The Next Big Thing (Week 23)

I was pleasantly surprised when Aaron Bradford Starr invited me to participate with "The Next Big Thing" or as he was saying "So you think you can write a novel?"  For me that is a big question.  I have a novel, I have a trilogy written.  However I put my story into AQC Spec Fic groups summer marathon where fellow writers have tore it apart.  My beta readers gave me feed back, the story isn't ready yet.

My take from all this, writing good, story good, delivery poor.

So with that preface here is my part in this Next Big Thing:

1- What is the working title of your book?
Sword of the Outcast.  It had been Seven Silver Swords: Book One, Heirs to the Throne.  My feedback gave me a no on that long title.  So it is a work in progress.

2- Where did the idea come from for the book?
The idea for this book has evolved over the years.  In fact I'm taking feedback from the marathon and beta readers and going back for a rewrite.

3- What genre does your book fall under?
  Speculative Fiction is the big umbrella, but it is Fantasy, or what I am terming a Fantasy Thriller.

4- Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Wow, I had never given this much thought.  I'm not sure who could pull off a dwarven martial artist.

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

When Duncan receives an old staff to unlock an evil wizard’s tower, he was also given a key to unlock his own latent magical powers.

6- Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I am starting off looking for an agent, but as e-pub grows and I learn what other writers are doing, I may choose to go that way.

7- How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Over a year, and now I am going back and working on it some more.

8- What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Harry Potter meets Jack Ryan

9- Who or What inspired you to write this book?
I don't know, they story just had to get out.

10- What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
Magic, romance, battles, mystery, suspense, High Fantasy.  Unfortunately I'm told I have a classic car running in the Daytona 500.  So my challenge is taking a classic fantasy story and packaging it for today's new markets.

Tagged for next week (Week 24) are some of my very talented writer friends. Check out their blogs next Wednesday, November 14th, when it's their turn to post answers to these same questions about their own works-in-progress!

Oh, The Things I've Learned - Angie Sandro