Okay, so. Three months since I last blogged. That's not good. And, truthfully, the only reason I am putting something up today is because I promised the lovely
Liah Thorley I would take part in the 'Next Big Thing' blog tour.
I know I should blog at least twice a week but, honestly, between work, Lady M and wallowing in the despair of being a newly-emigrated Pom to Perth, I just don't seem to have the time or the inclination.
BUT, perhaps this will spur me on to more regular blogging... this plus a new house in beautiful South Perth (soon, moving date is 1st December - yay!) and a reduction in hours at work should all conspire to make a happier, more time-rich blogger!
So, on to the 'Next Big Thing' blog stop and many thanks to Liah for tagging me in! To read Liah's answers click
right here and please check out fellow
Abingdon Writer and my tagged author, Marissa De Luna's blog post
coming soon!
What is the working title of
your book?
The book I’m
going to talk about here is ‘Rock-a-Lillie’ – the first book I wrote and the
only completed one so far! I can’t talk about the second book as I’m only
really half way through the first draft.
Where did the idea come from for the
book?
Well, when I
started it, it was going to be about the dynamics of a group of best friends
but it somehow morphed into a romance novel. I guess the romantic interest of
the main character, Lillie, just didn’t want to be in the background of the
book and kept writing himself into it more and more!
What genre does your book fall under?
Definitely
Contemporary Romance, perhaps Romantic Comedy.
Which actors would you choose to play
your characters in a movie rendition?
Oh wow, that’s a really difficult question actually. I can’t
believe I’ve never ‘cast’ my characters!
I really want to say that Lillie should be played by a blend of
Liv Tyler and Kristen Stewart. She’s beautiful with a kind of vulnerability and
awkwardness to her and Liv Tyler has that sort of fragile beauty whereas
Kristen Stewart has the striking eyes and colt-like clumsiness to her. Plus,
whoever Lillie is, she needs to be able to sing and I know both those actresses
can sing!
Jed is more difficult. Maybe someone like Jesse Spencer (Dr
Chase from House) but he’d have to dye his hair black and wear green contacts
so, no, that probably wouldn’t work.
Okay, think Johnny Depp 10 years ago (I know that would still
put him about ten years older than Jed but, really, the man never ages. I
wonder if he drinks the blood of virgins…).
Or Jared Leto – yeah, Jared Leto with green eyes and darker
hair. Jed is a beautiful man and Jared Leto is very pretty. (We’d have to
stretch him out though, Jed is over 6ft tall!) Plus, Jared knows exactly what
the tortures of touring are like.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of
your book?
Lillie Hartman joins an up-and-coming rock band after falling for gorgeous
and enigmatic singer, Jed but Jed is hiding something which could destroy
their relationship and, ultimately, his band.
Will your book be self-published or
represented by an agency?
I will try to
get an agent but if that doesn’t transpire then I will definitely think about
self-publishing.
How long did it take you to write the
first draft of your manuscript?
Maybe a year.
Something like that.
What other books would you compare this
story to within your genre?
I aspire to
write like Gemma Burgess who writes her characters like they are real, modern
women. That doesn’t seem to happen an awful lot and I love reading about
fictional characters and thinking, ’yeah, that’s exactly what my friend, the
ball-breaker, would say’ or ‘God, that’s the kind of thing so-and-so would do’
when a character does something slightly immoral or thinks something that’s not
conventionally acceptable.
I’d like to
think that my characters are like real people, they do stupid things and say
hurtful stuff. The girls love each other as best friends but that doesn’t mean
they don’t get irritated with each other. And the guys can be a bit lecherous
and gross but that’s just real life, right? (And before any boys start ranting
in mock-horror at that stereotype, the male characters are also caring and
funny and wise, just like guys in real life…)
Who or What inspired you to write this
book?
A particular
group of friends first inspired me to put pen to paper (metaphorically, of
course. My hand cramps up if I write more than two paragraphs).
I suppose it
was the hotness of Lillie’s love interest that made him appear more and more. I
also wanted a main character who could sing because I cannot sing a note and
that aspect of her seemed too important to just be a passing comment. It wanted
to be an integral part of the story so I let it!
What else about your book might pique
the reader’s interest?
It’s not your
ordinary ‘girl-meets-boy, girl-hates-boy,
girl-falls-in-love-with-boy-in-the-end’ romance. It’s an interesting path the
two main characters take and you get to know each one’s thoughts and feelings
as the book is written from both Lillie’s and Jed’s perspectives.
