Carinn Jade is a lawyer, writer, and cohost of the Pop Fiction Women podcast. Her essays have been published in the New York Times, Daily Worth, and Motherwell. She has attended the GrubStreet Novel Generator, Yale Writers' Conference, and the Northern California Writers' Retreat. Carinn grew up on the North Fork of Long Island and lives with her family in New York City. The Astrology House is her first novel.

In this episode:

• The origin of this thriller based around an astrology-themed retreat [3:21]

• Her use of time constraints as a plot device to build dramatic tension [8:36]

• Books Carinn read that informed her idea of the book’s structure and premise [8:48

• Carinn’s process of writing multiple POVS in short chapters [11:00]

• How her literary go-to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and other realityTV was one of many touchstones and guided her in writing dramatic scenes[11:43]

• How she dropped clues to characters throughout the book [12:54]

• Why she included astrology cheat sheets as a plot device and touchstone [15:28]

• How much of Carinn is in her novel [18:21]

• Building tension and twists into each page [19:44]

• The art of writing authentic dialogue [22:01]

• The process of revision and what that required [23:11]

• Carinn’s querying journey and how she found her agent [26:16]

• The synchronicities between being a lawyer and a writer [31:09]

Photo credit: Erin Schiffman

Connect with Carinn

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carinnjade/

X: https://x.com/carinnjade?lang=en

Pop Fiction Women website: https://popfictionwomen.com/about-us/

Buy Her Book on Estelle’s Bookshop

https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-astrology-house-carinn-jade/20704948?aid=98827&ean=9781668045961&listref=authors-who-have-appeared-on-freelance-writing-direct&

Connect with Estelle

​​FREE PITCHING GUIDE: Find out more about this episode at

https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast. You also get a free pitching guide if you sign up for her newsletter.

Sign up for Estelle’s Personal Essay Class for Writer’s Digest

https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/writing-the-personal-essay-101-fundamentals

Sign up for Estelle’s NYU Classes

https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/faculty/e/1068-estelle-erasmus.html

Get Her Book

Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published: https://rb.gy/5ihwp0

Order Her Audiobook:

https://shorturl.at/4uG2P

Sign up for her Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities). Paid subscribers receive opportunities for pitch reviews, plus bonus clips from Freelance Writing Direct guests

Follow Estelle:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EstelleSerasmus