Next Big Thing Blogfest

So this little blogfest, The Next Big Thing, is for writers to share our current WIP, whether we are writing it, editing it or promoting it: Your choice.

We are meant to tag five people, and then answer a set of questions, so let me start with Thanking the two people who tagged me: Ia Uaro  (who has a book release technically tomorrow, but as it's Australia, that is almost today)  and Megan Bostic.



And now... the QUESTIONS!

What is the working title of your book?

The one I'm editing right now is called Medium Wrong.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Um... With the idea of a brother and sister taking off on a road trip to run a (series of) cons. The MC and narrator is in high school and her brother gets thrown out for flunking out of college, but she doesn't want to stay home without him.

What genre does your book fall under?

Paranormal YA, I guess. Paranormal mystery? I do sort of a funny waffle where other people want to call it paranormal, but I see it as possible, but never mind... there are dead people communicating.

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

See, I'm horrible at this. I am not particularly visual, but I suppose Amanda looks something like this:

Erin Chambers--young like this

She is older now and wouldn't work, but this is sort of the look I have in mind—a longish, lean 'cute' strawberry blonde.

And Asher (her BROTHER, not a love interest... though he GETS a lot of love interest, ifyouknowwhatImean) looks something like this:

Ryan Kwanten from True Blood

He's ALSO older now, but this look that can do both bad boy and sweet innocent is perfect for the brain behind the con.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

It's two sentences, but the second is really short...

Amanda and Asher have watched their dad run cons their whole lives, so when Asher gets thrown out for flunking out of college, they decide to go on the road pretending to bring bereaved messages from the dead. It all works well until the dead start really talking.

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

I will try for traditional, I think. A little though, depends on the fate of Kahlotus Disposal Site which I keep meaning to query again... This one has a first stop at the Amazon contest in January.

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

About six weeks. I do fast first drafts, then it takes about triple that for first rewrite and my version that is ready to SHARE is numbered about 5 (publishable is in the teens).


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

I haven't seen anything in YA like it, but the set-up is a little like what Whoopee Goldberg experiences in Ghost... the fraud that suddenly starts having real dead people show up. Only it gets more personal.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

You know... I don't actually remember. I was in the ABNA contest with Kahlotus at the time and that has a ghost narrator, though, so some variation on what I was thinking about there.

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

It's a real twist on the road trip book. And there is a mystery about a parent... all that angsty abusive upbringing stuff... And I think the sibling story is a pretty fresh angle—I don't see a lot of THAT as the main relationship in YA. I like the sibling relationship because it runs the full range: moments of intense love to intense hate without having to delve into romantic stereotypes.


And now for my tags. Hopefully I've tagged people not previously tagged. I also tried to choose friends with books they are promoting so they can add a line at the end:

What are you currently PROMOTING?

For me, it is still The Azalea Assault, though I notice The Begonia Bribe is now up for pre-order and to mark as 'to-read' at Goodreads...

For the tags!

Leigh T. Moore
Roland Yeomans
Cherie Reich
RaShelle Workman
Ciara Knight