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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

All About My WIP

I grabbed this meme from Chantele Sedgwick a few weeks ago (I took out a few questions) and thought it would be great to get to know our readers styles better. Answer the questions in the comments to help us plan posts that are relevant to YOU. 

1. What is the name of your book?

2. Where did the idea for your book come from?

3. In what genre would you classify your book?

4. Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book.

5. How long did it take you to write your book?

6. What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours?

7. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.

20 comments:

Alicia Willette-Cook said...

Oh what a great questionnaire! Just in general! These are questions that as a writer you might want to know about your writing anyway! (Except possibly #5...as...maybe it isn't done yet...) Great find! I'll wait to answer after our readers Have chimed in. :)

Huntress said...

Oh, Alicia. I just can't wait :)

What is the name of your book?
Of Oak and Dragons

Where did the idea for your book come from?
The Highlander, LOL. When Connor pulls out that sword, I wondered, where the heck is he hiding it?

In what genre would you classify your book?
Urban Fantasy, as always

Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book.
An unexpected inheritance, a black-eyed man, and a sentient rapier with delusions of grandeur pull Leah to a war with the Dragons who walk among us in stolen human forms.

How long did it take you to write your book?
Which version, LOL. For basic storyline, 8 months.

What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours?
Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files and Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series.

Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.

Regarding Dragons: Twelve. We are Twelve. No more, no less. Yet humans, in their endless capacity to spread rumor, inflated the number into something unrecognizable. I believe one-upmanship is the emotion, bred into humans to salve their ego and elevate status. An emotion that is foreign to my brethren and me.

Charity Bradford said...

Exactly! I filled this out for two of my WIPs (they'll be on my blog in July) and I realized what a great tool this is. Soon I'll answer the questions for my new ideas. It's never too soon to practice the one line pitch and #7 is starting your query!

#6 is my least favorite, but perhaps the most important question we need to learn how to answer. Think of how helpful it would be to know your audience BEFORE you write the book. What a novel idea *wink*

Charity Bradford said...

I still haven't read this one. *wide eyed stare*

Huntress said...

Another MS that might go to a small publisher.

Ciara said...

What a great list of questions. Of Oak and Dragons sounds great.

Aldrea Alien said...

What is the name of your book?
Dragon

Where did the idea for your book come from?
Honestly, it's been about 13 years, I can't recall anymore.

In what genre would you classify your book?
Adult fantasy

Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book.
It’ll take all the strength of the dragon Maayin to save them from extinction, only trouble is she believes she’s human.

How long did it take you to write your book?
The original never got finished. The rewrite: about eleven months on and off.

I'm still figuring out question 6.

mshatch said...

1. What is the name of your book? GRIMOIRE

2. Where did the idea for your book come from? I love regency romances but I wanted a little magic thrown in.

3. In what genre would you classify your book? YA Witchy Regency Romance

4. Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book. In the winter of 1805, Arlen Devlin’s life takes a decidedly witchy turn, beginning with the discovery of a grandmother she never knew she had to an heirloom book of spells worth killing over.

5. How long did it take you to write your book? About a year or so.

6. What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours? Hmm, not sure...

7. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book. The Voynich Manuscript: In 1912, Wilfrid M. Voynich, a successful dealer in old books, acquired a number of priceless medieval manuscripts from an undisclosed location in Europe. Among these was a parchment codex of 234 pages, written in an unknown script. It is commonly known as the Voynich Manuscript.

Charity Bradford said...

I love your one sentence pitch! It would definitely catch my attention.

Charity Bradford said...

This one sounds so good too! I love being surrounded by talented and imaginative people.

Alicia Willette-Cook said...

1. What is the name of your book? So far The [Horrible] Working Title is....and this will throw some of you following me and my illustrious career for a loop...The Straff Files: Airship Demise

2. Where did the idea for your book come from? A writing challenge got out of hand. My other WIP wasn't really working the way I was wanting it to. This one flows. It's amazing.

3. In what genre would you classify your book? That's easy. Steampunk, mystery, horror.

4. Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book. A Detective solves mini-mysteries on the trail of trying to track down the notorious killer/evil genius Dr. Jekyll.

5. How long did it take you to write your book? It's not done yet. Not even close.

6. What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours? I think the readers of the Desden Files would like this. Or possible Gail Carriger's books. That sort of not Too too serious...but very intense stuff!

7. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book. It's set in an alternate Victorian age. Queen Victoria is down and dirty with her subjects fighting the good war against Jekyll. Other well known historical and literary figures are brought to life in unexpected ways. I play with time and bend the expectations of science. There won't be any werewolves or vampires. But there will be the victorian ideas of ghosts and possession. A few characters from my other WIP make it into this story (I couldn't quite let go of Anoria)...Private Detective First Class Owen Straff. Reporting for duty.

Aldrea Alien said...

Thanks. But it seems I really need to figure out question six and find these books that are (according to the rejection letter I just got) "on the market with a similar premise".

I wonder where they are, because my searching cannot bring them to the surface.

Charity Bradford said...

Hm, I haven't seen anything recently, but there's so much I haven't read. Anyway, I thought EVERYTHING has already been done so it just putting our own fresh spin on old things?

Good luck!

Charity Bradford said...

I am ALWAYS amazed at the ideas you guys come up with. This sounds fascinating too!

Charity Bradford said...

Oh, and I loved Carriger's books.

Carrie-Anne said...

1. What is the name of your book?
My current WIP I'm focusing on is called And the Lark Arose from Sullen Earth.

2. Where did the idea for your book come from?
It's the second volume in the story I completed in April, an expansion of a long short story/piece of backstory I wrote a few years ago about one of the secondary, European-born characters in my Atlantic City books. I found a natural ending point in the material and decided to go through the rest of the timeline in a separate book, with its own set of struggles and storylines.

3. In what genre would you classify your book?
20th century historical fiction.

4. Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book.
After Jakob DeJonghe immigrates to America in 1946 to join his wife Rachel Roggenfelder, he experiences a lot of challenges and culture clashes as he struggles to adapt to life in his new country, while Rachel struggles to find a midwife during the era of twilight sleep and frequently finds herself butting horns with the other members of a local young wives club, on account of her very progressive views that don't fit in with current American standards.

5. How long did it take you to write your book?
I began in late April, and hopefully it'll be done during the summer.

6. What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours?
I'd probably compare it to other post-Shoah books, continuing the story of the characters in the early years after the war. Hello, America by Livia Bitton-Jackson springs to mind as a post-Shoah book dealing with the challenges of learning how to be an American and clashing with the people around oneself.

7. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.
The immediate postwar period doesn't seem to be covered enough in historical fiction, and there also don't seem to be enough post-Shoah books either, focusing on what happened next and the early years in America. I always continue the stories of my Shoah characters in the early years after liberation. It also shows what life was like for women who didn't fit into the grain in that era, even if they were acting perfectly normally by the standards of their native culture, like keeping their surnames and wanting to birth with a midwife.

Charity Bradford said...

Yay! Something new. I have a great respect for all the research that goes into historical fiction, and this one sounds like something my book club would eat up. Good luck with the writing!

Alicia Willette-Cook said...

I love historical fiction! This sounds really fascinating!

Alicia Willette-Cook said...

This could be a whole SERIES of books!!! sorry...got ahead of yourself there...Sounds AWESOME though.

Alicia Willette-Cook said...

This sounds sooooo tasty! I can see we share the same influences... ;)