Sequim author makes national bestseller lists

Published 2:30 am Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Author Calinda B., who uses a pen name to protect her identity, can add New York Times bestseller to her repertoire now. And she has.

A few months after moving from Kingston to the Sequim area, Calinda’s book “Power Shift,” part of a 21-book set called “Magic and Mayhem,” made the New York Times’ Bestseller list at No. 13 for fantasy in August and it also made USA Today’s best sellers list.

“When we got the news, I’m sure screams were heard around the world,” Calinda said.

“New York Times bestseller is huge. You kind of bow down to that phrase.”

Calinda said her fellow self-published indie authors came together to heavily promote the book which led to big preorder sales.

She, like her cohorts, do marketing themselves and for a box set to make the list is not typical but becoming more of a trend for authors to pursue, Calinda said.

“It’s great that we got on the list in the first place and because we’re a group of indie authors,” she said.

Calinda’s books range in genre from science fiction to paranormal to fantasy to contemporary romance that she says are racy.

“Power Shift,” she says, follows Chia Petit, a town manager, who handles relations between humans and shape shifters who live among the community in Charming, Alaska, unbeknownst to many of the humans. Suddenly, a bounty hunter comes to the town and Chia must battle between her heart and duties for the town.

Awakening to new career

Calinda began writing professionally about five years ago, she said, while living in Kingston.

“I never wanted to be a writer,” she said. “I wanted to live a life of adventure. I taught dance, aerobics and massage therapy. Different careers like that. I got into web design.”

She recalls her high school English teacher complimenting her work but thought, “Oh, forget that,” she said.

“Five years ago, I was talking to my son and told him I’d write a book,” Calinda said. “So I wrote a book over six weeks (“A Wicked Awakening”).

“It’s probably not my best book because I’ve grown so much but it’s my first and it’s my baby.”

Since turning to writing while doing website design and consulting with her partner John full-time, Calinda says she’s realized “parts of myself I could never really embrace or understand.

“If I wrote about them, I feel I’d be much more whole,” she said. “I grew up with terrible self-esteem but through writing I realized I’m awesome. It sounds boastful but what I mean is that I’m an awesome person. You’re an awesome person. We’re all amazing people. I discovered that through my writing.”

Adventure awaits

Before exploring new worlds through fiction, Calinda has explored adventure her whole life as a scuba instructor and a fire walking instructor, and she’s ice climbed and kayaked in exotic locations.

“I may look like Mary Poppins, but I love adventure,” she said. “(John and I) are learning to do hot air balloon crew just for fun. We say yes to life and it makes a big difference if you say yes to it on a daily basis.”

This fall, Calinda plans to release three new books bringing her total to 21.

“Meeting With My Maker” a paranormal romance, comes out Oct. 24 online with preorders available at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Her science fiction tale “Night Whispers” comes out Dec. 2 online, too. Her Kindle World Book “A Twist of Love,” a romance fan-fiction based on Melissa Foster’s “The Remingtons” series, also comes out this year on Amazon.

Going into 2017, she’s co-writing a few books and in total has seven books, possibly more, lined up for release next year.

“I do all of that and keep my full-time job of web design,” she said.

But how does she manage so many plot lines and characters?

“You have to immerse yourself in a book,” she said. “You have to get into the mindset of the plot.”

But how does she switch genres so effortlessly?

“I write what I feel inspired by,” Calinda said.

“I’m told I always write things that have a unique take on them. I don’t write cookie-cutter. I attribute that to my life experiences.”

Many of her contemporary romance covers are not printable in this publication due to their saucy nature, but Calinda said she always tries to have some kind of message, such as “we shouldn’t hide from ourselves.”

Recently, Calinda took a month off from writing, which she said left her rejuvenated and a little moody and depressed.

“I’m in my creative juices when I’m writing,” she said.

“When I’m writing, chances are while doing scuba diving or grocery shopping, I’m thinking about my characters and story.”

With the recent success of being on bestsellers lists, Calinda said she still aims to be kind and thoughtful of others.

“Maybe I’ll get there slower but I’m going to get to the top and I’m going to be nice along the way,” she said.

For more information on Calinda B., visit www.calindab.com and/or look for her on social media.

Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette.com.