Fellow writer and Daily Science Fiction author S.C. Wade asked me to be a guest on his “Be Inspired” blog. Seeing as I barely have time to maintain my own blog, I promptly responded YES! So check my entry entitled “Patience is a Kind of Bravery” and be inspired or whatnot!
Fran Wilde tagged me in her Next Big Thing blog post and told me to talk about my WIP, then tag other authors and ask them to talk about their WIPs.
1. What is the title of your Work in Progress?
Matter-Groove (still undecided if this should be two words, one word, or hyphenated)
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
This is my NaNaWriMo project from 2010, so most likely the idea came to me about 25 minutes before I sat down to write it. Having a man-eating flatworm as a main character may or may not have been inspired by the gummy worms I was snacking on while waiting for midnight November 1st to roll around.
3. What genre does your book fall under?
Hmmm…it’s sort of a Comedic Space Opera (definitely of the Skiffy variety). Unless you have another genre that killer space rhinos and sentient tofu would fall under. Interstellar Dramedy, maybe?
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Oooo! Oooo! Richard Ayoade from The IT Crowd to play Echium Stahl, because of his quirkiness and brilliant comedic timing–and let’s be honest–his dashing good looks. Kristen Kreuk from Smallville to play Olive Song, Echium’s ice-hearted love interest. I imagine Thebiak the man-eating flatworm/Echium’s best friend would be CGI, but would be voiced by someone who could do a wince-inducing Austin Powers impression.
5. What is a one-sentence synopsis of the book?
After accidentally killing his space station’s slumlord, an impoverished curd farmer steals a space shuttle and goes on the lam with a ragtag crew of family, friends, and a trans-dimensional flatworm, hoping their secrets won’t tear them apart before the authorities get to.
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I think I told my agent that this book would be done, um…a month or two ago? Man, this year has flown by!
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
30 days for the first 50k words, going on 8 months (and counting) for the last 40k. Plodding along slowly but steadily at this point, but I hope to be done with my first draft by November…wait, that’s next month, isn’t it?
8. What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?
Of course, I get the standard Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy comparison, which happens any time someone tries to tell a joke in the vacuum of space. I’d probably liken it more to Rudy Rucker’s fiction…whacky, melodramatic, no holds or tropes barred. Except I have fewer advanced degrees, so in addition to my stories making you laugh, there’s the added bonus of getting to feel intellectually superior to me.
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Trust me. You do not want to peek inside the random thought generator that is my brain.
10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
If I didn’t have you at “sentient tofu,” then this book is probably not up your alley.
Include the link of who tagged you and this explanation for the people you have tagged.
Fran Wilde, fellow Viable Paradisian, tagged me. Go check out her awesome writings. I am tagging a handful of writers from my cohort who I think are amazingly talented in their own numerous and varied ways, and who have been tasked to post their own Next Big Thing interview and tag their favorite fellow writers sometime during the next week.
Rhino photo by Erix!, Creative Commons
Space backdrop by Sweetie187, Creative Commons
Photo by Shansby, Creative Commons
Well, after half a year of neglecting my short story submissions, I’m back on the wagon…er, submarine, umm…whatever. I sent out 7 short stories this week, and have already gotten my first rejection! I’d forgotten how much I’d look for any traces of personalization in those little painful notes. My mind starts racing around positive comments, wondering if they really “loved my writing” and thought my story was full of whimsy or was that something they just say about every author whose dreams they just shattered?
Oh writer’s neurosis, how I’ve missed you.
None of it matters, I know. I’ve certainly had enough stories published that I shouldn’t have to go soul searching after the receipt of each and every rejection slip. And as an editor, I know that time is precious, and opinions are subjective, and stories can be perfectly awesome without being a perfect fit for a particular market.
I’ve probably sent out almost a hundred rejections for Drabblecast by now (all form, mind you, and I’m still running behind), but it still kinda sucks to get one. But for all the variations of rejections out there — form, personalized, semi-personalized, didn’t-want-to-waste-a-full-sheet-of-paper-on-you, missed-it-by-that-much, Dear Author…–there are only three truths to the submissions game:
1. You can’t win if you don’t play.
2. No means no. Nothing more, nothing less.
3. If they ask to see more, they mean it.
And there you have it. Now, if you need me, I’ll be at my inbox, pressing the refresh button twelve times per minute. How’s the game treating you this year?
My debut novel THE PREY OF GODS is a near future thriller set in South Africa in which a diverse set of characters imbued with supernatural abilities by a street drug called Godsend must band together against a disenfranchised goddess who intends to remake their world and change the fate of humanity forever.
It's scheduled for release in Summer 2017 from Harper Voyager. Sign up for my newsletter for updates or pre-order now!
