The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Author Caitlin Hensley tagged me in the Next Big Thing Blog Hop.

What is that?

Well, it’s a blog event where I answer ten questions about the “next big thing” I’m writing, and then, I tag other authors to answer questions on their blog. The purpose is to find out what your favorite authors are writing while being introduced to other authors. Cool, huh?

So, here we go.

1: What is the working title of your book?

Lash

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?

In the shower. Yeah, my story ideas seem to come to me either in the shower or while I’m driving to work. I was in the shower listening to the song, Broken Angel, when a vivid scene (which is now in Chapter 4) hit me. It was immediately followed by another scene (depicted in Chapter 22). At the time, the two scenes didn’t connect with each other, but eventually they did.

This is the song I was listening to:

3: What genre does your book come under?

New Adult Paranormal Romance

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

This is a tough question. Here are a few photos of how I picture some of the characters in Lash.

LASH

NAOMI DURAN

ARCHANGEL GABRIELLE

It would be really cool if Naomi’s father was played by George Lopez. He’d be perfect!

JAVIER DURAN

Sal would obviously be played by The Rock.

SAL (SALEOS)

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A fallen angel must choose where to place his faith—in the home he has fought so hard to regain or in the forbidden love he can’t bear to lose.

6: Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?

Self-published.

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

The actual writing of it took place during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo 2012) in November and continued for about two weeks into December. So, it took about six or seven weeks total to write.

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

Hmm, this is another tough question. It’s a fallen angel story so maybe it is similar to Hush, Hush, Fallen, and Angelfall. I only read the first book to Hush, Hush and didn’t read the Fallen series, so I’m not sure.

I would like to note, though, that the characters in Lash are not in high school. Most of the characters are in their early twenties. The characters deal with New Adult (18-25 year-old) issues like identity development, navigating independence, managing their first serious romantic relationship, and accepting personal responsibility.

Despite what ABC’s Nightline and JuJu Chang reported, the New Adult genre is not “smut fiction” or a merging of “young adult” with “erotic fiction.” The concept of New Adult is not new. There is an entire field of study in psychology known as “Emerging Adulthood,” which gives an empirical basis to the themes that New Adult authors write about.

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

I’m very active in the Twilight Fandom and have written a few fan fiction stories. When I came up with the idea for Lash, I was encouraged by friends and readers to go for it. It was scary trying out original fiction, but I just had to it. Publishing a novel has always been a dream of mine. I’m so lucky to have a great group of people cheering me on.

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

This is another tough question. I asked one of my beta readers, Carrie Castañeda-Sound, this question and this is what she said:

“The redemption story for Lash, and the love story between human and angel. I love stories where finding each other unearths "secret" parts of oneself. Also, usually we think of humans unworthy next to angels...I like stories that challenge the status quo.”

Below you will find authors I tagged and who will be joining me by blog, next Thursday. Do be sure to bookmark and add them to your calendars for updates and exciting developments.

Billy Wong

Irma Geddon

Olivia Fuller

Timothy H. Scott

KA Poe

Catriona Crehan