THE VALLEY AFFAIRS SERIES *No. The characters aren't real. I'm just having fun with that, man--who my characters would favor if they were actual people. Don't be a silly goose. Think of them as actors and actresses. It's that simple.
Valley Affair Series and Trailer Copyright © 2006 by Cali Marie Castillo
**********Cali Castillo a.k.a. Charli Cole is a novelist who currently resides in Merced, California. She writes commercial fiction that is usually plot-driven, and always true to her own life. In other words, her fiction is actually non-fiction with a twist.
She has a penchant for the portrayal of multiracial protagonists that aren’t often portrayed in today’s market, and it’s her intention to create an ongoing series that follows the day-to-day lives of a prominent Afro-Latino family—the series being based on fictionalized accounts of the lives of her and her family members.
As a child, Cali turned to writing as a productive means of expressing herself. She also ventured off into poetry, songwriting, and writing skits for an evening Sunday school class for her peers, which she was appointed to teach—a very precocious child. And it became her dream to either become a playwright, novelist, or screenwriter. She’s even thought about becoming all three.
She was told by an educational superior that being a writer wasn’t a realistic career choice and, therefore, chose to continue writing as a hobby. However, after she earned her college degree, she decided to pursue it, feeling she had something to fall back on in case the writing stint didn’t work out.
She began working on her first novel, Imperial Affairs: Conformations, in May of 2005 and completed it in July of the same year. When her aunt, Yvonne Cole, discovered she had written a book, she saw a wonderful business opportunity.In November of 2005, Cali parted with New York literary agent, Toni Lopopolo, on good terms and joined forces with Yvonne in order to help establish Cole Talent Agency, which was created in inspiration of her cousin, R&B singer, Keyshia Cole. It's based in the Central Valley of California and is dedicated to finding those with literary and musical gifts. Her aunt is the talent manager of the agency and also serves as her agent.Imperial Affairs: Conformations was Cali’s first completed, full-length work of fiction. Imperial Affairs: Homecomings was her second. However, after writing her third, Eyes of Gray (the first novel of her Valley Affairs Series) she came to a creative decision.
She felt she’d truly evolved as a writer and came into her own voice while writing Eyes of Gray, so she decided to get rid of the Imperial Affairs Series and mesh the storylines within her Valley Affairs Series. She saw no need to panic because when she first began writing her Valley Affairs Series, she structured it in a way that would make this transition easy. She had her reasons for doing so, and she was happy she followed her instincts.
This gave her a total of fourteen books for the Valley Affairs Series. And she had over a 100-page start on all but three, primarily needing to convert the stories from third to first person point of view. She completed what she calls the Prologue Project, which includes the prologues/first chapters of all fourteen books, their synopses, and temporary cover art in order to prove the Valley Affairs Series was no joke. She also saw it as a wonderful means of marketing the series as well.
She’s working hard on getting her third installment of the Valley Affairs Series, Wandering Affection, in order. And as far as her novels go, she has every intention of writing as many books for the series as she possibly can.VALLEY AFFAIRS SERIES
Shortly after Mike proposes, her life takes a drastic turn for the worse when the person she least expects shows up at her door and she's forced to see Mike in a very different light. Without question, she leaves him and rashly takes up with her most recent suitor, the famous R&B singer/actor, Emery Blake. Not only does this move urge her to live in a world she considers far too racy, superficial, and cruel for her tasting, but it also serves as a catalyst for her emotional downfall.
As her life is put on public display, she quickly learns the baring of one's skeletons has the capability of baring another's, and accepts that her own deceptions are far worse than those she's currently accusing of unforgivable deceit. She also starts coming to terms with a childhood tragedy she's maintained silence about for eight years.
She comes to accept the fact that both she and Mike have been hiding some vital secrets from one another, yet realizes not everything is what it appears to be, which leaves her with some very difficult decisions to make. Whether or not those she holds dearest in her heart will be able to forgive her for her exposed secrets, she doesn't know. But for her own well-being and the welcoming of love in her life again, she must put aside her pride, distrust, and need for control—all defense mechanisms in dealing with her tragedy. She must also own up to the storms of past and present truths hidden behind those eyes of gray. ~~~~~~~~~~
Rico Carrillo finally settles into adult life when he marries one of his many girlfriends, who’s just had his first child—a woman he’s also been involved with for over a decade. Yet, he immediately accepts his decision as flawed when he realizes he's just not cut out for marriage. Because he does love her and doesn’t want her to follow through on her ultimatum of leaving him if he doesn’t ship up, he chooses to stay in the marriage, attempting to be a good father and husband. However, he quickly forgets part of being a good husband is being faithful to his spouse. He reverts to his life of sexual escapades with multitudes of women, including the four concubines he has put up in the Studio City bachelor pad he never relinquished.
When his wife becomes aware of his indiscretions, she becomes fearful of what life for their child will be like and threatens to return to her hometown of Merced (where they met). He agrees to go with her if he’s allowed to bring the other women in his life—not wanting to leave them out in the cold. She accepts his terms as long as he promises to no longer carry on intimate relations with any of them. And he makes the vow with his fingers crossed.
He buys them a house in the Central Valley and provides shelter for his mistresses at a safe distance—one of whom his wife knows nothing about. And he reticently plays the field while managing to keep his wife content, under the conviction that they have a functional family.
He’s even able to convince himself the same. That is…until her younger cousin comes for a visit, which turns into a lengthy stay. He can instantly tell the girl has some interior motives, but that doesn’t stop his eye from wandering.
As his wife and mistresses create more tension in his life, he finds himself turning to his wife’s cousin for comfort. And he has a desire for her he’s never had for any other woman he’s met. As his heart opens up to her, it completely closes off to all the other women in his life. And he begins to realize just how trying a wandering affection can be.~~~~~~~~~~ Yet Not Touched Copyright © 2006 by Cali Marie Castillo ~~~~~~~~~~ Past Transgressions Copyright © 2006 by Cali Marie Castillo ~~~~~~~~~~ Heart Assumed Copyright © 2006 by Cali Marie Castillo ~~~~~~~~~~ Unbridled Taboo Copyright © 2006 by Cali Marie Castillo ~~~~~~~~~~ Sacrificial Bonds Copyright © 2006 by Cali Marie Castillo ~~~~~~~~~~ Unwanted Homecoming Copyright © 2006 by Cali Marie Castillo ~~~~~~~~~~ Beyond Her Gates Copyright © 2006 by Cali Marie Castillo ~~~~~~~~~~ Parallel Attraction Copyright © 2006 by Cali Marie Castillo ~~~~~~~~~~ Whisper in Silence Copyright © 2006 by Cali Marie Castillo ~~~~~~~~~~ Woman In Terms Copyright © 2006 by Cali Marie Castillo ~~~~~~~~~~ Snapped Out Copyright © 2006 by Cali Marie Castillo ~~~~~~~~~~ BOOK REVIEWS
"There’s a great use of dialogue here. This translates well into stage/screen writing as well because the setting is defined and you know the characters as they each enter/exit the various scenes.
I like how the characterizations are built in immediately to put the reader into the action as it unfolds. We know who's good/bad/patient/eccentric/naive immediately and this allows the reader to flesh out the who/what/where and we can figure out the why as we go through the pages.
Beautiful work. Thank you for the opportunity to read this!" Barbara Bell, Editor of ReadingWriters . ~~~~~
"You have a crisp, inviting tone that easily draws in readers. The words and behavior are those of real people and not cardboard cutouts. You’ve already elicited strong feelings from me about one character—I abhor Jaydon—which proves you know what you’re doing. The conversations between your characters are original and each character has his/her own voice. You should have no problems getting it published. Much success!" Elizabeth Guy, Editor of ReadingWriters .~~~~~
"This has a wonderful voice. I can see that you have written in the voice that this genre is often in and that's such a good thing. Obviously, it's what the editors look for.
The prologue really drew me in and I am interested in that character...that woman.
A fiction writer who is a client of mine read your pages and here's what she said:
I like the prologue. It’s very cool and intriguing. I can see why it got picked up. A fantastic story is sure to follow the last line of the first chapter.
I also sent your pages around to my best writers. They said it's commercial, has emotion, and a good voice.
Thanks!"Toni Lopopolo, Literary Agent & Former Executive Editor for St. Martin's Press"When a writer combines talent, enthusiasm, smart networking and savvy marketing she's bound to achieve success.
It's clear to me that you're one of those writers and I feel certain that I'll be hearing good news about you receiving publishing contracts soon."Daisy Dexter Dobbs , Author of Wicked Payback~~~~~
"You have an amazing gift of capturing your characters' voices. And you tell a compelling story."Bridget Midway , Author of Fascination Street ~~~~~
"I know it's not complete yet...but EVERY SINGLE PERSON I sent the prologue and the website address for the trailer of Eyes of Gray loved it and can't wait for this one to be published!" Tracy "Cherry" V., My Sexy Publicist ~~~~~ "You seem to know what you are writing about and you do it very well." Kelley Heckart ,Author of Water and Dragons ~~~~~
"You are such a wonderful and professional person and I hope to God that I can grow more as a woman and mature like you have. Your place in this world has already been set and you deserve a sparkling crown for being who you are. You are an inspiration to me and many other women around you, and everyone that knows or has a chance to hear about you. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart." A Dedicated Fan ~~~~~
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