Caryn Larrinaga Books In Order

Publication Order of Solstice Survivors Books

Publication Order of The Soul Searchers Mysteries Books

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Anthologies

Caryn Larrinaga is an award-winning author that writes paranormal mystery and horror novels.

+Biography

Caryn Larrinaga grew up watching scary movies. They terrified her as a child. However, the nightmares they induced have since done wonders for her career as an author of mystery and horror.

Caryn, who is bisque with a little bit of Irish, was fortunate to grow up in a home filled with books. Her parents saw to it that her literary needs were met. And she always blended the genres, experimenting with the likes of Boxcar Children and Archie.

Caryn’s most memorable childhood literary asset was ‘The Cat Who Went into the Closet’. Written by Lilian Jackson Braun, the book followed the exploits of an aging journalist and his cat that solved crimes.

The book turned Caryn onto Lilian Jackson’s other works and it wasn’t long before she began dreaming about writing her own cozy mystery novels.

As with most authors, Caryn Larrinaga’s journey to publishing success was far from straightforward. The author attended the University of Utah where she studied anthropology.

Caryn loved Anthropology because of the subject matter of its courses. However, she wasn’t especially passionate about anthropology as a career. In fact, she spent many of her college years working with a web design company.

She also helped her father operate a screen printing business. Once she graduated, Caryn contemplated going to grad school but decided she did not really care to pursue her prospects in the area of anthropology any further.

So she got a corporate job and spent the next couple of years bouncing around the employment pool until the call to write finally grew too intense for her to ignore.

+Literary Career

Caryn Larrinaga decided to pursue her publishing career because she became disillusioned with the corporate landscape. Her life began to change after she spent a year working for a promotion in a company that she eventually failed to secure.

The disappointment was overwhelming. But Caryn did not give up. Rather, she began making plans to find another company and begin climbing the ladder until she achieved the heights she sought.

However, as she contemplated the idea of making another go at achieving corporate success, Caryn was struck by how empty that idea of success made her feel. At the end of the day, even if she got another job at another company and worked her way up the ladder to acquire the position she sought, the author would have given her blood, sweat, and tears to achieve the goals, ends, and dreams of someone else.

The rationale of it all did not make sense anymore. And because of the rigors of her work, she was always too exhausted at the end of each day to pursue her writing projects.

So Caryn Larrinaga decided to change strategies. She spoke to her husband and they agreed that she would quit her job and survive on their small savings while she pursued her writing projects.

If the savings ran out before she could achieve the success she sought, she would go back to work. That was in 2015 and the decision paid off immensely for the couple. Caryn succeeded in writing her first novel, editing it and getting it published.

She also realized that she had the capacity to write her fiction while also making a little extra money on the side with freelance systems administration work.

Even though the author’s first book came together faster than she expected, the actual writing process presented Caryn Larrinaga with many hurdles. She initially struggled to find her writing voice.

It seemed obvious in those early days that the author would produce urban fantasy because that was what she read. But nothing she wrote seemed to work. She started and terminated many writing projects before Caryn finally discovered her specialty.

She realized that she wasn’t programmed to write lofty narratives set in highly fantastical worlds. Rather, her skills were best suited for more casual genres with laid-back concepts and characters.

Caryn started out in self-publishing. She is a self-confessed control freak and she enjoys the idea of having final say on everything from the font to the cover art of her books. However, the author eventually went the way of traditional publishing.

While she admits that indie publishing has its perks, it is also a lot of work and she found that it was much easier to let an experienced publisher deal with the rigors of prepping a book for reader consumption while she focused her efforts on the writing process.

Caryn is a proponent of both indie and traditional publishing. She says she has had positive experiences with both avenues.

Caryn always praises her husband and her parents for the roles they played in encouraging her to pursue writing and publishing. Her husband was the first person to whom Caryn read the first chapters of her book.

And he had nothing but positivity to offer in response.

+Donn’s Hill

Mackenzie Clair’s life changes when her father dies. First, she comes home from the funeral to find her boyfriend cheating on her. Her decision to escape to a childhood vacation spot only makes things more complicated because now Mackenzie has awakened a lost psychic power.

She can talk to the dead. And unfortunately for Mackenzie, the ghost in her apartment cannot wait to talk back.

If she wants to maintain a shred of sanity in her crazy world Mackenzie needs to master her powers so that she can make the most effective use of them. She is joined on her journey by a cat and the crew of Soul Searchers, a ghost-hunting television show.

+Hide and Seek

Everyone loves Christmas, but not Agatha. She’s just eight-years-old but the festivities leave a sour taste in her mouth. And the fault for that can be solely planted at the doorstep of her stepsisters.

Rain and Summer are evil. Like most kids, they love to play. Unlike most kids, their idea of playtime involves tormenting their stepsister.

Christmas Eve finds Agatha, Rain, and Summer stuck inside their house, and that is a problem for Agatha because her stepsisters are looking to play a twisted version of hide and seek.

They realize too late that something else is hiding in their house, something with intentions a little more nefarious than Rain and Summer.