A Word Please

Some authors are secretive about their works-in-progress, and I understand that. No one wants their ideas stolen. I’ve always liked to live dangerously, so today I’m going to share what I’m working on. This is all author Gail Baugniet’s fault, since she tagged me in a blog challenge. And I can’t turn down a challenge.

The rules are simple. I have to:

1. Answer 10 questions about my current WIP (Work-In-Progress)
2. Tag five other writers and link their blogs so we can all hop over and read their answers.

Here are the questions:

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

And now for my answers:

The working title is Killing Instinct.

The idea came from…. the ether, perhaps? I really don’t know.  Normally, my ideas begin with a new character. Since this is book #3 in my Michael Sykora series, the characters already exist. I had to figure out what they would do next. This took me some time, because it meant developing plot over characters, and normally I work in the opposite direction. I had what I thought was an idea, but Michael didn’t want to go in that direction. Then, one day Sean popped into my head with something to say. That became the opening scene. I pulled the thread and have been following what unraveled.

The genre is Suspense.

Actors? Hmm… This is difficult for me. I’m not good with actors, since I don’t watch many movies or much TV. So I turned to Google and did a search for the top 100 actors. This is what I’ve come up with, though I’m totally open to readers’ input:

Michael Sykora will be played by Paul Walker:

Sean Riley will be played by Gerard Butler:

As for Nicki, I’m coming up empty. No one I’ve come across matches her look in my mind. Maybe someone who has one or both of my Michael Sykora books – No Justice and Beyond Salvation – can help me out here.

On to the next question…

My one sentence synopsis: Don’t piss off a hit man. I’m sure that will change, but that’s what I’ve got at the moment.

I’ll be publishing this one myself, as I have with all the others. At this point, I don’t think I could do it any other way. Handing over control to a stranger would likely lead to major anxiety attacks.

As for how long it took me to write the first draft, that remains to be seen. I’m hoping to have it complete by the end of the year.

The comparison question – what other books would I compare this one to? I don’t like that question. It’s one of those things agents want to know for marketing purposes. I don’t want to compare my writing to anyone else’s. Readers can do that… I can’t. So in answer to this question, I compare it to the first two books I wrote in this series.

Who or what inspired me to write this one is an easy question to answer: My readers. The enthusiasm for Michael’s character both surprised and thrilled me. The feedback from readers is what prompted me to continue on with this series. Without them, it’s all pointless, isn’t it?

And now the last question: What else might pique readers’ interest? Well, that’s subjective, really. The answer depends on the reader. We have two hit men; Michael only kills the worst scum and Sean is only now finding some moral ground. Both will do whatever it takes to protect someone they love. We have Nicki, an ex-prostitute, who plays with the bad boys. And, in this book, I’m introducing a new character – a bad girl, if you will – who is Sean’s match. They’re out to take down an underground organization – but I won’t tell you what it is.

And there you have the rundown on Killing Instinct. Now I need to stop playing around on my blog and get back to writing.

Before I go, here are my 5 choices of writers to continue on with this challenge:

1. Maria Savva on her Goodreads blog
2. Jason McIntyre on his blog The Farthest Reaches
3. Jennifer Lane on her blog
4. Sylvia Massara on her blog Sylvia Says
5. Jaleta Clegg’s blog The Far Edge of Normal

Thanks for reading.

Tags: Blog Challenges, books about hit men, Gail Baugniet, hit men, Jaleta Clegg, Jason McIntyre, Jennifer Lane, Maria Savva, Michael Sykora, Series Fiction, suspense novels, suspense series, Sylvia Massara, The Next Big Thing Blog Challenge