Carinn Jade is currently living her dream: her second novel, The Dahlia Suite, was just published by Atria (Simon & Schuster), and her debut novel, The Astrology House, is being developed by Peacock, with Christina Ricci set to star and executive produce! But dreams are rarely linear.

The first novel Carinn wrote was strong enough to get her an agent, but when it went on submission, no editors bit. Devastated, she went back to practicing law, but the need to write never left her alone; so she wrote another book. That one also didn’t find a publisher. She decided to switch genres, she also parted ways with her agent, who didn’t work in the thriller space. She wrote another novel, then began to strategically target the agents she thought would be perfect for her book, a story about an astrologist that she’d been percolating on for years. You’ll learn more about how she got her agent, and then how her debut novel was sold (in a two-book deal), in our conversation! We also discuss her podcast, Pop Fiction Women, where she has spent the past five years being invested in the literary community and talking with many authors about their novels. It was a great chat!

Carinn Jade is a lawyer, writer, and cohost of the Pop Fiction Women podcast. Her debut novel, The Astrology House, was a 2025 International Thriller Writers’ Awards finalist in the category of Best First Novel. The Dahlia Suite is her second novel.

About The Dahlia Suite: Three women come together to investigate a string of haunting disappearances in a tropical paradise.

When Paige arrives at Sueños, the Caribbean’s most exclusive resort on Beck Island, she’s eager to use the time away from her young son to shake off the writer’s block that has stifled her new career as an author.

Hollywood starlet Lindsay Law is on a mission of her own at Sueños: spiraling from a recent Oscar loss, she’s determined to find out why the winner in her category gave thanks to Mara Morgan, the legendary actress who owned Beck Island before her tragic death.

While Paige and Lindsay are drawn together by creative inspiration, Gabby, the resort’s concierge, is torn apart by the loss of a coworker and the mysterious appearance of a man from her past. Gabby still has the power to grant her guests’ most over-the-top requests, but she’s helpless against her own grief and confusion.

As the sun-soaked days of bliss morph into sinister connections, Paige, Lindsay, and Gabby are united by a shocking twist, and must race to untangle the knot of Beck Island’s mysteries before another woman vanishes.

Buy Carinn’s novels on ​Bookshop.org​!

I hope you enjoy our conversation!

Happy reading and writing,

Heather

founder + director, Northern California Writers’ Retreat