The Next Big Thing

Before I get to today's post, I'm please to announce that the winner of the Q&A draw I held last Saturday is Mary Rella! She'll have a character in my next book named after her. Congratulations Mary!

And now, on to today's post:
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I've been tagged by Allen Stroud as part of the Next Big Thing blog chain.

How it works: An author answers the following ten questions on their blog and then tags other authors to do so the week after.

1) What is the working title of your next book?
Forgotten Cause. It continues Nathan Shepherd's story from Locked Within, showing how his actions have affected New York and how he continues his exploration of the supernatural world and his past-life memories.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?
When I wrote Locked Within I knew the book was just the start of a series. The elements which make up Forgotten Cause are actually taken from 3 different book ideas, from when I was planning a 6-book series instead of only 3. Parts of books 2, 3 and 4 have all been woven together to create the story, to not only show Nathan's continuing fight against the Council of Chains, but also further develop the setting and the forces Nathan must confront.

3) What genre does your book fall under?
It's very definitely urban fantasy.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
I can't decide between Ewan McGregor and James MacAvoy for Nathan, but Dorian would definitely be played by Michael Wincott, Roland by Steve Buschemi, and Ben by David Borneanaz. Other casting choices for established characters include Rachel McAdams for Laura, Olivia Wilde for Cynthia, and Thandie Newton for Cadence. New characters introduced in Forgotten Cause include Elena and Sam, who would be played by Ayelet Zurer and Chris Hemsworth, respectively.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Nathan Shepherd continues his crusade to free New York from its cruel supernatural masters, gathering new allies, confronting old enemies, and facing consequences of past-life actions he cannot yet understand.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Neither. I don't have an agent, but the book has been submitted to my publisher, WiDo Publishing, for approval.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
The very first draft, before I re-wrote the book to combine elements of the other books I had planned, took me about 4 months to write.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
It's difficult to say. I've found that there aren't many books out there handling reincarnation quite the way my books do. However in general my work has been compared, favourably, to The Dresden Files, which is great because I'm a big fan of Jim Butcher's work.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Mostly the desire to tell an epic adventure set in the modern day. Epic is so often relegated to fantasy worlds that I've always been drawn to stories that dare to blend genres and adapt the models of epic storytelling to a more contemporary setting.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
Where I established a base setting in Locked Within, with Forgotten Cause I delve more into the different types of mythology and how they fit into the world. Celtic, Norse, Greek and Egyptian myth all have their place, but perhaps not in the way you might expect. I play around with tradition and adapt a number of myths and legends.

A high point of the story is that I get into the stark brutal nature of the setting and how Nathan's past lives have been pushed to the limit of their emotional endurance. I think the middle point in a trilogy is vital, not only for developing more of the characters and setting, but to set up the finale in such a way that the reader can't wait to find out how it all ends. Hopefully I'll manage that.

I'm tagging one of my favourite YA authors, Janice Hardy:

Janice Hardy
A long-time fantasy reader, Janice Hardy always wondered about the darker side of healing. For her fantasy trilogy THE HEALING WARS, she tapped into her own dark side to create a world where healing was dangerous, and those with the best intentions often made the worst choices. Her books include THE SHIFTER, BLUE FIRE, and the final book in the trilogy, DARKFALL. She lives in Georgia with her husband, three cats and one very nervous freshwater eel.