The Next Big Thing…
Thanks to Paula Phillips,
my favourite reviewer, for allowing me to guest post here on her blog, and to
writer Paulette Rae for inviting me to follow on from her own Next Big Thing: http://pbrae.blogspot.co.nz/
1: What is the working
title of your book(s)?
Misplaced
2: Where did the idea come
from for the book?
The story was inspired by my
friend Florence Bloise. Florence is a wife, an accomplished artist, a
self-confessed ‘gourmande’, and the over-indulgent mother of three gorgeous children.
Florence is also missing. For a decade now, the people left behind, those who
love Florence, have been waiting, hoping, for her safe return. I believe I
wrote Misplaced hoping to catch a
glimpse of my friend in the pages, or perhaps to uncover the elusive clue that
will ultimately bring her home.
3: What genre does your
book come under?
YA contemporary.
4: Which actors would you
choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Ooh, excellent question. Since
the story is set in New Zealand and my protagonist, Adam, and his friends (Skye,
Corey, Kieran and Simon) are typical Kiwi teenagers, I’d love to see them
portrayed by newly discovered young New Zealand actors, the way Keisha Castle
Hughes and Anna Pacquin were cast for roles in The Whale Rider and The Piano
respectively. I must remember to tell that to Jane Campion when she asks to
option the manuscript!
5: What is the one-sentence
synopsis of your book?
A teenager must cope when
his mother pops out and doesn’t return.
6: Is your book
self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an
agency?
The book is contracted to
the lovely people at Bluewood Publishing. Coming soon!
7: How long did it take you
to write the first draft of your manuscript?
About 8 months with breaks. For Misplaced,
I was fortunate to have won an NZSA mentorship with well-known New Zealand
writer, Graeme Lay, so the writing took a little longer than normal as we sent my
chapters back and forth to each other scribbling down new ideas and discussing
them. The book is certainly stronger for Graeme’s expert input.
8: What other books would
you compare this story to within your genre?
One of my beta readers
likened it to Lia Hill’s Beginner’s Guide to Living (Text).
9: Who or what inspired you
to write this book?
As I said earlier, the
story was inspired by my friend Florence, who went missing in France in 2003.
To distance the story from Florence’s real-life tale, I made my main character
a seventeen-year-old boy coping with all the normal teenager tribulations –
falling in love, getting picked for the athletics team - while also dealing
with ongoing uncertainty about his missing mother, the agonising hope and plummeting
despair. However, Misplaced also offers
a measure of optimism, with that element of ‘I get by with a little help from
my friends’ thrown in.
10: What else about your
book might pique the reader’s interest?
This image, entitled
Solitude, is a pastel by Florence Bloise.
We’re on the hop! Head over and discover what other
writers are doing…
22 May for Pink Blossom’s Shannon
Cascarini’s Big News
5 June for the Grande Dame of Dragons, Jo Bryant
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