Thursday, December 15, 2011

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY -- GUEST AUTHOR CARIDAD PINEIRO


Back to join us today is award-winning author Caridad Pineiro, who also happens to be one of author Lois Winston’s favorite people, to talk about all she wants for Christmas this year. Read more about Caridad at her website.-- AP 

Every year my husband and I go through the same little dance at Christmas time.  He asks me what I want and I tell him nothing.  It’s a truthful answer and yet it never seems to satisfy him and so we begin the dance again.

Honestly, my hubby can’t really give me the one thing I truly want year after year.  What is that you might wonder?

Time.  Not like immortal time like my vampires in THE CALLING/REBORN series have.

More like time to just be free of work and responsibilities.

You see, in addition to the writing gig, which I truly love despite all the hard work, I still have my demanding day job.  That means long hours on a regular basis with very little free time and that “free time” is generally taken up by household chores and an assortment of other tasks.

I know I’m not alone in feeling this way.  Many people I know are in the same boat.

But this year I am going to give myself and hubby that free time.  I am going to take a much deserved break from work this Christmas season!

Being that it is so precious, what would I do in that free time?  In a perfect world, I’d travel.  I’d love to visit so many different places and one of the nice things about being a writer is that I can vicariously travel to a great many locations and take you there as well.

For example, in my latest release, AMAZON AWAKENING, I take a trip to the Amazon rainforest and explore a very unusual “sacred space” which some believe may be the Garden of Eden.

To write the novella I did lots of research on the Amazon, which is truly a remarkable place.  Besides being immense (did you know it touches 9 countries in South America?), the rainforest is one of our most important ecosystems.  It contains over 50% of the world’s species of animals, insects and plants and is also one of the biggest producers of oxygen.

Truly amazing and I can just picture myself one day taking a boat trip down the Amazon, although I’d refrain from taking a dip.  I’ve watched one too many RIVER MONSTERS television shows about the many dangerous things in those Amazon waters.

Where else would I like to go?  Well, I’ve been lucky enough to climb up a Mexican pyramid despite my fear of heights.  That helped inspire AZTEC GOLD and THE FIFTH KINGDOM.

I love the Jersey Shore and have taken you to some of my favorite places there in THE LOST and the books in the SINS series.

But I still have to visit soooo many locations, like Ireland, Scotland, Tuscany, Machu Picchu, the Great Wall of China, and the Pyramids in Egypt just to name a few.

In retrospect, as I consider the gift of time and all that I’d do with it, something occurred to me.  It’s one of those sayings you see here and again on little plaques and stuff and possibly corny, but I’ll leave you with this thought anyway, especially given the shopping frenzy we sometimes get caught up in during the Christmas season.

So here goes…

The important things in life are not things.

Have a wonderful and very happy holiday season!

10 comments:

  1. Nice post, Caridad. I hope you get time for travel this Christmas. my Christmas wish list includes:

    1) respectful children who don't argue and always mind their father and me.

    2) A contract for the manuscript my agent started shopping this week.

    3) World peace

    4) A terrycloth robe and slippers

    Hmm...I wonder which gift I'm most likely to get this year. ;)

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  2. I'd like the superpower to stop time. That way I could put all life on hold for an hour each day and write. I would do nothing else during that time.
    Oh and not have to deal with stupid people at work. (Not my co-workers.)

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  3. A really lovely post.

    You are truly an inspiration Caridad, how you juggle the hectic schedule you have. I'm amazed and so glad that I had the opportunity of meeting you in person!

    May the time you seek come in special moments and may you have a blessed festive season into the new year.

    I too have the travel bug and its a dream to visit most of the places you mentioned, I've started but have a long way to go and I look forward to it.

    Hugs,
    Rita from South Africa

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  4. Caridad, so nice to see you here at Lois'/Anastasia's! Here's to Time :) Happy Holidays to you both.

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  5. Thank you all for coming by!

    Kathy - I hope it's #2 that you get and wish I could give you #3.

    Chris - I'm with you on the time thing. I am actually taking off a week and plan to write up a storm.

    Rita! Thank you for coming by.

    May you all have a blessed Christmas!

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  6. Ah, yes, the important things in life are family, friends, and special people. Give yourself the gift of Ireland in 2012 if you want to be awed, inspired and meet great people!

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  7. Would love to go to Ireland one day. I just finished THE VAMPIRE'S CONSORT (April 2012) and the leads are all Irish. Had them taking a trip to Ireland much like I hope to do one day!

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  8. I enjoyed this post. For the places I can't get to right now, I love traveling by Google Earth Maps street views. Planning to go to Scotland again that way soon -- and Ireland & England. Happy Holidays!

    BrendaW.

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  9. Really enjoyed this post, Caridad. I'm with you - there's not much that I want for Christmas...except alone time. :)

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  10. Caridad-
    Wonderful post! I know what you mean about time.
    I hope you get time to go to some of those places you want to visit.
    My Christmas wish would include
    For all my nieces and nephews to realize their dreams and not wait until they are 50 like their crazy aunt. :)
    An agent to help shop the two mysteries I have written.

    I've been blessed to have had the opportunity to travel to many places. However there are still more to see, including Ireland and Scotland the homes of my ancestors.

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