I’m SO awesome, I got tagged twice in one week. LOL. Once by Steven Montano, and once by Keri Lake. They must really want me to talk about my WIP, which at the moment is The Dream Sifter. In case you’re wondering, this blog hop started on She Writes, and will likely continue until every single writer’s been tapped. Oh yeah…
Before you read my post, take a look at both Steven’s and Keri’s. They both have exciting projects underway. Well, I’ll be reading them. If you want to be cool like me, you will too.
Now, for MY next big thing…
****
1. What is the working title of your book?
The Dream Sifter – The Depths of Memory, Book 1.
****
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
The Depths of Memory series came from an odd amalgam of ideas. I was inspired by elements from C.S. Friedman’s The Coldfire trilogy, Sheri S. Tepper’s Mavin Manyshaped series and her book Grass, which combined with some very odd dreams and a wide variety of other tidbits, have led to the overall story arc. Now I have to kill you all, lest you figure out what I have planned. But no, I haven’t given you quite enough clues. Not yet…
****
3. What genre does your book fall under?
Not much of what I write falls under just one genre–it’s all dark, but otherwise it’s a free for all. I suppose I never got the single-genre memo. Anyway, The Depths of Memory series is a blend of the sci-fi, mystery, fantasy, and horror genres.
****
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
This is an easy one, as I already have a pinterest board dedicated to the characters. 🙂 Not all of the characters are cast yet, I mean, there are a ton of them. But the main four are all set. I’d cast singer Hayley Williams from Paramore as Rai Durmah, Sienna Guillory as Matriarch Bauleel, Michael Fassbender as Guardian Graeber, and Jesse Spencer as Technician Rilte.
****
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Rai Durmah seeks to regain her lost memories despite her recurring nightmares which hint at the unspeakable horrors of her past, and as she gets closer to the truth, she risks facing the death which haunts her dreams.
How’s that for a run-on sentence? Boo-yah!
****
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
The entire trilogy will be self-published.
****
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I wrote the main bulk over about 4-5 years. This is slow for me now, but it was my first manuscript. Then I realized I had one and a half books of content and re-segmented the material. It took a while to restructure things into the new format, but then book one was a standalone and I was able to wrap up book two. I took a ridiculous amount of time editing book one, and then submitted it to an indie publishing house. It was accepted but sat in the queue for over a year with no traction. When I learned it would be at least another six months before it would see an editor, I exercised my termination clause deciding to self-publish the trilogy instead.
****
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I’d say this series has similarities to books by Sheri S. Tepper and C.S. Friedman’s The Madness Season.
****
9. Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Due to my epilepsy I have brief periods (a minute or two) of amnesia which have always haunted me. They’ll fade, but in the moment I’m utterly lost, frustrated, and panicked.
The idea of a character with deliberately induced amnesia and the challenges they’d face intrigued me. Why take away their memories? What latent body memories and skills would remain? When you lack your memories, what remains of your personality?
Around all of this I placed humans in a languishing colony on another world, under threat of a devastating plague, with an alien species just waiting to pounce on them when they fail. The theme of missing memories continues throughout the trilogy, on multiple levels.
****
10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
If readers have read my others works, they know I tend towards dark subject matter. This story has suspense, action, complex world building, characters with depth and drive, and a particularly unusual set of monsters the colonists have to deal with.
****
The rules of the game:
If I tagged you, your blog post needs to go up next week, between Nov 4 – Nov 10. You answer the above questions for yourself, and you tag five other writers. If you are on She Writes you can put your post there too. Your Blog post should be labelled:
 The Next Big Thing Blog Hop.
I’m tagging the following authors. Once you’ve posted your blog feel free to come back by here and post a link to your Hop.
Also, I’ve been tagged now, and thus I’m out. Done. No tag-backs! Cheers! 😉