The Next Big Thing!

I've been tagged! Credit for this one goes to my good friend Lee S. King. (Thanks. I think.)

The rules of the blog hop:

1. Mention who tagged you, and link to their post.
2. Give the rules.
3. Answer the ten questions below.
4. Link to several more people (I've seen some say five, so that's what I've chosen).

And now, onward me hearties!

1) What is the title of your next book?

Defending Truth

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

Another good friend forwarded me a novella writing opportunity that requested proposals for an upcoming collection entitled A Pioneer Christmas. The editor specified stories set in varying locations: log cabin, sod house, railway station, cave, you name it. In ransacking my brain for ideas, I thought of the myriad caves located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, one of which my husband and I visited on our six-month anniversary. Meshing that with recent research on the American Revolution, I hit upon the idea of a patriot girl in then-western North Carolina (now East Tennessee) whose father fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain, coming across a starving loyalist refugee and ... you’ll have to read the rest. :-)

3) What genre does your book fall under?

Historical romance.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

That’s tough—I just envisioned people and didn’t really think about actors. I’m thinking either Olivia Wilde (Cowboys & Aliens) or Zooey Deschanel could be Truth Bledsoe (the pale blue eyes and dark hair), but both are too old. And I saw a young man walking the streets of Charleston who could be Micah, but that doesn’t help much, does it? Um, after doing some surfing on IMDB, I found a shot of Emile Hirsch that captures Micah’s scruffy, windblown intensity

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

A feisty frontier patriot girl extends charity to a half-starved loyalist refugee, but does not expect to learn forgiveness—or to find love.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Neither ... it’s coming out in the aforementioned nine-novella collection, A Pioneer Christmas, with Barbour Publishing in September 2013. I don’t yet have an agent.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

About six weeks, including a week I mostly took off for family events.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

There are several nice historical romance novellas out there, but not too many deal with battles and their aftermath. A Star in the Night by Liz Johnson in A Log Cabin Christmas collection is comparable, as well as MaryLu Tyndall’s Beauty From Ashes in Central Park Rendezvous. But those are Civil War era, and mine is Rev War.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The incredible emotional riches of our country’s early history. The lines of right and wrong weren’t as easily drawn as one is led to believe from schoolbooks. The “patriots” often did terrible things and the “loyalists” sometimes were just acting according to conscience. Mix in the political complexity of the Indian wars on the frontier, and ... well, you’ll have to read it. :-)

10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

The hero must decide what in his life is worth fighting for. The heroine must learn to extend forgiveness beyond the call of everyday kindness and charity. Modern-day peopel grapple with both of these are themes, as well.

The next next big thing:

• Ronie Kendig
• Kimberli Buffaloe
• Beth Goddard
• Michelle Griep, who has already been tagged, but I'm hoping she'll feature her most newly written story! (pretty please??)
• Tiffany Amber Stockton

Forward momentum!