A Message From Danielle Steel

January 2008

Dear Friends,

January always seems like such a great month to tuck in, get cozy, stay out of wintry weather, and get organized for the new year. I don't like making resolutions because I always break them, but I love making plans for the coming year, cleaning out closets, tidying up after the holidays, and getting the year off to a great start. Keeping busy in January is a great way to avoid the post-holiday doldrums, and in most places, it's a great time of year to be at home.

Noteworthy, too, is that Martin Luther King Day falls in January. When reading about him recently, I was stunned to realize and remember how young he was when he made so many changes and was so brave. Having become a legend, we think of him--or I did--as older than he was. He was so young, and what an extraordinary legacy and mark on the world he left!

On a much different front, I'm excited about a contest Ladies' Home Journal is sponsoring as part of the promotion of my fragrance, Danielle. It's a short story contest called "Believe in Happy Endings," and if you're curious, you can find out more at [ http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ewPi0Mx6Ij0V50BDsL0ET ]. I've always been a fan of happy endings, and January is certainly a good time to think about them!

Love,

Danielle

P.S. You are always welcome to visit me at my home on the web:
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ewPi0Mx6Ij0V50H860E5
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part of the secret's out!

Before I enlighten my visitors on what's been happening, allow me to wish you all,Baraka D' Sallah and a very Merry Christmas. After the holidays , we'll all feel bummed out as we have to get back to our jobs full time , so we just have to have fun while we still can.


What's been happening...

Cat tried to run away after hearing Joaquina's on turning her over to Carmelo in exchange for money but the shameless woman told her son to keep watch over her.Not sure her feelings for Romero is real love, Martina broke up with him. At the capital, Jessica made her testimony but since there was no witness when Carmelo threatened her, it did not stick and the son-of-a-bitch(which he is, literally), was allowed to go. Cat got out with the help of Tonio's father and got into more trouble after she accepted a lift from the diabolical Toni, just returning from taking Joaquina to present her as his mother(which of course he didn't accept), after they'd gotten to her house, she drugged the unsuspecting young woman and placed a call to Adela, who in turn told Carmelo on his way back from Joaquina's house(she had told him Catalina was there and got furious on discovering her husband had helped her escape). Sebastian and Romero had been there earlier on to visit her and Magarido had told them what had happened. Carmelo found Catalina in Toni's house and dragged her back with him , amidst threats. Cat and Alicia however planned another escape; to hold on Alicia's wedding to Luis. Sebastian, not knowing about the plan at first, went to the penthouse to rescue Catalina but, to Carmelo's malicious delight, she said she had to stay with her(ugh!) husband until the child was born. Edwardo later on told him what Alicia and Catalina had planned and the matter was discussed at her house. Sylvia, who had gone into a coma following complications from the ill-advised liposuction died in her sleep, to Ricardo's joy and Edwardo's sadness; the latter organised the funeral, while Ricardo went off to celebrate(he's such a pig!).

Tonio was dismayed that Joaquina had told on Catalina and confronted Toni but the woman denied having any part of it. Romero is visited by a music producer who wants to sign him up as a new singing star, which he accepts. Alicia calls Luisa to tell her the plan was in place but alas! Adeal heard the whole thing on the extension. Alicia and Luis get married in church and the reception is held at her house. During the party, while Carmelo was fooling around with the other young men, Cat slipped away and found Sebastian waiting for her as planned but couldnt get away as Adela had tampered with the engine earlier (bitch!), so Carmelo caught them and threatened to stab Catalina in the womb if anyone tried to stop him from taking her away. But at the last minute, Petra convinced Carmelo she was on his side and was allowed to go with them to the penthouse and serve as a maid(in actual fact to look after Cat and pass secret messages to Sebastian). Poor Cat recieved a few slaps from that beast for 'making a fool of him',forced to kneel down and apologise(which she did through gritted teeth) and made to sleep in the same bed as him(her pregnancy saved her from being raped). As for Adela(though she really didnt care)got lots of insults from Sebastian and Gustavo, who gave her a slap(probably the very first) and declared that their marriage was over.
Out of severe worry, Sebastian goes to the penthouse to persuade Cat to run off with him again, but she was now far too scared for their child now to risk it and urged him to go before Carmelo came out of the shower, Sebastian managed to steal a kiss from her before the idiot could come out and see that.
Romero scolded him for putting Cat and their child at risk but Sebastian was beyond caring ; he was anxious to get her away from Carmelo once and for all. The body of Don Lupe was found in the river by two workers and after an autopsy, is confirmed as Don Lupe's. Toni was of course banned from attending the Mass and protested loudly she cannot be stopped from entering the church, so it was limited to not allowing her flowers to be used or allow her to place anything on casket, to her fury.Adela and Carmelo quarrelled; he refused to give her anymore money or buy her her precious casa at Las Lomas,calling her an opportunist and complained that her alligence to him had been very expensive. She threatened to tell the police that he had kidnapped Don Lupe but got laughed at; she HAD NO PROOF!
Tonio decided to go to see Cat to confirm that Joaquina had really betrayed her,giving a lift to Josepha and Rufina who felt it was now time for them and Petra to finall fixed the mess the and made, by finally telling the whole town who's son was who.
Sebastian managed to see Cat(who slipped away from Carmelo) while Romero distracted Creep Carmelo and told him that Don Lupe's body had finally been found.
While waiting for Cat to return, Toni overheard ther three women say that he was not Toni's son. After he angrily confronts them, Petra admits that he was the Perez's son and had only lied to "protect someone." But before he could ask anymore questions, Carmelo returned with Cat and ordered them to leave.
Adela had a fight with Ricardo who refused to share his inheritance with her. After he left, she (who had bought some lottery tickets the day before) checked the newspaper to see if she'd won while the others watched Romero on TV. To her joy, it confirmed she'd won the grand prize!
'I'm the Queen!' she shouted then grabbed her arm and cried out in pain...
She fell,a vase of flowers fell on the tickets... in her confusion she grabbed them and the wet paper crumpled in her hands....
Ricardo enters the lawyer's office full of arrogant confidence that he's Silvia's universal heir but the lawyer tells him someone else was coming for the reading of the Will.
After being ordered by Carmelo to prepare to accompany him to the town for Don Lupe's funeral Mass, Cat and Petra went to the kitchen to wash up, only to find Adela on the floor, mouth twisted and eyes wide open...

WHAT NOW?








What's been happening so far...

Don Lupe was overjoyed at the sight of his (ex) daughter-in-law, who was naturally amazed and confused but soon pulled herself together & calmed him down, promising to notify his children immediately.

Lupe told her everything that had happened to him under the wicked Carmelo and expressed how wrong he'd been about her, calling her 'a good girl' but she brushes it aside, urging him to save his breath and them managed to come up with an excuse to stay in the hospital after slipping away to call Sebastian, who almost fainted at her startling news and got there with his sister and Romero; just in time for the old man to give them all(yes, including Catalina) his blessing before dying; a lot of crying from the young people. 
Carmelo(who found out from the nurse who again called the penthouse looking for Catalina that his 'father' was in the hospital) went with Marcelo to kill Don Lupe but upon hearing he was already dead, stole the body, drove to the town and dumped the body into the river (Allah punish una, a million times!) and went back, Carmelo went back to settle things with Catalina, whom he'd seen snogging Sebastian at the hospital only to be forced to make a statement to the head of security at the hospital(what he really did is shamefully tell a pack of lies) and got back to the penthouse where he received the beating of his life from a very angry Sebastian and got bashed on the head with a vase by Gustavo when he stupidly tried to stop his 'wife' from leaving with Sebastian, even Luisa joined in by tackling him to the ground when it looked like he was going to hit Gustavo again,daring him to beat her. Out of fear of Carmelo's threat to kill her, Jessica ran away from home and found sanctuary in the church.

Toni cried and cried over the death of her Lupe as she called, 30% out of Love, 70% because she was unable to make him suffer for rejecting her and vows to make his children's lives a living hell, especially Sebastian's, despite threats from Josefa that she'll tell every one who the REAL father of her son is... an American anthropologist who had passed through the town 20 years ago! So Carmelo is not even a full blooded Mexican, (HA! HA!) but now, Tonio assumes since HE is Toni's son, Carmelo is then his foster parents real son. Carmelo is now hunting for Cat with the threat to have her baby taken away by the law if she didn't return to him, so now she's hiding out, in Tonio's foster parents home, after being taken there by Sebastian and Tonio. 
Angered that Sebastian poisoned Cat's mind against her when she offered her own house to the young woman, Toni phoned Carmelo to snitch on the couple but before that bastard could call back, was arrested by the cops on suspicion of Amelia's murder and falsification of Lupe's Will. To his horror, he guessed that the person coming to the city to press charges against him could only be Jessica. Cat overheard Joaquina urging her disinterested husband(who is unhappy his real son is a criminal) to try and get money from Carmelo, since 'he's our son.'

Exactly when will this telenovela end? I thought it would be last week, now it's being prolonged, I don't want Cat to be forced to go back to that evil man, or she and Sebastian separated AGAIN ,or FAR WORSE, their baby stolen from them.
 I'm tired of this soap already.

End drawing nearer and nearer...







 The Porshe explodes with Amelia in it. Marcelo hides in fear and shock, as Panchito and the other workers hurry to the scene to investigate. Full of confidence, Carmelo sets off for Chucho's house to see Jessica. Sebastian is worried that the night's drinking may have affected the baby but Catalina reassures him. Petra advises both of them never to allow mistrust keep them apart. Sebastian lovingly kisses Catalina, vowing never to allow anyone or anything separate them again. The guards are getting bored with their current job, though they are being well paid. Cat tells Sebastian that Carmelo had gone out of the city and acting weird, as if planning something. The Governor of the town is at the scene of the explosion and they all recognise the car as Marcelo's but have no idea who the body inside is. While Chucho is out, Carmelo enters the house and threatens a very frightened Jessica to name her as his accomplice if he didn't take back what she'd confessed.Padre Dimitrio tells Panchito,Rufina and Mrs. Manola that Amelia had told him Carmelo wanted to kill her but wrongly figured she could handle him. Romero and Martina are on their way to see Jessica when Romero's mum tells him over the phone about the explosion.

The Governor tells Padre Dimitrio that it has been confirmed that the body in the car is Amelia.

Cat tells Sebastian that she had seen Amelia and Marcelo with Carmelo early that morning in front of his father's apartment and mentioned and had mentioned she was going to town.Petra sadly admits Carmelo was no longer the child she had raised; Gustavo remarked that people change and not always for the good.Cat worries about how Sebastian will get past the guards but he couldn't care less if they saw him and kisses her goodbye. They confront him outside but he coldly tells them to let Carmelo he'd been there as he wanted to talk to him.

Lupe begs 2 nurses to call Catalina at the penthouse and the maid takes down the message. Gustavo tells Petra he'll soon be allowed to go home. Cat tells Alicia and Luis the good news at the gym. Rufina calls Chucho about Amelia's death and Jessica is filled with terror that she might be next.

Carmelo is shocked when a very much alive and kicking Marcelo barges into the apartment with a gun but recovering fast, brings out his own.Reluctantly, they both put the guns down.Carmelo tells him that Jessica had confessed but the Law can't prove the Will is fake since they contain authentic signatures of Don Lupe and Chucho. Marcelo demands for half of the inheritance.The nurse tells an anxious Lupe that Catalina was not at home, promising to try again. Cat asks Luis to give her and her father a lift as he was going home that day. Eduardo, who had been listening the whole time, reluctantly congratulates her on being back with Sebastian. Chucho is certain that the explosion was premeditated, a homicide. Sebastian arrives and is told about Amelia.Jessica cries that Carmelo had come to threaten her earlier which convinces her he's the one behind Amelia's murder. Padre Dimitrio tells the Governor what Amelia had told him the last time he'd seen her and the Governor decides to have Carmelo apprehended immediately. Over pizza, the 2 criminals decide to go the bank to open a joint account.Panchito remarks about how jealousy and resentment towards Sebastian had blackened Carmelo's soul.Sebastian informs everyone that he and Catalina were back together finally and phones the penthouse to tell her where he was. Adela angrily snatches the phone from Louisa, orders him to leave her daughter alone and hangs up. Romero,Sebastian and Martina go back to the ranch to begin the search. Cat comes home to pick up clothes for Gustavo and Adela tells her that Sebastian had called to inform her that he was back in town with Amelia and had lied to her. But Cat doesn't fall for that trick and tells her that they had firmly reconciled, to her dismay. Carmelo and Marcelo decides to hire a P.I (private investigator) to look for Don Lupe before Sebastian finds him first. Tonio joins Romero and all the men in the town to look for Lupe after and and Toni are told about Amelia.
Josepha tells Toni that Carmelo was the main suspect and the woman calls him 'a murderer'. Josepha however calls him a 'tormented soul'. Toni realised that the only woman to have won the heart of a Mendoza was Catalina since Sebastian still loved her, wondering if she now knew of her rival's death and was happy about it. Josepha defends her by saying Catalina had good feelings. (But I'm sure Cat would be relieved, if not happy). Luis brings a basket of fruit to Gustavo but as the doctor found a lot of sugar in his blood, cannot eat them. He asks Catalina to take it to the sick man found on the street instead.Carmelo and Marcelo give a P.I Lupe's description.
Cat enters the room with the basket.
'good afternoon, can I come in?' she said.'I hope you're feeling better...'
She sees the patient and got the biggest shock of her life.

'It can't be...' she gasped, putting down the basket. 
'Mr. Lupe!'

2 STEPS BACK AND 5 STEPS FOWARD!


TUESDAY...
Sebastian stubbornly did not believe Cat's story and left the place, angry and confused. She however followed him, afraid to leave him alone. Chucho tells Rufina, Panchito and Padre Dimitrio about what Jessica did and they get a suprise visit from Joaquina, Antonio's ,who wants to know what Petra did with her real son. Amelia overheard Carmelo's conversation about killing her. One of the bodyguards calls to inform him that Mrs. Catalina left the hospital 2 hours back and has'nt returned. Cat had traced her exhusband to Jessica's apartment and, to her distress, finds him drunk.He still calls her a liar who had made him suffer so much and dares her to drink the tequila he's drinking if she's really telling the truth. She drinks the whole bottle defiantly and they both weep over their misfortunes. Carmelo comes looking for her but when no one answers, he leaves. Toni offers money to Adela if she could find out from Carmelo where Lupe is but the shameless woman would not go against Carmelo(why should she, it wont pay her if she did, he's giving her lots of money). Antonio, Romero, Louisa and Martina confab on the next line of action against Carmelo.
Carmelo goes to Alicia's house in search of Catalina and ignores Petra who tries to talk to him. She sorrowfully wonders how he'll end. Martina and Romero find Catalina and Sebastian drunk on the floor, in each other's arms. Louisa triumphantly tells her mother what her visitors had told her, that Jessica had forged the Will and Carmelo might soon be arrested, much to her horror and fear. Creepy Carmelo is furious that Catalina still wasnt back, certain she's at a hotel with that 'idiot', wondering what Sebastian had that he didn't. My answer: PLENTY OF THINGS, INCLUDING RAW SEXUALITY BUT IN TERMS OF BEING LOGIC, A LOT MORE STUPID THAN YOU.
Martina and Romero give Catalina some coffee to sober her up(a pregnant woman should drink alcohol) and the latter offers to take her home. Cat enters and an irate Carmelo demands to know where she's been...

Now yesterday...(I ALMOST DIDN'T GET TO WATCH IT THANKS TO NEPA AND A FAULTY GENERATOR)

I'll say this for our Cat, she may be soft hearted but a coward? NOT AT ALL! She coolly faced him and said she had gone for a walk. He insisted that she had been with her ex husband but she denied it fearlessly and told him to prove his statement instead of slandering her; she marched off to bed with Louisa, leaving him simmering with rage.
Don Chucho decides to wait for Lupe to be found before taking legal action against Jessica. Mrs. Manilo, Romero's mother, comes with news from her son, that Catalina was carrying Sebastian's son, to their amazement. Amelia assures Sebastian that she was only sleeping with Marcelo to get info about his father and hopes he'll soon come to love her instead of Catalina.(pooh!)
Toni is beginning to doubt Tonio is her son since Adela pointed out he's darker than her and Lupe and asks Josepha for her opinion.Gustavo and Adela have a heated argument over Carmelo; he tells her he had stolen his inheritance, she is far mote concerned about getting some of it before he gets arrested. Lupe tries to tell a nurse to call Sebastian, Martina or Catalina but is far too weak. Carmelo orders Catalina to get herself tested for her illness and freezes in horror when she boldly hints it might be pregnancy since she  slept with Sebastian before stupidly marrying him.
At the hospital, the doctor questions the alcohol found in her blood and confirms her pregnancy in front of Carmelo, who orders her to have an abortion. She hotly refuses and demands a divorce, which is furiously denied, as he'll never allow her get back with Sebastian.Sebastian makes a formal complaint to the police and goes to the penthouse but only Louisa is there. Petra and Alicia show up and the three of them defend Catalina when he still proudly refuses to believe in her innocence. Carmelo shamelessly tells Amelia and Marcelo(not knowing Tonio is nearby) that he and Catalina where expecting a child, much to her anger and Amelia's malicious delight. Cat fakes a tummy ache and is taken back to the clinic where Carmelo threatens to kill her baby if she didn't obey him from now on and since she's his wife, the child legally belonged to him.After she leaves in disgust, Adela asks him about what he and Jessica had done to the Will. Filled with terror that Jessica had dared to confess, he stammers that it was a lie to set her against him.Jessica is visited by a boastful Amelia who is convinced Marcelo is taking her to where Lupe was and she'll finally score points with Sebastian.
Carmelo, meanwhile buys a bomb.
Adela is furious to find Sebastian at the penthouse and orders him to go but he hotly reminds her he was still the owner of the penthouse and will no longer hand it over to Carmelo since he had stolen his inheritance. She accuses him of lying to scare her and slaps Louisa when the girl contradicts the lie about Catalina's baby belonged to Carmelo.
Tonio questions his paternity and wants to return to the Navy. Amelia tells Padre Dimitrio that Carmelo wanted to kill her.
Sebastian goes to visit Gustavo and almost enters Lupe's room but a nurse tells him Gustavo was in the other room. He overhears Catalina telling her father and Petra what Carmelo is threatening to do. Finally convinced he tells her that he loves her and he'll defend her and their son and force Carmelo to divorce her. Speechless, Cat goes to him and they embrace in reconciliation at long last.
While Amelia and Marcelo aren't looking , Carmelo rigs up the car with the bomb. The 2 argue; Amelia tells Marcelo to find a girl of his own class, grabs his car keys from his jacket and runs to the car, enters, turns on the ignition then...
BOOM!

UNMASKED!


Man, I THOROUGHLY enjoyed yesterday's episode, by far it's was more fun than I ever had since Don Lupe's kidnap. Jessica cracked under pressure from her grandfather Don Chucho and confessed she helped Carmelo alter the Will but insisted to him,Sebastian, Martina and Romero that she had no hand in their father's alleged kidnap by Carmelo, which gave them hope that Don Lupe is still alive. However, it's the end of her budding relationship with Daddy's boy and her grandfather who, ashamed of her, gave her a MUCH DESERVED slap!
Don Lupe is still alive but clinging to life at the emergency hospital some kind Samaritans had sent him to(after he'd collapsed while waiting for Cat), which happens to be the same place Gustavo Negrete is recovering from the injuries sustained by Carmelo's boys; Carmelo shamelessly confirmed that he'd been behind the attack and hoped none of them would ever disobey him again.Cat however defied him by telling him she was staying the night with her father.After he left, she told Gustavo that she was pregnant with Sebastian's son, to his joy and Louisa's and Adela's horror. Carmelo overheard Marcelo urging Amelia to run away with him, if he'd had his gun, Carmelo would have shot them right there and then but sneaked quietly instead, vowing to get rid of both of them as soon as possible. When Amelia said she needed time to think about it, Marcelo confessed that Carmelo had asked him to kill her.
Cat managed to slip away from the bodyguard(who got his comeuppance from a nurse he tried to toast) to see Sebastian and told him the little she knew about his Dad. She also told him about his son she's expecting but typical of that prideful idiot, he refused to believe her,saying, 'how stupid do you think I am?' My own reply would be, 'VERY , VERY STUPID!'
It ended with Sebastian asking Cat, thanks to a slip of tongue from Alicia, about the 'deal' she had made with Carmelo.Tearfully, our Catalina finally told him the truth. Quoting Gustavo,
'if he doesn't believe you, that's his problem!'

PEACE OUT AND SEASON'S GREETINGS!

A Message From Danielle Steel

December 2007

Dear Friends,

December is one of the best months of the year, although it can be challenging for us all. It's a busy month for everyone, and sometimes we can feel lonely in the midst of all the excitement and fun, and things don't always work out as we hope or plan. But if we can't celebrate the holidays with family, hopefully we can with friends. And even among loving families, things can get hectic and overbooked. With a little luck, we get to spend the holidays with those we love, share meals, celebrations, and spectacular times. If we have the time, it's wonderful to share the gift of ourselves, and remember how much we care about the people close to us.

I have always particularly loved holiday traditions since I was a child. It's harder to organize as the kids grow up, but I cherish every moment we spend together. I hope that your holidays are full of love and blessings and the people that you care about. Happy holidays to all of you!!!

Love,

Danielle

P.S. You are always welcome to visit me at my home on the web:
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ewHP0Mx6Ij0V50H860EX

Tu O Nadie: The fifth version

Did you know that the beloved 1985 telenovela " Tu No Nadie" (No One But You)   has a 5th version? I recently discovered this by ...

Quote of the Day