The Next Big Thing

This is The Next Big Thing, an ever-expanding game of "blog tag" in which writers answer the same (or variations on the same) ten interview questions about their recent writing projects. 

I was tagged by Kathleen Clancy, whose blog is Cartographers of Randomness. In her Next Big Thing post, Kathleen answered questions about her work progress, a series of sonnets, called Robbing the Dollhouse. Her answers to the ten questions can be found at http://kathleenclancypoetry.blogspot.com/ .

Below, I answer interview questions about my book-in-progress, and after that you'll find a link to the blog of the wonderful writer who accepted my invitation to be "it" next week.

the ten questions

1. What is the working title of your book (or story)?
It’s called Holy Buckets.

2. 
Where did the idea come from for the book?


It is a merging of several ideas that I had been mulling over for quite awhile. I wanted to tell the story of what it is like to teach in a public school, I wanted to tell the story of the neglected young war veteran, and I wanted to write about gun violence. They all merged together in this novella.
3. What genre does your book fall under?


Contemporary literary fiction.
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I really don't know. Maybe Saoirse Ronan and Ryan Gosling....

 
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

     This is a cautionary tale of what can go wrong when a society fails to care for its most vulnerable citizens.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? (if this applies - otherwise, make up another question to answer!)
 

While I would love representation I have chosen to publish it myself as an ebook and will be doing so very soon.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?


This one came fast, about one year to write the first draft, and another to rework it.
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?


I don't think there are any that come close, which is one of the primary reasons that I chose to write it. I know Jodi Picoult has written a novel about a school shooting but I haven't read it yet, so am not sure how comparable it would be.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?


No person in particular. Working with children was a big impetus, and my personal concerns about the unmet mental health needs of our war veterans, and the glut of guns in our culture.
10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

This is everybody's story. It could happen anywhere in America, to anyone, and involves issues that we all need to think about. I hope it is a conversation starter. I especially hope that teachers and veterans and those that love them will feel that the story advocates for them..

who's "it" next week?

Next week, please check out The Next Big Thing post from:

Terry Farish who will be posting at http://elephantrag.blogspot.com/ about her current work.