The Next Big Thing

Laurie Hanan, author of the Louise Golden mystery series, has invited me to participate in a blog event: The Next Big Thing (TNBT). ). Laurie was invited to TNBT by Toby Neal, author of Blood Orchid (The Lei Crime Series). The event consists of 10 questions about your current WIP (Work in Progress.) Here’s the plan:

A. Answer the ten TNBT questions listed below about your current WIP (Work In Progress)

B. Tag five other writers and link their blogs so we can all hop over and read their answers.

It’s that simple. 

The handbook, Writing Mysteries, edited by Sue Grafton, lists the rules of mystery writing and which ones can be bent. The only one I actually break is having more than two characters in a scene. For the rules of The Next Big Thing, I will definitely tag five other writers and link to their blogs so you can hop over and check out their sites. I am tweeking the other rule by dividing up the questions. I will answer one question per week, tag five more writers, and include links to their sites. My goal is to transform my WIP into a published work between now and week 10.

Here is Question #1 of The Next Big Thing:

TNBT: What is the title of your book/WIP? 

GAIL: The short title of the second novel in my Pepper Bibeau Mystery Series is Different in Degree. Laurie Hanan said in her TNBT interview, “All the titles in the Louise Golden mystery series come from songs, and refer to Paradise or Heaven.” The titles of my novels are best described as ‘axiom paraphrases’. My first novel is FOR EVERY ACTION There Are Consequences. The full title of my second novel is Identical in Nature, DIFFERENT IN DEGREE. 

This is my personal rendering of a book cover for Different in Degree. My first novel has a stark white background with a black silhouette of Chicago’s skyline and blood dripping down to form the skyline’s shadow. I decided to stick with the same color scheme. The book cover for Different in Degree represents several facets of the novel: 

1. Similarities and Contrasts of Characters

2. Change of seasons within the story

3. Family tree and Genealogy plot influence

4. The Protagonist’s home states - Hawaii and Wisconsin 

Though I want to use this cover, that step of the publishing process is in the future. Editing the completed manuscript for Different in Degree is the current step! 

And now, five awesome writers whose work you want to watch:

http://westoftheequator.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/the-next-big-thing/ Laurie Hanan (Traditional Mystery)

http://www.tobyneal.net/2012/06/23/the-next-big-thing/ Toby Neal (Crime Suspense)

http://www.virtual-zen.com/liz_logic  Elizabeth Egerton Wilder(Historical Novel)

http://kenhoss.blogspot.com/ Kenneth Hoss (Police Procedural)

http://www.karin-kaufman.blogspot.com/ Karen Kaufman (Mystery) 

Here is the full list of The Next Big Thing questions for you to copy and paste to your blog along with your answers. Just tag five awesome writers and add their links so we can all follow along.

1.  What is the title of your book/WIP?

2.  Where did the idea for the book come from?

3.  What genre would your book fall under?

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

5.  What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

6.  Is your book published or represented?

7.  How long did it take you to write?

8.  What other books within your genre would you compare it to?

9.  Which authors inspired you to write this book?

10. Tell us anything else that might pique our interest in your book.