The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

A rather grandiose (and hopeful) title for this blog hop for learning about writers current projects. I was invited (tagged, as it were) by writer Zoe Dawson (her blog here) to participate in discussing my work-in-progress. It’s a thoughtful way to start the new year. She passed on a list of questions that writers all over the Internet are answering. Without any further preamble, here goes:

QUESTIONS:
1. What is the working title of your current/next book?

An Irresistible Temptation. It’s the second in a trilogy and the title needed to keep in the spirit of the first book, which was An Improper Situation.

2. Where did you get the idea for the book?

It came to me while writing the first book. I knew I wanted to write more about this 19th-century family of over-achievers. Sophie Malloy, the heroine, is one of the sisters of the well-respected lawyer Reed Malloy, hero of the first book. She is his middle sister of three, and is a classically trained pianist.

3. What’s the genre of the book?

Historical romance

4. If you could pick actors to play the lead characters in your story, who would you pick?

Such a difficult question. I don’t even like book covers that have images of real models on them. They never match how I envision the characters in my mind. I much prefer paintings, such as the old Johanna Lindsey covers, which is why my first book had a stylized cover that still leaves a little to your own imagination of how the characters, Reed and Charlotte, actually look (well, if they were real, that is, which they are, to me). I haven’t commissioned my next cover, but will use the same artist, Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs.

But I’ve dodged the question. I don’t know where I found this image (on the right), so I apologize in advance for not giving credit and if someone could tell me who this man is, I’d very much appreciate it. He’s been in my book’s file since day one as the absolute spitting image of my idea for Riley Dalcourt, the hero of my current work-in-progress, An Irresistible Temptation. Even before I had the character’s name, I had this photo of how he looks.

As for my current heroine, Sophie Malloy, from Boston, MA, is tall and dark-haired, with a strong face and even stronger, independent personality. She could be played by British actress Lena Headey, whom I just found after a quick Internet search.

 

5. How would you describe your book in one sentence (10 words or less)?

Brokenhearted, well-educated pianist travels across 1880s America and meets seemingly shiftless cowboy, who is really an honor-bound, engaged medical student, and fights her inexplicable attraction to him, as does he to her.

I totally failed at that, but it’s the first time I’ve tried to explain it in one sentence. Ten words seems impossible, but I’ll be polishing that summary as I get to the back cover stage.

6. a. How will your book be published, submitted through the traditional route to a traditional publisher or will you be handling it yourself through Indie Publishing methods?

Indie publishing.

b. If you’re an Indie Author, will you be publishing through your own Indie Publishing company or in a collective with other Indie Authors?

I’ll be handling it through my own publishing company, Cat Whisker Press. It will be available in paperback and digital versions.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of this book?

About four months.

8. What other books within your genre are similar to yours?

I’m not sure. It’s not a Regency, the most popular type of historical romance, which is quite a bit earlier than my late-nineteenth-century time period. I could name a plethora of Regencies that I love but they don’t resemble my book. It’s also not a popular cowboy romance, though there are elements of that in my book, too.

I’m just going to declare ignorance on this one. Readers can decide what it’s similar to. Hopefully, I will draw readers in with a spectacular cover and interesting back cover text (that is much better than the answer to #5).

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Both the characters and the setting of my first book inspired me to write the second book. The Malloy family was too engaging for me to leave behind and the particular time period in America has a wealth of interesting places, inventions, and situations. Also, I’m always inspired by my dear friend, Marliss Melton, bestselling author of romantic suspense.

10. What about your book will pique the reader’s interest?

I hope readers enjoy learning about 19th-century San Francisco, with its beautiful grand hotels, such as The Palace, The Grand, and The Licks House, and cable cars, and open spaces, and discovering the classical music world that Sophie Malloy inhabits.

There are also interesting facts about medical knowledge at the time, hospitals, train travel, and living in a small town in dusty ol’ Colorado.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So there you have it. I thoroughly enjoyed discussing my latest, and nearly finished, work-in-progress. I don’t know if An Irresistible Temptation will be the Next Big Thing, but I hope it gives some pleasure to readers.
 

 

 

And now, I’m tagging other writers with WIPs, which they’d love to share:

Alan Ford, January 7, at http://qpwrites.blogspot.com/
Debbie A. McClure, January 7, at http://the-write-stuff.me/
Nikki Rittenberry, January 8, at http://rittenberry.wordpress.com/
Jerilyn Willin, January 7, at www.facebook.com/SpeakerWriterCoach

Thanks for stopping by.