It was only about three months ago that Karen Toz introduced me to ‘The Next Big Thing,’ and I will be tagging her today because she has a new kids book out called Millicent Marie is Not My Name.
Today’s post is thanks to fantasy/paranormal/romance author Samantha Warren. She’s working on a new book about faeries, a resurrected King Arthur, and lots of cute knights (she has pictures!).
So anyway, I’m here to tell you about my next big thing, which actually wound up pushing the last big thing back a couple of months because… What can I say? Christmas is just around the corner. 🙂
Here are the rules for those who are tagged and wish to participate:
* Give credit to the person / blog that tagged you
* Post the rules for the blog hop
*Answer these ten questions about your current WIP (Work In Progress) on your blog
*Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.
1. What is the title of the work?
I’ve called this novella Erin’s Christmas Wish.
2. Where did the idea for the book come from?
That’s a long story I’ll try to condense. When I was eighteen or nineteen, I lived across the street from this really old stone house that had been turned into apartments (with the coolest turrets to spark the imagination of any writer). I found myself watching one of the tenants…a guy a little older than I was at the time. Yes, I had a crush on him. So I wrote…by hand…with a pen – in a notebook…a teenage romance novel – staring that guy…and me. The novella is my grownup version of that story. Many of the details are different from the original, but it’s still much the same. I don’t know what ever happened to my crush, but I guess I’ll say thanks for many pleasant hours of daydreaming, and a great idea for a book.
3. What genre is the book?
Romance.
4. Which actors would you choose to play your main characters?
Every time I’ve looked, Bradley Cooper is the actor I’m drawn to, so I guess that I’d choose him for Scott. Kate Beckinsale is a little older than Erin, but I think she’d be perfect.
5. What’s a one sentence synopsis for your book?
Sometimes risking a friendship for something more is the only way to find everything you’ve ever wished for.
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
As I’ve mentioned before, ‘after a great deal of research, I made the decision to self-publish all of my books, including this one. If an agent or publisher decides I’ve written something that they would like to be involved with, I might consider representation. But I won’t go courting it.’
7. How long did it take you to write this book?
Since it was one of four goals for November’s National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo), not long. About a week. Now I’m devoting every spare second to editing it so it’s ready for Christmas.
8. What other books would you compare this book to?
Probably every other holiday romance ever written.
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
See answer #2
10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Because I am in awe of the wonderful people who are involved in making holidays nicer for the less fortunate, I chose to bring attention to the food drives that take place this time of year. It always makes me feel good to donate food or toys to the organizations who work so hard to help others.
And now for the authors I’ve chosen to tag, mostly because I know they’ve either released a new book recently, or they’re working on something that will be out soon:
Do you ever wonder if that guy might happen across your work – or blog even? Congratulations on getting it out so fast. Damn! I’ve been honing my story FOREVER. I think everyone has heard it by now.
Congratulations to Louise. Cool news on her book, too. Let’s see what I come up with.
Wow, I am really behind in catching up on comments this time! Hi, Debra!
I actually don’t ever wonder about that guy stumbling across my work. I only admired him from afar, so I couldn’t say one way or another if he even knew I was alive (I was extremely shy back then).
It’s really hard to try to figure out when a story is ready, isn’t it? It hit me when I was editing the novella that I could go through it a thousand times – and still find something wrong, or something should change…whether it was actually wrong, or needed changing in the first place.
Someone on the WANA board made this suggestion to me, and I think it was actually pretty good. Ask myself this…am I making the story better, or am I changing it into something else (my paraphrase). It’s a great question to ask, though I suspect that changing it into something else could EASILY be masked as making it better.
Someone else suggested it was ready when you couldn’t stand the thought of reading it one more time (again, my paraphrase). LOL….I think that’s going to have to be my measuring stick. 🙂
Hey thanks Kristy. I’ve got a book coming out next week, so your timing is perfect. now to find 5 people to tag….LOL
I didn’t realize you had a new one coming out, Louise…so I’m doubly glad. And good luck with finding five people. 🙂
I have 3, so I think I’ll go with them and see what happens. some of them are going to guest post on my blog, which is a good thing too.
Oh my god. A week! Hahaha! I am still working on my first after a year and a half! Congrats and good luck!
Thanks, Susie. 🙂 I think that something like NaNo really helps with getting things written quickly. It definitely wasn’t anything anyone would have wanted to read when I finished it, but that’s why we edit. And edit, edit, and edit some more. But I’ve finally experienced what everyone else was talking about…just get the story done – and fix it after. I think I like that style of writing, because I’ve always tried to write as close to a final draft as possible…and that just takes so much longer. Editing doesn’t take nearly as long…and I’ll be on my third trip through the story today. 🙂