Thank you, Cora Ramos, for twisting my arm politely asking me to do this Next Big Thing post.
Here's the deal. I answer ten questions about my latest writing project, published by Oak Tree Press in January 2013. You now get a peek into Murder's Last Resort.
The Next Big Thing is a blog hop that’s been traveling from site to site, and I was tagged by the chipper Ms. Cora Ramos. Be sure to check out her site-- she has an interesting POV.
I answer ten questions about my current WIP, then tag five other bloggers to play the next round. I couldn't twist five other people's arms find anyone else interested at this busy time of year, but I did find one victim willing participant, James J. Murray. (Give him a big hand.)
After you read the interview answers below, then peruse the list the blog at the end of this post and check out his site--give him time to get his answers up, though. You might find a new book you want to check out or inspiration for writing ideas.
Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:
What is your working title of your book?
Murder's Last Resort
Choice of cover art (which do YOU prefer?)
Where did the idea come from for the book?
Some people I knew wrote page-turners with a lot of local color. I reckoned I could do that, too, by writing about a place I had enjoyed and experienced in a prior life.
What genre does your book fall under?
Classic murder mystery.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
My protagonist, Maya French, should be petite and dark-haired, like Mila Kunis or Eva Longoria.
Jake, good-looking BFF to Maya-- some fair-haired young swain.
Lily, Maya's gal pal-- someone down to earth with a British accent, or at least a good fake British accent-- maybe that gal who played wardrobe mistress on Ugly Betty.
French, Maya's husband, someone with Boy Scout values and clean, dependable, blue-eyed good looks. Think young Paul Newman or Robert Redford.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Maya, a renegade corporate wife, tracks down the killer or killers of her husband's business associates on the hotel resort property where she is "the first lady", risking her reputation and her life to solve the crimes.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
My book was scouted at a writer's conference by Sunny Frazier, acquisitions editor for Oak Tree Press.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I started it in 1999, but put it down for eleven years. When I picked it up again and got serious, it took a little over a year.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I would compare this to mysteries that are not so hard-boiled. They're sometimes called "cozies". They're not so much about blood, guns, guts and violence. They're more about the inner landscape of the characters, distinctive places, people and times.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
My inspiration was Kinky Friedman. Here was a man who reinvented himself from eclectic country singer to best-selling mystery writer, humorist, philosopher and politician.
I don't think I could become any of those other things, but seeing him morph made me think about undeveloped talents that lurk in all of us. It's about discipline and risk-taking. Why not go for something new and different?
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It's a period piece set in the go-go 80s, a time of exaggerated affluence and affectation for many Americans. Think Reaganomics and trickle-down theories. The characters in the book are living large and loving it.
Go visit James J. Murray at:
jamesjmurray.wordpress.com/
by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer.
(Give him a day to get his answers up and find new participants.)
Rules of the Next Big Thing
***Use this format for your post
***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.
(Good luck with that, James!)
Any questions, comments or suggestions? Leave a comment if you like. I would love it.
