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Nov 4, 2012

My Turn on The Next Big Thing

The Next Big Thing!?  Yep, that's what *she* said.  Ok, I imagine that joke has been done to death by now.  So sue me.  It's a Sunday and I just got back in from chainsawing fallen branches (and maybe just a little of my hand).

Anyway the Next Big Thing is a blogfest to highlight authors and their current works in progress.  The way it works is that someone tags you, you mention them, write a bunch of stuff, and then tag a bunch of other people.  Simple no? Of course it is.  Thus, as usual, I'm probably going to fuck it up because...well...because I can.

For starters let's mention the awesome people who tagged me.  Yes, I said people.  First up is Narcisse Navarre, author of An Endless Hunger and The Olive Grove.  She's currently hard at work on a new fantasy series.  I for one can't wait to read it.  Narcisse is quite the talent. I'm not sure what she can do better, writing or graphic design, but she does both pretty damn impressively. 

Next up is Carrie Seymour, who's writing a cool new vampire novel tentatively titled A Lonely Road.  Carrie didn't actually tag me; however, she offered to.  I had to to turn her down because I was absolutely swamped the past few weeks. Regardless, intentions means a lot to me, thus I think it's only fair I give her a shout out for thinking of me. It is always appreciated, Carrie...now get back to work!  :)

So up next I'm supposed to talk about my own stuff.  Dangerous to ask me as I'm sure to blather on endlessly.  But hey...here it goes anyway!

What is the working title of your book?
The title is Holier Than Thou.  It's book 4 in my Tome of Bill Series.  I'd say I'm about a quarter way through the first draft. 

Where did the idea come from for the book?
This book has been planned for a while.  It continues the story of Bill Ryder, a dateless dweeb turned legendary vampire. Less than a year ago the most pressing thing in his life was talking to one special girl and worrying about the fate of his D&D character.  Now, well he's still having difficulty talking to that girl, but the list of items on his plate has grown just a bit to include such mundane matters as, say, the fate of the world.  Yeah, Bill is a bit stressed.

What genre does your book fall under?
Foul-Mouthed Comedy/Horror, the same as all of the other books in this series.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
That's an easy one.  I always envisioned the cast from Super Bad being in this series.  Emma Stone would make a particularly awesome Sally. As for the rest of the cast, well, depending on the day I might rearrange them between Bill and his roommates a little.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Bill Ryder has girl troubles...really really bad ones. The girl he wants can kill him with but a touch, the girl who wants him is more than happy to murder anybody who stands in her way, and then there's one girl who just doesn't want to deal with any of their shit. Ok that was more than one sentence.  :)

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I'm kind of in between.  This series is currently under the Wayman Publishing banner, but I retain full control over its destiny.  Kind of a best of both worlds scenario. Yeah, I gotta be difficult about these things.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
It's still ongoing.  I expect to be working on it through the holidays at the very least.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Do the first three in the series count?  If not, I'd say perhaps Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. Bill is kind of a mirror image to that series.  His is more fantasy & horror with a touch a humor, whereas Bill is more humor with the horror layered on top. The Dresden Files is tons of fun to read, and I likewise hope Bill is too.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
I got the idea for the original book and subsequently the series from hanging out with a group of my friends. They're the type who are typically too busy cracking wise to give a shit about the situation at hand. After kicking the idea around for a while, I came to the conclusion that a group like this would be the perfect foil for the supernatural world. An ancient creature could be speaking about a prophesy of doom and they'd be too busy laughing at what a dipshit he is.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
I write this series purely for entertainment purposes. There's no real moral to the story and no hidden commentaries on society, etc etc. In short, Bill is not high art. I feel it's truly a series that adults can simply read to have a few laughs and enjoy. That's not such a bad thing is it?



Thus comes the honorary tagging. It's difficult this time of year. A lot of the writers I know have either done this blog hop already and/or are knee deep in NanoWriMo, but I think I have a winner nevertheless.

Jessica Cordova and her wonderful What? Another Hobby? blog. Even if she decides to drive down and beat me with a rock for tagging her (a fair response since I'm pretty much giving her no notice on this), you should pop by her blog. Her dry wit and often hilarious musings on life are well worth it and, hey, maybe she'll even give us some insight into the book she's working on.

ps: I regret nothing!

5 comments:

Janie Junebug said...

So interesting. I can't wait to be your editor (hint hint).

Love,
Janie

Rick G said...

Hmm, I'm not quite grasping. Too subtle for me. ;)

James Garcia Jr said...

Hey, Rick. The series sounds very interesting to me. My TBR pile fell over a long time ago, but I'll make some time to check it out soon. You're right about this thing making the rounds. I did it a couple of months ago as well. Thanks for sharing.

-Jimmy

Rick G said...

Thanks, Jimmy. Yeah I'm definitely catching the tail end of this one. :)

Unknown said...

Your book premise sounds interesting, despite your current inability to reduce it to one line :)