Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit: Caridad Ferrer

Girlfriend Caridad Ferrer is here with her newest book: WHEN THE STARS GO BLUE.

About the Book:

A dancer driven to succeed.

A musical prodigy attempting to escape his past.

The summer they share.

And the moment it all goes wrong.

Dance is Soledad Reyes’s life. About to graduate from Miami’s Biscayne High School for the Performing Arts, she plans on spending her last summer at home teaching in a dance studio, saving money, and eventually auditioning for dance companies. That is, until fate intervenes in the form of fellow student Jonathan Crandall who has what sounds like an outrageous proposition: Forget teaching. Why not spend the summer performing in the intense environment of the competitive drum and bugle corps? The corps is going to be performing Carmen, and the opportunity to portray the character of the sultry gypsy proves too tempting for Soledad to pass up, as well as the opportunity to spend more time with Jonathan, who intrigues her in a way no boy ever has before.

But in an uncanny echo of the story they perform every evening, an unexpected competitor for Soledad's affections appears: Taz, a member of an all-star Spanish soccer team. One explosive encounter later Soledad finds not only her relationship with Jonathan threatened, but her entire future as a professional dancer.

Our Interview:

KRISTINA: In my book, THE ESPRESSOLOGIST, Jane, a coffee barista, matchmakes people based on their favorite coffee drinks. What’s your favorite coffee drink? (If you don’t like coffee, tell me what your favorite drink in general is. But I am sorry, you’ll never find love. Kidding!)

CARIDAD: I'm fairly boring in that I like my coffee strong, with a bit of cream and sugar. My favorite beans are Sumatra or Kona-- anything really rich and powerful. My other favorite that I don't have all that often anymore is the traditional Cuban cafe con leche. It's a shot or two of sweet Cuban coffee (AKA Cuban jet fuel) mixed into steaming hot milk. Forget your lattes and espressos-- that mixture will keep you running fast than the Energizer Bunny!

KRISTINA: What is the title of the first book you ever wrote?

CARIDAD: The first book I ever wrote was a romance called LATE FOR YOUR LIFE. I made tons of newbie mistakes, starting with it was way, WAY too long, but I recently pulled it out from under the metaphorical bed and took a look at it and two things really struck me: one was that as a story, it's really pretty darned good. Good arc, despite its length, the pace is pretty good, and no loose ends were left unanswered. The second thing that struck me was there was a sort of ease in the writing-- I just sat and wrote that thing with no concept of "rules" or whether or not it would work for publication. I just wrote the story because it demanded to be written and I simply sat and wrote. I think I need to try to recapture some of that same freedom-- it's really a joyful feeling.

KRISTINA: What three things must you have while you’re writing?

CARIDAD: Diet Coke or coffee, music, and a notebook nearby for jotting down notes.

KRISTINA: What are you reading right now?

CARIDAD: Armistead Maupin's MARYANN IN AUTUMN, his new Tales of the City novel, and my reward for completing my release week promo duties is going to be Victoria Dahl's new novella, MIDNIGHT ASSIGNMENT.

KRISTINA: Are you on twitter? Where can we follow you?

CARIDAD: I'm @BarbFerrer and I'd love for people to follow. I do tweet frequently, so I'm always chattering away.

About the Author:

Caridad Ferrer is a first generation, bilingual Cuban-American, whose young adult debut, Adiós to My Old Life won the Romance Writers of America’s 2007 RITA® for Best Contemporary Single Title Romance as well as being named to the 2009 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults list, awarded by the ALA. Her second novel, It’s Not About the Accent was released in 2007 with Publisher’s Weekly stating, “…this twisting book amply rewards readers.”

She has also contributed to the anthology, Fifteen Candles: 15 Tales of Taffeta, Hairspray, Drunk Uncles, and Other Quinceañera Stories. Her newest young adult novel, When the Stars Go Blue, is a contemporary retelling of Bizet’s Carmen, and will be released by Thomas Dunne Books in November 2010. Booklist calls it, “Beautifully written, with contemporary characters and an engaging story line.”

Thanks Caridad! Good luck with your new book!