I am excited (and just a wee bit terrified) to announce that I will be doing a short reading from my upcoming novel The Seventh Pleiade, as part of a panel of Bold Strokes Books authors at the Fifth Annual New York Rainbow Book Fair.
The Bold Strokes Authors Panel is from 2:00-2:40pm.
Come on down to hear me read! Friendly faces in the crowd will be much appreciated.
For information about the Rainbow Book Fair, including a list of exhibitors and a schedule of events, click here.
I caught this story on Hypable. Fantasy author T.A. Barron (Lost Years of Merlin series, Great Tree of Avalon) has an upcoming book called Atlantis Rising.
I thought that was pretty cool since my Atlantis-inspired The Seventh Pleiade will be released around the same time. Will Fall be the season for Atlantis titles? Barron’s book comes out in September. Mine comes out in November.
According to T.A. Barron’s website, Atlantis Rising will be based on Plato’s account and will chronicle the legendary kingdom from its early history. The Seventh Pleiade takes the story from its very end (or is the destruction of Atlantis the very end?) So readers will have a chance to check out two perspectives, in surely very different styles.
I’m definitely going to check out Barron’s book. Will he check out mine? 🙂
I like this mystic-looking seascape photo. It makes me think of Atlantis.
© Vangelis | Dreamstime Stock Photos
The responses from the authors I tagged are coming in fast and furious. Well, furious isn’t really the right word. Fast and fiercely? Fast and fervently?
Here’s sci fi/fantasy author Christopher Keelty’s Next Big Thing…
What is the working title of your book?
Andromedan Sons. This could easily change. I’ve never been much good at titles, and rarely love what I come up with. For the record, it’s a book I’m shopping around right now, but I haven’t yet found an agent or publisher.
Where did the idea come from for the book?
I created the main character when I was about 11 years old. He was one of my first ever fictional creations, sort of a blend of Superman, Batman, James Bond and MacGyver, with some original touches. He was definitely a traditional adolescent male power fantasy: handsome and sexy, rich, and with an answer for every problem.
Over the years I’ve had different ideas about how to use him. I finally had an idea I considered good enough for a novel. It’s an action-adventure novel, but it’s also a reflection on how such a figure would fit into a corporatized future America, what that would do to the kind of idealistic person who’d enter the super-heroing industry, and what it would do to the people around him.
What genre does your book fall under?
I like the term “Science Fantasy,” which reflects a story more concerned with character, action, and drama than getting all the science correct. There’s no such shelf in book stores, though, so I go with Science Fiction.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
It’s really not something I think about a lot. I’m sort of focused on seeing it as a book, let alone a movie. I guess Brad Pitt would help sell tickets, and I think he’d bring the right balance of sex appeal and introspection to my protagonist. I’d be happy to see Sean Paul Lockhart play my narrator. It’s an interesting approach, and I think his background would inform the role well.
The female lead is someone who pretends to be a brash and impulsive sexpot, but conceals a more complex, conflicted side. Being this is fantasy casting, I think Mila Kunis would kick ass in the role. She’d need a blonde wig, though.
That said, I’d be happier to see first-time actors cast in most roles. Sure, I’d like to sell tickets, but a long-term relationship with an actor has made me acutely aware how hard it is (harder than ever, seriously) to break into Hollywood. Liz would be fantastic, of course–but it would be super-weird to see her portray a character I invented.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
The world’s most famous super hero and the young reporter writing his profile are accused of assassinating the President of the United States, and flee their dystopic future Earth as they fight to clear their names.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
As often seems to happen, I wrote the first few chapters and set them aside. I picked them up a year or so later, and I think it took me about 18 months before I had a complete first draft.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I have to admit I don’t read super-hero novels. I intentionally tried to emulateFight Club and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay in some ways, like the interplay between characters and some of the background. Richard Morgan’s Black Man was a definite influence on the way I tried to subtly reveal the world to the reader.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
If I had to name a single inspiration, it was my friend Nick. In junior high school he and I used to spend nights writing, and then pass each other pages of product in the morning before school. He got used to reading a lot about this super-hero character, and one of the characters in the novel is a nod to one of Nick’s creations.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
While I tried to put the adventure, characters, and science fiction first, I try to write about what interests me–which means issues like environmental disaster and climate change, queer issues, racial and gender discrimination, sexual politics, and income inequality have prominent places. I hope not in a heavy-handed way–my aim is that someone with no interest in politics can still read and enjoy the book, but maybe come away unintentionally enlightened.
I’m cross-posting the on-line interview from my first ‘taggee’ : young adult author Lydia Sharp.
My NEXT Next Big Thing
1. What is the title of your book?
MEANT TO LIVE
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
As with all my projects, the idea for Novel #6 was a combination of different seeds all germinating simultaneously and progressively. The basic “time distortion” concept is similar to that found in the movie Frequency. But that is where the similarities between that movie and my novel end. (If you have never seen Frequency, by the way, I’m sorry but we can’t be friends until you remedy that malfunction.)
3. What genre does your book fall under?
Like Seven Deaths, Novel #6 is contemporary YA with a fantastical twist. I love writing stories about real teens in the real world that are suddenly faced with something other-worldly that only they can solve. Some call this magical realism. I’ve yet to see anyone agree on the definition of magical realsim, though, so I just call it contemporary YA and let the fantastical elements speak for themselves.
4. What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
God, I really hate this question, because I get too analytic about it. Not that I’m overly picky about who would play my characters (to a point), but I tend to think about the timeline of it all. When your main characters are teenagers and it takes years to publish a book, and then another few years to make a movie (if it even sells as a movie), by the time that happens there are new young actors and actresses to choose from and…
I just hate to commit to saying I would select a certain person who could very well have crow’s feet by the time my book is a movie, and not remain open to the idea of someone who is in sixth grade right now, but would be perfect by the time anyone is making a decision about it.
Sorry, I can’t do it. This question always kills me.
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
MEANT TO LIVE is about a boy who receives a message from the future that he is only weeks away from killing himself, but he isn’t suicidal, and now he must reverse his own death before it happens.
6. How long did it take you to write the first draft?
It isn’t finished yet. I’ve been working on it since November.
7. Who or what inspired you to write the book?
I’ve been wanting to write something that involved time travel, or time distortion, for years. Which is odd because I’m not generally a fan of those types of stories. When they’re good, they’re really good. But when they’re bad, they’re really bad. There is no in-between. And I seem to find mostly the bad ones so it’s left a sour taste in my mouth.
But still, something about the concept keeps drawing me back. I’ve had other story ideas in the time travel arena but they never developed properly. This one feels like it’s on the right track.
The first specific inspiration for this specific story, however (aside from the movieFrequency), came quite clearly to me while reading this book. If you haven’t read the book, then I don’t want to spoil it for you by saying how it inspired my idea forMeant to Live. Just read it, it’s brilliant.
Also, this song:
None of the above. It’s still very much a work-in-progress.
Good news sometimes comes in rushes. Although, truthfully, I’ve been holding onto this item until the publisher’s official press release came out.
My young adult fantasy The Seventh Pleiade has been picked up by Bold Strokes Books!!
The Seventh Pleiade is the story of a gay teen who becomes a hero during the last days of Atlantis. There’s a back cover blurb and my author bio up on Bold Strokes’ website. Bold Strokes Books is the premier publisher of LGBT fiction. I am absolutely, positively over the moon about this!!
There’s a long production schedule ahead, but as things move along, I’ll be proudly sharing the cover art here and information about advance sales and promotional events. The book is scheduled for release on November 18, 2013.
Yes, there will be a RELEASE PARTY! More details on that later.