Lessons from a Debut Author: Caitlin Sinead

Today I’m pleased to interview one of my writing friends, Caitlin Sinead, about her transition from agented writer to published author. Today’s an important milestone in her writing career: the cover reveal for HEARTSICK, her debut novel.

Writing the Book

Dan: What kind of research did you do while writing this book?

Caitlin: I researched quarantines, especially how they could potentially work in the United States. I also did some science research. My husband, who’s a criminal attorney in Virginia, helped me a lot with different procedural aspects of the story (even if my characters end up breaking the rules here and there. ☺ )

Dan: So, does HEARTSICK have any sci-fi elements?

Caitlin: There’s only one scifi element, but it’s what gets the whole story in motion. A small college town has to deal with an outbreak, but there’s a catch. The disease isn’t actually harmful. In fact, it seems to have positive healing properties. I wanted to explore the fear inherent in outbreaks and quarantines completely separately from the fear of death and pain. I had a lot of fun “creating” the disease using some real world science elements, but getting too into what I did there would spoil the mystery. ☺

Publishing with Carina Press

Dan: What’s it been like to work with Carina Press?

Caitlin: Awesome! I feel so privileged to have such talented people working with me on this. My editor, Kerri Buckley, has been especially great at allowing my voice to romp about on the page most of the time, while rightly reining me in when it interferes with the story or diminishes clarity.

Dan: I love your book’s cover! Did you have any input on it?

Caitlin: I did! Carina Press encouraged me to send them any images that inspired me while I was writing it along with covers of existing books that I like. I am very happy with the cover and love everything from the way Quinn’s foot is twisted slightly (she’s a dancer) to the spooky smoke and purple puffs.

Dan: You’re about to move from agented author to published author. What have you learned during that process, and was there anything that surprised you?

Caitlin: I feel naïve saying this, but I was surprised at how much work the author still needs to put into a book even after it’s sold. I knew there would be editing, of course, but didn’t account for how much time that would take or how much time other things (like cover art sheets, retitle sheets. etc.) would take. Not that I’m complaining! It’s just that all that can be a big distraction in moving forward and working on new projects, so I’m still trying to balance that.

About HEARTSICK

The Blurb:

Quinn is looking forward to her senior year. She has big plans to hang out with her best friend Mandy, flirt with cute boy-genius Rashid, party at her favorite dive bar, and figure out what she’s going to do after graduation with her not-so-useful art major degree.  But that is before she meets Luke, a hot townie who moves back home to help take care of his dying sister. And it is before the weird epidemic that starts sweeping campus in which people’s eyes mysteriously turn purple.  Is it an odd side effect from a new party drug? Is it a rogue bacteria that was developed in a campus lab? Whatever it is, tensions are heating up as the town starts blaming the university, and the student religious group is convinced that it’s the mark of the devil.

Quinn and Luke are caught in the middle, especially when Quinn learns that Luke isn’t just a happy-go-lucky, redneck boy-next-door—he is a detective—a fact that triggers Quinn’s phobia of guns and memories of her deceased uncle.  In spite of herself and her desire to remain unattached and independent, Quinn finds herself falling for him.  But when town and gown relations heat up even further, and Quinn’s friend Danny mysteriously falls to his death, Quinn vows to discover the truth behind the epidemic.  As she searches for the people responsible, she realizes that sometimes to gain your independence, you have to be willing to give a little bit of it up.

The Excerpt:

“Did you go to college?”
His jaw is tight. “Yes.”
“Do you think I could guess your major?” I ask.
“Probably not,” he says.
I don’t like that I don’t even get a hint at what he did before or what he studied. I shrug, start on my second hotdog and then lean back, really aiming for a glint in my eye, if that’s possible to control. I’ll make this a game. “Well, do you think you can guess mine?”
He smiles. “Do I get something if I guess right?”
I hop up onto a stool and let the tip of my toe brush against his knee. When I make contact, he starts, before leaning in. “What do you want?”
“I want a lot of things…” He stares at me. “But for now, I’d settle for a second date.”
“Okay, if you can guess my major, on the first try—” I emphasize that bit with a pointed finger, “—then I’ll reluctantly agree to go out with you again.”
“I don’t like the reluctant part, but I’ll take what I can get. Now, let’s see…” He rubs his chin as though he’s an old-timey detective. He’s ready to pace back and forth across the room with a pipe and a deerstalker hat. “You like photography.”
Shit, he does know that. I start to hum the Jeopardy! theme song. Maybe if time is running out he’ll be more likely to guess quickly and get it wrong? Do I want him to get it wrong?
“Okay, I got it.” He rubs his hands together. “You’re an art major.” His cheeks swell with the weight of his smile.
“You got that just because I take pictures?” I rub my forehead.
“I know more than that.”
“Someone told you,” I say. “If this bet was rigged, it doesn’t count.”
He jerks back and shakes his head, frowning. “No, I wouldn’t do that,” he says. “I noticed you had some pottery on your coffee table, with initials on it, a Q. B.?”
I nod. He’s talking about the bowl I made last year. Initials usually go on the bottom, but I painted them big and proud in the middle. And the bowl is empty. Mandy and I haven’t decided what to put in it. We narrowed it down to fake fruit (lame), M&M’S (which we would devour) or Micro Machines. Clearly, we’re leaning toward Micro Machines.
Luke takes my hand. I think he’s trying to convey his earnestness, his respectability and seriousness of not tricking me into a bet. The pads of my fingers brush against his rough palms and I suppress a sigh. His thumb runs along my pointer finger, sliding to the fingernail. “You also have paint under your nails.” His victorious, smug smile is in full bloom.
I pull my hand away, embarrassed. “Yeah, it’s hard to get all the paint off.”
“I’m sure,” he says.

About the Author

Caitlin Sinead is represented by Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger, Inc. and her debut novel, Heartsick, will be published by Carina Press in 2015. 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.

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