Last week
Misty Massey tagged me on her blog, as part of a chain of authors (or creative
people) recommendations called THE NEXT BIG THING. Today it's my turn to
reciprocate and to pass on the torch. I'm going to answer questions about my
new project Ella Hawke &
the Missing Courier Bag. Then I'm going to tag four wonderful authors who
will tell you about their Next Big Thing on Wednesday January 2nd
(or thereabouts).
What is the
working title of your next book?
Ella Hawke
& the Missing Courier Bag
Where did
the idea come from for the book?
I do a
little bit of costuming and Steampunk has taken over Pirating for me as a
favorite genre. The first character
idea I came up with for Steampunk was that of a Steampunk Courier.
What genre
does your book fall under?
Mystery w/ a
bit of Steampunk flavor
If you found
yourself in an elevator with a movie director you admire and had the chance to
pitch your book to them, what would you say?
It's the
Three Musketeers meets Sherlock Holmes only Sherlock is female and Nicola Tesla
plays Watson.
Every writer
dreams of their book being turned in a movie or a TV show like Game of Thrones.
If this happened to your work, which actors would you choose to play your
characters?
Jonah Knight
(named after the filker, Jonah Knight),
is a young detective - I so see him as Nick Jonas.
Ella Hawke,
the main character, would be Anne Hathaway.
Nicola Tesla
is the hardest. I'd love to see Jonathan Young who played Nicola Tesla on Sanctuary
cast in the role but the Nicola in my head has also got a bit of Nate
Ford/Timothy Hutton in him.
Who or what
inspired you to write this book?
Oh goodness,
my inspiration list is miles long: Weis & Hickman, McCaffrey,
Bradbury, Zahn, Stackpole & Allston, the crew at Magical Words, my husband and family,
the gaming group...
How long did
it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
Oy...that's
a loaded question. 3 years or so. I started when my daughter was still
a baby and finally finished just before she turned 5.
What other
books would you compare this story to within your genre?
That's a
tough one. It’s a traditional mystery so
it’s in the same styles as those written by Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha
Christie. But it’s got a bit of Steampunk
flavor…sort of Warehouse 13ish.
Where do you
plan to submit your book, or will you self publish it?
to be
determined. It still needs a lot of work including editing before I even
begin to talk to a publisher/agent.
What else
about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
There are
airships and Tesla guns and a chase scene in the middle of London.
And
here are four authors I'd like to introduce, and who you can follow, when they
answer the Next Big Thing questions...
Cindy Hutchins was raised in the Smokey Mountains of
North Carolina in the town of Morganton. She grew up surrounded by the oral tradition
of the South and the supernatural.
Janine K. Spendlove is a KC-130 pilot
in the United States Marine Corps. Her bestselling first novel, War of the
Seasons, Book One: The Human, was published in June 2011 and her next novel,
War of the Seasons, Book Two: The Half-blood, was released in June 2012.
Like
her main character, Cathy Wiley has achieved her childhood goal of writing
mysteries. She's happiest when plotting stories in her head or on the computer,
or when she's delving into research, be it hands-on or in books.
Cheralyn Lambeth is a costumer, puppeteer, actress,
writer, ghostbuster and a published author. Her first book, Haunted Theaters of the Carolinas has
achieved great success and she is currently working on her second book,Ghosts of Greater Charlotte.
Enjoy!
