Bonnie ZoBell, author of the forthcoming The Whack-Job Girls (Monkey Puzzle Press, 2013) was good enough to tag me in the blog chain that is known as The Next Big Thing. I'd planned to write about a short story collection of mine currently in progress, Tales from the Hillbilly Underground: Stories from a Coal Miner's Daughter, but more recently, a new collection concept I've been working on has pulled my attention in another direction. Lefenstrausse is the vixen that has most recently divided my writer's heart. While it is currently in-progress, I hope to see it to completion within the year.
What is the working title of your book (or story)?
Lefenstrausse (a short story collection)
Where did the idea come from for the book?
I love contemporary fairy tales and have long wanted to write them within the frame of an interpretive, darker sensibility. In Lefenstrausse, children are the focus of the tales.
What genre does your book fall under?
I would consider it literary fiction.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Gary Sinese, Gavin Rossdale, David Strathairn, Christopher Walken, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Madeleine Stowe, Benicio Del Toro, Hope Sandoval, Johnny Depp.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Tales of dark emotion and trauma, Lefenstrausse captures the stories of children trapped in pain within the framework of a fairy tale.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I'll be seeking agent representation for the book once completed.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
It is in progress.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
There's nothing that comes very close in terms of the thematic frame, but in sensibility, Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman, The Sandman (DC Comics), and Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
What can be found between the lines of fairy tales. Also the fear, as a parent, that your children will come to some harm. I consider this, in many ways, a book of deep and universal fears.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
The reader who enjoys interpretive literature and unique use of language will be drawn to this book, as will anyone who likes a good fairy tale. The tales are also linked in some way, however small.
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And without further ado, I pass the buck to continue the tradition and add the next link to the chain. Here are the authors who will be posting:
Traci Chee will be posting at tracichee.blogspot.com about her recent release, Consonant Sounds for Fish Songs (Aqueous Books, 2012)
Carolyn Zaikowski will be posting at http://liferoar.wordpress.com/ about her forthcoming release, A Child Is Being Killed (Aqueous Books, 2013)
Brian Mihok will be posting at http://theinternetsnotreal.tumblr.com/ about his forthcoming release, The Quantum Manual of Style (Aqueous Books, 2013)
Kathleen Kirk will be posting at http://kathleenkirkpoetry.blogspot.com/ about her poetry manuscript, The Cassandra Poems
Patricia Caspers will be posting at http://www.patriciacaspers.blogspot.com/ about her poetry manuscript, In the Belly of the Albatross
Annam Manthiram will be posting at http://annammanthiram.com/blog/ about her novel-in-progress, Amit's Ability
Please watch for the posts above the week of Jan. 11-17.
And thanks again to Bonnie ZoBell for drawing me into the fold. You can read her Next Big Thing post here, and be sure to watch for her new book, The Whack-Job Girls, forthcoming from Monkey Puzzle Press this year.
