The Next Big Thing

I’m horribly late doing this, but I hope you’ll forgive me.

The wonderful Ana Blaze tagged me in this “freeze-tag style blog hop that’s going around Authorville.”

Basically, if you get tagged, fill out the questions on your own blog about your upcoming writing project, then tag five additional authors, linking to their blogs or websites. Don’t forget to let them know they were tagged. 😀

I have more than one WIPs, but I answered these questions for the one nearest completion, which I hope to have out on Valentine’s Day this year.

THE TEN QUESTIONS:

1. What is the working title of your book?
Magic at Work

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
I can’t really give you details without getting in trouble, but I’ll say I was tossing around plot-bunnies with friends, and one of them said, “What about writing a story about a woman reading stories at work and getting caught?” The first draft of Magic at Work was born from playing with that idea.

3. What genre does your book fall under?
It’s a mix between Contemporary Romance and Paranormal Romance

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Hmmm, I had two characters in mind for the first version of the story, but after the rewrite, I think I’d need a cute guy with a dangerous streak for Richard/Rex, and a spunky blonde for Lexi/Xandra.

Kate Hudson would do for the latter–I bet she could still pass for twenty something when my imaginary movie came out. While Kate Hudson “would do,” I can’t believe I didn’t think of Amanda Seyfried first. She’d be perfect for the part–even if she weren’t my girl-crush!

And the guy could be Henry Cavill. (on second thought, he could totally be Henry Cavill! Accent, blue eyes, ability to go from cute-but-nerdy to hot-as-hell: he has it all!)

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Fate can always use a little nudge when it comes to meeting the love of your life.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Self-published. I tried going with a publisher for my first novel, but I ultimately need to have more control over my book.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The outline only took a couple of days, but the finished first draft took the better part of a year

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? 
I…don’t know. I don’t think I’ve read something similar, but my memory is notorious for its weakness.

9. Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Other than the friends who first tossed the general idea–though without the supernatural element–my way, real life. The book was written based on several “what ifs.”

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It’s in a contemporary setting but there’s magic and lots of naughtiness in it. Most people want magic and naughtiness in their everyday lives, I think.

And here’s the summary, so you can judge for yourselves whether you’d be interested:

On a slow day at work, Lexi Adams discovers an online erotic romance novel, the heroine of which is her spitting image and carries her childhood nickname: Xandra. Intrigued, she starts reading and becomes enamoured with the leading man, Rex. The problem is, she soon discovers she can only access the novel on her work PC.

Richard, head of the IT department, is the only person appearing less than happy with Lexi’s working for the company. He wastes no chance to provoke her and, when he suspects she’s slacking off, decides to find out what she does in front of her computer screen all day. His surprise at what takes up her time is overshadowed by the fact that the novel’s leading man shares his face and the name he used years ago, before Lexi’s stepfather saved him from himself.

Thinking Lexi is enamored with him and has written the novel, Richard is forced to come to terms with his feelings for her–feelings he’s been denying out of respect for her stepfather.

But Lexi isn’t willing to share more than her body…

I’m tagging the following five authors to be the Next Big Thing:

1. Andrei Lazu
2. Carla Krae
3. Jolynn Raymond
4. Sofia Grey
5. not officially a writer, but… Gillian–because I hope to nudge you off your cute ass and get you to share your writings with the world!