Cover Reveal: Red Blooded by Caitlin Sinead

Caitlin Sinead's RED BLOODED releases from Carina Press on August 3rd and we can't wait for everyone to get their hands on it! While you wait, check out the beautiful cover below!

 

About RED BLOODED

Instead of eating ramen and meeting frat guys like most college freshmen, Peyton Arthur is on the campaign trail. Traveling with her mother, the Democratic pick for vice president, she's ordering room service, sneaking glances at cute campaign intern Dylan and deflecting interview questions about the tragic loss of her father. But when a reporter questions her paternity, her world goes into a tailspin.

Dylan left Yale and joined the campaign to make a difference, not keep tabs on some girl. But with the paternity scandal blowing up and Peyton asking questions, he's been tasked to watch her every move. As he gets to know the real Peyton, he finds it harder and harder to keep a professional distance.

When the media demands a story, Peyton and Dylan give them one—a fake relationship. As they work together to investigate the rumors about her real father and Peyton gets closer to learning the truth, she's also getting closer to Dylan. And suddenly, it's not just her past on the line anymore. It's her heart.

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Excerpt from RED BLOODED

Lisa taps on her clipboard and calls for more makeup. “She needs more blush.” A brush dances across my nose as a makeup artist examines me without seeing me. “Remember to smile. A lot. After every question,” Lisa says. Dylan, her intern, stands next to her, gliding his fingers over his tablet. She snaps her intense focus to him. “Torres, do you have them?” Dylan holds the back of the tablet against his chest so it covers the big Yale on his gray T-shirt. There are three images of me on the screen: me accepting my high school diploma from the principal, me speaking at the US Organization for Learning Disorders’ annual meeting, and me exiting a pizza place with Annie and Tristan. “Now, remember, we’re going for this smile,” Lisa says, pointing at the pizza picture. “You are a natural, welcoming, American girl who’s happy and excited that her mom’s been nominated as the Democratic Party’s Vice Presidential Candidate.” “I am all those things,” I say. She nods and emits a cursory mmm-hmm as she looks at her tablet. “Of course you are.” I roll my fingers over the armrests and stare at the shiny camera lens in front of me as I attempt to mentally prepare for the onslaught of questions about to assail me. Five via-satellite interviews. Bang. Bang. Bang. Just as I’m going over what it was like to learn my mom would be the vice- presidential pick, Dylan holds his tablet, with the pizza picture, up to my face. “Pizza smile, I got it,” I say, with more edge than I mean. It’s not the best time to have a conniption, but I can’t help myself, and more words spurt forward. “Sorry, it’s just—it’s not like I’m a stranger to media attention.” Dylan presses his lips together and takes a step back. “Sorry, that wasn’t much of an apology.” I shake my head and some girly mushiness tingles in my chest when his eyes crinkle into a smile. It doesn’t mean anything. He’s got dark, Latin features any girl would get mushy over. “I’m just a little nervous, but I didn’t mean to snap—” “It’s cool.” Dylan shrugs. Right. As long as I’m performing well, what’s it to him. “We know you’re used to the spotlight.” Lisa tilts her head and purses her lips in the ever-common—at least to me—sorry-your-dad-died expression. Thankfully, she doesn’t hold it for long. “But this is going to be different than…that. Your dad’s book made you a celebrity, but a sympathetic one. Politics can be, well…” “Mean?” I supply. She crosses her arms and nods. “I’ve been on the campaign trail with my mom before, I know—” “Only in Virginia, where she’s already very popular. Now we want the whole nation to love her. And, given that many people already feel they know you, and even love you, well, we’d like to use—” she swallows and holds a finger up “—we’d like to leverage that appeal and make it an additional asset in this campaign.” I glance at Dylan. He nods. “I hope I can be an asset as well,” I say, trying to calm the jitters in my stomach. “You will be,” Dylan says with a sharp certainty I wish I could catch and stuff in a glass jar for safekeeping. They back away and in a sliver of a moment the red light on the bulky studio camera bursts on, full force.

About Caitlin Sinead Caitlin Sinead is represented by Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger, Inc. and her debut novel, Heartsick, is available now from Carina Press. Her writing has earned accolades from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Glimmer Train, and Writers & Artists, and her stories have appeared in multiple publications, including The Alarmist, The Binnacle, Crunchable, Jersey Devil Press, and Northern Virginia Magazine. She earned a master's degree in writing from Johns Hopkins University. Website | Twitter | Facebook | Newsletter

Wednesday Debut Interview: Heartsick by Caitlin Sinead

Welcome to this week's WEDNESDAY DEBUT INTERVIEW!

Today, we're chatting with Caitlin Sinead, whose debut contemporary romance novel, Heartsick, debuts Feb 16 from Carina Press.

First off, tell us a bit about yourself!
I’ve loved writing and reading since I learned to write and read. There’s nothing better than getting lost in a story, whether it’s my own or someone else’s.


Tell us about HEARTSICK! What's the one thing you love most about it?

I had a lot of fun writing in Quinn’s voice. She’s an artist and I wanted her unique and creative perspective on the world to come through in her descriptions and observations. 

How long as this process taken for you, from the time that you began the first draft of this book until the date of its publication?
Technically, I started writing scenes related to this idea in January 2013, however that idea and those characters are pretty far from what HEARTSICK became. Quinn and Luke’s story really started to take root in May 2013. I finished an “agent-ready” draft in October 2013 and signed with an agent in December 2013. Under the expert advice of my wonderful agent, the story underwent a major revision, which took two months. We went on sub in February 2014 and we got an offer on the book in March. It will be published February 16, 2015!


What aspect of writing do you find easiest? Most difficult?
I absolutely adore just “swiping” scenes over and over again until they are just right. I really hate writing that first draft. It’s like pulling teeth—teeth that are perfectly content to just stay snug in the gums—but I need a first draft before I can get to the fun “swiping” part!

Every writer experiences some rejection and setbacks along the way. How did you learn to cope with them and move on?

It sounds a little nutty, but I set up rejection goals. I wish I could take credit for this approach, but I heard it from other writers. I decided I wanted to get 125 rejections in my inbox in 2013. (Not hearing back didn’t count.) As you can imagine, to get 125 rejections, you have to write and submit a lot of short stories and novels. While I didn’t quite get to my goal (I did get over 100!) I closed 2013 with several published short stories and an agent. And every time I got a rejection, I was happy, because I was that much closer to my “goal.”

Tell us about your publisher/editor and how they came to acquire your book. What makes them a good fit for you and your book?
Kerri Buckley at Carina Press acquired my book after my agent pitched it to her. I think she’s the perfect editor for me for many reasons, but mostly because I sometimes get a little too creative with the language I use and she reins me in when I need it while leaving my vision intact. My book is also a big ole’ hodgepodge of genres (a swirl of mystery, speculative suspense, and contemporary romance), and I love that Carina Press embraces those kinds of genre mashups.

Was there anything that surprised you about the publishing process?

Yes, how much work still needed to be done after the book was acquired. I naively thought once it was bought it would just get a bit of a polish before being published. I’m very happy to be wrong. I’m still amazed and supremely grateful for how much work everyone at Carina Press put into my book to make it even stronger.


After signing a contract with a publisher, what comes next for a debut author? What have you been doing in these months between then and now?
I was lucky enough to get a two book deal! So, I spent a lot of time writing that second book. It’s another New Adult book, and it’s about the daughter of a vice presidential candidate and how she copes with the campaign while also going through a bit of a personal crisis. It also has a rather sexy political junkie as the love interest.

I love the cover for HEARTSICK. Can you tell us how it came to be? How much say did you have in it? What do you hope it will tell your readers about your story?

I sent Carina Press a few covers I liked along with a few ideas. They incorporated some of those and I couldn’t be more pleased with it. Sometimes I bring it up on my phone and just stare at it with a goofy smile. I do this much more often than I should admit. But it’s gorgeous!


What about the title? Was HEARTSICK the original title you'd had in mind? If not, what made you change it?
Oh boy, was the title another difficult part of the process. Originally, I named it PATIENT ZERO, but my agent thought that was a little too scifi, which it really was. Don’t get me wrong, the speculative disease is a major part of the story, but there are several other things going on too, and that title just didn’t represent the story very well. So we spent some time thinking up tons of new titles before we went on submission. Finally, we came up with LOVE AND OTHER EPIDEMICS. I thought, yay, we’ve got a new title! But then my publisher didn’t like that title because they didn’t think “epidemics” really brought to mind sexy fun romantic times. And, of course, they’re right about that. So we had another couple rounds of idea swaps.

My agent and I probably thought of over 30 ideas in all. My husband, helpfully, contributed three ideas. 

Of course, my publisher picked one of his ideas—HEARTSICK. My husband brags about naming the book to anyone who has ears.


What's next for you after this debut? What are your plans for the future of your writing?

As I said, I have another book coming out with Carina Press. Look for RED BLOODED this summer! I’m also working on two other New Adult projects right now, another speculative suspense and a contemporary romance.


How does it feel to finally have your book out in the hands of readers? Do you have any events planned you want people to know about?
It feels amazing! I don’t have any events now, but I’m always open to questions (on Twitter, on Goodreads, on my website), so don’t be shy!


Is there any other advice you'd like to pass on to others pursuing publication? Any mistakes you've made that other writers might be able to learn from?
It’s true that you need to work on marketing and building your platform, but don’t get so caught up in that that you neglect your craft. Great books are always going to be your best marketing tools.


And, just for fun, what famous celebrity do you think would enjoy your book? Why?
I’d like to think Taylor Swift would like HEARTSICK. I even made a small reference to her in it, so maybe she’d get a kick out of that. (Though, being Taylor Swift, she might already have her fill of being referenced.)

Thanks, Caitlin, for the interview! And best of luck with HEARTSICK and RED BLOODED!

Preorder Heartsick here!