The Next Big Thing!

Fellow Blogger/author David List mentioned me on his blogpost about “The Next Big Thing” questionnaire where a writer updates everyone on their latest writings and happenings. So here’s my blurb on the Next Big Thing. Thanks David!

1.       What’s the working title of your book?

Fort Defiance

2.       Where did you get the idea for your book?

Oddly enough it’s probably the first story I ever wanted to write, but I didn’t find the right words for it until now. I’ve always been interested in stories about family and how settlers survived on the colonial frontier.

3.       What’s the genre of your book?

Historical Thriller, with a leaning toward YA.

4.       What actors would you pick to portray your novel in film?

I really have no preferences, I’d be happy if people simply enjoyed the story as a book.  

5.       Provide a one sentence blurb of your book.

      Sixteen-year-old Joss Roebuck must defend his family and farm from the land-hungry Magistrate Pendleton and the nearing French and Indian war-parties that threaten to destroy his home on the Virginia frontier.

6.       Will you self-publish or have your book represented by an agency?

Time will tell, but either way I intend to make the book the best it can possibly be, via rewrites, feedback from CPs, and professional editors.

7.       How long did it take to write the first draft of your book?

It went fairly well. I wrote over 85,000 words in about 12 weeks.

8.       What other books in your genre would you compare it to?

It’s a twist between The Last of the Mohicans and Huckleberry Finn. More contemporary comparisons would be Thom’s Follow the River and Speare’s Sign of the Beaver.

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

My wife. Definitely my wife. Without her I couldn’t have progressed a single day.

10.   What else about your book might pique a reader’s interest?

I genuinely wrote this book to be a fun and engaging read. I want readers to really enjoy themselves, and even though it’s a historical piece I think YA readers will like the story and pacing.  

Keep the Next Big Thing going…I nominate a few fellow writers/bloggers for this questionnaire, mainly because they’re super awesome and I’d be interested to see what they say to some of these questions.

And my nominees are: Rachna’s Sciptorium, Alex Cavanaugh’s blog, and Milo Fowler’s In Media Res.