The Next Big Thing

“THE NEXT BIG THING” is to raise awareness of our work, or work in progress. We do that by answering ten questions about it. We graciously thank the person who nominated us, and tag four to six other authors whose work could very well be THE NEXT BIG THING.

When I was first approached about doing this by Lehua Parker I said no. Less than ten minutes later I bit the bullet and said yes. I haven’t done much promotion with my novel and I keep telling myself it is because I don’t have a publication date. The truth of it: I am scared. I am sure many authors at one point felt the fear that their book is going to flop and so what is the point of marketing it. I really do like my book, so here I am.

What is the working title of your next book?
EIDOLON. All my beta readers thought I made it up, but it is from ancient Greek literature meaning: image, idol, double, apparition, phantom, or ghost.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
I liked the idea of self-perpetuating motion with a cost that didn’t harm the planet. I mean, we can always use more trees, right?

What genre does your book fall under?
Science Fiction – The characters aren’t young adults but it doesn’t have anything that is inappropriate for a YA audience.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I had a grand idea of using anime characters in place of actors, after seeing THE HOBBIT this weekend I decided to stick to my original thought. I hate the idea of having my book made into a movie. If that ever happened, I would take the money and run without looking back.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Jak and Lesli are given the deadly choice whether to side with Eidolon, the leader of a rebellion who is protesting a self-sustaining energy that has overrun their world with a vast and unending forest.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
My book is going to be published by TM Publishing. The book will be available this Spring. I am kind of hoping it is around Arbor Day.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Less than a month (and it wasn’t even for NaNoWriMo.) Granted the sequel took me about 6 months to write and I still have a lot of fleshing out to do. I’d never written a sequel before.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
This is the question that always throws me for a loop, and I really need to work on a good response. It is a science fiction story that takes place during a Victorian-style era.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Is it my imagination or is this questing eerily similar to another one I answered. I will have to say trees. . . trees inspired me to write this book.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Though it seems at first to be fantasy it is all technology based. They ride spherical wheeled motorcycles and fight with lightsaber-like swords that can fire projectiles.

I didn’t actually ask anyone else to join in, so I’m just linking to some of my friends who have already participated.

Lehua Parker
Eric Bishop
Paul Genesse