Grand Central Publishing – and all involved with producing such works of art! And because its Wicked Wednesday, I’m giving you a little tidbit from SINS OF THE FLESH as well as the enticing back cover copy!

Back Cover Copy:
Caterina Shaw’s days are numbered. Her only chance for survival is a highly experimental gene treatment – a risk she willingly takes. But now Caterina barely recognizes herself. She has new, terrifying powers, an exotic, arresting body — and she’s been accused of a savage murder, sending her on the run.
sinsbacksmall
Mick Carrera is a mercenary and an expert at capturing elusive, clever prey. Yet the woman he’s hunting down is far from the vicious killer he’s been told to expect: Caterina is wounded, vulnerable, and a startling mystery of medical science. Even more, she’s a beautiful woman whose innocent sensuality tempts Mick to show her exactly how thrilling pleasure can be. The heat that builds between them is irresistible, but surrendering to it could kill them both . . . for a dangerous group is plotting its next move using Caterina as its deadly pawn.

Prologue
The day the music died, Caterina Shaw did as well.

Not physically, although she understood the death of her body was inevitable. She had come to terms with that reality some time ago. She had even managed to deal with the blindness caused by the tumor eating away her brain. But then the pain had become so great that it had silenced the music, stealing away the only thing that had made life worth the anguish.

“You understand this treatment is new and uncertain,” Dr. Rudy Wells explained, his voice smooth and comforting. The touch of his hand, warm and reassuring, came against hers as it rested on her thigh.

“I understand,” she said and faced the direction of that calming voice.

Another person abruptly chimed in, his tones as strident and grating as a badly played oboe. “We’ll begin with laser surgery to remove the bulk of the tumor followed by two different courses of gene therapy.”

Two? she wondered and sensed Dr. Wells’ hesitation as well from the tremble that skated across his fingers. He removed his hand from hers and said, “Dr. Edwards believes that we can not only shut down the tumor growing in your brain, but possibly regrow the portion of your optic nerve that the tumor damaged.”

Caterinaâ€™s only wish when considering the experimental treatment had been to stop the pain so that she could play her cello once again. So that her last months would be filled with the vitality her music provided.

It was through her music that she lived. That her mother lived, Caterina thought, recalling the passion she had felt as a small child when her mother had played the piano for her; the way her motherâ€™s fingers had coaxed life from the keys much like she now did with a stroke of her bow and the deft touch of her fingers on the strings of her cello.

Or at least like she had up until the cancer had put an end to her music, bringing her life to a close. Except now she was being told something different.

Caterina had never thought about eliminating the tumor. Every prognosis so far had been that she was terminal. Now these new doctors told her not only that might she live, but that she might actually see again too. She didnâ€™t dare believe that she would be able to get her old life back completely, as well as her sight but . . .

“You think I’ll be able to recover? To see again?” Caterina asked, needing to be sure she had understood correctly.

“The risks are great, my dear,” Dr. Wells urged gently.

“But you qualify for the human trials because of the advanced state of your illness, Ms. Shaw,” Dr. Edwards added, annoyance at his partner evident in the staccato beats of his voice.

Her advanced state which could possibly bring death even with this treatment, Caterina thought. Not that she feared her end. What she did fear was letting the pain in her head rob her of the one thing she could not live without.

Her music.

She knew without hesitation that it was worth any risk to regain that part of her. To drive back the illness so she could play her cello once more and reanimate her heart for as long as she had left if the treatments couldn’t stop the tumor.

“What do you need me to do?”

April 27, 2009May 9, 2017

Guilty Pleasures Monday – RT Convention 2009

As you know, I was away this week at the 2009 RT Convention in Orlando, Florida. I had a wonderful time participating in panels, meeting with old friends and fans and also making new friends and fans! This Guilty Pleasure Monday I’m going to share some of my adventures and photos.

I arrived late on Tuesday, but got to share a plane ride with a totally interesting gentleman who was a gun collector. Talked him into answering some questions for the Liberty States Fiction Writers since he is an expert on all kinds of guns.

Wednesday I hit the ground running, starting with a mixer to honor the bookseller of the year. Here’s a photo of me with some of the wonderful performers at the mixer.

As I was heading out of the mixer, I had a big WOW as I noticed the Grand Central Promotion and saw the cover for SINS OF THE FLESH. Check it out! It’s gorgeous. I’m going to try and get a cleaner version for you.

Then I hit the ground running for the first of my many vampire, multicultural and series panels (over the course of the next few days). Check out me, LA Banks, AC Arthur, Kimberly Raye Terry and Megahn Hart on one panel.

Also got to savor the jungle-themed Ellora’s Cave party. Here’s a photo of the Ellora’s Cavemen doing a dance at the party.

Harlequin held a great mashed potatoes martini bar luncheon to celebrate its 60th anniversary and had samples of its covers from over the years as well as some great contests for bags filled with books and some SONY E-readers. Here’s Vivi Anna and me hamming it up in front of one of the covers.

From there it was more panels, more nightly festivities and an unexpected adventure which I must share.

My friends and I returned from one of the workshops and decided to take a break by partaking of a single glass of wine on the balcony of our room. First problem, a security bar that wouldn’t go up. Being independent and strong women (and determined to enjoy a beautiful spring day), we got the bar up and opened the sliding glass door. We went out onto the balcony to take a break, but to avoid bugs in the room, decided to close the door.

My friends warned me the door was hard to close, but with one easy push (those weight training sessions must be working better than I thought), the door slid closed.

Just one problem – that sticky security bar. In slow motion it came down and landed perfectly in its little receptacle, locking us out on the balcony door!

What to do? A hotel staff member drove by on the path by our room in a little golf cart and we shouted and waved to him. He waved back and grinned broadly. What else did we expect when 3 lovely women were so enthusiastically beckoning him?

Realizing we would not be freed at that moment, we imagined ourselves to be the heroines in our books who would take the bull by the horns and do something. So we formed a human chain, eased over the railing and made it to the ground.

NOT!! Luckily a gentleman came by and we caught his attention. He quickly phoned security and even came back to check if we needed anything, like more wine. LOL!

Did I mention that in addition to the security bar the door to the room was double-locked and the bar was in place?

Luckily, security did not delay too much and two of them – a man and a woman – arrived to open the door to the room and then, laughing quite uproariously, pick up the pesky security bar so we could open the sliding door.

A happy ending so we could head to the RT Awards where I cheered on my friends Vivi Anna, Anna DeStefano and Debra Webb, all winners of RT Reviewers Choice Awards this year. Anna and Debra are also Dangerous Women Writing group!

I missed the Faery Ball that night as I had a wonderful dinner with my publisher and fellow Grand Central authors, including Rita Herron, another of the Dangerous Women Writing group.

The Vampire Ball the next night was a blast. Ran into some women babysitting a ghoulish baby!

Also ran into a former Mr. Romance at the book fair who was kind enough to pose with me. What a smile! (Okay, the rest is pretty good also!)

Had lots of fun and am already thinking about heading to next year’s conference in Columbus, Ohio.

Here’s some more photos for you from the conference!

For another look at the photos, please click here or visit this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2021814&id=1130005412&l=dc05fc54a2

December 16, 2008August 18, 2009

Writing Goals

Pecking Away Old School That big sigh of relief you heard this morning — that was me! I finished the manuscript for my November 2009 release, SINS OF THE FLESH, and sent it to my editor at Grand Central Publishing. A big woo hoo since the novel had gotten moved up in the production schedule which meant I had to finish it way earlier than expected.

Which leads to this Tuesday’s Tips about writing goals, namely, how to set them and how to keep to them.

When I first got the call about the available slot in November 2009, I thought WOO HOO which was followed by OH MY. Could I finish a book in that time frame? I asked myself which quickly led to a plan — X number of pages a week would lead me to a finished book by X date. That was the plan.

Why haven’t I given you any numbers there, like 60 pages a week? For starters, and as I tell every writer who asks me, there is only one right way to write a book — sit down and write. Whether you write one page a day or five, it’s only wrong if you’ve made a plan for yourself and don’t keep to it.

Why didn’t you keep to it? Too busy? Not in a creative mood? Unrealistic expectations? A combo of all of the above.

While I am now a firm believer that if you fail to plan you plan to fail, the most important thing to keep in mind when setting a writing goal is that your plan be reasonable. Don’t say you are going to write 5 pages a day when you know that in a typical day you only have half-an-hour to write. Unless of course you are going to find more time in that day.

How many pages should you strive to do in a day? Again, there’s no right or wrong. I generally write anywhere from 4 to 10 pages a day during my weekday commutes to my job. More on the weekends when I can get a few more hours of writing done. The key to your success is finding what you can do each week and that’s the key — committing to a reasonable weekly goal.

For example, if you know you can’t write on Mondays and Wednesdays because of family demands, set aside time on the other days and make it part of your regular schedule just like anything else. Let the family know that on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 am to 10 am, you’re writing. Stick to it. If your family sees how committed you are to your writing, they will support you. If they think you’re not serious about it, it will be difficult to get them to respect your desire to write.

Say to yourself, in those two or three days that I write this week, I want to write X pages. (A reasonable X pages remember). Before you know it, the pages will begin to pile up!

I mentioned finding more time to write. How do you do that? Well, what time do you get up now? 8? How about getting up at 7?

Do you write at night? I don’t normally, but when deadlines demand it, I come home from work and after dinner, write for another hour or so to meet the writing goal I’ve set for myself.

How about weekends? If you sleep in late on Saturday or Sunday, could you pry yourself out of bed a little earlier?

You would be surprised at how much time there is for you to get back if you think about your “lost” time each week.

Finally — find a critique or support group and tell them your goals. Tell them how you are doing on your goals and ask them to help you stick to them. As with anything else, a strong support group will help keep you motivated and moving forward.

I hope today’s Tuesday Tip helped!