The Next Big Thing

The Next Big Thing

What is The Next Big Thing? Well, it might be a new hit by Rihanna. Or a technological breakthrough to replace dirty oil with clean, green power. Or maybe a peace treaty in the Middle East (that’d be nice).

But on a much, much smaller scale, The Next Big Thing is a global blog tour, started in Australia, to showcase authors and illustrators and their current work. Each author on the tour answers ten questions about his or her next book, then tags the next author.

I was tagged by the wonderful Rachel Eugster, whose Next Big Thing is a picture book called Pocket Mommy. You can read her blog post here. http://suspendedsentences.blogspot.ca/

And now on to my Next Big Thing:

1) What is the working title of your next book?

Break Point

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

The setting for the book was inspired by a historic tennis club in Ottawa. More broadly, though, the book is about a kid in a struggling middle-class family, trying to compete in a sport where wealth buys a lot of advantages (tennis). It’s inspired in part by the sub-prime mortgage crisis in which a lot of American families lost their homes, and by the growing income gap in North America; the general feeling that wealthy elites act in their own interest, while broader society pays the price.

3) In what genre does your book fall?

It’s a teen sports / mystery novel.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Ok, I seriously do not know any teen actors, so I picked this off of a teen movie fan site on the internet.

Connor: Skandar Keynes because he has a cool name and he looks athletic without being too stereotypically handsome.

Rex: Niall Horan from One Direction, because Rex is supposed to have ‘boy-band” good looks and, hey, Niall is in a boy band. Also, I need a celebrity to sell the movie and who knows? Maybe he can act. Or play tennis. Or both.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A teenager struggles to make his way in competitive tennis against a wealthy rival, while uncovering the mysterious vandals who seek to destroy his tennis club.

6) Who is publishing your book?

Orca. It came out May 1st, and is available now in stores and online.

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

About 2-3 months, once I got started. But it took a while before that to figure out the plot, characters, etc.

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

It has similarities to the other books in the Orca sports series. They all deal with sports and mysteries.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My husband Mark.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

Like all the Orca Sports books, it’s a quick and exciting read, and very accessible to teens who are not avid readers, or who read slightly below their age level.


Want to read more Next Big Things? I’m tagging two other authors:

Karen Avivi writes high-adrenaline teen sports novels. Her latest book, Shredded, is about a girl BMX’er. You go, girl! Check out her blog at:
http://www.karenavivi.com/?page_id=27

Martin Varallo writes and illustrates kids’ books. He’s also a mime and comedian who does a hilarious skit about tennis. What’s not to love?
http://martinvarallo.blogspot.ca/?vie...