Writing

The Next Big Thing


Fellow CMP author, JR Tague, recently tagged me in this fun The Next Big Thing post about one of her upcoming novels: CLICK HERE to enter the Tague zone! Looked pretty fun, so I figured I’d give it a try. I chose a current work in progress (WIP), so it’s kind of raw, but I’m super excited to talk about my nine hundred year-old Gatekeeper of Hades!

So here we go:

What is the working title of your book?

Funny, I just had a little blog post about helping me pick a title. CLICK HERE if you want to see that one and give your suggestions. So far, my favorite is: Forged from Fate. But I’ll be running another post again to see which of my faves are your faves.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Another funny thing…much like most of my writing, okay…all of my writing, I just started writing. Literally, I was totally not planning to write a novel right then, but I was sitting in my recliner, watching TV, when an opening scene flashed through my mind. I didn’t even do a mind-map, which is about all I do with plotting/planning. I just opened a document, started typing, and 93,000 words later…

What genre does your book fall under?

New Adult Paranormal Romance.

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

Oh gosh. I never know what to say to this question. I’m so not good at picking music for my books or actors. But I’ll give this a try. Maybe for Sadie, the heroine, I’d pick Mackenzie Foy. For Theo, I’d have to go with Chris Hemsworth-but he’d have to have black hair.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Another thing I’m not good at. I just got the back cover blurb honed down (but it still needs work). I’ve not even attempted a twitter style version of the blurb. So…can I just share the blurb? Maybe someone reading this will give me a good one liner, huh? Oh, and I need a good tag line, too, guys. LOL.

Here’s the working blurb:

More Than Ready

Theo Bradford is a Gatekeeper to Hades tasked with retrieving the evil that seeps out. He’s waited over nine hundred years for his mark to surface on his mate’s body, calling him to her. When it finally happens, a vicious demon he sent to Hades months ago somehow defies the binding vanquish and returns, setting his targets on the female. If Theo can’t connect with his mate, he’ll never gain the strength needed to protect his fated love from the demon’s wrath or defend the Gates of Hades.

Can’t Fight Fate

Graduating college in two years was easy for eighteen-year-old genius Sadie Nowland. But explaining the mark that appeared on her shoulder four days ago has her stumped. Then, a mystery man shows up and claims the mark identifies her as his mate, catapulting her neatly laid out life into chaos. The more time she spends with him, the harder it is to deny their connection – a connection her brain can’t comprehend and her body can’t deny. And that primal bond proves more imperative to their survival than either could ever imagine.

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

I’ll shop the story around to a few dream agents once it’s cleaned up and see what happens. If not…then we’ll see. I do have a little super top secret self-pub project in the works right now….

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

Three weeks.

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

Since I’m New Adult, there aren’t a lot of those to compare to, but it’s fairly dark. I’d say a darker version of the Hush Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick with a mix of Rachel Caine’s Morganville Vampire series. Those are definitely young adult and mine is a bit darker and more intense romantically than those, but it runs along that line.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

I’m not sure yet. I know that sounds strange, but it’s true. It’s usually way after a book of mine is written that I realize what the motivating factor was. For example, my first pubbed novel, Wasteland, I didn’t realize until way after, like a year, that my character David was more than likely inspired by my unemployment stint. Didn’t want to be unemployed, couldn’t change it for quite some time no matter how hard I tried, and it was out of my control. David didn’t want to be a demon, didn’t ask to be one, and really couldn’t change it no matter how hard he looked over the past four centuries.

So, I bet I’ll find out what helped spark this newest novel someday soon…

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

Anyone who likes a little darkness in their hero will like Theo. He’s rough since he wrangles demons that escape from Hades, so he has to be wicked-strong, tough, and unrelenting…but then there is that sensitivity for those closest to him…especially his mate.

Who to tag? Gosh, there are so many I could, but I’ll just pick a couple….

Kendall Grey

Rachel Firasek

Kate Evangelista

Lisa Kessler

Their questions will be the same as mine above. Have fun with it!!

NYT & USA Today Bestseller & ultra-runner known as #TheRunningWriter. Agents: Joyce Sweeney & Nicole Resciniti of The Seymour Agency.

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