I’d like to thank author Celia Breslin for inviting me to be a part of the Next Big Thing Blog Hop this month.  Each author on the hop will be answering the following questions about their latest works in progress…

 1. What is the working title of your book? 
This hop is about works in progress, so today I’m going to discuss a book of
mine that’s awaiting the editing process called The Middle Eight.


2. Where did you get the idea for this book?  The farm where
the main character, Ray, grew up is based on a farm not far from the
neighborhood where I grew up. Also, I know a thing or two about drummers,
which helped with another character named Van.


 3. What is the genre for this book? The Middle Eight is
a romantic comedy.


4. If you could pick actors to play the lead characters in your story,
who would you pick?  Ray is an anal-retentive accountant with a dry
sense of humor and a body like a brick house, so I’m thinking someone like
Chyler Leigh (Lexis from Grey’s Anatomy). Van is a tall, lean, muscular drummer
with long wavy light-brown hair, the quiet-type with a mischievous smile… so I
have no idea what young actor would fit the bill. Let me know if you have any ideas
so I can stalk him. I’d love to see Melissa McCarthy as Macy, Ray’s best friend.


5.  What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?  When the
normal life Ray has always dreamed of unravels, she falls for a drummer, comes
to terms with her unconventional childhood, and discovers that normal was never
really in her best interest.


6.  How will your book be published, submitted through a traditional
publisher or through Indie Publishing methods?  I am still editing this
one, and will look at submitting it for publication this winter.


 7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of this
book?  The first draft only took me 8 months to write, start to finish.


8. What other books within your genre are similar to yours?
Was While You Were Sleeping based on a book? Something with a flawed main
character who falls in love with someone she doesn’t expect to.


9. Who or what inspired you to write this book? It was
definitely not inspired by a very sweaty picture of a young David Grohl,
drumming like his life depended on it, and I certainly don’t have said picture
as my screensaver on my laptop, because grown women who are obsessed with
celebrities tend to end up with restraining orders.


10. What about your book will pique the reader’s interest? 
This story has great characters, fun twists, sex, drugs, and rock and roll. What
more could you want?


Please keep the hop going and check out the following authors to learn about
their upcoming books…

Celia Breslin

Justin Swapp

I’d like to thank author J.A. Garland for inviting me to be a part of the
Next Big Thing Blog Hop this week.  Each author on the hop will be answering the
following questions about their latest works in progress…

1. What is the title of your next book?  My book,
Watcher, is due to be released the first week of January, but this hop is
about works in progress, so today I’m going to discuss a book of mine that’s
awaiting the editing process called The Hitchhiker.


2. Where did you get the idea for this book?  Growing
up, my family always had an appreciation for conspiracy theories and liked to
watch The Twilight Zone.  Seeds were planted early for this one.  Also, I
was a teacher for several years, so that’s where the education angle to my story
came from.


3. What is the genre for this book? The
Hitchhiker is a humorous paranormal thriller.  It seems an odd combination,
but I think it works.


4. If you could pick actors to play the lead characters in your story,
who would you pick?  Ainsley, a teacher/FBI recruit, is cute and
lovably sarcastic, so I’m thinking someone like Zooey Deschanel.  I think Jesse
Eisenberg would capture my schizophrenic genius’ personality well, but he’d have
to darken his hair and grow it out more.  I specifically describe Jack, the
smarmy conman, as a Matthew McConauhey look-alike, because every story needs
some eye candy.


5. How would you describe your book in one sentence? 
(10 words or less)  A misfit teacher helps FBI freaks uncover a bizarre
conspiracy.


6. How will your book be published, submitted through a traditional
publisher or through Indie Publishing methods?  I have submitted
this to a small publishing house that I have worked with before, and am waiting
to hear if it is something they’re interested in.


7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of this
book?  This one only took me a year to write, start to finish. 
Once I got the conspiracy hashed out, the characters pretty much took over and
wrote themselves.


8. What other books within your genre are similar to
yours?  That’s a tough question.  I’m sure there are other
humorous paranormal thrillers out there, but I’ve never read one myself.  Janet
Evanovich does humorous crime novels, but I don’t know that I’m in her league
and my story has some dark/supernatural elements to it.


9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?  I had
spent years writing my first novel, a fantasy, and I was looking to write
something a little lighter, set in modern day USA so I didn’t have to create a
whole new world.  I decided to start by ‘writing what I knew,’ so I made my main
character a sarcastic middle school teacher, and then for fun I gave her an
unusual talent: the ability to hitch a ride in other people’s central nervous
systems.  Naturally, with a talent like that the FBI would be interested in her.
  It just kept going like that, one idea building on the last until I had myself
a quirky little novel.


10. What about your book will pique the reader’s
interest?  Peculiar paranormal talents and twisted conspiracies
make the story lively, but it’s my zany characters that will really keep the
reader’s attention.


Please keep the hop going and check out the following authors to learn about
their upcoming books…

 J.A. Garland

 Leia Getty

 Susan Stec - Will post December 25th or 26th – with a *giveaway*!