Why is your book called Birthmarked?
When a baby is born in my story, a certain midwife tattoos the baby’s ankle with four freckles in the shape of Orion’s belt and the point star of his sword. Such a person is “birthmarked,” and the tattoos matter later.

Do you have any tattoos? Not so far.

How do you pronounce your name?
“Caragh” rhymes with “JAR-uh,” and the “-gh” is silent. It’s Gaelic, and I’m named after a lake in Ireland. I hope to visit it some day.

How did you come up with the code?
The main code is a variation on one I played around with when I was a kid. I thought my brother Tim taught it to me, but when I asked him about it recently, he didn’t remember it.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Is Birthmarked available in other languages?
It will be. Rights have sold in France, Germany and China. They’ve sold in the UK, too, which apparently also involves some translation.

Was it hard to find a publisher for your book? No. I found my agent by coming through the slush pile, and then he submitted my book to editors he knew would be interested. I feel very fortunate.