The Next Big Thing blog Challenge

Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing:

What is the working title of your book?  Imogene:  Innocense Lost

Where did the idea come from for the book?  I was looking at some creative writing prompt sites last Decmeber and came across this site and five of the pictures jumped out at me that just said - story, story, story - (the numbers of the picture are #10, #20, #23, #38, and #41, not necessarily in that order - but China came to mind when I saw the pictures and the doll basically said - kidnapped little girl and the search for her.

What genre does your book fall under?  This is a tough one.  I'm thinking maybe intrigue, suspense but not a mystery per se - because we know who kidnapped Imogene; we just have to figure out how to get her back to her family.  Perhaps it's a psychological thriller - I just don't really know what genre to put it in. 

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?  I've not thought that far ahead and I don't really follow any actors or actresses and the ones I do follow are too old to play this young family. 

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?  A young girl goes missing and the search is on; mother is unrelentless until she brings her home.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?  Probably self-published as I don't feel it is necessary to go through the angst of trying to get someone else to publish for me.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?  Ha.  I'm still working on the first draft.  I hope to participate in NaNo next month and totally write the story but it will be going through a revamping since I can't really get it to start in China but can get her mother to China after the fact.  There is a secret that will have to come out that helps get the mother there. 

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?  When I was describing this story to someone on the phone, they kind of said this sounds like one of those made for TV movies   So, I'm not really sure what other book to compare this to.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?  The pictures from the website as noted above.  I know there is a decent story here; so, now, the challenge is just to write the story. 

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?  We have kidnapping, search and rescue, and bringing a family together - what's can be better than that?  Only kidding.  I don't know what would pique my readers' interests. 

UPDATE:  10/28/2012 - I was supposed to post this a couple of weeks ago and forgot but I don't have anyone to tag, so I apologize to Susanne for posting late.  If any of my readers would like to participate, same questions and just let me in the comment that you tagged yourself so we can follow your blog and postings - E :)

"The Look" Blog Challenge

I've been tagged, not once but twice this week to participate in two different blog hops.  The first challenge is from my friend, Lana Voynich, author of Alaskan Healing and upcoming hockey romance story, Faceoff of the Heart.  For the challenge and to see Lana's posting, you can find it here
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Here are the rules:  "The Look" is a writing prompt, a game, another tagging event. This is how U Got “The Look” works: you take your current manuscript, search for the word “look”, and post the surrounding paragraphs. Lastly, you tag 5 blogging authors who you think will be a good choice for the game.


So here is the beginning of Imogene:  Innocense Lost with the understanding that even though this story is really rough I'm about to revamp it next month when I participate in NaNo (gave up on BIW as previously challenged for myself).  I hope to release this story next summer or fall. 

Jacob watched his mother move her mashed potatoes around on the plate. He knew that this was a big trip for her. He couldn't help but wonder if he would ever measure up to Imogene. Even at his young age of almost eight years, he knew that Imogene was the love of his parents' lives. They always told him that he was special too and that they loved him just as much, but he had seen his mother holding the photograph, talking to the doll and crying herself to sleep so many nights. The photo. It wasn't anything spectacular, just the last time they were a family, and that was even before Jacob had been born. The photo was that of a smiling, young, dark-haired girl. So full of life and bubbling at the brims. Her long, straight hair and slightly slanted eyes gave her the appearance of having been of a different nationality, almost giving her an Asian look. His parents had been happy then too, but in pictures of Jacob and his parents it was very noticeable that the smiles had faded. People always said if Jacob had been older that he and Imogene could have been twins, and they could have; they had very similar features and shared more than just their parents as Jacob shared the same birth date with Imogene


The conversation lacked words but the emotions spoke loud and clear. Sarah Beth had decided that she would make one last trip to find her daughter. Daniel didn't want her to go; Sarah Beth fought and screamed and cried until there were no words left. She felt this trip was going to be different than previous trips where they had tried to make it a family vacation, all the while searching for their lost daughter. This year, something was different. She couldn't quite put her finger on what was bothering her but she had to try. It was find Imogene or die trying and with that thought, Sarah Beth decided this had to be done on her own as she really didn't want to lose the rest of her family.

UPDATE:  10/28/2012 - I was supposed to post this a couple of weeks ago and I don't have anyone to tag so I apologize to Lana for being so late in posting this - See you all in the postings