I Said I'd Play: The Next Big Thing

If you've been here any length of time, you're aware that I don't normally do things like this.  The simple reason is that I'm certain I'd end up getting tagged in more things than I could handle--and more than you'd want to be inundated with.

I said yes to this one, though, because the lovely and talented Nancy Bilyeau, author of The Crown (which I loved), invited me.  So in the spirit of supporting someone who's promised me a peek at her next galleys (heh), I give you THE NEXT BIG THING!

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

What is the working title of your book?

SUSTENANCE

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Two things: I’m a whole foods junkie, and I think too much. I had a “what if” moment concerning manufactured food and the toxic world we live in, and the seed of a story was born.

What genre does your book fall under?

YA Speculative Fiction.  Holly Bodger disagrees.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I haven’t a clue. Honestly? I’m not well versed in today’s young actors. I could try to throw some names out there, but it would end up sounding ridiculous. So instead, I’ll just announce that I would like to be consulted during casting.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

In a society in which everyone is born fatally ill, 16-year-old Quinn McKenna vows to do anything to save her sister, who has been scheduled for voluntary termination–but when Quinn agrees to an engagement she isn’t ready for so that she can gain access to an alleged cure, she must decide what is most important: saving her relationship, saving her sister, or saving herself.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’ve got an agent I adore. As you all know. ☺

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? May we see an intro?

3 months, which is my normal time frame with 1000-word-a-day drafting.

Opening:

I have never seen anyone die outside a hospital. It is always controlled, sterile, painless. For the person dying and for anyone who might be watching.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I can't go here.  If I say Divergent by Veronica Roth, people will think it's a dystopian with war-like overtones.  If I say Defiance by CJ Redwine--well, that's a little closer because of the girl-breaking-out-of-the-boundaries part. But I haven't finished reading Defiance, so I can't say for sure.

Maybe my critique partners can better answer this question.  But I really hate saying "my book is like such-and-such".  I know where it belongs on the shelves in the bookstore, and that's about it.  (YA SF/F, of course.)

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My own beliefs about the food we eat, the world we live in, and the brokenness of our health care system are what inspired me to write this book. I believe the story is speculative in the truest sense, because it takes the “what if” of our current food supply/medical model along a certain trajectory that could, in the worst of worlds, end up the way I’ve envisioned it.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

The too-close-to-home truths about my characters’ world; the fight to save someone you love; the pressure of choosing between what seems right, and what your heart is screaming at you. Yeah, all that.

Thanks again to Nancy Bilyeau for tagging me!  Here are my 5 belovedly-tagged choices--please be sure to visit their blogs in the next week or 2 to read their own answers to the ten questions!

Adam Heine
Elissa Cruz
Holly Bodger
Julie Butcher
Peter Salomon

Message for the tagged authors and interested others: 

Rules of The Next Big Thing:

*Use this format for your post
*Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (work in progress)
*Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

What is your working title of your book?
Where did the idea come from for the book?
What genre does your book fall under?
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? May we see an intro?
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

Include the link of who tagged you and this explanation for the people you have tagged. Be sure to line up your five people in advance.