#COOKING WITH CLORIS--AUTHOR CARIDAD PINEIRO'S NEWEST ROMANTIC SUSPENSE NOVEL AND A BBQ DRY RUB RECIPE

NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Caridad Pineiro is a transplanted Long Island girl who has fallen in love with pork roll and the Jersey Shor, but still can’t get the hang of tomato pies. When she isn’t taking long strolls along the boardwalk to maintain her sanity and burn off that pork roll. 

Caridad is passionate about writing and helping others explore and develop their skills as writers. She’s a founding member of the Liberty States Fiction Writers and has presented workshops at various writing organizations throughout the country. Learn more about Caridad and her books at her website. 

 

It was a lot of fun to write Cold Case Reopened because I love cold case and true crime stories! But it was also a lot of fun because I got to mix in some of my favorite things, including a scene where the hero and heroine have some barbecue when they take a break from trying to find out what really happened to the heroine’s sister who disappeared six months earlier.

 

Barbecue is one of my favorite foods and I not only love eating it but cooking it whenever I can. I’m told that my barbecued ribs are pretty tasty. So I thought I’d share my recipe with you. The key for me is a good dry rub, but I also do a wet rub while the ribs are cooking.

 

Barbecue Dry Rub Recipe

 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 T. celery salt

1 T. black pepper

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 T. chili powder

2 T. cumin

2 T. paprika

2 T. granulated garlic (not garlic salt)

2 T. granulated onion

 

Mix the above ingredients well. I usually mix up a big batch and store it in an airtight container for use all summer. It’s important to note that since I’m using celery salt, there’s no need to add additional salt or use garlic salt.

 

Dust your ribs or other meat with the dry rub and rub it in. Cover the ribs/meat and let it sit overnight in the fridge if you can. If you can’t, try to let it sit for at least an hour.

 

As I mentioned, I also use a wet sauce on my ribs and my favorite is Sweet Baby Ray’s Original Recipe. To save time, I usually let the ribs sit overnight in a baking dish. You will notice that the dry rub pulls a great deal of liquid from the ribs/meat. Pour that off before you cover the ribs/meat with the Sweet Baby Ray’s. To restore some of the moisture to the ribs/meat, I cover the baking dish with foil and slow cook in the oven for 2 to 3 hours at 325 degrees F.

 

When you are almost ready to eat, remove the ribs from the baking dish and baste with the Sweet Baby Ray’s again and cook on the grill for about 15 minutes to get some caramelization on the ribs!

 

I hope you will try out this recipe and I hope you enjoy it when you do!

 

Cold Case Reopened

An Unsolved Mystery, Book 2

 

They are on a cold trail
And running out of time.

Rhea Reilly is certain her twin sister’s sudden disappearance six months ago wasn’t a suicide, no matter what Colorado authorities think. She can’t afford to trust police detective Jackson Whitaker—even if he’s risking his career to uncover the truth. But a lethal trail of lies is drawing them together…and into an inescapable trap.

 

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--WEEKEND EDITION WITH ROMANCE AUTHOR CARIDAD PINEIRO

Welcome to a special weekend edition of Cooking with Cloris at Killer Crafts and Crafty Killers. Today we welcome romance author Caridad Pineiro. Caridad is a transplanted Long Island girl who has fallen in love with the Jersey Shore. A NY Times and USA Today bestselling author with over a million romance novels sold worldwide, Caridad is passionate about writing and helping others explore and develop their skills as writers. She is a founding member of the Liberty States Fiction Writers and has presented workshops at national and regional writing organizations throughout the country. Learn more about Caridad and her books at her website. 

I love to cook and to share my recipes with family and friends and in stories like my upcoming releases, Never a Bride (January 2020) and South Beach Love (June 2020).  Both of these stories feature chefs in one way or another, and I guarantee that both stories will not only leave you fulfilled emotionally, but hungry for something tasty as well.

In Never a Bride, the hero, Carlo da Costa, is a caterer and in love with a wedding planner who doesn’t believe that she can ever have her own happily-ever-after.  Carlo is an amazing chef and it was fun to show off some of his creations as well as his family’s Portuguese food traditions.  My Spanish grandparents grew up not far from Portugal and many of the foods are quite similar and often include fish since the two countries have lots of coast along the Atlantic.

In South Beach Love, the hero, Tony Sanchez, is a celebrity Cuban chef who returns home to Miami to help his niece have the most epic quinceañera, the Cuban equivalent of a Sweet Sixteen. What Tony doesn’t know is that he’s going to run into an old family friend, Sara Kelly, who has also become a chef and is helping out with her niece’s big event.  Soon Sara and Tony find themselves competing to create the most amazing food for the two competing events.  It was a blast to play around with the different recipes that each of the chefs prepare to outdo each other. I also found out a lot about the new field of molecular gastronomy and how you can do something like turn oil into a powder!

But for now, I want to leave you with an easy recipe for a vegetable you might not have tried before: plantains.  Many people find plantains confusing because they are often referred to as bananas and look like very big bananas, but they are actually a vegetable and you cannot eat them raw.  Cubans and other Latins eat plantains in various forms.  When the plantains are green, you can make them like potato chips by slicing them thinly and frying them.  You can also make a double-friend and flattened plantain known as a tostone or boil and mash them and top with bacon and fried onions.

As tasty as plantains are when green, they’re even better ripe because they get incredibly sweet.  How can you tell when a plantain is ripe?  It gets yellow and soft.  I even let it go further until it starts getting some black spots, making it even sweeter.

What can you do with a ripe plantain?  For many Latinos ripe plantains are usually fried or baked, but you can also make them like they do in Mexico, and today I’m sharing that recipe with you, and you may find it in South Beach Love.

Baked Plantains with Crema and Cotija Cheese

Ingredients:

1 ripe plantain*

1 cup Mexican crema** 

1 cup grated cotija cheese*** 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel the plantain and slice on the diagonal into1/4” slices. If using the frozen ripe plantains, follow oven directions on the box.

Toss plantain slices with vegetable oil. Grease a baking tray and lay out the plantain slices.

Cook for about 15 minutes, then turn the slices.  Cook for another 10 minutes until brown.

Drizzle with the crema and cotija and heat for another 5 minutes.

Serve next to a nice steak or roast pork.

* If you can’t find plantains, look in the GOYA frozen food section for ripe plantains (also known as maduros)

** Or thin some sour cream with half-and-half

*** Or substitute grated feta cheese

I hope you’ll try out this recipe and also check out my new releases, especially if you love stories with chefs like I do!

For more of my recipes, please visit http://bit.ly/CooksTreat.

Never a Bride

At the Shore Series, Book 3

Emma never dreamed that the happily-ever-after would change her life. . .

But as her two best friends find love, Emma worries about what her future will bring. She has seen all too often what happens once husbands and children arrive. She puts on a brave face because she wants her buddies to be happy, but as a wedding planner, she has seen one too many marriages go south. Not to mention her parents' bitter divorce which has soured her on the idea of marriage for herself. She can't imagine ever finding a man who can bring her a forever kind of romance.

He's been in love with her forever and can't understand why she can't see it. . .

Carlo da Costa knows why Emma avoids relationships and yet he can't help but wonder how someone who puts such love and care into others' dreams can't allow herself to believe in the fairy tale. He sees the yearning on her face when she spends time with him and his big boisterous family and knows that deep inside, she wants the same thing. Carlo hopes that one day he can provide her with that because he's sure Emma holds the key to his heart in her hands.

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#TRAVEL TO THE JERSEY SHORE WITH GUEST AUTHOR CARIDAD PINEIRO

OG Surf and Skate Shop, Ocean Grove, New Jersey

NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Caridad Pineiro has sold over a million romance novels worldwide. She’s a transplanted Long Island girl who has fallen in love with pork roll and the Jersey Shore but still can’t get the hang of tomato pies. As a founding member of Liberty States Fiction Writers and a speaker at writing conferences and writing organizations around the country, she uses her passion for writing to help others explore and develop their own writing skills. Learn more about Caridad and her books at her website. 

First of all, thank you so much, Anastasia, for letting me come by and share some of the location inspiration for my new release, One Summer Night, the first book in the At the Shore Contemporary Romance series from Sourcebooks Casablanca.

As you might guess from the series name, the stories are set at the beach in Sea Kiss, a fictional town that is a melding of several of my favorite towns along the Jersey Shore. Today I’m going to share a little bit about one of those towns, Ocean Grove, which is one of my favorite shore towns.

Located just south of neighboring Asbury Park, Ocean Grove is a quaint town filled with lovely Victorian homes and a shopping district with a hometown feel. You’ll get to taste some of that atmosphere in One Summer Night as the characters stroll through town. There’s even a little homage to my daughter’s surf and skate shop on Main Avenue.

Ocean Grove was originally founded by the Methodists and is today still owned by the Camp Meeting Association. For that reason, the town is dry and many of the homes are on land that is owned by the Association and only leased to the homeowners. Not that long ago, residents could not park their cars in town on Sunday and to this day, the beach does not open until noon on Sundays to allow residents to attend religious services. Some of those services are actually held in a small pavilion on the boardwalk.

Ocean Grove tent camp

One of the most interesting elements in town that track to its faith-based mission are the tents which are erected every May and taken down in late September. The tents are a holdover from when the Methodists would hold their camp revival meetings on the beach. At some point the structures became more permanent with small sheds to hold the kitchens and bathrooms and the tented area for sleeping. They are lovely to see and are decorated quite nicely by the summer residents. Some of the residents are descendants of the original Methodists who constructed the tents. More than 100 of them remain in town.

In One Summer Night, the families of the heroes and heroines have lived in Sea Kiss for nearly a century and have grand Victorian homes on the beachfront. It was so much fun to craft these homes and the nearby town to give you a taste of what I love about the Jersey Shore and Ocean Grove in particular. The town is a unique gem, so much so, that the entire town has been designated a National Historic landmark.

But for me it’s not just the beautiful homes, main street and of course, the beach, it’s about the wonderful sense of community that exists in the town.

I remember going there with my daughter a week after Hurricane Sandy hit the area to see how her store had fared. She was lucky not to have damage, but the boardwalk area was hit pretty hard. When we got to the boardwalk there were dozens and dozens of residents out there cleaning up the mess. From little ones picking up small pieces of wood to adults of all ages, they were there trying to put things to right.

You’ll see some mention of that in One Summer Night as well, since the hero and heroine, Maggie Sinclair and Owen Pierce, are quite involved in Sea Kiss and helping to keep it thriving.

I hope you enjoyed this look into the inspiration for Sea Kiss, my little town in the At the Shore series. I hope you’ll check out One Summer Night, which is now available for pre-order and will be out in print and e-book on October 3. The second book in the series, What Happens in Summer, will be out in late Spring 2018, and you’ll get to spend some more time with Owen’s brother Jonathan and Maggie’s best friend Connie Reyes. Plus you’ll get to see a little more of Sea Kiss!

One Summer Night

An offer that’s impossible to accept…

Maggie Sinclair has tried everything to save her family’s business, including mortgaging their beloved beach house on the Jersey shore. But now, she’s out of options. 

The Sinclair and Pierce families have been neighbors and enemies for almost thirty years. That hasn’t stopped Owen Pierce from crushing on Maggie, and he’s determined to invest in her success. Now he has to convince her that he’s more than just trouble with a capital T…

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COVER REVEAL--ONE SUMMER NIGHT BY CARIDAD PINEIRO

Anastasia is taking the day off so that author Lois Winston can show a little love to friend and fellow Jersey girl, Caridad Pineiro. Caridad has a new romance series debuting in October, and today Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers is excited to take part in the cover reveal for One Summer Night, the first book in her At the Shore romance series, which takes place at the Jersey shore.

Caridad is a transplanted Long Island girl who has fallen in love with pork roll and the Jersey Shore, but still can’t get the hang of tomato pies. When she isn’t taking long strolls along the boardwalk to maintain her sanity and burn off that pork roll, she’s also a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author with over a million books sold worldwide.

Caridad is passionate about writing and helping others explore and develop their skills as writers. She’s a founding member of the Liberty States Fiction Writers and has presented workshops at various writing organizations throughout the country. Learn more about Caridad and her books at he website. 

What Happens At the Shore, Stays At the Shore

Come and Meet Maggie, Connie, and Emma. These three Jersey Girls are in for the surprise of their lives as love finally drags them to the altar for their own Happily-Ever-Afters.

Maggie Sinclair, Connie Reyes, and Emma Grant have been best friends for years. The three women are as different as they come, but that has only helped sustain them during the trying times in their lives, like the marriage of yet another one of their acquaintances. As they stand at the altar, always as bridesmaids, they are the only single women who remain from their circle of college friends and business colleagues.

Successful women in their own right, they’re not in a rush to do the dash up the aisle, but Fate has a way of shaking the foundations of their very settled lives.

One Summer Night is the first book in the series and is available for pre-order now. It will be followed by Suddenly Last Summer and Sea Kiss Summer (tentative title.)

One Summer Night

Maggie Sinclair has tried everything to save her family's business. Her options are dwindling, and she needs someone who can turn things around—fast. Problem is, the only person who can help her is trouble with a capital T. The Sinclair and Pierce families have been feuding for nearly 30 years, but that hasn't stopped Jax Pierce from noticing Maggie. And he likes what he sees—a lot. But getting involved would mean risking his family, his inheritance, and above all, his heart. Can Maggie and Jax keep their simmering attraction at bay—or will mixing business and pleasure bring nothing but heartache?

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KILLER CRAFTS & CRAFTY KILLERS HOLIDAY SHOPPING GUIDE--CYBER MONDAY EDITION

Today is Cyber Monday. Around the world tens of thousands (if not more) people will be stealing time out of their workday to nail down some of their holiday shopping, hoping to score some great gift deals. Over the next few weeks we’ll all continue to shop, often online. So here at Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers we’re offering some gift suggestions in the form of books—both the old-fashioned kind and the digital kind—that will make some of your recipients squeal with glee—or in the case of today’s offering, drool with delight.

Up first today is Bake, Love, Write: 105Authors Share Dessert Recipes and Advice on Love and Writing, a dessert cookbook and so much more. This book not only includes 105 scrumptious dessert recipes, but it introduces readers to some wonderful authors who offer advice on life, love, and writing. Best of all, by purchasing this book, you’re helping feed hungry kids. A percentage of all sales will be donated to No KidHungry.

Bake, Love, Write: 105 Authors Share Dessert Recipes and Adviceon Love and Writing

edited by Lois Winston

What do most authors have in common, no matter what genre they write? They love desserts. Sweets sustain them through pending deadlines and take the sting out of crushing rejection letters and nasty reviews. They also often celebrate their successes—selling a book, winning a writing award, making a bestseller list, or receiving a fabulous review—with decadent indulgences. And when authors chat with each other, they often talk about their writing and their lives. Recipes. Writing. Relationships. In this cookbook 105 authors not only share their favorite recipes for fabulous cakes, pies, cookies, candy, and more, they also share the best advice they’ve ever received on writing and relationships.

Authors who participated in Bake, Love, Write include: Brenda Novak, Lois Winston, Debra Holland, Dale Mayer, Shelley Noble, Caridad Pineiro, Diana Orgain, Lisa Verge Higgins, Lynn Cahoon, Jasmine Haynes, Jan Carol, Meg Bellamy, Bobbi Chukran, Melissa Keir, Amy Gamet, Kristy Tate, Terry Shames, Barbara Phinney, Kitsy Clare, Raine English, Cathryn Cade, Haley Whitehall, Shilpa Mudiganti, Melinda Curtis, Jessa Slade, Jill Blake, Daryl Devore, Molly MacRae, Elizabeth Rose, Helena Fairfax, Lourdes Venard, Jessica Aspen, Maegan Beaumont, Kay Kendall, Elizabeth John, Victoria Adams, Cyndi Pauwels, Alice Loweecey, June Shaw, Donnell Ann Bell, T. Michelle Nelson, Nina Milton, Pam DeVoe, Skye Taylor, Conda V. Douglas, Pepper Phillips, Judy Alter, Cadence Denton, Lesley Diehl, Erin Farwell, Regan Walker, Kaye Spencer, Barbara Monajem, Kathleen Kaska, Catherine Kean, Rose Anderson, Suzie Tullett, Deborah Hughes, Cynthia Luhrs, Judy Baker, Alicia Dean, Leslie Langtry, Janis Susan May, Mitzi Flyte, Ruby Merritt, Renee D. Field, Kathryn Quick, Susan Cory, Judy Penz Sheluk, Kay Manis, Kathryn Jane, Debra Goldstein, E. Ayers, Chantilly White, Sloan McBride, Triss Stein, Ana Morgan, Adele Downs, L.C. Giroux, Pamela Aares, Nancy Warren, Barbara Lohr, J.J. Cook, Lynn Reynolds, Cori Arnold, B.V. Lawson, Lynn Franklin, M.L. Guida, Irene Peterson, Sue Viders, Liese Sherwood-Fabre, Susan Santangelo, Sheila Seabrook, Elaine Charton, Sharleen Scott, Kathy Bennett, Jody Payne, Reggi Allder, Ashlyn Chase, Beverley Bateman, Susan Lohrer, Donis Casey, Barbara Leavy, Stacy Juba, Karen Rose Smith.

Check out the Bake, Love, Write video author Kaye Spencer created for the cookbook.

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A SPOOKTACULAR SCAVENGER HUNT

Last week Lois Winston mentioned that there would be a scavenger hunt with lots of prizes in connection with the debut of Bake, Love, Write: 105Authors Share Dessert Recipes and Advice on Love and Writing. Well, it’s going to be a Halloween Scavenger Hunt!

For those of you who like dealing with the spooky, join us to do something cooky!

From October 6th through the 23rd, over 30 authors featured in Bake, Love, Write: 105 Authors Share DessertRecipes and Advice on Love and Writing are hosting a Halloween Scavenger Hunt. 

Here’s how it works: Participants visit the website or blog listed for each featured author to find a Halloween graphic hidden on one of the website or blog pages. The more sites you visit, the more chances you have to win. There are over 60 prizes with multiple winners. The list of prizes and the dates they will be given away is here.

Authors participating include: Lois Winston, Brenda Novak, Caridad Pineiro, Jessa Slade, Kathryn Jane, M.L. Guida, Skye Taylor, Cathryn Cade, Victoria Adams, Sharleen Scott, Kathleen Kaska, Erin Farwell, Daryl Devore, Cynthia Luhrs, E. Ayers, Chantilly White, Helena Fairfax, Molly MacRae, L.C. Giroux, Stacy Juba, B.V. Lawson, Ruby Merritt, Kay Manis, Ashlyn Chase, Kitsy Clare, Elizabeth Rose, Liese-Sherwood-Fabre, Sloan McBride, Elaine Joyce, Debra Goldstein, Barbara Phinney, Alicia Dean, Haley Whitehall, Terry Shames, Melinda Curtis, Lynn Cahoon, and Renee Field.

Here’s what you need to do: On October 6th, visit Sloan McBride’s blog where she’ll have all the information posted, including links to the authors' websites/blogs and a link to a page to type all the answers. If you want to have a handy reminder, you can also download the page of authors, websites/blogs, and for typing your answers here. The page will give you the authors’ names and links to their websites/blogs where you’ll search for the Halloween graphics. However, the graphics won’t be posted on the authors’ sites until October 6th. Rafflecopter will be used to determine prizewinners.

Here's the IMPORTANT part -- once you've filled in your answers, you must email the document to Sloan at sloanmcbride@gmail.com.  She’ll review the answers and will enter your name the number of times that corresponds to the number of sites you visited and provided the correct answers.  

COOKING WITH CLORIS--GUEST AUTHOR CARIDAD/CHARITY PINEIRO

Today we’re joined by NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Caridad Pineiro who also writes as Charity Pineiro. Caridad/Charity is the author of over forty novels and novellas and was a 2012 RITA Finalist for Best Paranormal Romance. Today she’s here to share a Cuban recipe and tell us about her latest release. Learn more about Caridad/Charity at her website and blog. 

My newest release, To Catch Her Man, is set in sexy South Beach, and one of the heroine's friends is a chef, plus the undercover detective with whom the heroine wants to get under the covers is Cuban, so this seems like a good time to share one of my favorite Cuban recipes with you.  To Catch Her Man is also part of the Dangerous Dozen Romantic Suspense Boxed Set which is specially priced at .99 for a limited time!

Now a word of warning before I begin this recipe. First, if you go into a Cuban restaurant and they don't have some variation on this dish - RUN! This is a classic dish and I've only gone to one place that didn't have it. Of course, that place also didn't have any plantains on the menu and the bartender didn't know how to make a mojito. It turned out

to be a big mistake.

Also, this dish takes time, but it does triple duty as you'll see from the recipe.

Fun Fact: Ropa vieja means "old clothes" in Spanish. When you think about old clothes being thread-bare and shredded, it kind of makes sense since this is a shredded beef dish.

Ingredients

Preparing the beef for shredding

2 lbs lean brisket (or flank steak) cut into quarters against the grain

2 coarsely chopped onion

2 celery stalks cut in half

2 large carrots - cut in quarters

2 garlic cloves chopped

2 bay leaves

black pepper to taste

Enough water to cover the meat and other ingredients in your pot

Boil the brisket until fork tender. Do not do a hard boil as it will cloud the water, but a soft rolling boil. When fork tender, take the meat out and let it cool. Take out the celery and carrots. Toss the celery *yuk I hate celery*, but save the carrots. They make a nice cold carrot salad.

Preparing the tomato sauce for the beef

1 cup chopped red pepper

1 cup chopped green pepper

2 cups chopped onions

2 garlic cloves

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes and one small can tomato sauce

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon oregano

Salt & pepper to taste

Olive oil

Start by sauteing the red and green peppers in the olive oil until they begin to soften. Then add the onions and cook until translucent. Do not brown.

Add the garlic and cook it for just a little bit.

Then add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, bay leaves and oregano. Simmer for at least half an hour.

While this is simmering, shred the beef. Brisket and/or flank steak have a very pronounced grain and you can just pull and it will come apart into shreds. Keep them small. No longer than about 2 inches and not very thick either. You want the meat to absorb some of the tomato goodness.

When the beef is shredded, add it to the cooked tomato sauce and then simmer this again for about an hour or so to allow the tomato and beef to marry.

That's it! I usually serve this dish over white rice with a side of ripe plantains.

Now why did I say this dish does triple duty?

Well, you've got that beef broth for starter. In my house I reduce it, add caramelized onions and make onion soup.

Also, I always make extra beef so that I can make another Cuban dish, vaca frita (fried cow.)

I hope you'll try this out one day!

(Thanks to Marc Averette for releasing his ropa vieja photo into the public domain.)

To Catch Her Man

Investigative reporter Sylvia Amenabar must decide between friendship, love and discovering the truth behind a cop's murder. Undercover detective Carlos Ramirez nearly lost his life protecting Sylvia, but knows it'll be a fight to reach her heart. Can they learn to trust one another and find out the truth about a failed assignment that nearly killed Carlos? Or will the secrets of the past cost them the things they hold most dear.

To Catch Her Man is one of the twelve full-length romantic suspense novels featured in The Dangerous Dozen boxed set featuring works by twelve bestselling authors, including Charity Pineiro, Tina Waiscott, Maureen Child, Paige Tyler, Tawny Weber, Nina Bruhns, virna DePaul, Karen Fenech, Kristin Miller, Gennita Low, Joyce Lamb, and Maureen A. Miller.

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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!

TRAVEL WITH SERENA -- GUEST TRAVELER, AUTHOR CARIDAD PINEIRO

Today we welcome back NY Times bestselling author Caridad Pineiro to talk about one of her favorite places, the Jersey shore. Caridad is the author of over twenty-six paranormal romance and romantic suspense novels and novellas. Her popular THE CALLING vampire series returns in 2012. THE FIFTH KINGDOM, a romantic suspense, was just released, and THE LOST, the first book in her new SIN HUNTERS paranormal romance series arrives in August. Caridad has also written the foreword for OBSESSED: EROTIC ROMANCE FOR WOMEN edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel which will be available in August 2011.  Her popular THE CALLING vampire series returns in 2012, but vampire lovers will enjoy A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS (October 2011) which includes Caridad's novella, WHEN HERALD ANGELS SING. For more information on Caridad, visit her website.  -- AP

When I created the concept for THE LOST, the first book in my paranormal SIN HUNTERS series, I had no doubt that I wanted to set the book in one of my favorite places:  the Jersey Shore.

I know that by now you’ve probably had a look at the show by that name, but the real Jersey Shore is nothing like that.  It’s one hundred and thirty miles of beaches and towns which each have their unique flavor.

For THE LOST, I chose a stretch of shoreline that runs from the southern town of Sea Girt to the more northern locations of Asbury Park.  In that gap of about ten or so miles, there are several interesting and lovely towns and today I’m going to share some of them with you!

Bradley Beach is a family-friendly area with a non-commercial boardwalk.  That means that you can stroll near the ocean without all the hubbub of rides and shops crowding the beauty of nature.

Here’s a photo of the Bradley Beach Centennial Fountain located along their boardwalk.  You can stroll along here with your family, play a game of mini-golf or maybe bocce. 

Relax and savor the sea air in one of Bradley’s many gazebos or sit and listen to one of the regular free concerts offered at the main gazebo on Fifth Avenue

In THE LOST, the heroine’s family lives in Bradley Beach while she has a nearby condo in lovely Ocean Grove, also known as God’s Little Square Mile.  Ocean Grove was founded in 1869 as a Victorian-era Methodist camp meeting site.  The town is filled with lovely Victorian architecture, a bustling Main Avenue and the unusual tent city in and around the Great Auditorium.

 

For nightlife along this stretch of the Jersey Shore, the place to go is Asbury Park which is undergoing a renaissance.  New stores and restaurants as well as renovations to the Convention Center and Paramount Theatre are making the Asbury Park boardwalk the place to be at night.  Some areas still require repair, but despite that, they are equally interesting.

I love walking through the shell of the Casino building in the early morning and seeing the grandeur of Asbury Park’s past.  I loved this location so much that a pivotal action scene in the second book in the SIN HUNTER series, THE CLAIMED (May 2012) takes place in the bowels of this old building.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this trip to the Jersey Shore with me and that you’ll take the time to visit some day soon.  All of these towns can be easily reached by car, bus and train and will truly give you a taste of the real Jersey Shore.

Thank you, Caridad! And for those of you unfamiliar with Asbury Park, it's also to home of the Stone Pony where Bruce Springsteen got his start.  Readers, have you ever been to the Jersey shore? Let's hear from you. Post a comment to be entered in the drawing for a free book from our Book Club Friday author this week. -- AP