The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

This is an update of my previous post.  Most is still the same but there are a couple changes.  I have been tagged as a possible “Next Big Thing.”  Specifically as part of The Next Big Thing Blog Hop.  This is a chance to play a game of round-robin, going from blog to blog as writers get a chance to talk about what they are doing.  Who knows, one of them may very well be the “Next Big Thing.”

Here’s the deal: I was tagged for this by my friend (and successful writer and artist) Andrea Stewart.  Now I answer ten questions about my current project.  Then I tag other blogs, and you move on to check them out.  Happy hopping.

1. What is the working title of your book?

The Doors to Everywhere.  Just like this site.  Convenient, no?

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

That’s hard to say.  It’s an amalgam of several different ideas I’ve had rolling around in my head for years.  It wasn’t until I started trying to put them together that I began to get a real concept.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Young adult science fiction/fantasy.

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

I think it would be pretty tough to film, and my leads are all young.  Mirana must be played by a Polynesian actress, and those appear to be hard to come by, especially teens.  I’m also not sure about Nick, other than that I don’t want him to be a Hollywood heartthrob.  As for Tanya and Robin, in a couple of years, I think Mary-Charles and Maggie Elizabeth Jones would be about right. 

For supporting characters, Tom Hanks would be good as Dr. Howard, and Tamara Tunie (Law and Order: SVU) would work as Captain Pither.  And without a doubt, Kenneth Branagh as the Professor.

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

Three gifted siblings are led by an inexperienced guide through multiple realities to find out who they really are.

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

Call me old-fashioned, but there’s something to the legitimacy of traditional publication.  We’ll see how that works out.

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

About nine months.  Make of that what you will.

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

Oh jeez, I really couldn’t say for sure.  There’s a lot going on and I have no doubt that all of it has been done in one form or another.  I’m not sure anyone has done it quite like this in the young adult genre, but perhaps my most obvious influence is the late Jack L. Chalker.  There are also vague similarities to The Golden Compass, and, superficially, the old “Witch Mountain” movies, although I very quickly go in radically different directions.  And, believe it or not, an obscure role-playing game called Everway has been brought to my attention as having slight resemblance to my overall setting.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book.

I don’t know.  This sort of came out of nowhere.  I collaborated over a period of many years on an unrelated project that has yet to see the light of day, and wanted to try something different.  But I think the story itself was the inspiration, once I started to put it together and realized what it was really about.  This is just a story that really wants to be told.  And I also want very much to offer a relief from all the darkness and violence that is infecting so much young adult fiction these days.  My book isn’t like that.  There’s danger and conflict, yes, but also laughter and adventure.  Above all, it’s fun.

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

Well, I’m not ashamed to say that I have a fair amount of both nudity and sexual content, as I am writing for the older end of the young adult audience.  Although the novel is by no means about sex, I am nevertheless proud to be promoting both body-positive and sex-positive messages.  But the real heart of the story is the family bond that holds everyone together in the face of almost insurmountable obstacles.  And the fact that all of this plays out against a backdrop of cosmic significance makes it that much more important to hold on to what really matters.

So there you are.  Now I tag other authors:

Melissa Jackson

Drea Moore

Go see what they’re up to.