The Next Big Thing Blog Hop–All About My WIP

I’ve been doubly tagged to contribute to the Next Big Thing Blog Hop by two lovely and talented writers—Kate SeRine and Anna Simpson. Kate is the author of the Transplanted Tales series. Her first novel, RED, was released in August 2012, and the sequel, THE BETTER TO SEE YOU, is due out in February 2013. Anna is an aspiring novelist, currently hard at work on WHITE LIGHT.

Rules for The Next Big Thing Blog Hop:

***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?

My current WIP is A FLAME IN THE WIND OF DEATH, the sequel to DEAD, WITHOUT A STONE TO TELL IT. Currently, I’m working on the first set of revision notes from our editor.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I can’t say a lot about this without giving away too much, but the original idea came from one of our crit team members who saw something she thought would appeal to us (thanks, Lisa!). As soon as we looked into it, we knew we had the basis for a great story. We’ve been sitting on this idea since 2009.

What genre does your book fall under?

Where DEAD, WITHOUT A STONE TO TELL IT falls more in the forensic thriller category, A FLAME IN THE WIND OF DEATH is more of a classic forensic mystery.

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

This question is easy because we based our characters right from the start on Dylan McDermott and Nicki Aycox. In some ways it’s funny that they were our visual inspiration because they once starred in a TV show together, but I never saw a single episode of it.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Our logline is actually two sentences long, so you're getting that instead...

At Halloween, Salem, Massachusetts is a hot spot for Witch and tourist alike. But when a murder spree begins, a cop and scientist must team up to find the killer before a media circus unleashes, panic ensues, and more victims are killed.

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

I’m represented by the fabulous Nicole Resciniti of The Seymour Agency.

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

This manuscript definitely rolled out faster than usual because I wrote a lot of it while laid off from the lab after funding ran out. Once I’d done my job searching for the day, I used my free time to write, so a large portion of this book was written in about an 8-week period. But then I put it away while Ann and I worked on our biothriller project. Once it aged a little, we went back to revise it.

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

Kathy Reichs’ Temperance Brennan series is the obvious first comparison, simply because of the forensic anthropology angle of the science in the book. But from a male-female lead/group dynamic perspective, it’s much more like the ‘In Death’ series by J.D. Robb.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I used to write purely for fun in high school (waves at co-conspirator R.J. Anderson!), but I stopped when I went to University for my science degree. I got married, had two daughters and worked full time for years before the bug bit again. After working in the same lab for about 15 years, I found my interest drifting back to it again. I met Ann and we formed our partnership. After writing 5 novels for practice, we decided to give professional publication our best shot with a new series. This is the second book in that series.

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

Our specialty is the real scientific/forensic content that we build into the mystery plot. And for those that like a little romance with their mystery, A FLAME IN THE WIND OF DEATH gets pretty spicy as the male and female leads really move forward in their relationship.

I am now tagging the following fabulous writers:

Jen Blood: Indie author Jen has two fantastic novels out in her Erin Solomon series; her newest installment, SOUTHERN CROSS, is due to be released in March of 2013.

Barbara McCormick-Thomas: Dual novelist and screenwriter, Barbara can do it all!

Marisa Cleveland: Marisa is not only a romance writer, but she’s also The Seymour Agency’s newest agent.

Lea Nolan: Lea’s debut YA/MG crossover novel CONJURE released last month and she has just survived her first blog tour.

Lane Heymont: Fantasy author Lane’s debut novel, The FREEDMAN AND THE PHAROH’S STAFF, is soon to be released by Sunbury Press.

Photo credit: ~Brenda-Starr~