The Next Big Thing

Janet Edwards was kind enough to be the first tag me in the the great 'Next Big Thing' meme that seems to be spreading like a virus through the blogs of authors the world over. 

Now I've been tagged again by Sam Stone, 'The Queen of Vampire Fiction' author of the Vampire Gene series and any number of terrifying short stories. Her latest collection is 'Zombies at Tiffany's'. You can check out her NBT post here

Janet is the author of 'Earth Girl', published earlier this year, and you can see her NBT post here.

Check out the bottom of this post for my 'onward links' to deserving wordsmiths.

So, the whole point of this is to go through a list of questions to winkle out/brag about what's over my particular horizon, so here goes.

1) What is the working title of your book?
My first book, 'Aphrodite's Dawn' was published in January. Its SF, and mainly for the YA market. My next work will be 'Warrior Stone: Underland'. Its very different from my first book, being urban fantasy with hints of steampunk. I'm hoping its found a home, but that's still to be confirmed. 'Amunet' (my real 'work in progress') is still in editing, but is also supernatural and steampunky. Should be ready to send out into the world in the new year.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?
I haven't a clue. I keep an old-fashioned dictaphone in my car (I do a lot of commuting) Stuff pops into my head. I could be listening to a podcast, or the news, and something will raise itself above the background noise and I reach for the recorder.
The interesting stuff happens when I play it all back to 'log' everything into my ideas book. Everything gets mixed up in my head, and that's when the ideas come spinning out the side

3) What genre does your book fall under?
I have a problem with the whole 'genre' thing, which is probably why I like to write for the Young Adult market. In YA, the genre doesn't matter so much.
If I have to pick a genre, though, I tend to say Speculative Fiction: how else could you describe urban fantasy + steampunk + alternate reality :)

4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Warrior Claire Stone (the eponymous hero of Underland) is one of my favourite characters. I'd really like to work with her through some more books. Who I would get to play her is easy: Allison Scagliotti, who plays Claudia Donovan in Warehouse 13. Fiesty, stubborn and really, really smart.


5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Claire Stone accidentally discovers Underland, and after being inviting to become a Warrior, fights to stop personality-stealing beings from Beneath reaching our world.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Who knows? At the moment, I'm happiest going along the traditional publishing route. I dont have anything against self publishing, but my personal ethos is that if you go down the traditional route, then a prospective reader can assume that the book has been professionally edited, proofed, and published.
I know that's a generalization - there are dreadful book that are supposed to have gone through that process and wonderful ones that didn't. I may try the self publishing route one day, but not just yet.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
For an 80,000 word novel it takes me 10-12 weeks to get the first, very dirty draft out - but then I do have a day job at the moment. I usually set it aside for a couple of months then come back and do a review and first edit before I start showing sections to my review group.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre.
Demon Trappers springs to mind. Jana Oliver is a great author (and I can see Allison Scagliotti as Riley, too). There's also a kind of 'Harry Dresden's Kid Sister' thing going on here too, and touches of Cyrus Darian and the Technomicron (Raven Dane) and maybe a little 'Clockwork Angel' by Claire Cassandra

9) Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Not this book specifically, but I have to tip my hat to Terry Jackman. Terry runs Orbit, a group of writers circles, under the auspices of the British Science Fiction Association. It was Terry who looked at one of my early doodles and suggested my style could well suit the Young Adult market. After I'd done a little research and realized she wasn't suggesting my writing was childish, I decided to have a go - and wrote my first published novel. So I definitely have Terry to thank for putting me on this path.

10) What else about your book might pique the readers’s interest?
It's very much a crossover story, and would appeal to anybody over the age of twelve thru adult.
I’m tagging some other authors to answer the same questions next Wednesday, November 21st (Week 25).  Do check out their blogs. 

Joanne Hall (The Feline Queen)
Bev  Allen (Jabin and the Space Pirates)
Dolly Garland
Geoff Nelder (ARIA: Left Luggage)