Thanks to Jacqueline Hopkins for tagging me for 'The Next Big Thing'!
If you have been tagged to participate, you have to answer 10 questions about your WIP (work in progress) and post on your blog. At the bottom of your post, list your five author volunteers who will answer the same 10 questions on their blog the following Wednesday.
Below, are the answers to my WIP, and Soon I'll finish lining up the next five volunteers are listed below with links to their blogs. Head over to theirs next Wednesday, August 29th to read all about their answers.
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| Come on, you know me. Did you actually think I could write a book and not design a cover for it? |
I'm actually working on two at once, but I'll pick the one I think I'll finish first: GILDING LILLY.
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
I love reading and writing Regencies, especially those with strong historical appeal and strong character and plot development. I had been thinking of a Cinderella type story in which the heroine learns she doesn't want to be deliciously elegant after all, and I knew her name was Lilly, even though her real name was Camillia, but somehow her family had let that slip away from them. So the title came to the story quite naturally. Since I first worked on the book several years ago, I've seen another story with a similar title, but I still think I had mine first.
3. What genre does your book fall under?
It's a Regency-set historical.
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I always have trouble with this question. I don't think my characters are quite like anyone else. So who would play them? So maybe you can help me with this.
Lilly is a dark-haired, tall woman whose features could be considered "striking", but which look marvelously elegant when she makes up her mind to be attractive.
Gabriel is dark-haired-but maybe I'll put some light sun-streaks in his hair. He has a devilish look to him, yet an angel's twinkle in his eyes. For a viscount, he's a hard-working outdoor man who is trying to rehabilitate his family's nefarious reputation.
Darius is Gabe's very troubled six-year-old nephew who carries on the family's devilish/angelic appearance. And he's the devil himself to live with.
Amy is Lilly's younger half-sister, an exquisite blonde, blue-eyed, petite and charming-the ideal of beauty.
Lord Mabry is Lilly's step-father and only living parental figure, if you could actually use that term for him. He is utterly irresponsible, and leaves the running of everything to Lilly.
There are some normal people in the book too. I'm pretty sure there's one or two somewhere…
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
One sentence? Too bad.
As plain, penurious and blue-stocking as they come, Miss Lilly Fosbrooke has no thought of marriage, until horribly handsome Gabriel, Viscount Sylvaine starts treating her like the most beautiful woman on earth. But her romantic bubble bursts when she learns Gabe is only courting her because her wacky step-father has something Gabe wants badly. So Lilly and her other on-the-shelf friends form the Society of Ape Leaders to avenge their humiliations by the arrogant gay blades of the Ton, and together, they make Lilly over into a diamond no man could resist.
They don't know that gorgeous women have ruined everything for Gabe from the time he was a child. All he ever wanted was a normal life, plain, ordinary, bland as over-cooked flummery. But, beauty or not, Gabe has no idea how much he'll come to crave Lilly's hidden dragon-like fire.
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I don't know. Montlake Romance (Amazon) is my new publisher, and I might use this as my option book. But I've done pretty well for myself as an indie author too, and I really enjoy managing my own career. My Regencies have sold very well, so GILDING LILLY might be better as a self-published book. I've had a cover done for just ages, but I couldn't seem to find the time to get back to finishing the book.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The first draft is only half done. I stopped writing it when I had to go to other projects, and I didn't like what my attempts to make it into a sequel had done to it. Now I've changed the plot again, and am making it a stand-alone story.
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
There are lots of other Cinderella type stories. This one veers pretty far away from the prototype, but it does have a happy ending even if it's not in a palace. Hero raises carriage horses, though, which is kind of close to having a horse-drawn coach.
9. Who or What inspired you to write this book?
I'm always spinning ideas for new stories, and I think mostly they come from just plain hard work. So I'm not really sure what my first clue was. But putting it into words today, I'd say the basic thought was, "What if you got to be Cinderella, complete with coach, ball and even Prince Charming—then discovered you didn't like who you'd become? I'd have to say, in this story, the same dilemma applies to both the hero and heroine.
10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
There's a bit of suspense too. What first appears to be harmless pranks begins to escalate, and it looks like someone is seeking genuine harm for Lilly. Or is it Gabe? Or-both?
Sorry I haven't firmed up my list of tagged victims for Week #13, but I'm looking at a few authors who are on the fringe of publication and haven't firmed up the way they're going to go. And some longer term authors who are also seeking new avenues for their careers. I'll post them later.
Tag! You're (almost) it!
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To participate in this blog tour, here's what is expected of you:
Rules
***Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (Work In Progress) ***
Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them. It’s that simple.
Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing
1. What is the working title of your book?
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
3. What genre does your book fall under?
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
9. Who or What inspired you to write this book?
10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
