“From Twilight to 50 Shades of Grey, the past few years have
been full of high profile reads. Love um or hate um, you have to admit you have
at least heard
of them.
As Independent Authors we all dare to dream we will be next,
and well let’s face it, you never know...right?
With that thought I jumped on this Hop which is basically an Independent Authors game of tag. One
Author posts, and then tags five other Authors, who each link back to them, and you my fair reader have hopefully just
increased your to read list. Finding New and Exciting Authors you may never
have found otherwise.
Some of us are still writing, others are just being
released, while others have many books published. Either way, for you Book Lovers, a treasure trove awaits and I’d
like to thank fellow Author Lin Floyd for tagging me to participate.”
Click the links to find out about Lin Floyd’s books.
“In this particular hop I and my fellow Authors each in
their perspective Blogs have answered 10 questions where you get to learn about
our current WIP (Works in Progress) as well as some goodies as to our process,
from characters and inspirations to photographic/Cinematic eye candy! I hope
you enjoy it!!
If this or any other items pique your interest, please feel
free to comment and share your thoughts and questions.”
HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS I'VE BEEN ASKED
1: What is the working title of your book?
A: I have a few working titles currently. I'm working on a second book for the SugarPaw picture book series, a young adult novel series "Behind a Friendly Mask" (each book will have a name for its title), I have another young adult book "The Journal" and lastly, I have a romance book brewing in my head that I haven't given a working title to as of yet.
2: Where did the idea come from for the book?
A: That's a loaded question for sure. Well my published book "BABYSITTING SURGARPAW" came from a picture of little bears making a mess in a bathroom. The second book in the series stems from an actually childhood memory. I don't want to share too much about it until the book is published as the childhood memory would give the story away. My two young adult books come from a few different places. They both have bit and pieces from my high school memories in them and even some of the people from my life are embedded in characters in both books. Both books even have characters who are me as a teenager. I'm just not going to tell which characters they are. You'll have to wait when they get published to find out.
The romance novel still budding in my muse will also have hints of my life in it. I'm not sure if my early twenties self will make an appearance or not yet. Still fleshing out the details so time will tell on that one. But the places in the story are from my past.
3: What genre does your book fall under?
A: All my books fall under children's or young adult, except my romance novel. This will be the first book I've written not for children or teens.
4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in
a movie rendition?
A: That's a tough one as many of the actors/actress I love and feel are very talented are too old for my main characters. Sorry guys...it's the truth. I really don't think many of the younger actors/actress are even half as talented. Of course, there could always be that new undiscovered talent I don't know about yet for my young adult books. I guess what makes those so hard is the characters are mirrored after real life people from my life so finding someone who could even come close would be tricky, and making sure they looked like them even harder.
I don't think Hollywood would have a hard time with the romance novel though if it ever became a movie. There is a huge list of actors/actresses I could see playing many of the roles.
5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
A: Sorry, not ready to share those with you yet. I'm still fleshing the books out and well want to make sure they are going into publication before I give too much away.
6: Will your book be self-published or represented by an
agency?
A: That's hard to say. I know the second book for the SugarPaw picture book series will be through Halo Publishing. I'm not sure about my other books though. I don't mind self publishing, but I would like to see if a traditional publisher is interested, too.
7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your
manuscript?
A: Too long and some are still in first draft. With younger kids at home, it is hard to find writing time. Plus, I do a lot to help other authors with their marketing efforts, so my writing gets put on the back burner a lot. Usually, it takes me six months to a year to write a complete first draft. Lately, it has been taking longer than that because I get only a few minutes here and there. Other days, I don't even get that.
8: What other books would you compare this story to within
your genre?
A: The SugarPaw picture book series I think is its own type of book. I use a lot of dialogue unlike more picture or picture story books. The first book is a Mom's Choice Silver Winner and 2011 Silver Quill League of Utah Winner for children's fiction.
My young adult book "The Journal" is a contemporary fantasy. My other young adult book series "Behind a Friendly Mask" is a contemporary paranormal novel.
The romance novel still budding in my must is still waiting to find out what genre in romance it will be placed into as the story is still unfolding.
9: Who or What inspired you to write this book?
A: Boredom was my inspiration to find something to do after years of working in the fashion industry. My children were my inspiration to focus on writing for children and teens. The Institute of Children's Lit was the inspiration to seek publication and Carolyn Howard-Johnson was the motivation to go beyond just publication and to take my marketing background and grow into editing and PR for authors.
10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s
interest?
A: I think the biggest thing about my books that piques the reader's interest is the fact that all my books are parts of my past and me hidden within the pages. I just my personal experience as the main outline for all my books and people I know for character outlines.
I love have hidden pieces of me, my family and friends (past or present) within my stories, and when readers find this out...they like trying to figure out who is me, who isn't but someone I know and also what places or scene are straight out of my personal life story.