Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The Next Big Thing (Week 24)


I was tagged by critique partner and friend, Sean Jenan. You can visit his blog here to see his answers
.

Rules: Answer these ten questions about your current WIP on your blog.
Tag up to five other writers/bloggers with their links so we can hop over and meet them.

Anklet from the water park

1- What is the working title of your book? 

Dodge the Sun

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

The idea came from a cheap ankle bracelet I bought at a water park one summer. The unaccustomed weight on my leg made me wonder what it would be like if a girl was held captive by a magical anklet. The rest of the story evolved from there.

3- What genre does your book fall under?

YA Fantasy in a dystopian setting

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

I can’t say I give any thought to actors for my characters. My characters’ personalities are so much more important than detailing their looks. I’m pretty generic with my written descriptions. I did base one of my characters on Wilfrod Brimley. It's his fantastic mustache. I couldn't resist.

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

You would ask that. I’ve don’t have one, thought I do have a three sentence hook. Seventeen-year-old Little Bit doesn’t have mutated possums or nursery-rhyming cannibals on her farm—only cows. Her predictable life changes when a deteriorating shield holding back the sun’s radiation forces her to seek the distant haven of New Chicago. Oh, and the infuriating mage, Garrett, forgot to mention she isn’t a hero, or even human—he conjured her from a pet rabbit.

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

Not self-published. I'm not brave enough to go it alone. It will either be trunked, shopped to a small press or (crosses fingers) I’ll find an agent.

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

Dodge the Sun started as a short story in August of 2011. When I decided to expand it, I worked on it off and on until the end of May 2012. Editing probably took another four months. I’m not a fast writer.

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

That’s tough. I don’t really know of anything that compares. Not many rabbit-girls stuck in the middle of an apocalypse stories.

9- Who or What inspired you to write this book? 


Actual anklet used for DTS
Like I said above the ankle bracelet inspired the story. All the characters are bits and pieces of me. I always lace my background scenery with actual places I've been. So one place might be something I saw in Yellowstone or places I've drove by on my way to Wrigley Field in Chicago.

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

Another hideous anklet
Let's see? Cannibals. Mutants  Denied love. Vicious twin villains. Magic. And through it all, a girl trying to figure out herself.

Tagged for next week (Week 25) are some of my very talented writer friends. Check out their blogs next Wednesday, November 21st, when it's their turn to post answers to these same questions about their own works-in-progress!

Carla Rehse, YA writer at Cats 'n Books 

Lori Sjoberg, Paranormal romance writer at her blog
Rhiann Wynn-Nolet, YA writer at A Nest of Words 

4 comments:

  1. I love the premise of your WIP. It's unique and has a nice dollop of the bizarre.

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  2. What an awesome premise! Now I'm for sure believing we're literary sisters separated at birth!

    Best wishes with this, it sounds amazing. Keeping my fingers crossed!

    Hugs.

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  3. It sounds awesome, and IS awesome (the little of which I've read). Good luck :D

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  4. I love your answer to question 10!

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