Author Interview: Caridad Pinero

CARIDAD PINERO is a mult-published author with many honors to her credit. In 2007, she received the Gold Apple Award for Author of the Year from the New York City Chapter of RWA. She has written paranormal romance, suspense, erotic romance, and women’s fiction. In 1999 she was published by Kensington as part of Encanto- a line of bilingual Latino romance novels. She is the author of the SIN HUNTER’S SERIES including THE LOST and THE CLAIMED as well as THE CALLING/THE REBORN Vampire Novel Series. THE LOST was nominated as a 2012 RITA Finalist for Paranormal Romance.

RK: What inspired you to become a writer?

CARIDAD PINERO: I had always been an avid reader, but in the fifth grade my teacher assigned the class a project: To write a book for a class lending library. I went home and started writing. When I finished, I realized that I could not only read stories, but write them to share with others.

RK: What made you decide to write paranormal romance?

CARIDAD: I had been writing contemporary romances and was looking for a change of pace. I was in a very dark mood and decided to channel that into a new and edgy story. That book was DARKNESS CALLS, the first in THE CALLING/REBORN vampire novels series.

RK: Let’s talk about your SIN HUNTERS series: I was enthralled by your choice of a heroine as a returning veteran. What was your inspiration for Bobbie Carrera? How did you go about creating the character?

CARIDAD: I have a number of friends who have served in the military and I wanted to honor them by trying to portray the sacrifices that they make. I am also a strong believer in female empowerment and wanted to show how far women have come by having Bobbie as a Marine. As for creating Bobbie, I researched the kinds of injuries that our military men and women were suffering and worked that into the story line. To further honor our military, I donated a portion of my royalties from THE CLAIMED to Hope for the Warriors, an organization that helps military men, women and families.

RK: The paranormal world you create of Light and Shadow is very unique. It’s paranormal, but the use of energies gives it a definite scifi edge. How did you develop this idea?

CARIDAD: I was a science major, so I am totally into trying to find real life rationales for things which seem paranormal. I also love history and so I decided to combine some aspects of the history of the Americas with science in order to create a race of people who could use energy for a number of different things. The rituals of honoring the sun were inspired by Mayan rites and many of the words that the Hunters use come from the Quecha language. I love mixing up so many elements to create a new mythology for the novels.

RK: Your current releases include THE SHIFTER’S KISS and GHOST OF A CHANCE. Could you tell us more about them?

CARIDAD: In GHOST OF A CHANCE, there is a mystery that revolves around an 80 year-old murder-suicide that occurred in a lovely oceanfront mansion in Sea Girt, New Jersey. It’s a big old Victorian mansion that is now run by the state as a museum, but rumors abound about it being haunted. That’s why true crime writer Tracey Gomez has been invited with several others to try and find out the truth about the crime that happened there years earlier, during the height of prohibition. Not far from the mansion, near the Shark River, rum runners were known to bring in the bootleg liquor which would make its way to Newark and then throughout the United States.

In THE SHIFTER’S KISS, wounded firefighter Victor Edwards is finally fulfilling his dream of becoming an oceanographer. While working on a grant in the San Blas Islands, he is living in a small seaside hut. His grant is allowing him to explore the coral reefs in the area which brings him into contact with a very unusual shark. One which intrigues him and which he risks his life to share. It turns out the shark is actually a shifter goddess, Nali, one of the last of her kind. Nali is likewise intrigued by Victor, but she can only spend short bits of time on shore or risk losing her powers.

RK: I noticed on your pinterest, you pin inspirations for your novels. In that spirit, can you choose a novel you wish were made in the movie? Who would star?

CARIDAD: I would love for DARKNESS CALLS to be made into a movie. The novel is a paranormal suspense that I say is like Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets The X-Files. If I could choose people to star in it, I’d love for Kate Beckinsale to play Diana Reyes and someone like Jim Caviezel to play Ryder.

RK: If you were a supernatural creature what would you be and why?

CARIDAD: That is a tough one, but I’d have to say some kind of were-cat. It would be awesome to be able to shift into another form!

RK: And because this is a Smartgirls love scifi and paranormal blog, which would you rather be: space pirate, rebel commander, or android?

CARIDAD: LOL! Okay, if you are forcing me to choose, I’d have to say rebel commander!

RK: Anything else you’d like to share with the blog readers?

CARIDAD: I love to hear from fans and interact with them at various places, like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and at my blog! Come by and spend some time with me!

Check out Caridad’s current releases: