SPECIAL GUEST: Caridad Pineiro, Author of BLOOD CALLS

We have a special guest for you today, Ms. Caridad Pineiro, author of Blood Calls! We are honored to be her 3rd stop on her Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours!

Caridad is a multi-published author whose love of the written word developed when her fifth grade teacher assigned a project - to write a book that would be placed in a class lending library. She has been hooked on writing ever since.

Her fourteenth novel, DEVOTION CALLS, was released by Silhouette Nocturne in January 2007. THE CALLING vampire series, based on characters from Caridad's first vampire book in March 2004, DARKNESS CALLS, debuted with DANGER CALLS in June 2005 and TEMPTATION CALLS in October 2005. Due to overwhelming fan support and reviews, the fourth book in the series, DEATH CALLS, helped Silhouette launch its new Nocturne paranormal line and Caridad was one of the authors featured by Harlequin at this year’s BookExpo America in Washington, D.C.

THE CALLING vampire series will continue with BLOOD CALLS in May 2007. Additional books are planned for the series.

In September 2006, SEX AND THE SOUTH BEACH CHICAS debuted from Simon & Schuster’s Downtown Press. Three other releases are scheduled for 2007, including SOUTH BEACH CHICAS CATCH THEIR MAN and MOON FEVER, a paranormal anthology with Maggie Shayne, Susan Sizemore and Lori Handeland!

For a different spin on the holiday season, join Caridad and Maureen Child for a holiday vampire anthology, as yet untitled. Coming from Silhouette Nocturne in December 2007.

In April 2005, Caridad participated in the first ever Chica Lit anthology titled FRIDAY NIGHT CHICAS from St. Martin’s Press.

In April 2006, Caridad and five other writers joined to create the CAPTURING THE CROWN series from Silhouette Intimate Moments. Caridad’s title, MORE THAN A MISSION, was released in August 2006. The sequel to MORE THAN A MISSION, titled SECRET AGENT REUNION, will be available in August 2007.

When not writing, Caridad teaches workshops on various topics related to writing and heads a writing group. Caridad has appeared on Fox Television’s Good Day New York, , New Jersey News’ Jersey’s Talking with Lee Leonard and WGN-TV’s Adelante Chicago as well as being one of the Latino authors featured at the first ever Spanish Pavilion at the 2000 Chicago BookExpo America. Articles featuring Caridad’s works have appeared in the New York Daily News, Star Ledger, Sun Sentinel, latinolink.com, Variety Yahoo! Online News, and Waterbury Republican-American.

For more information on Caridad, please visit www.caridad.com and www.thecallingvampirenovels.com, or watch her interview at www.romancenovel.tv.

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TWL: Welcome to The Writer's Life, Caridad! Can you tell us when your passion for writing began?

Caridad: In the fifth grade, my teacher gave an assignment to write a book. It wouldn't get any grade, but you had to do it to pass. The book was placed in a library for others to read. I really loved writing it and knew then that I wanted to be a writer. I'd always had stories in my head and was an avid reader, so becoming a writer was the perfect outlet for my creativity.

TWL: Can you tell us what your typical 'writing' day is like?

Caridad: I write on the train to and from work on weekdays. I don't normally write at night since I need a little down time. At night I usually spend time with my family, watch TV or work on my website. I get a large chunk of my writing in on the weekend, normally 3 to 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday. If I have deadlines, however, I do sometimes write at night and for longer hours on the weekend.

TWL: Do you write full time?

Caridad: I write full time, but I also have a full time job! LOL! Some people might say I don't write full time since I still work, but considering the hours I put in, it is definitely a full time endeavor.

TWL: Can you tell us a little bit about your book?

Caridad: BLOOD CALLS is the next installment in THE CALLING Vampire novels. The novels feature recurring characters, but each novel stands alone. The hero in this book, Diego Rivera, first appeared in TEMPTATION CALLS and I knew back then that I had to tell more of his story. Here's a little blurb about BLOOD CALLS, May 2007, Silhouette Nocturne:Diego Rivera lost his life during the Spanish Inquisition, but when he is saved by becoming a vampire, he swears to become a better man. Ramona Escobar is a promising young artist who is struggling with a mother with Alzheimer's and a disease that is slowly robbing Ramona of life. Ramona unwittingly becomes involved in an art fraud and when her life is threatened, handsome art gallery owner Diego Rivera comes to her aid. Attraction will flare to life between the two, but both Diego and Ramona are hiding secrets. When Diego reveals his true face to Ramona, she reveals the truth of her existence that she may soon die. Will love help Diego find a way to deal with Ramona's betrayal and his own secrets, or is it the call of her blood that is tempting him to put the bite on her?

TWL: Who published your book and how has your experience with them been?

Caridad: THE CALLING Vampire Novels were first released by Silhouette Intimate Moments in 2004. The experience was exciting as it had been some time since Silhouette had released a paranormal. The success of the series prompted Silhouette to select DEATH CALLS, my December 2006, to help launch the Nocturne line. DEATH CALLS was also selected as Best Fantasy of 2006 by CATALINA magazine and as the Best Nocturne of 2006 by Cataromance. So, the experience has been wonderful. Harlequin (the parent of Silhouette) has been very supportive of the series and I will be making several appearances on their behalf at BookExpo America and the RWA National meeting.

TWL: Can you tell us the inspiration behind your book?

Caridad: I've always liked romantic suspense and vampires and thought, Why not combine both of my loves? THE CALLING series was born and I've had a blast writing it. The stories are police procedurals where the suspense part of the story varies from being a supernatural mystery to a mortal mystery from book to book. For example, in DEATH CALLS, the suspense revolves around stopping a terrorist plot in Manhattan. In DEVOTION CALLS (January 2007), the suspense is about a chupacabra that is terrorizing a Spanish Harlem neighborhood. In both, the vampires and other supernatural events play a role.

TWL: Can you tell us ways you are promoting your book? Have they been successful?

Caridad: I've been promoting my book via traditional means, such as print ads, press releases, book marks and brochures. I've also undertaken an Internet publicity campaign by running contests and banners at various websites, as well as blog tours. For the future, I'm investigating other additional avenues of promotion, both traditional and internet-based.

TWL: Do you have a mentor?

Caridad: Not really. I do owe a huge part of my success to Leslie Wainger, who believed in THE CALLING vampire series and first pushed to acquire it. I also owe a lot of my growth as a writer to my editors at Harlequin, in particular, Stacy Boyd who is delightful to work with in addition to being a great editor.

TWL: What future projects do you have in the works?

Caridad: Coming up in 2007, I have a romantic suspense in August -- SECRET AGENT REUNION. This is an action-packed spy thriller that I loved to write. After that, a change of pace to keep me sane -SOUTH BEACH CHICAS CATCH THEIR MAN - from Downtown Press. CHICAS will be out in Sept. and is women's fiction with very strong romantic elements. I loved CHICAS because it let me explore mother/daughter relationships as well as the romances of both mother and daughter. In October, it's back to my paranormal roots in MOON FEVER, an anthology from Pocket Books. To end the year, and to chase away all that holiday cheer, is a dark and sexy paranormal anthology titled HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE. My story is titled FATE CALLS and is about Hadrian, a two thousand year old vampire elder who is upset with the bell-ringing Santa on his front stoop. It sounds humorous, but it is anything but!

TWL: Can you give aspiring authors words of advice towards getting published?

Caridad: Never give up. My mom always told me nothing worthwhile is easy and that is the truth. You will face rejection, even after you've been published. You need to take every comment and see if it's true, work with it and improve your writing. After, send it out again and again and again and again . . . You get it. You should always keep on trying and keep on learning. That's the key to success in anything, not just publishing.

TWL: What’s one thing about your life that you think is important, but nobody asks?

Caridad: Actually, people will ask pretty much anything, LOL! Seriously though, people never ask whether I could ever give up writing although they ask if I could ever stop being a lawyer. I guess they may know the answer is that I could never give up writing.

TWL: Thank you for stopping by, Caridad, and I wish you much success with your tour! If you would like to purchase BLOOD CALLS, it's available at Amazon, B&N, and your favorite neighborhood bookstore!

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Caridad's tour is brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours.

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