AUTHOR INTERVIEW: CONTEMPORARY #ROMANCE #AUTHOR CARIDAD PINEIRO @caridadpineiro

“He leaned over her, his gaze locked on her face. He wanted to say the words—Lord, how he wanted to—but they stuck in his throat and so he let every kiss and touch tell her what he couldn’t voice.”

From WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER by Caridad Pineiro

Caridad Pineiro is a transplanted Long Island girl who has fallen in love with the Jersey Shore. When Caridad isn’t taking long strolls along the boardwalk, she’s also a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author with over a million romance novels sold worldwide. Caridad is passionate about writing and helping others explore and develop their skills as writers. She is a founding member of the Liberty States Fiction Writers and has presented workshops at the RT Book Club Convention, Romance Writers of America National Conference as well as various writing organizations throughout the country. Her latest book is the contemporary romance, What Happens in Summer.

You can connect with Caridad at www.caridad.com. You can also find Caridad on:

Twitter at https://twitter.com/caridadpineiro
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Caridad.Author
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caridadpineiro
Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/caridadpineiro/
Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/Caridad_Pineiro

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Book Description:

The sizzling heat doesn’t always stay in summer. . .

Connie Reyes and Jonathan Pierce only discovered how different they were after a magical summer on the Jersey Shore. She was ambitious and practical; he was artistic and rebellious. Their parting was heartrending, and the intervening years have only made a reunion less and less possible.

Now, Jonathan is back in Sea Kiss, having made a fortune in tech. He has everything money can buy, but his bed is empty and his heart is hollow. He’s never stopped thinking about Connie, and he’ll do anything to show her the man he’s become. . .

Hi Caridad! Can we begin by having you tell us what’s it like to be a USA Today and NYT bestselling author? Does it make you work that much harder and can you sit back and breathe knowing you have made it where a lot of authors can only dream?

Caridad:  Like any career, you can’t ever just sit back and breathe, especially in today’s challenging publishing environment.  So many things have changed since I was first published in 1999 and I find that it takes a lot more engagement and being in the public eyed via social media and the Internet to say relevant.  I think it’s actually more difficult now than when I was first published and so I try hard to stay in contact with readers and other authors to stay informed about what’s happening!

Who or what do you attribute your success?

Caridad:  My mom always told me that nothing worthwhile is easy and that you have to work for whatever you want.  So I credit my mom with giving me that work ethic, but also instilling in me the belief that I can accomplish anything if I’m willing to work for it.

The premise of your book, What Happens in Summer, gives me goosebumps. Sounds like a soul mate connection between Connie and Jonathan. Can you tell us a little bit about them and their situation?

Caridad: I LOVE CONNIE AND JON.  Yes, I was screaming when I wrote that.  There was something about them from the first book in the series, ONE SUMMER NIGHT, that said to me that they were going to have a very unique and emotional story.  I also think that Connie is very much like me in some ways, so I loved challenging her and giving her a happily ever after by teaching her that it’s okay to let go sometimes (which I often need to remember! Lol!)

I noticed that your book is set on the Jersey Shore. Can you tell us a little about the area?

Caridad: I grew up on Long Island and going to Jones Beach in the summer, but that wasn’t possible when I moved to New Jersey.  Luckily, I discovered a whole new place and fell in love with it:  The Jersey Shore.  Sea Kiss, the fictional town in the At the Shore series, is actually a combination of some of my favorite towns on the Jersey Shore:  Ocean Grove, Bradley Beach and Avon-by-the-Sea.  I love spending time at the shore and exploring the beaches and boardwalks since each town has its own unique flavor.

They say that all books of fiction have at least one pivotal point when the reader can’t put the book down. Can you give us one of the pivotal points in your book?

Caridad:  I think one of the pivotal points in What Happens in Summer is when Connie is having a meltdown about her best friend getting married and the problems she’s having at work.  Connie has always planned everything and now that plan is shot which is really challenging her emotionally.  She goes down to the beach to have a good cry all alone when Jonathan shows up and he’s tender and funny and supportive. Even though Connie has always gone it alone, in that moment she realizes that if she wants, Jonathan can be the kind of partner she wants in her life.

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Caridad:  It depends.  When a story is working every part of you is alive and excited.  When you’re struggling, it truly is exhausting to try and figure out why the story isn’t working and what to do to get it on the right track.

When writing books, do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

Caridad:  I think you can be both original, but also deliver what readers expect in a story.  They say there are only a dozen stories and it’s up to the author to put a new spin on one of those stories. I truly believe that so I strive to give readers some unique element in every story,  but I also remember what it is that readers (and me since I’m a ready also) love about romances and try to give them that as well.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Caridad:  That’s a tough one!  I never gave up my day job and don’t regret that for a moment since a career in publishing is so up and down.  I guess I would repeat that suggestion, namely, to keep my job, but still keep writing the stories that I love so much.

What’s next for you? 

Caridad:  #3 in the At the Shore series, which is Emma and Carlo’s story, will be out in Winter 2019.  I’ll also be working on some new stories in the Take a Chance series as well as the last book in The Calling is Reborn Vampire Novels.  It will be tough to end that series, but I think that Diana and Ryder will reach a true happily ever after in that story.