My Next Big Thingprison life

My Next Big Thing

I was invited to participate in the NEXT BIG THING blog hop by the awesome Vanessa Wu of Intense Sensations (read her awesome Big Thing post here; awesome short story collection of lesbian erotica)--thank you, Vanessa!

Ten questions about the current / new WIP: check.

1) What is the working title of your current/next book?

Okay... I'll go with Novel #1, A MANTRA FOR CATS AND OTHER RUNAWAYS. I've been working on revisions for over a year, so that definitely makes it "current" :D

Me (horizontal) around the time this
"real life" inciting incident happened.
(Disclaimer: none of the other
innocents in the pic were involved)

2) Where did you get the idea for that book?

Real life. I started a short story about something that happened to me many many years ago, intending to put it out on paper to get perspective, to make some sense out of it. When I hit 20,000 words and hadn't even got close to the middle, I considered stopping. I was, after all, aiming for a short story. But I was having too much fun writing it.

Once the decision to continue was made, it freed me up somehow. The characters--originally real people--took on a life of their own, started doing things that didn't actually happen (and ignoring the things that did!). I knew then this had become a story separate from myself.

Image credit: Jane Friedman's post on Lit Fic

3) What’s the genre of the book?

Literary fiction.

4) If you could pick actors to play the lead characters in your

story, who would you pick?

Ah. Tough one, for two reasons. One, I suck at recognizing actors. Two, I have a pretty clear idea of what these people look like in my head, what they feel like. Giving them an actual physique, one that exists somewhere, seems odd. But I'll give it a shot, for the sake of the exercise.

Camilla Belle

Alexia (FMC) would have to be played by a Mexican, or at least Latino-looking, woman. No, not Salma Hayek or Eva Longoria. Someone more along the lines of Barbara Mori or Camilla Belle.

Alexia's mom, Peque, could be played by Diana Bracho.

Michael... Oooh, he's a tough one. Maybe a Heath Ledger look-alike? Blond and with long hair? And green eyes? Mmm. Maybe. Definitely not someone Brad-Pitt-perfect, but he'd have to be tall (at least 6'2"), not hugely bulky but big-shouldered.

5) How would you describe your book in one sentence (10 words

or less)?

Hope found, lost, discovered. Beginnings, and endings, that aren't. [Whew--nine words!]

6) (a) How will your book be published, submitted through the traditional route to a traditional publisher or will you be handling it yourself through Indie Publishing methods? (b) If you’re an Indie Author, will you be publishing through your own Indie Publishing company or in a collective with other Indie Authors?

I'll be trying the traditional route first. As much as I respect the indie movement, as a newbie author I have no clue what constitutes "good enough". I crave the validation of an industry professional, with all the caveats that apply. Yes, there's no guarantee that "good enough" for an agent or publisher is actually "good" at all, or vice versa. But it's my first novel. It's a learning curve, isn't it? Before I put something out there for the public to read, through which I'll be judged, I'd like to have at least some semblance of approval stamp. Cowardly? Probably :)

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of this book?

Three months and ten days. I finished it on August 15, 2011. I've been revising / rewriting / editing since then. Yup, not done either.

8) What other books within your genre are similar to yours?

If you're too lazy to read the book,
there's a movie. Good movie.

Mmmm. Another tough one. Probably some of Isabel Allende's in terms of simplicity, of the all-encompassing credit to story (THE INFINITE PLAN, for example). Lynn Barber's memoir AN EDUCATION in terms of attempting to mirror a country's coming-of-age via an individual, insignificant, story.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

As mentioned in #2, the kernel began in my own life. I tend to focus on pivotal moments: what made someone take this or that path? How are decisions made, really? Because the things that alter the course of someone's life aren't those decisions that feel so momentous. They're the little things, the small choices we make

10) What about your book will pique the reader’s interest?

It's a story about cultures clashing, about unrequited love, about that moment when one makes the conscious decision on whether to live according to the expectations of our world--our parents, our friends, the society we live in. It's a story about discovering, and daring to embrace, our individuality. It's a story about the gifts life throws our way, and the price we pay for accepting them... Or not.