I’ve always been an avid
reader, but it wasn’t until a fifth grade teacher assigned a class project – to
write a book for a class lending library – that I realized that I could maybe
write one of those stories that I loved to read.
I went home that day in the
fifth grade and started writing and I haven’t stopped. Through high school, college and law school I
kept on writing. After my daughter was born, I decided that I had to finally
try to have one of my stories published.
I wanted to show my daughter that anything you wanted was possible if
you were willing to work hard for it.
It took me nearly eight years
to get “The Call,” but when it finally happened it was amazing! I jumped up and down like a little kid once I
hung up the phone.
Since then I’ve written over
50 novels/novellas and have sold over a million books. Again, amazing! I still wonder at times if it’s all been real
or just a really exciting dream.
I love challenging myself as a
writer and have written in a number of romance genres: contemporary, paranormal, vampire suspense,
romantic suspense, erotic romance, women’s fiction, and military romance. You name it and I love testing my writing
chops by trying it although my heart will always remain true to the first
series of my heart, The Calling is Reborn Vampire novels. Those characters have taken me through some
tough times and have also brought me great joy.
I’m working on another series
of my heart right now: The At the Shore
Contemporary Romance series. The women
in this series came to me and would not stop until I wrote their fun, tender
and sensual tales. The first book in the
series, One Summer Night, will be out on October 3 and it’s a Romeo and Juliet
tale (but with a very happy ending) of enemies who become lovers despite a
decades long family feud. This is also a
series of my heart because the stories are set on the Jersey Shore. I love the Shore and spend as much time there
as I can. My dream is to one day one a
small place close to the water!
Here’s a little excerpt from
ONE SUMMER NIGHT for you!
“Owen,” she sighed as the man rose and she
recognized his silhouette. She stopped, unsure whether he would acknowledge
her, but he smiled and walked toward her. She noticed that he had changed into
casual clothes, not that they lessened the sense of power that always seemed to
surround him.
“Maggie,” he said with a dip of his head as he
sidled up to her. “You’re up late.”
“You too.” She started walking again,
alternately worried and excited that he would join her for her walk.
“Too many thoughts in my head.” He matched his
pace to hers, taking an occasional puff on his cigar as they strolled down the
beach.
“Me too,” she said, but then they fell silent.
They had known each other all their lives and had been friends at one time, but
in recent years, they’d kept an awkward distance. Even with the silence, there
was something comforting about his presence beside her during the walk. Maybe
it was that aura of innate strength and assurance in the way he carried
himself. Maybe it was that she felt not so lonely with him. Regardless of the
why of it, the quiet as they walked side by side along the beach soothed the
riot of thoughts that had kept her from sleep.
With a half glance in his direction, she noticed
that he seemed more relaxed as well, and a part of her wondered what it would
be like if they could be more than just distant acquaintances. Deciding to
breach that distance, she said, “Will you be at the lighthouse rededication at
the end of the month?”
She and Owen had worked on their town’s
committee to repair the destruction done by Hurricane Sandy years earlier.
Federal and state funding had helped to rebuild most of the public areas, like
the boardwalk. Their fundraising efforts had gone toward fixing the damage to
the Main Street business area in time for the first summer season after the
horrific storm, but it had taken much longer to raise the funds to fix the
lighthouse and a nearby pier. The committee was still working on how to help
repair the many private homes and cottages not covered by insurance and that
still languished years later.
“I hope to be there. It all depends on some
business items that need to be wrapped up.” He paused as they neared the long
rock jetty that marked the end of Sea Kiss and the start of the next town. She
hadn’t realized that they’d walked nearly a mile together in companionable
silence. With a wry smile and a wave of his hand, they turned and started the
walk back up the beach. Every now and again, he would meet her gaze and hold
it, almost as if to reassure himself she was still there.
“Is that what kept you from sleep?”
“Possibly. What about you? Will you be there?
Seems like we should attend, considering how much time we put into the
committee.”
“I’ve got some things I need to do as well, but
it would be nice to be there to celebrate. It took so long to reach this
point.”
“But we did it. The town was ready for the first
season. We helped a lot of people get back into their homes, even if we still
have a long way to go to set everything right.”
“You led most of that, Owen. I was hard-pressed
to know one end of the hammer from the other,” she said with a laugh, recalling
her tortured efforts when they had volunteered to do some construction work on
one of the damaged homes.
Owen chuckled. With a sexy grin, he said, “You
did okay, and more importantly, you were there to help. People appreciated
that, and they won’t forget it any- time soon.”
“That’s not why I did it,” she said. He nodded.
“I know.”
His easy reply and the warmth of his gaze
confirmed that he understood what had motivated her to volunteer, and in truth,
she’d always known that he’d helped for the same reason. They both loved Sea
Kiss and considered it home, even though they both worked and had residences in
New York City.
They fell quiet again until they reached the
board- walk for the Pierce mansion. Maggie waited for him to head there, but
Owen kept on walking beside her.
“No need for you to see me home,” she said.
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I always
see a lady home,” he replied and did just that, going so far as to walk her up
the boardwalk and across the great lawn. When they reached the patio, he looked
back toward the dunes and jerked his head in the direction of the corner of the
lot.
“I see you rebuilt the gazebo that Sandy took
out.”
“I couldn’t imagine not putting it back up.”
When the storm surge had gouged away huge pieces of the protective dunes behind
the house, it had swept the old boardwalk and gazebo out to sea.
“You always spent a lot of time there reading,” he
said, surprising her.
“I didn’t realize you’d noticed,” she replied,
but as she glanced toward the Pierce mansion, she recalled that he would often
sit on the second-story balcony where he would have a clear view of the gazebo.
“I’ve noticed a lot about you, Maggie,” he said
and then walked with her again until they reached the french doors to her home.
Maggie faced him and stood there awkwardly,
wondering how to end the night. A handshake was way too formal given the
situation. A hug way too friendly. A kiss was…unfathomable.
That Owen was feeling the same way was obvious
as he rocked back and forth on his heels and then shoved his hands into his
jeans pockets. With a very masculine head nod, he said, “I guess I’ll see you
around.”
She dipped her head in agreement and said, “See
you around.”
He forced a smile, pivoted on his heel, and
walked away, but as he did so, she called out to him.
“Owen.”
Turning, he stared at her, a perplexed look on
his face.
“This was
nice. Thank you.”
His smile was brilliant in the dark of the
night. “It was nice. Get some sleep,
Maggie.”
“You too, Owen.” As she headed through the
french doors and up to her bedroom, she suspected her thoughts would once again
keep her from a restful slumber. Only this time, those thoughts wouldn’t be
about her family’s business problems and losing the home she loved. They would
be about something much more pleasurable.
Thanks so much for taking the
time to stop by and find out more about me.
I hope that I’ll get to know more about you and love hearing from
readers via e-mail or on social media.
You can contact me by visiting my website at www.caridad.com. Talk to you soon!
About the Author
Caridad Pineiro 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
Caridad 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 is
a founding member of the Liberty States Fiction Writers and has presented
workshops at the RT Book Club Convention, Romance Writers of America National
Conference as well as various writing organizations throughout the country.
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About the Book:
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…
Watch the Trailer at YouTube!
1 comment:
Thank you so much for letting me visit your blog!
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