When I was in grade school we had an academic competition
called Storytelling. You'd think I'd be a shoe-in right, but no. The object to
the competition was to hear a story and then repeat that story. I couldn't do
that. The entire time I was supposed to be listening to the story, I was
writing my own story. I would go into the room, judges expecting to hear the
prepared story and I would tell an entirely different story. And for some crazy
reason I never won.
My love for storytelling began early with hearing my own
mother read her stories to us. We were just babies when my mother wrote us a
lullaby, A Land Not So Very Far Away.
To this day she'll tell you she can't sing, but I remember thinking that I had
never heard anything so beautiful. I was in awe that my mother had written this
fantastic lullaby (so fantastic is won 2nd Honorable Mention at this year's
Oklahoma Writer's Federation, Inc contest). And I knew I wanted to be just like
her. I knew I wanted to create a lullaby for my own baby one day.
Truth be told I haven't written a lullaby. I sing my baby
the same lullaby my momma sang to me (because it's awesome y'all). But I am
living my dream of being a writer. And I write because of my mother. It was
because of my mother that I wrote and published my first novel. It was because
of my mother that I entered and won contests. It was because of my mother that
I stood up in front of 400 people last Sunday and finally got to tell my story.
A big thanks to Dee Dee Chumley for inviting me to take part in this
blog hop. I'm very excited to share my "Next Big Thing" with y'all. What is the working title of
your current/next book? Winter Song... due out this spring.
Where did the idea for WINTER SONG come
from?
I have musical muses. I heard the song, Winter
Song by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson, on So You Think You Can Dance and
couldn't get it out of my head. It took some looking, I thought the two women
were saying, "Is love a lie?", but I did find it. Then I listened to
it over and over again, as I do with songs that amuse my muse. Soon Winter Song
(the book) started to form.
What genre does your book
fall under? Paranormal contemporary
romance -- but I promise there are no vampires, werewolves or zombies. Just a
ghost, that's right, a ghost, singular.
What actors would you choose to play the
part of your characters in a movie rendition? Let's see... Tiffani
Thiessen (loved her in Saved by the Bell when I was a kid, and love her now in
White Collar as an adult) as Sage McKennan. She's spunky, yet sensitive.
Pretty, yet not stick thin. Funny without being goofy.
Tiffani Thiessen
Cooper Davis would be played by Dominic Zamprogna, but you
General Hospital fans probably know him better as Dante Falconeri. Two words:
Hubba Hubba! He's a tough guy who doesn't take crap from anyone and has a mean sarcastic
streak (sometimes to the point of being annoying)... but when he loves, he
loves with all his heart even beyond death.
Dominic Zamprogna
Noah Finnely would be played by Noah Wyle. I've had a crush on
Noah since he was on ER. It was only a matter of time before he made it into
one of my books. Noah is a man who goes out of his way to avoid trouble... if he can help. This time he can't.
Noah Wyle
Lucas Redhawk would be Graham Greene... this actor has been in
so many movies, I believe he's under rated as an actor. Lucas is a quiet man, with many regrets.
Graham Green
Richard Park... would be Ryan Gosling, but probably not for the
reasons people think. He's a tough cop and trusts few.
Ryan Gosling
Lexi would have to be played by my dog Piper, because they are
one in the same, minus the fact that's he's a male and she's a female. I had to
have another female in the book. There was way too much testosterone.
Piper
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your
book? Till death do us part,
doesn't apply to Cooper Davis. Will your book be an Indie book or
represented by an agency?
Yes, I changed that question from "self publish" to
"Indie book". Self publication has such a rotten reputation. I'm an independent
author who has chosen to take her career in her own hands. Winter Song will be
no different.
How long did it take you to write the
first draft? I hate these questions...
really there is no cut and dry answer. Life gets in the way. I'd have to say
about a year. That being said, if I applied myself and wrote every night after
the kiddo goes to bed, I could get it done a lot faster. There's only one
person to blame for that and it's me.
What other books would you compare this
story to within your genre?
I
read a book by Kat Martin, The Silent Rose, while in college and I'd say this
is close to that, minus the mystery. I like to think of it as my version of the
movie Ghost.
Who or what inspired you to write this
book? I feel I kind of covered this when I talked about my musical muse, but I'd be
lying if I told you I didn't think of my husband, Mike, during the writing of
it. He is my soul mate and I know our love will surpass all, including death.
________________________ Be sure to look out for the
next installments of The Next Big Thing next week, March 1st, on the
blogs by authors Cathy Collar and Karen Welch.
