The Next Big Thing

Best-selling author Carmen DeSousa, and another famous author-buddy, Emerald Barnes, both tagged me for this cool challenge called The Next Big Thing.  I love a challenge, so here you go:

1. What is the title of your book or current Work in Progress?

This one is ALL FOR LOVE.  It was just published on 8/23/12.

2. Where did the idea for this book originate?

It came from the black lagoon...no, wait, that was a different story.  This idea came from the idea file I keep on my computer.  A bunch of little ideas float around in there until they coalesce into something readable.  The internet is a good source of ideas.  That number for the 81,000 club, that number came from an article on the internet.  I made up the part about the club.

3. What is the genre?

This is my first Contemporary Romance.  I also think it could be filed under Women's Fiction, just for grins. 

4. Which actors/actresses would you choose to play in the movie version of your book?

This guy is not an actor, he is a Latvian Olympic Volleyballer named Aleksandrs Samoilovs.  But when I saw him on TV during the games, I emailed my cousin and said, I just saw "Quinn" on TV.  Perhaps it is because of the hair and the fact that Liz and Quinn met during a volleyball game. 

I think Liz could be portrayed by Rachel Weisz, the actress who played in The Lovely Bones (one of my favorite books).  I believe she would be good because she has sort of a shyness about her.


5. Give us a one sentence synopsis of the book.

Liz will do anything for love, but will she be able to live with the consequences?

6. Is your book published or represented?

It is published by 5 Prince Publishing

7. How long did it take to write?

Whew... this one took about a year.  It went through many drafts.  At first it was written in flashbacks alternating with present-day events, but my editor said that was too confusing so I went back and reordered it into three distinct time periods.  I think it worked out pretty well.  She was right.  It was confusing.

8. What other books in the genre would it compare to?

I like to think it compares with books like Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler, but I'm afraid that is being way too optimistic.

9. Which authors inspired you to write this book--or any book?

I think it was Ernest Hemingway who said that the key to writing is to "Just write one true sentence.  Write the truest sentence you know."  That inspires me to try and get a little deeper into the emotion of a character. 

10.  Name one more thing that might pique our interest in this book...

It's raw in places.  And heartbreaking.  I tried to pull out all the stops.


Now, to continue the fun, I am tagging Sara Barnard, Katy Huth Jones, Deanna Lynn Sletten, Katie Jennings, Vickie McKeehan and Sandy Wolters.  Oops, once again, I went overboard.  But hey, Sandy is injured, she may have to wait for a few weeks~until her cast comes off!