Caridad Piñeiro's Blog, page 6
September 23, 2025
Behind the Scenes
Whenever I do an event, people ask questions about what it’s like to write a book. How did I get started? How long does it take to write a book? Where do I get the ideas? It’s always fun to share that process. One thing people don’t ask: What does your desk look like? I actually don’t write at a desk. After years of working at a desk at my full-time job, I hated coming home to sit at another desk to write. Plus, I got used to writing on the train, where I didn’t have a desk, just my knapsack to lean on. So now, at home, I sit on my couch and use a lap desk while I’m writing. I also watch TV. I need the background noise (that train thing again!) If you notice some colorful things in this photo, it’s my collection of Mets memorabilia and my grandbaby’s rugs and toys. When he’s here, I turn my office into his play area! P.S. Someone who understands the sitting at the desk part is Connie from the At the Shore series. As a NYC attorney, she spends long hours at work, much like I did. But she also loves spending time with her friends on the Jersey Shore and, of course, with bad boy surfer Jonathan, who has returned to Sea Kiss like the prodigal son. Grab your copy of WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER for only 99 cents at https://amzn.to/48poFb3.
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September 22, 2025
Happy Fall, I think?
Happy Fall, I think? It’s a nice season, but not my favorite because it means winter is approaching. Luckily, being near the ocean helps moderate temperatures, so we’re never as hot or cold as inland. But now a learning moment. It’s the equinox today, and that word comes from the Latin. Equi means equal, and nox means night. The equinox is when the sun is directly above the equator, and the length of day and night is equal. Cool, right? So is the weather, LOL! Have a great first day of fall! P.S. If you’re like me and want to hold onto summer a little longer, grab your copies of the At the Shore contemporary romance series. Set on the Jersey Shore, these stories highlight friendships, family, romance, and more! You can pick up the first two books in the series for 99 cents at https://amzn.to/3VYRmEh!
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September 21, 2025
Three Things to Be Grateful For
With all that’s happening in life, I’m taking a moment to reflect on things. Because of that, I want to share three things for which I am grateful, namely, my wonderful family, all my friends, including you, and my health. What about you? What three things are you grateful for?
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September 20, 2025
What summer food will you miss?
It’s the last summer weekend! On the Jersey Shore, local summer is here! That’s the time when the crowds are gone, but the temperatures are still warm enough for the beach. Even the water is at its best temperature-wise, although we’ve been plagued by deadly rip currents this year. But soon, all traces of summer will be gone, and with it, our favorite summer foods. Which summer food will you miss the most? For me, it’s the soft custard ice cream that I get at boardwalk stands like Kohr’s. P.S. If you want to keep summer a little longer, grab your copies of the At the Shore contemporary romance novels set on the Jersey Shore at https://amzn.to/3VYRmEh! The first two are specially priced at .99 or grab the box set of all three novels for only 5.99.
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Meet Me at the Brooklyn Book Festival
I hope you’ll be able to drop by and meet me at the Brooklyn Book Festival. I will be at the Romance Writers of America Booth, # 323-324, from 12:45 to 3:15. The booth will be located near Montague & Cadman Plaza and the Columbus Statue Garden. For more info, please visit https://brooklynbookfestival.org/.
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September 19, 2025
Dudley’s Puppy Kisses
WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER is one of my favorite books, maybe because Connie is probably the heroine most like me. She’s an uptight and responsible New York City lawyer who is unhappy with her law firm job because she feels stifled. She’s fighting the rising emotions for bad boy Jonathan Pierce, who is back in Sea Kiss and determined to prove to her that he’s a changed man. One of the things he’s done to make Sea Kiss is home is adopt an adorable little puppy from the local shelter. In this scene, Connie is down on the beach, crying over all the changes in her life. Her best friend is getting married. Her career is stuck in neutral. And Jonathan is back in town, reminding her of lost love. Suddenly, Jon’s puppy Dudley hops into her lap, bringing puppy kisses and laughter. Unfortunately, Jon is not far behind. I hope you enjoy this teaser, and if you do, grab your copy of WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER for only 99 cents at https://amzn.to/48poFb3.
“If you want to talk about it – ”
“I don’t.”
He didn’t give up. With a smile, he said, “Or if you just need a shoulder to cry on . . . .”
She tilted her chin up in a defiant gesture that was achingly familiar. “I wasn’t crying. Like I said before, it was just Dudley’s puppy kisses.”
“Really?” He couldn’t resist the challenge. He leaned forward and cradled her chin with his hand.
Her gold-green eyes widened in surprise as he came ever closer. When he kissed the corner of her right eye, her eyelashes fluttered against his lips as she closed her eyes.
“Sweetest,” he began and shifted to her other eye. “Dog spit,” he said and didn’t wait for her protest. “Ever.” He kissed her lips, a gentle coaxing kiss that had her tilting into him and grasping his shoulders for support. As they moved closer, Dudley, who had been sitting in her lap, squirmed and barked a complaint as he got sandwiched between their bodies.
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September 18, 2025
Bring Back a TV Classic
OMG, Hollywood seems to love redoing old shows or movies. So let’s help them pick the next great old TV show to redo! I loved LOST IN SPACE, but that’s already been done. So I’m reaching into the not-so-distant past and wondering if either MOONLIGHTING or REMINGTON STEELE would be awesome shows to bring back? What do you think? What old-time TV show would you like to bring back? P.S. Hallmark definitely did something new when they made SOUTH BEACH LOVE into an original movie! You can grab the novel that inspired it for only 99 cents at https://amzn.to/4nAMxwP or get it for free by signing up for my newsletter at https://bit.ly/CaridadsNewsletter.
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September 17, 2025
Happily Ever After or Cliffhangers?
I’m a big fan of a cliffhanger or a question at the end of a chapter to keep the reader reading. But at the end of the story, I prefer a happily ever after and not a cliffhanger. What about you? Happily ever after or cliffhanger? P.S. You’ll definitely get turn the page chapter endings in CLIFFSIDE KIDNAPPING, but there is totally a happily ever after for not only the hero and heroine. You’ll also get a teaser for Robbie’s upcoming happily ever after in DEFENDED BY THE BODYGUARD. Grab your copies today at https://amzn.to/3KoMUMu.
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September 16, 2025
Exciting Teaser Cliffside Kidnapping
I introduced Sophie and Robbie Whitaker in COLD CASE REOPENED as a way for you to meet some of the members of the South Beach Security family. In that book, Robbie and Sophie help their cousin Jackson solve the disappearance of a woman. I love not only bringing Sophie and Robbie back to Colorado for CLIFFSIDE KIDNAPPING, but to also let you meet their parents! The Whitakers are smart and strong, which explains the amazing children they raised. In this excerpt, you meet the Whitaker parents. You will see a lot of them and their love in CLIFFSIDE KIDNAPPING!
*****
Mercedes Gonzalez Whitaker relaxed in the passenger seat, appreciating the fresh pine scent wafting through the open window and the kaleidoscope of greens in the fields and mountains along the highway. The deep jewellike colors of the evergreens and lighter almost silvery gray of the aspens dotted the Colorado landscape. As dusk descended, the chill of night replaced the warmth of the day. So different from the heat and humidity of a Washington, D.C. June or the weather she’d experienced growing up in Miami.
It was why she loved coming out here for the annual gatherings with the Whitaker clan and why she and her husband, Robert, would sneak out in the fall to watch the changing of the foliage, especially the aspens, as large stands of the poplars painted the hillsides with streaks of gold. Robert had once told her how aspens grew via their roots, creating glades of clones that were all one living organism, sometimes acres in size.
Much like her Cuban Miami family had spread their roots and grown, the patriarchs standing tall in the center while their children and grandchildren became ever stronger and likewise prospered. She missed being around her sprawling and loving Gonzalez family. Robert loved spending time with them as well and maybe it was time to visit them soon.
Robert, she thought with a loving sigh and gazed at her husband as he drove.
The years have been kind to him. There were the barest hints of silver at his temples and the faintest smile lines at the corners of his bright hazel eyes. Handsome and he still stole her breath away.
Smiling, she reached over to brush the back of her hand across his cheek. It was sandpapery rough with the start of an evening beard.
He shot her a quick look from the corner of his eye. “Everything okay?”
“I was just thinking that when this is over, we should visit the family in Miami. Lately, I feel like we don’t spend enough time with them and with your family here in Colorado.”
Peering at her again, he said, “Maybe it’s time to consider retiring. It’ll give us more time with both families. We have enough years put in at the NSA, and those D.C. winters…”
He didn’t need to finish because they both hated the northeast cold and damp. Despite the fact they’d been living in the D.C. area and working for the National Security Agency for nearly thirty years, she often missed the warmth of Miami in wintertime and the palm trees decorated with Christmas lights.
“Maybe,” she said, closing her eyes and smiling as she imagined sitting poolside in December and, more importantly, spending time with her children and the rest of the Gonzalez family.
A hard jolt and the sudden swerve of their sedan jerked her from that pleasant daydream.
“What the—” Robert muttered and fought to keep the car under control as another more powerful blow threatened to drive them off the road.
Mercedes braced her hands on the dashboard and console as another shot against their rear bumper sent the nose of the vehicle toward a small ditch on the side of the highway.
Robert yanked the steering wheel hard, knuckles white with pressure. Miraculously, he kept the car from tumbling off the road.
She whirled in her seat to see a large black pickup behind them increase its speed and ram the back of their sedan again. Metal groaned and crunched as the pickup shoved the car toward the ditch.
“Rob?” she said. Fear gripped her as her husband frantically fought the wheel and accelerated away from the pickup.
The engine roared as he created a fragile distance, but then their assailant raced past them and clipped their front fender.
They said those last moments of your life passed in slow motion and Mercedes understood it now. Images of her children, husband and family slipped across her mind as the sedan flew off the edge of the road, seemingly floating in space for long minutes until the hood of the car smashed into the ditch.
https://www.caridad.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/CPS-Video-1.mp4OrderGrab your copy today at:
Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/40DMYhB
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3V2Yyzt
Amazon Audible: https://amzn.to/4hu613U
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/cliffside-kidnapping/id6633434276
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cliffside-kidnapping-caridad-pi-eiro/1146170674
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cliffside-kidnapping
Additional Retailers: https://books2read.com/CliffsideKidnapping
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September 15, 2025
Jolly Ranchers or Salt Water Taffy
The other day, I had the pleasure of doing a takeover at the wonderful Lori Foster’s Facebook Fan Page. I had a great time chatting about my new Crooked Pass Security romantic suspense series and the At the Shore contemporary romance series. As you may know, the CPS series is set in Colorado, while the ATS series is set on the Jersey Shore. That raises a very important question. Would you prefer a hometown Colorado candy – the Jolly Rancher – or a typical Jersey Shore candy – salt water taffy? P.S. You can grab your copies of the books in either series, or any of my other books, at https://amzn.to/48dTKOU.
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