In Which I Answer Questions...

Waaay back in the day (I mean, like, October. Yikes!), a couple lovely gals gave me some blog awards.

#1 - Gina at Diary of a Writer in Progress gave me The Next Big Thing Award with strict instructions that she wanted to know more about what was up my sleeve with my novels. This one's for you, Gina.

What is the working title of your book? Windfarer

Where did the idea for the book come from? It's been rolling around in my head FOREVER! The first scene that came to me is actually from book two, and it was from a dream. Other influences were a) the animated movie Anastasia, b) Garth Nix's Seventh Tower series and c) the fact that I've always liked tall ships. Not necessarily in that order.

What genre does your book fall under? Epic fantasy

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book? A seafaring star-mage and a mountain-born dragonrider must join forces to stop a ruler whose plan to avenge a long-dead woman threatens to extinguish the stars and destroy both their worlds.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I'm hoping for traditional but keeping my options open. I've had some agency interest in the past, so we'll see where it goes.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Ha. Um...six years. From the point I started seriously working at it, it was about three.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? I wanted the tone to be similar to Anne McCaffrey's Pern books. Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince series and some of Shepherd Smith's stuff might also be a close match. Oh, geez, now I really sound dragon-obssessed, but it's more about the ships than the dragons anyway. :)

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest? Besides my MCs? The bad guy. He was a lot of fun to write! He's in love with a dead woman, plus, you know, he's evil. I also did a switch on the classic mentor role. Instead of helping, my MC's "mentor" is actively trying to keep things from her...but is she right?


#2 - Laura at From the Desk of Laura Stephenson nominated me for the Liebster Award, which I've gotten a couple times in the past so I'll stick to the flash fiction version of answers:

Who's your favorite author and what do you love most about their writing? Robert Jordan. His characterization.

If you had the means to, what is the one thing you wish you could buy, right now? Time.

Favorite hot drink? Spiced cider

Favorite season? Summer

How do you spend your free time? What is this free time you speak of?

If you could have only one type of pet for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A black lab.

9 comments:

  1. LOVE the title of your novel. The casting is delish, and the premise sounds like real adventure! Very cool.

    And black labs are awesome, beautiful dogs.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Find me a chair! Epic fantasy? Dragons? Cool title? What more could a nerd like me want? Oh yeah, a series! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your book sounds awesome! And yes, I would love to buy some time too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Like yourself, I've had an idea for my story rolling around my head for a while. And its fun to find actors and actresses to play your characters. Best wishes to you and your continued success!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice answers! And I love the cast you'd choose for a movie version of your book. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's great to know more about you, Nicole, and that epic fantasy. Sounds intriguing!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is the perfect time of year for hot spiced cider! I too like summer and would like to buy something called time too. When you find out where it's being sold, let me know!

    ReplyDelete
  8. L.G. - Thanks! And, yes, black labs are awesome.

    Alex - Glad to hear it. It took a while. ;)

    Jeff - I aim to please.

    Cherie - I'll let you know if I find a mysterious black market time-dealer.

    Stephen - Hope you're working on getting that story out of your head. I bet it'll be great.

    Laura - Yeah, I've never done the cast thing before, but it was tons of fun!

    Miranda - Thanks!

    Cynthia - Apparently this "time" thing is in high demand. ;)

    ReplyDelete