The Next Big Thing

Tag! I'm it.   Cathy C. Hall tagged me. She answered these same questions on her blog. I've answered them about my NaNoWriMo, which has crashed and burned (NaNo-wise).  

After you read my answers, hopefully the following bloggers will accept being "it" and will post next Tuesday. Inquiring minds want to know...

Val--You're tagged! http://unbaggingthecats.blogspot.com
Lynn--You're tagged! http://lynnobermoeller.blogspot.com

And without further ado ("Wake up!") here are my answers:

What is your working title of your book? The WWWP Critique Group and SD Society 

Where did the idea come from for the book? The idea came from the pee-in-your-pants fun we have in our writing critique group...and the support and encouragement that flows like the Mississippi River--without the nasty sludge that comes with river water.

What genre does your book fall under? Chick lit, I suppose. Although for anyone blind enough or addled enough to think of me as a young "chick," all I have to say is, "I have a slightly used, like-new, chewed-by-a-dog size 11 pair of Crocs I'd like to sell you. And they're tres chic."

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Meryl Streep, Kathy Bates, Anne Lamott, Hillary Swank and---negotiations are still taking place over the fifth role. 

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Five women begin by supporting each other's writing but their camaraderie eventually turns to committing a felony.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? That's putting the cart out before the horse is even out of the barn. I don't think I would be the type to go the self-publishing route, and yet I'm too smart to never say "never." I've known some impressive writers who publish their own books, so it would something I might consider... 

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? We're still in present-tense land, not past tense. I'm about 30,000 words into it. I was doing well with NaNo, and then this little cherub (my granddaughter) came into town from Florida for a two-week visit. The writing had to be put aside so the spoiling could commence...So, even though NaNoWriMo is not over yet, I am surrendering to NaNo but I'm not giving up on this novel. In fact, the more I work on it, the more I'm enjoying it.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? That is a tough one. Maybe Sandra Dallas' Persian Pickle Club? She so deftly paints the strength of the women in that novel, and I definitely want to showcase the power of my characters. 

Who or what inspired you to write this book? Lynn Obermoeller. She wrote a book for NaNoWriMo and it's incredible. But beyond the engaging story is the way she's stuck with it.  When it's gotten hard or frustrating, she feels compelled to continue with the revision process because the manuscript is insisting...it's whispering to her. I really admire (and envy) that.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? Well, here is the opening, which will hopefully intrigue a few people:

         All five of them were hot. Well actually, four of them were sweating and beet-red and fanning their necklines open because of the hot flashes that plagued them. They had passed up their hottie phase decades ago and were now dragging it behind their cellulite-ridden rump like a rusty red wagon.

            The fifth member of the group—Bri—would make most men and all women strap on their drool buckets. Men who saw her drank in the slender legs that never stopped, the long, ash-blond hair, and the confident, come-take-me way she had of striding across the room. Women envied the casual but chic way she wore her clothes, her flawlessly-lovely legs, and the fact that not one ounce of fat had the guts to land onto her frame and take up permanent residence.