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Sunday, March 17, 2013

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

The Next Big Thing

This week is WriteOnCon's Pitchfest!! There are many great pitches in there. I highly suggest you take a look at the boards! However, know that only those who've registered as Expert Readers are allowed to comment/vote.

You can also sneak a peek at my pitch too - it's just probably better if you don't comment unless you've gone through the proper channels!

In other fun news, I was tagged for The Next Big Thing Blog Hop! It's a meme where authors talk about one of their current projects! First of all, a big thank you to....

Deborah Kreiser

Deborah tagged me to participate in this little hop ... and has a fabulous blog by the way, so check her out!

Now, let me choose my victims: *evil laugh* They all have lovely blogs too, in case you didn't know. Okay victims, I think you know who you are (And if you don't - I apologize, I've been a little scatter-brained lately - participate if you wish! Oh, and if I tagged you and forgot to list you, please let me know ... Oh, AND if I didn't tag you, didn't list you, and you want to participate, consider yourself tagged!)

The Next Next Big Thing Blog Hop Victims
(not at all a long winded and/or confusing header)

Ifeoma Dennis || Amber Hooper || Heather Simone

      Donelle Lacy ||  Miss Cole || Jessie Peacock

The Next Big Thing Questions

Ok! On to the questions!
So, I was thinking of answering these for my new WIP, but I had some info for the movie question on hand for the one I'm currently querying ... so. That is what we will go with!


The Awakening of Minna Gray Cover
uses stock imagery from:

faestock
webponce
CathleenTarawhiti
What is the working title of your book?
THE AWAKENING OF MINNA GRAY

Where did the idea come from for the book?
My sustainability research, actually. Sounds weird I know and don't worry, this book is waaay more fun to read than my sustainability research, BUT the impact of globalization is one of the underlying themes. (Though quite possibly now buried beneath tree-speakers, memory-erasing, and magical destroyer staves.)

What genre does your book fall under?
Arggghhh do not ask me this question!! Sci-Fi/Fantasy? Futuristic Fantasy? Dystopian Fantasy??
*Runs and hides* I don't knooow!

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Ok, totally taking the cop out method here and referring to an earlier post!
Click here:   WIP: The Movie

**Caveat: I don't watch many movies, and don't really know my actors, so.... yeah.... it's probably not a super interesting or informed answer. Which is ok. I don't have to be movie-actor crazy right?? I am still cool? A little? Maybe? Hey guys, it's not my fault. I was home-schooled through elementary.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Dark City meets Pleasantville: When a night of babysitting ends in two boys being kidnapped, sixteen-year-old treespeaker and budding photographer Minna Gray must develop her powers before everyone she loves is Erased.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I'd like to go the traditional route!

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
About 3 weeks, if I recall. A first draft, mind you, not a pretty draft.

What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?
Tough one! It's really got elements of a lot of things. I guess the most similar would be the adventure-dystopia vibe of Scott Westerfeld's UGLIES, the too-perfect-to-be true setting of Pam Bachorz' CANDOR, and it's got districts, like THG, but then there's a whole magical (not paranormal, but full-on magical) side to it all. Cause yeah, Minna, the protagonist, can speak the language of trees, and channel elaan and destroy things and stuff. And there's one part that is a leetle bit like Terry Pratchett, because you know, it would be like my dream world if all books were at least a little like Terry Pratchett books!

Horribly long answer, I'm sorry.

I don't know really! It's so many things! CPs? Betas? What do you think?

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I guess I sort of answered this above, but I guess the idea had been bouncing around in my head, as ideas for stories do. It had been awhile since I'd wanted to write one down, because  .... well because I was/am in grad school. Aka: you write all the time. Aka: writing becomes much less fun.

But... I had this lull where I was waiting for my committee to approve my Dissertation proposal and I couldn't start my interviews without the protocols approved, and I'm the type of person who always needs a project, so one day I just sat down and started writing!

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

Ok, well if memory erasing, tree-speaking, wild chases, mechanized scorpents, destroyer staffs, mild computer hacking, Terry Pratchett-esque creatures, corporate conspiracy, and the general unraveling of utopic suburbia don't appeal, then I don't know what to tell you. You'll just have to read my book and find out!

Ohh, and here's my Pinterest WIP Board for Minna. Pretty pictures ... oooh ....



 
  



If you were tagged, or if you want to discuss your own answer to these questions, there they are again in a nice listy-list:


What is the working title of your book?
Where did the idea come from for the book?
What genre does your book fall under?
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Thanks for playing The Next Big Thing!

11 comments:

  1. Thanks for the tag! :D I shall respond the week after next ^_^

    I definitely want to read your book. It sounds fantastic :D How awesome to be inspired by your real life work. And I share your genre issues. My querying book is mostly sci-fi but it has a hefty dose of fantasy too. Tricky!

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  2. Wow! Three weeks! That's amazing! Your story sounds really interesting. :) Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Yeah, okay...Catracho is my hubby's google account. Sorry for the post and delete. I didn't know he'd gotten on my computer. Here's my real post :)

    Awesome! Like I said before, your book sounds suuuper cool! I like your one sentence synop.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  5. The Awakening of Minna Gray is sooo cool an idea(and the title too!)and I can't wait to read the whole of it. I also can't wait for the day it becomes the REAL BIG THING on every bestseller list!

    Thanks for the tagging me on the hop! :D

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  6. Sorry I meant tagging me on the hop!! (without the *the*)

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  7. Love your blog post! Hurrah for Carissa--and Minna. I believe in you both. :-)

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  8. I love your story idea! These next big thing posts are so fun. :)

    I entered the Pitchfest too! I am still waiting for a response from my agent... I guess I won't have to wait any more after tomorrow!

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  9. Carissa, I love your concept and cannot wait to read the published book. I don't know exactly what your treespeakers are like, but one of my main characters can sing trees. So obviously I'm in love with the idea. And I'm fascinated by your Erasing aspect.

    Thanks for tagging me! I finally posted up at http://jessie-peacock.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-next-big-thing-blog-hop.html.

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  10. Hi Carissa, I just read your pitch on the WriteOnCon.com Pitchfest and I loved it! I can't wait for your book to be published! :-)

    And BTW, congrats on the awesome review you got from Ninja Agent Zebra!

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  11. 'Budding' photographer - did you mean to do that? *grins* Hehehehe. Love it!

    The concept sounds fresh and I love the gorgeous inspirational pinterest pics. You're right, it would be a perfect world if all books were at least a little like Prachett. *sighs*

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