Okay, I know this
Next Big Thing thing is BIG, and even though I’m fond of my town emblem, the banana is probably NQR. (Oh, anyone familiar with edits will know those letters stand for ‘Not Quite Right’. And I should know as I am mid-edits for the very first time. NQR is now tattooed on my brain!)
So what is Next Big Thing?
It’s a kind of online chain letter (and who am I to break the chain, given we are two days out from the next Apocalypse).
Sara Foster (who took part in my
Author Harvest blog – delightful woman) tagged me as part of
The Next Big Thing. I get to tell you about my current book (see Q&A below) and then I
drag tag four
unsuspecting, gullible, naive, lovely, supportive, generous writer friends:
Allison Tait, Cate Ellink, Kerrie Paterson and Lily Malone to do the same. Then we promote each other to billy-o. (That’s okay as I am particularly keen for you to get to know these ladies. All three have debut novels due out next year, like me. 🙂
So, without further excuses (or desperate measures to avoid this “Amway of the author network”) here goes…
1) What is the working title of your current/next book?
House for all Seasons – my debut novel – will be available March 1, 2013. The Simmering Season will follow 12 months later. (Both perfectly timed for Mother’s Day).
2) Where did the idea come from?
See inspiration answer – Q9
3) What genre does your book fall under?
Contemporary Australian fiction (and I love the tag line on my gorgeous cover “Small towns can keep big secrets”)
4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Oooh, what an exciting thought! Four strong females. Too easy…
Cute as a button Abbey Cornish (Sara), Tall, lanky kick-arse Cate Blanchett (Poppy), fiery, feminine and fabulous Nicole Kidman (Amber), all-around good egg, Toni Collette (Caitlin).
5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Four women, four unravelled lives. The truth will bind them forever. (Okay, so that’s two sentences. (Yes, I am author. I recognise that! But it’s my blog.)
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
The delightful Clare Foster (Curtis brown Literary Agency) sold my two books to the amazing Larissa Edwards, who heads up publishing at Simon & Schuster, Australia.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft?
The first draft (50,000) words was courtesy of NaNoWriMo 2010.
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I am influenced and encouraged by different books for the authors specific styles/strengths: Lisa Heidke’s witty dialogue; Posie Graeme-Evans’ stunning scene-setting, Sara Foster’s wicked weaving of plots and characters; Monica McInerney’s eclectic cast and clever characterisation; the mischievous Marian Keyes for the giggle factor, and Jodi Picoult’s tackling of real-life issues.
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I remember it was early spring. I was sitting outside relishing the warmth on my face after a cold, cold winter and appreciating the different seasons we get to experience here in Australia.
The changing seasons inspire me. I love the contrast – and contrast makes for great characters and conflict. So I wanted to create four female characters as different as the seasons.
10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
Why, the blurb – of course!
Bequeathed a century-old house, four estranged friends return to their New South Wales hometown, Calingarry Crossing, where each must stay a season at the Dandelion House to fulfil the wishes of their benefactor, Gypsy.
But coming home to the country stirs shameful memories of the past, including the tragic end-of-school muck up day accident twenty years earlier.
Poppy, a tough, ambitions journo still craving her father’s approval;
Sara, a breast cancer survivor afraid to fall in love;
Amber, a spoilt socialite addicted to painkillers and cosmetic procedures;
Caitlin, a third generation doctor frustrated by a controlling family and her flat-lining life.
At the Dandelion House, the women will discover something about themselves and a secret that ties all four to each other and to the house – forever.
So here we are. The Next Big Thing is done and dusted. Quite painless (although maybe I haven’t got it quite right as I think I’ve been double tagged with Pamela Cook in the new year. But that’s okay. Looking forward to it.)
Over to you fellow DIGRITS: Lily, Kerrie and Cate.