The Next Big Thing

Real quick, I wanted to announce that Vonnie was the winner of a copy of The Santa Drag from last week’s SMP Christmas Blog Hop. Go HERE to see the list of grand prize winners! And thanks to everyone who visited as part of that hop!!

The Next Big Thing is a blog hop that’s been traveling from site to site, and I was tagged by the lovely Jillian Chantal. The game is that I answer ten questions about my current WIP, then tag five other bloggers to play the next round. You should totally check out Jillian’s blog (HERE), and then peruse the list of bloggers at the end of this post.

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

What is your working title of your book?

Sisters

It used to be Diva, but I wanted to broaden the focus to both sisters. It’s a WORKING title, and I expect it to change. Any ideas?

Where did the idea come from for the book?

In my mind, I saw a woman sitting in front of a mirror in a tiny dressing room, getting ready to go on-stage. She was fighting stage fright, but there was more to it than that…

What genre does your book fall under?

It’s an urban fantasy with strong high fantasy elements. I mean, for 2/3 of the book they’re in faerie, traveling by horseback and fighting with bronze blades and whatnot. There’s also a healthy helping of romance. As there should be.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I’m big on creating Pinterest boards for each of my projects. You can check out my Sisters board HERE, and see who some of the characters are. Funny story…my friend Amanda (who has an awesome blog HERE) is way more culturally literate than I am. I’m forever sending her links to THE perfect picture for whatever character I have in mind and she’s always like, “Yeah, and that guy was great in the movie, too.” And I’m like, “He was in a movie? He’s an actor?” Sometimes I wonder if I live in a box.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Tamsyn takes after the human side of the family, while Kat got the fae genes, and if they can keep speaking long enough, they might be able to save the world.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I pitched it at a conference in October and the editor asked for the full manuscript. We’ll see…

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

A year? Maybe longer. I think I started working on it in 2008.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

It’s along the same lines as Seanan McGuire’s Toby Daye novels, with more of an ensemble cast. I have a pretty good idea of where the sequel would go, and some loose thoughts on the book after that.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I’m pretty close to all my sisters, and wanted to write something that captured the dynamic of that relationship, the whole ‘sometimes you’re best friends, sometimes you hate each other’ thing.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Well, the query is supposed to do that, right? Here’s the first part of it…

Tamsyn’s mother raised her to believe that she got the human genes, while her sister Kat takes after the fae side of the family. Mom didn’t tell them they possess a valuable skill. As long as one of them is in faerie and the other in the human plane, they can keep the crossing between worlds open.

That skill’s a poorly-kept secret, and now the sisters have been targeted by a group of extremist fae who want to shut down the crossing because they hate the way humans abuse the earth. If the fanatics are successful, everything on the human side will die.

!!!

Well that’s a problem, isn’t it. What do you think? If you’ve got any hot title ideas, leave them in the comments.

Here’s the list of the five (okay, six) bloggers who I’ve tagged for the next round. Cruise by their sites – they’re a fun bunch!

Tami Clayton

Cora Ramos

Laird Sapir

Kim Moser Griffin

KH LeMoyne

Mona Karel