Writer Wednesdays: The Next Big Thing
I was invited to be part of this blog hop, so if you’ve ended up here by following the other blogs, I hope you’re enjoying your time. If this is your first stop, then you get to read about one of my works-in-progress. This is one I’m especially fond of, and I hope to create a trilogy from the idea. Be sure to check out the next few stops on this blog hop: the links follow the interview.
1. What is the working title of your book?
Feather.
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
I usually base my ideas off of dreams. I think this one came from a daydream. While driving home from work, my brain goes onto “autopilot,” and the confluence of a few ideas caused a lightbulb to turn on. I was trying to figure out a way to write about the idea of freedom versus control we don’t even realize is being exerted over us—like the idea of bread and circuses. The novel is sort of sci-fi, though it’s mostly about humans and the human condition. Humans are given a choice between a life of (relative) luxury on another planet dominated by an extraterrestrial race, or a life of hardship on Earth where they are under no one’s control but their own.
3. What genre does your book fall under?
Young adult, though I hope adults would enjoy it as well.
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
For the main character, I’d actually choose Jennifer Lawrence. I didn’t picture her when I was reading The Hunger Games, but she has a certain quality I think would fit the role of the main character in my book, Abigail. Because her grandfather is a tough man reminiscent of the old West, I would choose Clint Eastwood. He has just the right amount of gruff rebelliousness that he fits the grandfather’s personality perfectly.
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Left to die on barren Earth, humanity must decide whether to continue its existence in the freedom of a dying planet, or succumb to the rule of an extraterrestrial species in exchange for food, comfort, and entertainment.
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I’m trying to go through an agent or a small press (my first three books have all been with small presses). I do not plan on self-publishing (but as my book is not finished yet, I haven’t yet shopped it out).
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I’m still working on it—I wrote the first 50,000 words during two and a half weeks of the summer, but then summer ended, and I lost steam–especially after realizing this is probably going to become a trilogy. I am currently editing a completed manuscript before returning to Feather.
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8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
A pinch of The Hunger Games, a pinch of any of the books about the Wild West, a pinch of sci-fi tales like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and V, the 1980s TV series. There are also elements of ancient Rome.
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9. Who or What inspired you to write this book?I wanted to write about the theme of freedom without being too cerebral. I thought: Wild West and aliens could be used to simplify the issues while creating an intriguing setting and characters.
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10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
There’s a love triangle involving the main character. It’s a young adult book, so nothing racy, but intriguing enough to make you want to see what happens next.
Thanks for stopping by! Please take a look at some of the other authors on the blog hop:
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