Caridad Pineiro is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, and has been a finalist for the RITA Award from the Romance Writers of America. She wrote her first novel in the fifth grade when her teacher assigned a project--to write a book for a class lending library. Bitten by the writing bug, Caridad continued with her passion for the written word, and in 1999 Caridad's first novel was released. Over a decade later, Caridad is the author of nearly 40 published novels and novellas. When not writing, Caridad is an attorney, wife, and mother to an aspiring writer and fashionista. For more information, please visit: www.caridad.com.
Bethlehem Writers Group: Most recently, you have donated your share of the proceeds from sales through March 1, 2013 of your book, THE PRINCE'S GAMBLE, to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund. Why is this charity important to you?
Caridad Pineiro: I am a strong believer in paying it forward and I've had many a lovely and very creative time along the Jersey Shore. In fact, I've sent many of my latest releases in a number of towns in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. In addition, my daughter just opened a surf and skate shop in Ocean Grove, a town that experienced damage from the storm. I wanted to find a way to help my fellow New Jerseyians and since THE PRINCE'S GAMBLE as set in Atlantic City, I decided that it would be appropriate to donate my share of the proceeds from sales to help rebuild and restore the Jersey Shore. So many people and businesses have been impacted by the damage and I wanted to do my bit to help things get back to normal.
BWG: Not all of our readers follow the romance genre. Can you explain what makes your novels fall within this category?
CP: A romance is any story where a main part of the story line is the development of the emotional connection between the hero and heroine. In THE PRINCE'S GAMBLE, the growth of that connection has to struggle against the conflict presented by the heroine being an FBI Agent investigating money laundering at the hero's Atlantic City casino and the fact that the hero is a suspect at first. I love being able to work in the suspense arc so that there is action and adventure in the story line in addition to the romance.
BWG: How do you find the time to balance writing, commuting, and work?
CP: It takes a lot of juggling, but after nearly a decade of writing, I've developed writing habits that work for me. I normally write on the commute to and from my office in New York City and then I will write for three or four hours on weekend mornings. If I'm on a very tight deadline, I'll also write at night after dinner, but not normally as I'm usually tired after a long day at work.
BWG: What is your favorite time to write - morning, mid-day or evening; and do you need total peace and quiet to focus or do you listen to any particular kind of music?
CP: My favorite time to write is in the early morning, especially in the spring and summer when I can sit out on my balcony and just enjoy the quiet of the morning. When I'm not outdoors, I am usually on my couch and I don't listen to music, but I do have the television on. I will put on movies that put me in the mood for what I'm writing!
I think the television part is probably my most interesting ritual. If I'm writing paranormals, I'll put on something like Buffy, Underworld or King Arthur (for the fight scenes). If I'm doing something else, it's a mix of Sandra Bullock movies or even a cooking or home improvement show. I think my other most interesting ritual is that I like to visit the places I mention in the books and take lots of photos to share with my readers. I know they love seeing what inspired the stories and it's my way of sharing the creative process with them.
BWG: How do you use social media to get your name in the public eye, which sites do you use, and how does your street team help publicize your novels?
CP: I have a website, blog, and also use Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. I blog about all kinds of different topics and have other authors as guests to share their work. I also have writing tips, recipes, photos and other goodies at the website for visitors. As for social media, it's about being social, so while I share info about my books, I also share stories and other things that I like and that I think people will like. I want to share who I am with people and hope that they find these things interesting. I do have a street team and they help me by sharing information that I post and by posting honest reviews in exchange for copies of my novels. More importantly, I try to share special time with my street team so that they get to know me better and I get to know them better. That's been one of the best things about getting published - getting to meet so many people through my writing.
BWG: How many works in progress do you have? Tell us a little bit about one of the projects.
CP: I have a few more books to write under contract! I've just finished two books for THE CALLING/REBORN vampire novels that will be out in early 2013 (BORN TO SERVE and BORN TO LOVE). I'm working on the third book in that series, BORN TO DIE. I'll also be working on the follow-up to THE PRINCE'S GAMBLE, a story featuring the prince's sister, Tatiana, and sexy Atlantic City Detective Peter Roman. Finally, I will be writing the next book in the SIN HUNTERS series, THE SHATTERED, for release in Summer 2013. The SIN HUNTERS series is set along the Jersey Shore and one of the books in the series, THE LOST, was nominated for a RITA in 2012. The RITA is the romance equivalent of an Academy Award!
BWG: What draws you to write paranormal, and if giving the option, in what other genre would you like to write?
CP: I love being able to explore the dark side of human nature in my paranormal romances because I find that oftentimes the humans can be scarier than the monsters. It's fun to juxtapose that human/demon darkness and have readers thinking about those dangerous elements in addition to enjoying a sexy romance. I also love writing romantic suspense like THE PRINCE'S GAMBLE and I hope to return to writing contemporary romances shortly. I've also started re-releasing some of my previously published books and novellas, like GHOST OF A CHANCE. This is a fun paranormal romance about a million-dollar contest to find out the truth about a series of deaths that occurred along the Jersey Shore during Prohibition.
BWG: The Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart Award has hundreds of nominations and your novel, "The Lost," made the finals in the Paranormal Romance category. Can you explain how a novel is selected, and can we anticipate seeing another title of yours nominated this year?
CP: For the RITAs, authors submit their novels for consideration by judges. These judges are other published authors who will read and score the novels based on various elements. After this initial scoring, finalists are chosen in a number of different categories. Finalists will then send additional novels for review by another round of judges. The winners are announced at the annual RWA conference. As for being nominated again this year, I would be honored if another of my novels is nominated. I'd submitted nearly twenty or thirty novels for the RITA contest before having THE LOST selected in the paranormal romance category in 2012.
BWG: Where do your characters come from: do they draw from real people or imagined; and which character is your favorite?
CP: My characters are the first thing that pops into my head for any story. They usually just appear in a blast and won't stop bugging me until I start writing their story. It's hard to pick favorite characters, but I would have to say, Diana and Ryder from THE CALLING/REBORN series, and Iraq veteran Bobbie Carrera from THE LOST, and Prince Alexander from THE PRINCE'S GAMBLE. Each of these characters has something special that draw me to them. They are all imagined people!
BWG: Are you a member of any writing organizations; do you recommend writers join a local writing group and why?
CP: I am a member of the Romance Writers of America, which is a national organization, but I find it very helpful to have a local writing group in which I can participate - the Liberty States Fiction Writers. This is a great group of multi-genre authors and they have a fabulous conference coming up on March 16th in Woodbridge, NJ. The conference has both a writer's and reader's track and there are over 20 agents and editors who will be taking pitches from aspiring authors. As for why? Sharing information and spending time with other authors helps you feel not so alone in what is normally a solitary craft and it also provides helpful information to guide a writing career. As for the conference, it's a great way to learn more through great workshops, pitch projects to industry professionals, meet readers and network with a wide variety of people.
BWG: What is your favorite genre to read?
CP: My favorite genre to read is a tough call! I think it's a toss up between romantic suspense and contemporary romances.
BWG: What else do you like to do besides put words to paper?
CP: I love to cook, garden and travel. I also love to take long strolls along the boardwalk in the summer and to sit beneath my beach umbrella and read a good book!
BWG: Is there anything else you would like the readers to know that we have not touched on?
CP: Readers will often ask what they can do to support their favorite authors and I always tell them, write a review! They are very helpful in getting the word out about the author and encouraging others to read the book. I would also like to remind your readers that I am trying to raise money for the Hurricane NJ Relief Fund through sales of THE PRINCE'S GAMBLE. I'd love your support with this campaign to help my fellow New Jersey residents.
Interview by BWG member Diane Sismour