The Next Big Thing

Yes, I know I don't usually post on Saturdays, but this is a special occasion. I was tagged by Lori Gordon to answer ten questions for The Next Big Thing. I don't know where it originated, but if you follow the back links you can go on for . . . well, I don't know how long. I gave up finally. :-)

Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing

1. What is the working title of your book?
I actually have two books on the go right now, the first is a slightly humorous fantasy with the working title of Shades of Errol Flynn (it's name will be changed to Magical Misfire), and the third in my Ardraci Elemental series, Water.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
The idea for SoEF came to me a long time ago, but it was very different - Jessica was walking from her mother's house when she's kidnapped for a magical experiment involving a guy she vaguely knew named Howard. Pretty much the only thing I kept were the characters of Jessica and Howard. Water came from the desire to know what happens next. In the beginning of the book before it we have a group of children who are rescued from genetic experimentation. I wanted to know what happened to the children who were left behind.

3. What genre does your book fall under?
SoEF is pure fantasy adventure; Water is science fiction/suspense/romance.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Oh, boy, that's a tough one! For SoEF . . . Maybe Bryce Dallas Howard for Jessica. For Howard - give Ashton Kutcher long black hair and with his natural humour he could probably pull it off. And I think Chris Hemsworth would make a great Prince Ewan. ;-) As for Water . . . hmm, what about Orlando Bloom for Ravi? For his twin sister Nereida I did a Google search for thin actresses (she goes through some really bad stuff) and at first I thought maybe Keira Knightly, for her thinness, but I think either of the Olson twins looks more like Orlando.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
One sentence, eh? SoEF - When a magical experiment goes wrong, things get very interesting for the woman who's sent into another dimension. For Water it would be more of a question - What happens when the restrictive world you've always known suddenly expands beyond your imagination?

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Self-published, both of them.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Since I've been serializing them on my blogs I take about a year to do the first draft. Just so you know, I've completed NaNoWriMo a couple of times, so I am able to write faster. :-)

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I honestly can't think of any books within their respective genres to compare them to. Which, to my mind, is a good thing really.

9. Who or What inspired you to write this book?
The inspiration for SoEF came from my favourite high school English teacher, who believed I could do it (even though it took me almost twenty years to get going on it). Water . . . actually the whole Elemental series would not have come about without the inspiration of Jamie DeBree.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
In SoEF it would be the fact that Jessica is pretty much clueless as to what's going on behind the scenes around her. She's just focused on getting home . . . and maybe having a good time on the way. In Water it would be how Ravi falls in love, despite being part of a breeding program where any kind of emotional involvement is discouraged.

So there you have it, my ten answers. Hope you had as much fun reading them as I had writing them. Please visit Lori Gordon at her site for the Original Post and more importantly, to find out about her book, Till Death.

Now, here's the point where I was supposed to tag five other authors to participate. Lori was kind enough to get in touch with me first so I'd have time to prepare, but I completely forgot to get in touch with my authors. Now I could just list links to five of my writerly friends, but although I'm sure they'd appreciate the blog traffic they wouldn't be answering the questions, and where's the fun in that? So. Fortunately, I have two blogs. So what I'm going to do is get in touch with five writer friends and then post this again on Thursday over on Random Writings and hopefully it will include the links to my five authors.