The Next Big Thing: Authors Tagging Authors!

Happy Friday, everyone!  Whew!  It’s been a long time since I’ve really blogged and I’ve missed it, and my followers!  Thank you for being patient with me the last few weeks, but it’s been quite a busy time in my work and personal life.  The good thing is that my office is almost finished, so I’ll be a lot more focused hopefully by the end of this month, (YAY!).

And now for something exciting…

Last Friday I was tagged by Jackie Bouchard of Pooch Smooches as part of a blog going around, called “The Next Big Thing.”  It was a pleasure being tagged along with other wonderful authors.  Below are the questions that are given to each other, along with my answers.  While some of them were difficult to answer because I’m (very) shy and don’t like to talk about myself or my books, I had wonderful advice given to me by the ladies of a Facebook group that I started, Chick Lit Goddesses.  We’d love to have you!

What is the working title of your book?  Right now I’m working on edits for my books, “Redefined Dreams” and “The Right Design.”

Where did the idea come from for the book?  I began writing “Redefined Dreams” while taking a creative writing class at Gotham Writers’ Workshop.  One assignment was to start a story with “The window…”  I had no direction at first for it, but I was a newlywed and still had wedding stuff on my mind, so the beginning story was easy, but then the characters started to “speak” to me and soon my characters came to life, as well as a story!

“The Right Design,” it was the beginning of October when I decided that I would participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).  When I sat down to write this book on that first day of November, I knew I wanted my Heroine to be very different from the MC in my first book, but had no clue whatsoever what this book would be about, but that changed very quickly.  I wrote this book as if I were the main character, so I guess you could say that I wrote the book about a life I have/had/wish I had and in some ways, want.  For those of you that know me, I bet you’d be surprised, though only three people have read this book, (one of my closest male friends, my mom and my editor)!

What genre does your book fall under?  Both of my books are a mix of Chick Lit/Romance

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?  I love this question!  My dream is to write a book and have it turned into a movie, even if it’s on Lifetime, (only without Leann Rimes and Eddie Cibrian — if you don’t know the story, HERE is a summary).  For “Redefined Dreams,” I’d have to say that Ashley Williams or Gennifer Goodwin would play Lucy, Eric Dane would play Jackson, and Nathan would played by Channing Tatum.  For “The Right Design,” I would have Katherine Heigl play Carrie, Sandra Bullock to play Sara, Harry Connic Jr. would play Roger, and either Matt Bomer or Colin Egglesfield would play Brad.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?  What a great question!  “Redefined Dreams” — Have you ever been engaged to a man who turns out to be gay, but you get over it by falling in love with your ex-wedding coordinator’s son, only to end up pregnant with his baby?  “The Right Design” — What’s a better way to get over your cheating ex-boyfrind than to move to new city, only to be tempted by your client and not able to act on it because of the rules you’ve set for yourself, until he makes the first move?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?  I’m still deciding.  There are both positives and negatives about each choice, but there is one I’m leaning towards and that’s to self-publish!

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?  “Redefined Dreams” took me a full year, March of 2010 to March of 2011.  “The Right Design” took me 30 days in November of 2011!  (Participating in NaNoWriMo was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made).

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?  I’d love for my books to be compared to Emily Giffin’s “Something Blue” and “Something Borrowed.”  Those books are why I wanted to be an author in the first place.  She’s an inspiration!  I think that Emily is the most talented and beloved author in the Chick Lit genre.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?  Like I mentioned before, Emily Giffin is an inspiration, but my husband inspired me write books one and two.  He’s a constant motivator and pushes me to achieve what I think I can’t do, but knows I can.  (Thank you, hubby!)

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?  My books aren’t just to entertain, but I want my readers to feel like they can relate to my main Heroine and/or the struggle she’s in.  While I write for pleasure, I love to write for others who can finish my book and say, “Wow, that was great,” and the character and/or story sticks with them.

I was only supposed to tag 5, but I have so many awesome author friends that I wanted to include, so I tagged 6.  Next Friday, the 26th, they will have answered the questions and tagged  more authors, and so on.  Be sure to check stay tuned and see who they tag!

Wendy Ely

Elke Feuer

Kristina Knight

Francine LaSala

Sharon Moore

Samantha Robey