The Next Big Thing — Blog Hop!

Chained letters (Photo credit: owly9)

I was invited to participate in what can best be described as a chain-letter blog hop. Here’s how it works: someone gave me 10 interview questions which I’m going to answer below. Then I passed on the questions on to 5 other authorswho will post their answers on their own blogs next week, and they pass on the questions to 5 more authors and so on and so on until there is some kind of nuclear blog dirty bomb disaster with a half life of 500,000 years.

The very talented author and superior human being, Kate O’Reilley invited me to this bunny blog hop. Here’s a link to her fab blog and quite interesting answers.

So without further adon’t, herewith are my pithy (yes, I do write with a lithp) replies:

1: What is the working title of your book?

The Book of Paul. Does that work for you?

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

The first line of the book is: He practiced smiling. I wanted to explore a character that had been so damaged that he’d completely shut down emotionally. Could someone like that be redeemed by love? Why yes, of course he can! Right? Well, I hope so.

3: What genre does your book come under?

The Book of Paul covers a lot of ground: occult horror, mystery, thriller, crime, dark fantasy and sci-fi, with a healthy dose of humor and a sassy sprinkling of erotica.

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

English: Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Red River during SXSW (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Paul: Mickey Rourke
Martin: Michael Fassbender
Rose: Scarlett Johanson
William: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
The Striker: Lurch

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

Star-crossed lovers discover they are unwitting pawns in a battle to control the outcome of an apocalyptic prophecy ordained by Paul, the villainous overlord of a secret Hermetic society. Whew.

6: Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?

Self-published. I had two different agents who loved it, but didn’t sell it, because it didn’t fit neatly into any familiar cookie-cutter or mold. Eventually patience ran out and voila! I’m in the book publishing/marketing business.

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

When I started writing The Book of Paul I was working 70 hours a week as a Creative Director in advertising. So it took a few years to finish the first draft.

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

I’ve honestly never read anything very similar to The Book of Paul, though I’ve had reviewers compare it to work by Clive Barker, Steven King, Brett Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, Umberto Eco and blah, blah, blah. It’s…different. I guess that’s a double-edged sword: hard to market with the “If you like____________you’ll love this!” approach, but great for readers who are looking for something completely different in the thriller/horror genres.

English: Map of Alphabet City in New York City’s East Village. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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

I was inspired mostly by the setting: The East Village/Alphabet City in New York prior to gentrification. It was scary, fun, exciting, crazy, with some really wild characters.

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

The best villain you’ll ever read. I’d put Paul toe to toe with any villain in literature or film. He’s the one who’s going to walk away breathing. And laughing about it.

Okay! That was fun, right? Right? And next week, you’ll have fun to the fifth power when these very fine authors and outstanding truth-stretchers go under the interrogation lamp:

D Kai Wilson-Viola – Kathy Ree – Kriss Morton – Michelle Patricia Browne and RJ Parker

AND – Join Richard and Michelle Patricia Browne as they talk all things Paul and beyond.  BlogTalkRadio Wednesday, February 27th at 9pm EST! (with the interview archived if you miss it!)