Fellow writer and (don’t tell him I said so) bloody nice guy Justin Woolley has tagged me in The Next Big Thing.
The Next Big Thing is a series of questions a writer answers about their work in progress and then tags more writers who do the same, giving you an endless chain of new and established writers to discover.
Check out Justin’s Next Big Thing.
1. What is the working title of your next book?
I didn’t know this was going to be so hard! I’m not sure what to talk about.
The book I’ve just started writing is called Lost in Darkness (a standalone). It’s about a blind blademaster who must save her father from the country’s ruling Warlord.
Welcome to Earth is a (half written) star-crossed lovers urban fantasy story which began life as a pilot episode for a television series. It’s also something of a prequel to the epic fantasy I’m currently shopping around.
Epicentre (the first of a trilogy) is about a reluctant mermaid who accidently starts a supernatural war with a succubus. The first draft is complete.
Prophecy of Power: Quarry is an epic fantasy in all the right ways. I recently pitched it to Literary Agent Ginger Clark at Curtis Brown (US), who asked for the first fifty pages (yay me!). It’s about a headstrong princess who is being hunted by assassins.
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
I’ll talk about Prophecy of Power: Quarry, as it’s ready to go.
The initial idea was for a group of people who each have a special ‘power’ to come together and take on the bad guy who’d conquered everything. (Tragic, I know.)
Fortunately I learned a few things and the story evolved into a young girl’s struggle to survive in a very dangerous world. It’s the first of a four book series.
3. What genre does your book fall under?
Epic fantasy. The tropes are all there, but hopefully I’ve avoided the clichés and brought something fresh to it all.
4. What actors would you choose to play the parts of your characters in a movie rendition?
Most of the characters are young, or look young (immortality does that to you), so it would require casting ‘fresh young talent’. It’s probably a bit pointless picking today’s young actors as they’d be too old by the time the realities of developing a movie came into play.
If I could turn back the clock and make people youthful again, I’d probably go with:
- Milla Jovovich (if you can imagine her with curly red hair) as sixteen-year old Caroline (she can be both kickarse and vulnerable at the same time)
- Shiri Appleby (from Roswell) as fifteen-year old Kirsty (she projects a gentle, caring nature)
- Hugh Jackman as Elias (at his rugged, fighting best)
- Ian McKellan as Allyn (he has a certain presence and authority)
- Chris Hemsworth as Dobbin (he can do easy-going, while at the same time he’s not to be messed with). Oddly enough, he’s probably the only one at about the right age – maybe even a little too young.
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
A headstrong princess is forced into an unwanted destiny when assassins try to prevent her from ever fulfilling it.
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I want to go with traditional publishing as it lends a certain amount of credibility to your work. You can still achieve the same thing with self-publishing, but it takes longer.
There’s also all the services a publishing house brings to a novel (such as editing, cover art, marketing, and the less obvious ‘behind the scenes’ administrative stuff).
Time is also a factor. I don’t want to have to become an expert in self-publishing – I’d rather spend my time writing, not working through all the technical details of e-books and print-on-demand and chasing up royalties etc.
Essentially, building an author platform is hard enough with a big publisher behind you. I’ve got no desire to go it alone.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
I started writing it when I was sixteen, realised I didn’t have a clue about what I was doing, and so went to university at the age of 21 to learn.
Around that time I also got side-tracked (dating, work, partying), and it wasn’t until I was married and my first child coming along that I realised I’d better get a move on.
Although I finished the first draft before D-Day, I put writing big projects aside for a while after that (you think you’re prepared for children, but you never really are).
I got ‘back on track’ a few years ago, partially due to my father’s unexpected death. Although it was a complete shock, it was also something of a wake-up call.
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Very tough question.
Maybe Eye of the World by Robert Jordan or Magician by Raymond E Feist, as they both feature a main character coming into their power. Otherwise, there’s similarities to Dune’s Paul Atreides who gets manipulated into greatness.
You could also include any story with a main character who’s been given gifts they don’t want.
Having said that, it’s not really ‘like’ any of them. I can’t think of a bang-on example, which is probably a good thing.
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
To a sixteen-year-old it seemed like a pretty simple thing to write a Number 1 International Bestseller, sell a million copies and never have to get a ‘real’ job.
The reality is a little different, unfortunately. I guess everyone would be doing it otherwise.
10. What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
I got a bit jaded with epic fantasies a while back – same story, over and over, so I’ve tried to bring something fresh to this book.
It’s a very intimate story, despite being grounded in the epic realm.
There’s supernatural creatures, magic, gritty action and bloodshed, as well as ‘quiet’ character moments and even the beginnings of a love triangle. Something for everyone, hopefully.
With luck it will appeal to readers as much as it does to me.
Okay, now for my tags!
- Duncan Lay
Duncan is the author of the Australian best-selling fantasy trilogy The Dragon Sword Histories, which he followed up with another bestseller, Bridge Of Swords – book one of Empire Of Bones. He’s also a fantastic bloke!
- Phill Berrie
Phill is a good mate of mine and fellow Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild (CSFG) member. He’s recently had some success with his writing too, but you’ll need to visit his site to find out about it.
- J. Michael Melican
I met Josh at GenreCon 2012 after ‘bumping’ into him on Twitter. We instantly hit it off. We both pitched our novels to Literary Agent Ginger Clark, and with luck we’ll get signed and tour our masterpieces together!
- David Dufty
David is another of my good mates and CSFG member. He’s had both critical and popular success as the author of How to Build an Android: The True Story of Philip K. Dick’s Robotic Resurrection, and now has a new Next Big Thing.