We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Caitlin O’neill. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Caitlin below.

Caitlin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Growing up, most schools pushed the girls to play with dolls and in the play kitchen, and the boys were given matchbox cars and blocks. My parents never forced my sister and I to stick to the gender norms and were very supportive of our creative interests. They also fully supported my interest in all movies, tv shows and other things sci-fi and fantasy, all of which led me down my engineer and author career paths.

Caitlin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Though my 9-5 is as an engineer, during covid I discovered my love for reading, which turned into a crazy idea to write my own science fiction romance. Four years later, I’m actually self-publishing Love and Other Alien Concepts on October 24th! I also have a fantasy romance that’s in the drafting phase, due out next spring. I think what sets my books apart from others, especially LAOAC, is that the female lead is an engineer in her 30’s like me. It’s rare to find STEM female leads, especially in science fiction and fantasy, which growing up was dominated by male authors. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE reading all of those books, but I’m really looking forward to women reading my book and relating to my lead character in a way that I didn’t growing up reading the genre. I think my book is also an interesting mix of adventure, adult situations, rom-com style banter, and Earthly workplace drama that make it a relatable but fun read.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

100% it’s been the reactions from people who have read it. Between my beta readers and editors, it was a lot of fun, but there’s nothing like ARC readers going through your book and giving you live reactions that totally validate your reason for publishing in the first place.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

During covid I became an avid reader and started a bookstagram account, which is what kicked it off. Over time, it has morphed into interviewing other authors and now focusing on my own author journey. I think what has really helped me though, is my transparency about my indie publishing journey and my willingness to share what I learn and educate other’s that are interested in doing it themself. I feel like the most important things for building your social media presence are 1. Be authentic, people will know when you’re not. I genuinely fangirl so hard over the authors I interview because they’re amazing people. 2. Have a few different things you post about, but keep it consistent to your vibe and 3. Celebrate the community you’re in and show your support for it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://catie1024.wixsite.com/catieoneillauthor
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catiereadsandwrites
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@catiereadsandwrites

Image Credits

they are my pictures