The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Dianne Ascroft, author of Dancing Shadows, Tramping Hooves:A Short Story Collection and Hitler and Mars Bars, tagged me in The Next Big Thing. Dianne loves to lose herself in the past, particularly in stories set in Ireland and Scotland. Dancing Shadows, Tramping Hooves includes tales of outsiders who discover they belong, a humorous slice of life yarn, heart-warming love stories and a tale of taming fear. The shadows are on the wall, in the heart and clouding a woman’s memories while tangible foes tramp through the physical landscape. You can read Dianne's Next Big Thing Post at: http://dianneascroft.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/the-next-big-thing-an-authors-blog-hop. Dianne's short story collection Dancing Shadows, Tramping Hooves can be accessed on http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dancing-Shadows-Tramping-Hooves-ebook/dp/B008C9DUSA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355986666&sr=8-1 To find out more about Dianne check out her blog Ascroft, eh? blog: www.dianneascroft.wordpress.com . Dianne’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/dianne.ascrofthttp://www.facebook.com/#!/dianne.ascroft

How the Next Big Thing Blog Hop works: an author answers ten questions and then, if possible, tags five authors to do the same thing the following week on the same day, which in this case is a Wednesday.  I'm Laura Elliot (aka June Considine  - the name I use for my children's books)  and these are the answers to the questions:

1) What is the working title of your next book?

The Big Break-Up - but that's just a working title and I've yet to decide what I will call it.

2)  Where did the idea come from for the book?

I'm interested in the dynamics of human relationships, marriage, partnerships, family interaction. So this new book is about the breakdown of a marriage than runs in tandem with the collapse of the Celtic Tiger. What the couple had hoped to do becomes impossible as the economy implodes and changes the direction of their lives.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

Contemporary fiction.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

I’ve loved every gut-wrenching, heart-stopping, nail-biting moment of Boardwalk Empire so I would love to cast Michael Pitt (Jimmy) and Kelly McDonald (Margaret) in the role of husband and wife. The glamorous and diminutive stalker who terrifies everyone has to be played by Reese Witherspoon.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A couple decide to divorce without acrimony and all hell breaks loose.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Represented by a literary agency.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

I'm still writing it. Six months of solid work so far and, hopefully, another three to go.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

It's very difficult to compare writers. We can tackle the same stories but bring an entirely different approach to them. As my story is told from two points of view, the husband and the wife, One Day by David Nicholls comes to mind.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

All my books Stolen Child, The Prodigal Sister and Deceptions deal with marriage break-up that is final and heart-breaking.  There is the betrayed and the betrayer. I wanted to take a more light-hearted look at a couple who are in total agreement that they want a divorce. 

10) What else in your book might pique your reader’s interest?

The struggle to change life in mid-stream, to walk away from your comfort zone and dare to hope that lost ambitions can be realised.

juneconsidine.com

The authors I have tagged are:

June Caldwell is working on a novella Little Town Moone  and a book of connected short stories based around the city called: Dubstopia. She freelanced for the UK & Irish press for 14 years, publishing a biography of a terrorist's moll: In Love With A Mad Dog (Gill & Macmillan, 2006). In 2012, she was shortlisted for RTÉ Guide/Penguin Short Story competition.  She was shortlsted for Over The Edge New Writer of the Year (2010 & 2011); and winner of Best Blog Post at the Irish Blog Awards (2011).  Her blog is:: www.junecaldwell.wordpress.com

Brian Finnegan is the author of The Forced Redundancy Film Club, which is published by Hachette Books. He is currently the editor of GCN, Ireland’s monthly gay magazine, and has been contributing to all of Ireland’s national newspapers for over a decade. His next novel will be published in 2013.  His wordpress site: http://bafinnegan.wordpress.com

Website is http://brianfinnegan.ie

Padraig Hanratty is a freelance editor and instructional designer. He is the founder of  QUIP Editing Solutions. From Dundalk, Ireland, Padraig has written numerous short stories and flash fictions over the years. He has also had articles published in music magazines such as Judas and ISIS. In 2012, he published A Blanket of Blues, a collection of short stories, and Dimestore Avenue Blues, a novella.

His blog also serves as my ‘blog site’: http://padraighanratty.wordpress.com/