The Next Big Thing

Hello, guys and girls! Some of you may have seen on a few other blogs authors talking about the Next Big Thing. Well, the lovely and talented, Sloan Parker, tagged me to take part and answer a few questions about a WIP (work in progress) or my next book release, so here I am, talking about what will hopefully be my next big thing! My thanks to Sloan for inviting me to take part!

1.) What is the working title of your book?
      Adapting Instincts. This will be the fourth book in my Instincts series, so it needed to have "Instincts" in the title ;-) With each of the Instincts books, I try to have the first word as being relevant to the what the characters are experiencing or the theme of the story. "Adapting", fits these main characters rather well because they're both adapting and coming to accept changes in their lives and their emotions toward one another.

2.) Where did the idea come from for the book?

       This idea came about quite a long time ago, even all the way back to when I was writing Natural Instincts, Book 1 in the series. There's a character who returns throughout the series in a small role, Carl Anderson. I knew I wanted to write a story for him, and I was also fascinated with another character from that first book who had a small role, Egill Dalgaard. When I sat down to write the third book in the series, Loving Instincts, I felt there was chemistry between the two of them and somehow, someway, I needed to get them together.

3.) What is the genre of the book?
     Gay Paranormal Erotic Romance. Vampires, baby! Yeah!

4.) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
      Oh man, this is always the hardest question! I think most every author ponders with each book who you'd like to see play your characters in a movie, but for all my guys in my books, I still haven't found that right actor for any of them.

Gackt

Adapting Instincts would be tricky to cast, especially for the role of Egill, because  finding a six foot seven, burly guy with bright red hair and a Norwegian accent might be difficult ;-) I can't even think of any actors who would fit, even with dying their hair red and cutting out the accent. Carl would probably be a little easier to cast. I'd need someone with boy-next-door hotness, but not too young, since Carl is in his early thirties. See what I mean about how I can never find that perfect actor for my guys?!

It would be just as hard trying to cast the other guys, Titus, Andreas, and Daniel. Age Alex Pettyfer about 10 years, and he's got potential for Titus. For Ryunosuke, I'd be all over Gackt! Um...for the role, I mean. Okay, next question!

5.) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
     When Carl Anderson's actions endanger the life of his vampire lover, Egill Dalgaard, he must decide whether to walk deeper into vampire society, or turn his back on the only man who's ever made him feel secure. Or something like that. It's so hard to fit a 67k word novel into one sentence!

6.) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency/publisher?
      It'll be represented by a publisher, MLR Press, where the others in the series are published.

7.) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
      It took me about three months to finish this one, which is actually very fast for me, but I was working under a hard deadline for it. Then after the first draft, I did about a month of revisions before turning it in. The average for me from first written word to submission is closer to six months. I had to really push hard to finish this one faster, which is what led to me needing to take a break from writing for a while. I was just a tiny bit wiped out.

8.) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
      Besides the other books in the series, I really don't have a clue. There are a lot of great vampire stories in the gay romance genre, but I can't think of any with vampires or a "world" quite like what I've created. Really, I don't like to compare books, whether to books I've written or that I'm reading. It may seem that comparing stories about vampires would be like comparing apples to apples, but to me, it's really not, because every author creates a unique vision in the story they've written. Rather than try to hold one book up against another, I prefer to enjoy each book I read on it's own strengths and individuality.

9.) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
      Even though early in the series, I felt I wanted to do more with Carl and Egill, it was really my readers who inspired me to give a story for them serious consideration. Emails, messages on Facebook and Twitter, asking about them and if they'd get a story were great encouragement. My thanks to everyone for that!

10.) What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
        Well, I really think this is a book that if you've read the others in the series, you'll enjoy it. Some familiar faces will pop up, a lingering question or two from the last book gets answered, and of course, it's got plenty of hot action in it. But more than that, it's a love story, and is focused on the building of a new relationship and overcoming doubts to find the courage to pursue your heart. If that's the kind of story you enjoy, hopefully you'll like Adapting Instincts!

My thanks again to Sloan for tagging me to answer these questions. And if you'd like to see some other big things coming from a couple fantastically talented authors, Jambrea Jo Jones will soon be talking about her Next Big Thing, and later next week, so will Melanie Tushmore. Be sure to swing by their places and see what they've got going on! Thanks to everyone who read about my next big thing, and I hope if you decide to give Adapting Instincts a read when it releases in March 2013, that you'll enjoy it!