{"id":5403,"date":"2012-12-05T08:15:22","date_gmt":"2012-12-04T21:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.zenashapter.com\/blog\/?p=5403"},"modified":"2021-08-30T16:35:46","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T06:35:46","slug":"the-next-big-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/the-next-big-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Next Big Thing"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, the incredibly talented Ditmar award-winning Joanne Anderton<\/a> just tagged me in this Next Big Thing thingy (thanks too Amanda Bridgeman<\/a> and Amin Chehelnabi<\/a> for also asking me), meaning I now have to answer ten questions about my current masterpiece in the making\u2026<\/p>\n

Thanks Jo!!<\/p>\n

1) What is the working title of your next book?<\/p>\n

Towards White<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Me in Iceland, 2001.<\/p><\/div>\n

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?<\/p>\n

So many places! I’m a devourer of social experiments and inconclusive scientific theory. If there’s a gap in the communal knowledge of humanity, I\u2019m there! I love ideas. I love chatting to anyone and everyone I can find (don’t let me corner you at a party!). And I absolutely adore travelling overseas, searching out unusual stories and uncommon sights. The idea for Towards White<\/em> came from all of that, and more! Let\u2019s just say that the conservation of energy theory states that one form of energy must always become another form of energy. So where do you<\/em> think the electrical energy in your brain goes when you die\u2026?<\/p>\n

3) What genre does your book fall under?<\/p>\n

Commercial fiction with speculative elements. I love reading close-to-reality books of the unexplained, ones that take us away from the everyday yet stay so close it\u2019s only when we shut the book we realise we\u2019ve been away at all. That\u2019s this kind of book.<\/p>\n

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?<\/p>\n

Ones that cost millions of dollars to hire (because of course it\u2019s going to be an international blockbuster!). He he, only kidding! Um, I think I\u2019d prefer for readers to come up with their own ideas as they read the novel. My protagonist Becky Dales doesn\u2019t come to the story with a clean slate. Like most of us, she\u2019s a puzzle \u2013 one of those beautiful pastel Impressionist puzzles that only becomes clear after you reach the end. She\u2019d need to be played by an actress who\u2019s excellent at portraying complexity and undisclosed personal secrets. I like to put my characters in extreme or unusual situations too, just to see how they\u2019ll react. So my characters would all need professional stunt doubles!<\/p>\n

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?<\/p>\n

When Becky Dales travels to Iceland to repatriate her brother’s dead body, she discovers where the electrical energy in our brains really goes when we die.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Me in Iceland, 2001.<\/p><\/div>\n

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?<\/p>\n

Represented by an agency.<\/p>\n

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?<\/p>\n

Years. When I first started writing Towards White<\/em>, I was still finding my voice as a writer. It took several attempts before I could even settle on a first draft that reflected my style.<\/p>\n

8)\u00a0What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?<\/p>\n

My beta readers have compared Towards White<\/em> to many varied titles \u2013 some of which I haven\u2019t read myself yet. So, here\u2019s trusting to them<\/p>\n