The Next Big Thing blog hop (aka tag, I’m it)

The lovely Katie tagged me about three weeks ago to participate in a blog hop (I’ve since also been tagged by Ruth). If you’ve never seen a blog hop before, the premise seems to be that one theme unites a bunch of posts by different bloggers, with the aim of drawing people to new blogs they otherwise might not see. Like a giant pyramid scheme: you’re tagged by one person and tag five more. But without the requirement that you send me cash! (Unless you want to. Oh, go on! Please send me cash!)

The thing is, Katie tagged me before I even had a blog. So here I am. Better (fashionably) late than never, right?

I always was a little slow.

So here are my ten questions:

What is the working title of your book?

Isla’s Inheritance.

The sequel is currently going under the sexy title of “Book Two”. What can I say—I suck at naming things.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Psychic vampires. You know the ones: they feed on your BRAINWAVES! Like zombies, but with less mess. There aren’t actually any vampires in my book, psychic or otherwise … but that’s where the idea came from. Then I added in faeries to the pot, and stirred.

What genre does your book fall under?

Young adult urban fantasy. I’ve had at least one person describe it as paranormal—I have a scene with a ouija board. But there are more faeries.

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

This is far and away the hardest question of the ten. Especially since I rarely watch movies, so I have no idea who the current crop of young actors are. So here are some older actors. Imagine them younger. :p

Isla – Emma Watson

Sarah – Molly C Quinn

Dominic – David Tennant

Jack – Jamie Campbell Bower

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

When Isla discovers her mother is an aosidhe—one of the fae ruling class—she must come to terms with her father’s deception and her own, sinister new abilities in order to save him.

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

Represented by an agency. If the stars align and I can find that agent that loves me and hugs me and calls me George. Or Cassandra. Or even just offers to represent me. I’m not that fussy. And the hugging might be a bit weird.

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

I had the first ~10k words sitting there for years. Once I actually sat down and picked it up again, it took me about twelve months (give or take) to finish. Another six to edit, including getting feedback from beta readers.

Book Two took me about eight months to draft from scratch. I’m getting faster!

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

It’s a supernatural coming of age tale. I didn’t write it with a particular book in mind or anything, but I’m sure there are others out there.

I gather that Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey books have a half-human teenage girl as the main character. But I haven’t read them. I will eventually—I really should—but I heard of them when I was partway through drafting Isla’s Inheritance and I thought if I read them I’d only see whatever similarities there were and lose hope. And maintaining the momentum can be tricky enough as it is, especially for the first book, when you’re full of self-doubt and haven’t yet proven to yourself that you can do it.

That being said, I’ve read the basic premise and, other than the main characters’ genetics, I think my books have very little in common with Kagawa’s. Maybe I’ll add reading the first one to my list of resolutions for next year.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I’ve always loved urban fantasy; it’s my favourite genre. Of course, I didn’t used to know that was what the genre was called. I used to call them “novels that are set in the real world, but with a supernatural element”.  I told you I suck at naming things!

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

It’s set in Australia. Isla’s father moved here from England in order to avoid the consequences of the actions that led to Isla’s birth … which I won’t elaborate on here. (Spoilers!)

And I tag…

I’m meant to tag five other blogger writers for this, but I’ve been nosing around and it seems the ones I thought might be interested have already done it. I really am late to the party… Anyway, if you’re interested, let me know in the comments (with a link to your blog) and I’ll edit you in! 🙂

Chynna-Blue Scott