The Next Big Thing

So what’s next, Ruth?

A week ago, author Sarah Mussi tagged me in her post The Next Big Thing.

Today it’s my turn to answer ten questions about my Work in Progress and then tag five other writers who will tell you about their Next Big Things, next Wednesday – Oooh October 31st, Halloween!

Although I didn’t get the spooky slot, there’s a lot of spooky goings-on in the book I’m working on, so here goes…

What is the working title of your book?

At the moment my third book has at least twenty working titles, so I can’t really say! Something with CURSE or BLOOD or GOLD or VIKING in it maybe…

Where did the idea come from for the book?

A hiking trip to the glaciers of Norway.

What genre does your book fall under?

Thriller… with a dash of supernatural mythological fantasy!

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

I would leave it to the experts to run the auditions and cast the parts, but I might not complain at Johnny Depp for the part of misguided baddie, Draper! As for the main character, Jack, and his friends, Skuli and Emma – what’s needed are teenagers with attitude, and seriously fabulous acting skills of course!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Three friends. A discovery in an ancient ice cave. A deadly chain of events begins. (That’s three, but I don’t think any of those were proper sentences!)

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

Like The Memory Cage and The Messenger Bird, my third book will be published by Scholastic. My agent is Caroline Walsh at the David Higham Literary Agency.

Launch is scheduled for May 2014!

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

I’m still writing it! Where does one draft end and the next begin?!

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

This is something pretty different to my first two books, Memory Cage and Messenger. They were both firmly realism. Here I’m delving into the supernatural and mythical fantasy as well. But one element all three have is a modern-day main plot with a historic back-story weaved in! (Oh, did I just manage to avoid that question?!)

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Increasing talk of looming environmental disaster and apocalyptic forecasts of society breaking down. Our disconnection with nature. The need for us to find an escape into gripping storytelling!

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

An ancient curse. An isolated town cut-off. Time running out.

Want to know about The Next Big Things for writers Ellen Renner, Caroline Green, Addy Farmer, Jo Wyton and Keren David????? I know I do!

Check out their websites exactly a week from today. See you there on Halloween!

Ellen Renner

www.ellenrenner.com

Ellen is the award-winning author of CASTLE OF SHADOWS and CITY OF THIEVES, adventure stories for readers aged 9+. Her new Young Adult sequence, TRIBUTE, is an epic tale of love and revenge set in a world divided by magic. The first book, BLOOD MEMORY, will be published by Hot Key in August 2013.

Caroline Green

www.carolinegreen.net

Caroline’s first book, DARK RIDE won the RoNA Young Adult and the Waverton Good Read Awards, as well as being nominated for the Branford Boase. Her second book, CRACKS, was out this year and is already shortlisted for the Essex Book Awards.

Addy Farmer

www.addyfarmer.jimdo.com

Addy is a compulsive storyteller and writes for picture books through to teen.

Her books include GRANDAD’S BENCH and SIDDHARTHA & RINKI, and she has a poem published in the Macmillan anthology: LOOK OUT! THE TEACHERS ARE COMING!

Jo Wyton

www.jowyton.blogspot.com

Jo’s first go at a YA novel, MAGPIE, was a winner of the SCBWI Undiscovered Voices competition in 2012, and the first 4000 words of it were published in the UV anthology. Her agent is Molly Ker Hawn of The Bent Agency.

You can read about Jo’s Next Big Thing HERE!

Keren David

www.wheniwasjoe.blogspot.com

Keren’s multi-award-winning book WHEN I WAS JO, was followed by the sequel ALMOST TRUE and then the Carnegie nominated LIA’S GUIDE TO WINNING THE LOTTERY. Her just-out ANOTHER LIFE is the third in the fabulous Ty book trio.