Caridad Pineiro The Claimed Blog Tour with Guest Post

I am so excited to have The Claimed here at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Guest Post.
Caridad Pineiro is currently touring to promote her newest release The Claimed.

Thanks so much Caridad and Pump Up Your Book Promotions for allowing me to join your blog tour.

Please take it away Caridad!

1.  What made you decide to become a writer?

I wrote my first book in the fifth grade when my teacher assigned a class project. It was a romance and I knew from that moment that I wanted to be a writer. I kept on writing through high school, college and law school and when my daughter was born, I decided I had to show her that it was important to follow your dreams. That’s when I went to work trying to get published.

2.  The Sin Hunters are such a fascinating new mythology, where did you get the idea for them?

I wanted to do something outside the realm of the vampires, demons, etc. that people are seeing in many paranormals. As I thought about it, it seemed to me that there were so many cultures that believed in the existence of life forces in people and nature, like Chi or those who practice Rieke. When I discovered that the ancient Mayans used to rise and honor the sun as it came up, I thought, what if they could draw power from the sun? Then it became, what if they could draw energy from other living things? That’s how the mythology for the Sin Hunters was born.


3.  THE CLAIMED spotlights real Jersey seaside locations. Which ones? Why?

I had set earlier books in Bradley Beach and Ocean Grove, but THE CLAIMED shifts to Sea Girt, Avon-by-Sea and Asbury Park. Readers will recognize some well-known locations like the Shark River Inlet and the Casino in Asbury Park. I included them because I love visiting these locations when I go down to the Shore. Like the Sin Hunters, being close to the ocean helps me recharge by creative batteries.

4.  What can you tell us about the hero in THE CLAIMED?

The hero, Christopher Sombrosa, is the heir to the local Shadow Hunter clan. His people survive in large part by tracking down Light Hunters and stealing their life forces. That stealing is not without problems since Christopher believes that taking energy in this way is responsible for the pox that contaminates the Shadow Hunters. Christopher has been advocating other forms of gathering energy in the hopes of improving the lives of his people. To do that, Christopher and a small group of his clan break away and head to their compound on the Jersey Shore. That’s where Christopher meets Victoria Johnson and feels an instant connection to her. There’s just one problem: Victoria is the heiress to the local Light Hunter Clan.

5.  Why do you love putting your characters through such grief?

I totally love putting my hero and heroine through the ringer before they get their happily-ever-after because my theory is that nothing worthwhile is ever easy, so making them work hard for it makes the happily-ever-after all the more sweet and rewarding. In THE CLAIMED, Christopher and Victoria will have to battle their own clans in order to not only find love, but lead their people in a new direction that will hopefully bring them better lives. Their story is action-packed, sexy and tender in a Romeo and Juliet kind of way, if Romeo and Juliet could shapeshift, drain life energies and toss power orbs the way Randy Johnson delivers a fastball!

Here is the blurb for the book:

Victoria Johnson loves her life. She’s her own boss in a quaint beachside town, and has great friends who keep her grounded. If only they knew who she really is: an heiress to an ancient race who possesses astonishing superhuman powers. It’s Victoria’s duty to restore her clan of Light Hunters to their former glory by choosing the perfect mate. In Christopher Sombrosa, she just may have found him. Strong, smart, and successful, Christopher exudes a powerful energy. Their connection is sensual, irresistible-and forbidden.

A member of the Shadow Hunter clan, Christopher has defied his own father to lead his people away from affliction and violence. Yet he cannot ignore his duty to carry on his ancient bloodline. Stunningly beautiful and brimming with an erotic life force, Victoria is everything Christopher ever hoped for in a mate . . . but as a Light Hunter, she’s his mortal enemy. Together, they could unite their warring tribes. But murderous factions on both sides don’t want peace-and they’ll stop at nothing to keep light and darkness apart forever . . .

Caridad Piñeiro is a multi-published and award-winning 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.

From the start, Caridad’s novels have received acclaim and have helped redefine the landscape of modern romance novels. In 1999, Caridad was published by Kensington as part of Encanto, the first line of bilingual Latino romance novels. In 2000, Caridad was one of the first Latino authors featured at the launch of BookExpo America’s Spanish Pavillion. In December 2006, Caridad helped Silhouette launch its successful Nocturne paranormal line with DEATH CALLS, one of the novels in the award-winning THE CALLING Vampire series. In addition, Caridad has appeared at BookExpo America on numerous occasions and has captained both the multicultural and vampire genre panels at the RT BookClub Conventions.

Caridad’s CHICAS novels, including her seventeenth release, SOUTH BEACH CHICAS CATCH THEIR MAN from Simon & Schuster’s Downtown Press, have garnered praise from both fellow authors and reviewers and are helping to make Latina fiction a vital part of the publishing mainstream.

In recognition of her work, Caridad has received various awards and honors. In 2007, a year marked by the debut of six novels from Harlequin and Pocket Books, Caridad received the Golden Apple Award Author of the Year Award from the New York City Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. Other honors that Caridad has received include the selection of DANGER CALLS and DEATH CALLS as the Top Fantasy Books of 2005 and 2006 by CATALINA magazine, the Cataromance Reviewers Choice Award for Best Nocturne in 2006 and the New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf award in 2001 for Best Short Contemporary. Her other titles have received a number of nominations, such as the Harlequin Readers Choice Awards and RIO Reviewers Choice Awards. Both DANGER CALLS and SEX AND THE SOUTH BEACH CHICAS have been book club selections.

Caridad’s eighteenth novel, MOON FEVER, a paranormal anthology with Maggie Shayne, Susan Sizemore and Lori Handeland, debuted in late September 2007 as #32 on the New York Times Extended Bestseller list and #123 on the USA TODAY Bestseller List. HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE, a paranormal anthology with Maureen Child, made the BookScan Top 100 Adult Fiction list.

In 2009, Caridad will debut a new paranormal romantic suspense series with Grand Central Publishing. The first novel in the series, SINS OF THE FLESH, will be released in November 2009.

Caridad has appeared on Romance Novel Television, Fox Television’s Good Day New York Early Edition , New Jersey News’ Jersey’s Talking with Lee Leonard and WGN-TV’s Adelante Chicago. Articles featuring Caridad’s works have appeared in the New York Daily News, Catalina, RT BookClub, NJ Monthly, Star Ledger, Home Tribune News, Sun Sentinel, Variety Yahoo! Online News, Latina and the Waterbury Republican-American.

When not writing, Caridad teaches workshops on various topics related to writing and heads a writing group. Caridad is also an attorney, wife and mother.

Also about the Author:

Caridad was born in Havana, Cuba, and settled in the New York Metropolitan area. She attended Villanova University on a Presidential Scholarship and graduated magna cum laude. Caridad earned her juris doctor from St. John’s University and became the first female partner of Abelman, Frayne & Schwab, an intellectual property firm in midtown Manhattan.