Emotional Explosion

Let me apologize now for the long winded, “vent-like” post… Needed to get this all off my chest before I exploded.

            Those who know me well, know that my sisters and I never really had a relationship with our father once our parents were divorced and we girls moved to Miami with our mom. It wasn’t because we didn’t want one, we were young and needed our father in our lives to an extent… he just slowly drifted himself out of the picture. He did visit us in Miami once in the first six months we were there, in an attempt to make amends with our mom before the divorce was final, but that didn’t work out. His calls became less frequent and we couldn’t understand why. He never got the fact that we didn’t care if he couldn’t send us stuff or money, we just wanted him to call and maybe come see us at least once a year.

             The years kept passing and we grew angrier, but not really giving up completely. I managed to get him to come to Miami for my Quinces, which is when our baby sister met him for the first time. She was already 2 by then. I know my middle sister and I went to New York that summer (or the next) for two weeks, but we didn’t see him as much as we thought we would. We stayed with and visited family which was nice, but whatever. Still the naive hopeful kids, but there was a last straw for me…

            When my baby sister was five she came into my room and sat on the floor next to me where I was doing homework. “Nana, today is papi’s birthday.” I looked at her innocent and confused little face and smiled. “You’re right, it is, did you want to call him.” I was trying to be as strong as my mother has always been for us. NEVER once did my mom say anything negative about our father, always reminding us that he was our father and loved us despite everything. Anyway, my sister looked and me and asked, “Did he call you on your birthday?” My breath caught and my heart jumped to my throat. I didn’t want to lie to her, and I didn’t want to discourage her, “You know Gorda, I can’t remember.” With her same sweet little girl voice she said, “He didn’t call me on my birthday, so I don’t want to call him.” “Ok, Gorda, we don’t have to call him.” She hugged me and went back to her room. To this day that conversation with my baby sister still breaks my heart. That was when I realized that man didn’t deserve the awesome daughters he let slip through his fingers.

            Years later I was married and had a beautiful son. My husband convinced me to give my father another chance… Give him a chance to know his grandson and our son the chance to know his grandfather. I gave in and allowed it on one condition, “You messed it up with us, but I’m giving you this chance to know my son. If you screw this up we’re finished for good.” Not the nicest thing you want to have to tell your father, but I was NOT going to allow him to hurt my son like he had hurt us. We three girls were already immune to him and had moved on. Well, needless to say, he did great for a few years. He would call to check on us, he would send stuff for my son, and it was going well. When I got divorced, he was there for me and helped me a little here and there as he could. However, when I was getting remarried and asked him to help with one small thing because my mom was paying for everything else, he disappeared. I tried to contact him several times after that telling him that if he couldn’t pay anything that was fine, but not to ignore me. That was the end of that.

             We had a hard (at times), but god life with our mother raising us. She did an excellent job of keeping the three of us safe. She is our mother AND father. She gets a call and gifts for both Mother’s day and Father’s day. A tradition we started and still continue today. She deserves BOTH days! We are the strong women we are today because our Cuban mother raised damn good Cuban girls. We are all married now (the youngest fresh in March and I’m on hubby number two) and my mother has four wonderful grandsons from me and my middle sister (two each). Our lives have been a roller coaster of everything life has to offer‼ Our mother has been the central rock that has kept us going and moving forward. We have worked, and hopefully succeeded, at making her proud.

            Why am I going through all this? I needed an outlet and I needed to vent a little. My mother called to tell me my father passed away suddenly. Why do I care? I have no idea other than the fact that despite everything he missed out on, and the few memories I have left of him, and all that other crap… he was still my father and I am feeling… I honestly don’t know what I am feeling. I am feeling the loss more than I thought I would. I hate that my grandmother is suffering the loss of one of her children. It’s a whirlwind of emotions I am having trouble explaining, even to myself.

R.I.P.

Angel Dario Sanchez

11/01/1945 – 11/23/2013

“What If” Wednesday…

Let’s have a little fun with this today. For those of you who have read, or are reading, Waves of Deceit or Accidents Happen this should be easy.

What If… Waves of Deceit and Accidents Happen were going to be made into movies. Who would you want to see play the lead roles? I know who I would pick, but I want your opinions, as fans of the books. I’m curious to see “who” you see in your minds when you are reading and these characters pop on the page.

We need to cast:

Waves of Deceit:

Michael Walker –

Manny Pascual –

Bianca Martinez –

Miguel Estevez –

Carlos Estevez –

Hector Garcia –

 

Accidents Happen:

Martina Rosquete –

Eddie Garcia –

Jackie Gonzalez –

Katy Rosquete –

Have FUN with this. Tell me who you want to see. Hell, add an image to go with it if you want to! I can’t wait to see what you all come up with. The freaky thing would be if any of you pick the same actors I have picked out!!

Teaser Tuesday – A Toast of Sorts…

Here is a little snipet from Waves of Deceit…

          Michael took his glass in his hand and raised it to Bianca.  “A toast,” he paused in thought for a moment.  He knew what he wanted to say, but was somehow having trouble gathering the right words in his mind.  He knew he loved her, and he knew he wanted to be with her forever, but he couldn’t help but get that doubt in the back of his mind.  The aching feeling he felt when he remembered what she might think of him when she found out who he really was.  “To us; may we be able to tackle any hurdle that stands in our way, together.”  They clinked their glasses and took a sip.  The toast had a double meaning for Michael; he just prayed it wasn’t false hope. If he was able to keep her name out of everything with the FBI, there was that slight chance they could be together after all this was over. There was a glimmer of hope she would still want him after he threw all her family in prison. Yeah, sure.  That was going to go over real well.

Black Widow Cover Reveal

BLACK WIDOW

 by Marlene Sanchez

 RELEASE DATE: APRIL 22, 2014

NEW_BW11_SAMPLECover Photo © Kim Pace Photography

Cover Model: Coleen Breslin

Reyna Montoya, a.k.a. Black Widow, is a top assassin. She’s good at what she does and gets the job done with precision. However, the recurring nightmare of seeing her parents murdered when she was sixteen in Cuba is a constant reminder of her ultimate plan… to find the killer and avenge her parents.

Nicolas Vargas fled Cuba with her after the murder, vowing to take care of her and help keep her safe. He is a self-taught computer genius and chemist and her best friend. After more than fifteen years of working closely together, the unrequited sexual tension between them is getting harder and harder to ignore. Would it ruin their friendship or make their bond stronger? However, Reyna is torn. Viper, Black Widow’s handler, is hot as hell and the sparks between them could burn them both.

As Reyna gets closer to her parents’ killer the distraction of two men is dangerous, and the true identity of the murderer could destroy them all.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 Marlene Sanchez was born in New York and raised in Miami. Her family and friends are an important part of her life, a constant inspiration, and keep her motivated to succeed in pursuing her dream. She has had a passion for writing since her ninth grade English teacher put it all into perspective for her. “Write how you speak and write what you know.” She credits her teacher every chance she gets for giving her a love of writing!

Marlene writes mystery/suspense with a sprinkle of romance. Her love of crime and legal dramas, and of course The Godfather, has opened her eyes to the wonderful world of mystery/suspense. The action and thrill is what keeps her fingers gliding across the keyboard, as her brain explodes with ideas about the next unfortunate victim.

She is a strong, independent woman because her Cuban mother raised her right. Her main characters embrace that same attitude; strong Cuban American women that take no “caca” from anyone.

Marlene has a couple of books under her belt, with several in the works to release in 2014. She hopes to someday be a household name, at least in her own home if nowhere else. She just wants her sons to be proud of her, that’s reward enough… Yeah right, she wants the fame and fortune too.

FOLLOW MARLENE:

4 Days and Counting…

I sent out emails to ALL the blogs participating in the Black Widow cover revel last night. Now they have the awesome cover DJ created for me, the blurb, a little author information, and how o follow me. I am super duper excited and hope his all goes smoothly. I mean, hell, it’s played out pretty well in my head :-)

For a complete list of all the bogs participating, check my previous post. Each has a direct link to their websites.

Teaser Tuesday: Childishness

Today’s teaser is from my soon to be released (Jan. 2014) novella, Hunted: A Gretel Tale.

Sheriff Matheson pulled a small notepad from his shirt pocket, “actually… Agent Yager is it?” He looked up at her for a response.

“Yes,” Gretel apologized, “and these are Agents Chavez, Reynolds and McGee.”

“I was hoping you could follow me to the station. That way you know where we are if you need us or can’t reach us on our radios and cell phones.”

“Do you usually have communication issues?” Reynolds cut in, obviously doing his best not to sound rude, but failing miserably. His tone was very condescending to match his usual smart ass attitude.

Matheson raised an eyebrow and folded his arms over his braod chest. “I’m sure you city slickers never have these issues,” his tone was not so friendly anymore, to match that of Reynolds, “but up here in the mountains there are some areas where our radio signals are not as strong.”

“Well Sheriff, at least we have the good sense to be sure our high tech equipment works no matter what area we’re in.” Reynolds paused for a minute, “or maybe we’re just better funded.”

Gretel moved to stand between them, nudging Reynolds and giving him a dirty look, “thank you Sheriff Matheson, we’ll follow you down to the station now.”

He peered around her to glare at Reynolds and smirked as he spoke. “You going to keep a muzzle on that one?”

“Who the fuck…” Reynolds tried to push Gretel out of the way.

She stood her ground, turned around and shoved him back. “Back the fuck off, Michael!” her voice was more stern and pissed than she had ever needed to use on her partners in the past. She noticed the other men take a wide eyed step back.

Reynolds furrowed his eyes at her, raising his arm to point at Matheson. “Are you gonna…”

“No, but you have to calm the fuck down.” She pat his chest and took a breath of control. Moving a whisp of hair from her eye she turned back to Sheriff Matheson, “Sheriff, I would appreciate it if you would be a little less childish. We are here on an important investigation, not a ‘whose dick is bigger’ contest.” She heard McGee muffle a laugh, but maintained her composure and ignored him as best she could.

Matheson lowered his head, “I’m sorry Agent Yager, but…”

“Apology accepted, shall we go.” She turned on her heel and pushed the others toward the car.

The First “What if” Wednesday

Let’s try something a little different and fun because I want to hear from all of you :-) I’m going to give you a “What If…” scenario and you fill in the rest. I’ll even answer the What If first to get you going. Sound good? Yeah, I thought so too.

What if… Like Black Widow, you were an assassin. What would be your method of handling your marks and assignments?

My Answer:  If I was an International Assassin I would be the mostly long range sniper type. I would have an M107 .50 caliber long range sniper rifle (LRSR) for the jobs I can’t get in too close to do. Then I would have TSD Bolt Action SD99 Series Sniper Rifle for the times I can get in a little closer. Why a .22 caliber? Because if I get a good head shot lined up the bullet will bounce around in the skull and rip the brain to shreds. I know, pretty gruesome of me!

OK… now it’s YOUR turn. Give me your answer!

Teaser Tuesday- Smile for the Camera

 

A small taste from “Back Widow” (releasing April 2014)

            His breathing became more shallow as she lay her drink on the table in front of him. He couldn’t catch his breath long enough to slow his pounding heart. She could sense his panic as she raised her eyes to look into his.

            Her lip curled up ever so slightly as she looked into his glassy stare. She heard him gasp for air. She leaned forward, still fixed on his face. “Is it getting harder to breathe for you, baby?”

            The man stared back at her, his eyes wide as saucers as he continued to gasp for air.

            “This is what happens when you piss off the wrong people. They send the Black Widow to make it all better.”

            He opened his mouth as though he wanted to protest, but she placed her slender, red manicured finger over his lips.

            “It will only be worse if you talk. Just listen.” Her curved lips turned to an evil and cynical smile. “In a few more seconds you’ll take your last breath, but before you do,” she took her phone out of her purse. “Smile for the camera.”

Black Widow Cover Reveal Participating Blogs!

I wanted to be sure I thanked all the blogs that agreed to participate in my cover reveal virtual tour for Black Widow. I am super excited for you all to see the cover, and even more excited for Black Widow to release in April 2014. Be sure to stop by the links below to see my awesome cover on October 28th :-) I will show off the cover here and on my Facebook fan page as well.

June Stevens, Author

The Curvywriter Blog

Dee’s Reads

Kats Read

Crystal’s Many Reviewers

bianca2b

We All Make Mistakes in Books

Indy Book Fairy

…buried under books…

Tanya’s Book Nook

Room with Books

Book Freak

Cabin Goddess

Krystal’s Enchanting Reads

This Girl Reads A lot

Romance Author, Chastity Bush

CU’s E-book Giveaways – Author Spotlight on December 29th

The Quiet Girl Talks

The “I Love Books” Club

Sassy Book Lovers

Ginger-Read Reviews

Krystal Clear Book Reviews

*Read-A-holicZ

 Little Library Muse

S.I.K. Book Reviews - doing reveal on the 29th

Pure Textuality

Paranormal Book Club

Bea’s Book Nook

Jeanz Book Read n Review

A Little Bit of R&R

Lindsay & Jane’s Views and Reviews

Reading in Twilight

Bookalicious Travel Addict

Bookmarks, Spoilers & Happily Ever After

Fab, Fun & Tantalizing Reads

Candy Coated Book Blog

Page Flipperz

Book Bliss

Bookish and Bushytailed

Bookworm Bridgette’s World

Book Reviews & More by Kathy

Faerie Tale Books

Froggarita’s Bookcase

Books-n-Kisses

Lost in a Sea of Words

Claire’s Book Corner

Book Marks the Spot

Romance with Flavor

The Consummate Reader

Sarah Balance, Author

Turning the Pages

A Love Affair with Books

Lost to Books

My Not So Vacant Shelf

Jersey Girl Book Reviews

Marked by Books

Lori’ Reading Corner

Must Read Faster

Indie Writers Review

In This World of Books…

Library Mosaic

Spellbound by Books