July 7, 2013

Living Passionately in Virginia with Cynthia Arsuaga



My name is Cynthia Arsuaga and I have the honor of presenting Virginia, the state I was born, grew up and found love and married.

I’m an author who went the romance route because I grew up with the “Virginia is for Lovers” brand, it only seemed appropriate I follow through with writing in the genre. Let me tell you a little about Virginia, because the newer slogan is “Live Passionately” which sums everything I do perfectly.


Although I no longer live in Virginia, I still call her my home, my family roots are buried deep there. Born into a career U.S. Navy family, I lived in Virginia for three months until moving to California. Didn’t have
much of a choice as a baby, but duty called for my daddy. After nine years and a few more moves, he finally got orders back to Virginia, Virginia Beach to be exact. I met and married my husband, who also was in the Navy, and we moved around a few times before we finally settled in Florida a few years back. Virginia will always be my home because of her rich history, beautiful scenery from beaches to mountains, country and metropolitan and my family is there.

Without getting into a long dissertation of a history lesson, because believe me I could fill pages worth and most have heard the basic information before, I’ll share how I was impacted by other little known facts about Virginia and Virginia Beach in particular on the contemporary side of history.

The history of Virginia Beach, Virginia, goes back to the Native Americans who lived in the area for thousands of years before the English colonists landed at Cape Henry and established their first permanent settlement at Jamestown a few weeks later. The Colonial Virginia period extended until the American Revolution, and the area has been part of the Commonwealth of Virginia ever since.

Since 1634, the area known today as Virginia Beach has been part of the same unit of local government, except for 11 years. In 1952, when 2-square-mile (5.2 km2) resort Town of Virginia Beach became an independent city, followed by the rest of Princess Anne County which whom it was reunited and politically consolidated by mutual approval of residents to form a new independent city in 1963. Selecting the better-known name of the oceanfront strip area, Virginia Beach has since grown to become the most populated of the city in Hampton Roads, which are each linked by the Hampton Roads Beltway which crosses the harbor of Hampton Roads through two large bridge-tunnels.

I decided to locate my first book in Virginia Beach. As setting, I’ve used several landmarks, real street names and neighborhoods throughout Virginia. I’ve even brought out some of the political goings-on which I witnessed first-hand during the time I dipped my toes into the pool. Of course, there aren’t any vampires in Virginia Beach, at least I don’t think there are, but I sure am having fun acclimating them into real life of the state.

The first book, Born to Be Wild, the heroine begins in Florida and travels to Virginia Beach, tracking a rogue vampire. She’s a bounty hunter on her first solo hunt and teams up with the local Enforcer of the Blood Family of the Mid-Atlantic. The second book, Born to Play, introduces the Master and Commander of the Blood Family and his new love. The underlying story line from book one continues the series with Born Again in Dreams, set in Miami.  With the fourth novel, I return to Virginia Beach with an exotic dancer and the new enforcer, a cowboy vamp from the west. Born Trouble is set for 2015release. 

Here’s an excerpt from Novel 1, Born to Be Wild:
Tilting her head, she coughed to prevent snickering at the mischievous thoughts running through her mind. “And why not, you don’t think I can handle it?”
“I don’t think you’ll like it. It’s an acquired taste,” the stranger said, a slight chuckle to his voice.
Turning to Derek, she said, “I’ll have the house special.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The bartender snickered watching the stranger for approval to proceed. As if there were an unspoken signal given between the two men, the lad turned to fix the drink for Alex.
“I’m Alexandra Carlton. By the way, my friends call me Alex.” She extended her hand.
“I think I will call you Alexandra. Alex sounds like a man, and you are definitely not a man.” Grasping her hand, he brought the palm to his lips, kissing it. The warmth of his lips made her blood rush.

All my books are available at Secret Cravings Publishing, and are intended for mature audiences only.
If you meet the age requirements, you can visit me here:
(Pictures Provided by Author)

9 comments:

  1. Waving a big hello from the SE corner of Virginia! I wasn't born here, but my husband was a military brat (Navy) and his father's last duty station was here. My husband was USAF and assigned to Langley. So when we married he wanted to return.

    Hazy, hot, and humid has a different meaning here. LOL
    But it is a beautiful state. It's history is amazing and inspiring. It's one of the few states where you can go from coastal waters to mountains in a few hours. (There's a reason why they call them the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia - they are blue!)

    You can always tell a newcomer by the way they pronounce Kecoughtan, Poquoson,and Norfolk!

    The roads make no sense. You travel due south on a road but you are going east. LOL And a single road as three names depending on which county you are in. Princess Anne Blvd makes several dog legs so watch the signs! It's a great big metropolis and it's actually quite nice!

    Virgina is the perfect vacation spot, winter or summer. And if you ask any of the OB-GYN's in the area they will tell you that Virgina is for Careful Lovers!

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  2. Thank you for the lovely tour of Virginia Beach, a place I've always wanted to visit. I've been to Virginia many times, but never there. Perhaps one day... Your books sound intriguing, and I wish you lots of luck with your writing.

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  3. Back in the day when I was a little kid, my dad was on ocean weather and we lived in Norfolk, VA. Of course, I have many memories of Virginia Beach. I can still remember the beach with its clean, salty scent. It's an incredibly beautiful state steeped in the rich history of our country.
    I wish you every success, Cynthia.

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  4. Loved reading about Virginia Beach..it is a gorgeous place to live and visit. I've spent time visiting the state as well as 'driving through' on my way to MI twice a year. I love the beauty one finds in every part of the state be it mountains, rolling hills or beaches. My main interest are the historical places of interest. Love to tour plantations, Antebellum homes and Civil War battlefields.

    kareninnc at gmail dot com

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  5. We've always considered Virginia a kind of sister state to our own West Virginia. We live close to your state and enjoy visiting often. Virginia Beach is particularly beautiful!

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  6. Spent many happy days as a temporary resident and also as a visitor to Virginia. Wishing you good fortune with your writing.

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  7. I consider Virginia a lovely state. My husband has relatives in your home state and we've visited on a number of occasions. A great setting for romance fiction!

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  8. I wish I could have shared more! Virginia will always have a special place in my heart. I believe I gained my appreciation for history growing up there. The love of the seashore as well. Thanks to everyone for stopping by and commenting.

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  9. Wow, you're right, Cynthia. The lover's state is yours to own, totally.

    I'm happy to see you guesting in Annette's "crib" and a shout out to her, too!

    Always wish you the best. Thanks for an entertaining trip to a lovely state.

    ~Erinnoae

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