Update: The winner of STRONGER THAN SIN is…Jolene Allcock. Congrats, Jolene!

First of all I want to thank Cynthia for letting me share some time on her blog! I’m Caridad Pineiro and I write paranormal romance and romantic suspense and a blend of the two. Cynthia and I are part of the Dangerous Women Writers and it’s a pleasure to be able to know such a warm, loving, giving and talented woman! But as you may know, Cynthia has a dark side that comes out in her wickedly wonderful novels and that’s what we’re here to start celebrating as she counts down to the launch of DEADLY HEAT with this MY DEADLY VALENTINE blog special.

What is it as readers and writers that makes us love that dark side? That makes us our characters undertake oftentimes deadly pursuits?

Call me a sucker for true love, but to me that is a prize that is definitely worth pursuing no matter the cost. I take that maxim to heart as a writer and think of all kinds of ways to torture my hero and heroine as they travel the treacherous path to Happily-Ever-After land. Somehow surviving against all those insurmountable odds makes the reward at the end sweeter, doesn’t it?

I think readers respond to that journey on which we take them, experiencing the lows when it seems as if everything will be lost and the highs as the hero and heroine somehow triumph over every baddie and obstacle in order to finally be able to declare their love.

And I love creating what I hope are some memorable baddies.

In AZTEC GOLD, the villainess is an ancient Aztec demi-goddess who can only be killed by something as black as her own heart. The demi-goddess has been terrorizing the Mexican jungle surrounding her temple for centuries until she’s confronted by the hero and heroine as they try to rescue their friends and find true love along the way.

In STRONGER THAN SIN, the villains are human and yet much scarier. Somehow dealing with people who don’t have a care for life is much more difficult to handle than monsters who don’t know any better. In this case, it’s a black ops group taking advantage of a hero who has been genetically engineered to have super-strength, but who is slowly turning to bone.

Deadly pursuits. In each of them, the hero and heroine will risk life and limb for each other and for the loved ones around them. We will cry and our hearts will clench as they seem to fail. We will cheer and be uplifted as love ultimately triumphs over evil and we have our Happily-Ever-After.

Sometimes people ask me why I like being a writer and I think the answer is simple: I love being able to write stories where love makes all things possible. Even if it takes leaving a pile of bodies along the way.

Thanks so much again for having me here, Cynthia! Thanks to all of you for dropping by. Now that you know a little more about what makes me tick and what I love in stories, what do you love? What really makes you bite your nails? What brings you the most joy at the end of the book?

I’d love to know.

Thanks so much to Caridad for coming by!  I’ll pick one lucky commenter to receive a copy of Caridad’s wonderful book,  STRONGER THAN SIN (I’ll ship it to the winner via Amazon.com).

Scroll down to see the Deadly Valentine posts!

I love prologues. I think they are a great way to take readers right into a character’s early life. You can dive  into the action with a prologue. Reveal a pivotal piece of character development, show a great turning point–all in a few early pages.

When I wrote the Deadly books (DEADLY FEAR, DEADLY HEAT, and DEADLY LIES), I deliberately started each story with a prologue. The prologues all show very dark moments in the pasts of the characters. In DEADLY FEAR, the prologue is told in the POV of Keith Hyde, the guy who creates the Serial Services Division in the FBI.

In DEADLY HEAT, I decided to tell the prologue from a different character’s POV…for this story, I wanted to start on the villain’s point of view.  As I wrote the prologue,  I wondered…are some people born evil? Or do people become monsters as they grow?

***

DEADLY HEAT–PROLOGUE

The fire came at him, fast and hot. The orange flames licked across the floor, climbed the walls, and rolled in hungry waves.

The screams filled his ears. His mother’s cries. She called for him, over and over, but he didn’t answer her. Couldn’t. The flames and smoke had stolen his breath, and all he could do was watch.

So beautiful. The flames danced for him. Danced and whispered. Crackled and spit. He couldn’t look away. Didn’t want to.

Smoke billowed around him, trapping him in a fog. His fingers curled tight over his precious prize.  Won’t let go. Won’t ever let go.

The fire touched him, biting his arm, but he didn’t cry out.

He just watched.

And his mother stopped screaming. Just like his dad had stopped. He’d stopped long ago…

The flames were bigger. Rolling toward him now. Faster, faster. So hot. His lips began to curl.

Then the monsters came. Giant beasts with long noses, robot eyes, and tubes shooting from their mouths.

One grabbed him, slapping at his left arm, and he screamed.

But the monster didn’t let him go.

Water shot at the flames. Cold, icy water that hit his skin.

The monster’s arms were tight around him.  And then the monster ran, taking him right through the thick smoke and letting him see those dancing flames again.

Again. More.

The fresh air hit him.  He choked at the first taste and the monster was there, always there, but yanking off a mask and it was—

A man. “The kid’s alive!  Get me some oxygen! Get the damn EMTs over here!”

More hands. Touching. Stroking. Hurting. Another man shoved a mask over his face. No, don’t want it, don’t want—

The mask pressed too hard against his nose and mouth.

The same man rubbed something ice-cold on his arm right over the fire’s kiss. Then the guy wrapped bandages around him and slapped tape around the edges.

They put him on a stretcher. As they hauled him toward an ambulance, he saw his house. Firefighters stood on the roof, swinging with their axes, sending fire and smoke billowing into the sky.

The windows at the front of his home exploded, and giant shards of glass flew onto the porch.

Firefighters ran out of the doorway, yelling. One had his mother in his arms.

She wasn’t moving and her body…

He glanced down at his hand, still clenched so tight around his prize.

“It’s gonna be okay, boy. You’re gonna be fine…”  This came from the man who’d pulled him out. A big guy, with red cheeks and dark green eyes. “You’re safe now.”

But his mom wasn’t. Neither was his dad.

A shout came, an order for backup, and the man turned away.

His fingers uncurled.

The match lay in his hand. The red tip was black now.

“Got to be arson, sir…the way the fire is spreading…accelerant…”  Another firefighter, talking quickly to a guy with a big radio.

He let the match slide from his fingers.  It fell to the ground and sank into the grass.

“All right, kid.” The EMT was back. Looking pale, tense. “It’s time to get you to the hos—”

“My mom’s dead.”

The man swallowed. “I’m sorry.”

He looked at that fire. So bright now.  “My dad, too?”  He already knew.

“We got a call in to your grandparents—”

He didn’t cry.  Didn’t blink.

“We’re gettin’ you to the hospital.”  A woman appeared at his side. They lifted him up and put him in the back of the ambulance. The doors slammed closed, shutting out the fire.

But I wanted to watch. His lips tightened.

He looked at his palm. He could see the black marks from the match.

The siren screamed on.

And he smiled.

The release dates for DEADLY HEAT (1/25/11) and DEADLY LIES (3/1/11) are getting closer–AND Valentine’s Day is waiting to pounce on us all. So…how could I not combine these fun events into a big blog party?

Yes, it’s time for MY DEADLY VALENTINE. From January 20-February 14th, you can expect some fabulous guest posts, new excerpts, and fun prizes. Some participating authors include:  Caridad Pineiro,  Donna Grant, Lisa Renee Jones, Sylvia Day, Anya Bast, Diane Whiteside, Beth Kery, and Shelli Stevens. (No, this isn’t a complete list–I will be back soon to post a full list of all the awesome authors participating. You’ll be able to read posts from best-sellers and posts from up-and-coming authors that you don’t want to miss.)

The Valentine’s party will be a deadly good time. So spread the word and come back for the fun!

I hope 2011 is off to a fabulous start for you!  I’m excited because, for me, a new year means new book releases.  And I’ve got some new books coming out very soon!

First up….DEADLY HEAT. The second book in my Deadly romantic suspense series, DEADLY HEAT will be released on 1/25/11.  Less than a month away!

I thought I’d just start counting down the days…

I’m very excited to say that DEADLY HEAT received a 4 1/2 Top Pick rating from RT BookReviews.  Here’s a snippet from the review: “Deadly Heat is seriously hot! Taut conflict mixes with fiery romance to create a winner. Readers will enjoy a rapid-paced induction into the world of firefighters, arsonists and the FBI’s newest division. Deadly Heat offers the perfect amount of tension, character development and action-packed plot!”

Thank you, RT! (And specifically to Annette who reviewed the book.)

If you enjoy my dark and sexy romantic suspenses, then I have good news. DEADLY HEAT will immediately be followed by the release of DEADLY LIES in March. Yes, some deadly days are coming!  Actually, I’ll be having a special My Deadly Valentine event to promote the double releases.  So stay tuned for book fun times.