Entry tags:
The Next Big Thing Meme
Hey there! Haven't done a meme in awhile, and the writing ones are always fun to do. [Yes, I am procrastinating by doing this instead of working on revision, why do you ask? :p ] ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
queenoftheskies hit me up on this, and I'm supposed to tag a few other people after I'm done...not sure who I can ask, though, since every other writer I know has already done it!
So! Without further ado...some of you will already know some of this already, as I've been working on this particular project for quite some time and have posted about it in the past, but I figure if you're visiting from Twitterworld or one of my writer friends' sites, it's a good introduction. And besides, I think it's FINALLY at a submission level of quality that I'm happy with.
1) What is the working title of your book?
A Division of Souls. All the book titles in the Eden Cycle are similar in format (Book 2 is The Persistence of Memories and Book 3 is The Process of Belief).
2) Where did the idea for the book come from?
New Age Spirituality. I thought it would be a really neat idea to take the idea of the human soul's origination coming from somewhere other than Earth, and create a society out of that. Mind you, it's a lot darker and more dangerous than those books you see in that section in the bookstore. The SF angle came from watching the anime Gall Force and its two sequels, specifically its circle of life theme.
3) What genre does it fall under?
Fantasy. There are some space and 'other world' things going on, but a majority of the trilogy takes place in a sprawling city, and much of the action fits better as fantasy.
4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I've toyed with this quite a bit in previous stories, but not really all that much in this one. I always pictured Alec Poe being played by Keifer Sutherland circa mid 90s. I've always seen Caren Johnson being played by Kristen Cloke around the time she was in Space: Above and Beyond. In fact, this one scene is a perfect example of how I see Caren being played. The other characters I've never quite seen with any particular actors, just those two.
5) What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
Human and alien, we are all related in one way or another...but it's hard as hell to keep the peace when the balance of life and belief is disrupted and irrevocably changed. [Geh, I could do better than that!]
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I'd like to do the latter, and hope to have something ready for prospective agents by 2013. But I won't be too worried if I end up doing the former. In fact, I'm okay with small press as well. I'm consistently doing my homework on this one.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft?
Hah! Which one, the crappy version, aka The Phoenix Effect? Probably about a year and a half. I wrote the bulk of it longhand at the food court before I went to work, and transferred it to the PC when I got home. A complete rewrite of that ended up being the trilogy in its current form. A Division of Souls took about a year and some change, most of it done directly to PC; same with Book 2. Book 3 took about a year and change, a five-year hiatus, and then another three months or so of finally finishing it. If you want to get technical, the seed of the story actually came to me sometime in 1993 but it would take a few more years and a lot more false starts before I got anywhere with it.
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Hmm, good question. There's a bit of influence from Richard Paul Russo's Carlucci series, maybe a bit of Cory Doctorow's lighter works and Johnathan Lethem's early stuff. I'm nowhere near as good as they are, of course. ;)
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
If you can believe this, one of those throwaway supermarket paperbacks about New Age beliefs. I'd been following New Agey stuff for awhile, but the extra-terrestrial spin was new to me and gave me a lot of interesting ideas.
10) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It's got its own conlang! No worries, it's relatively easy to vocalize, and it's used just enough that you'll understand the intent of the words pretty quickly. In fact, communication has a very big part in this trilogy, be it vocalized, visualized or "sensed".
One of the things I'd like to do in 2013 is to have a few people beta read A Division of Souls. I've had a few people read past versions, but I'd like to have some read this current version, as I feel it's much better in quality and flow. If you're interested and able to do a bit of reading, let me know and I'll shoot a copy of a few chapters your way! :)
queenoftheskies hit me up on this, and I'm supposed to tag a few other people after I'm done...not sure who I can ask, though, since every other writer I know has already done it! So! Without further ado...some of you will already know some of this already, as I've been working on this particular project for quite some time and have posted about it in the past, but I figure if you're visiting from Twitterworld or one of my writer friends' sites, it's a good introduction. And besides, I think it's FINALLY at a submission level of quality that I'm happy with.
1) What is the working title of your book?
A Division of Souls. All the book titles in the Eden Cycle are similar in format (Book 2 is The Persistence of Memories and Book 3 is The Process of Belief).
2) Where did the idea for the book come from?
New Age Spirituality. I thought it would be a really neat idea to take the idea of the human soul's origination coming from somewhere other than Earth, and create a society out of that. Mind you, it's a lot darker and more dangerous than those books you see in that section in the bookstore. The SF angle came from watching the anime Gall Force and its two sequels, specifically its circle of life theme.
3) What genre does it fall under?
Fantasy. There are some space and 'other world' things going on, but a majority of the trilogy takes place in a sprawling city, and much of the action fits better as fantasy.
4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I've toyed with this quite a bit in previous stories, but not really all that much in this one. I always pictured Alec Poe being played by Keifer Sutherland circa mid 90s. I've always seen Caren Johnson being played by Kristen Cloke around the time she was in Space: Above and Beyond. In fact, this one scene is a perfect example of how I see Caren being played. The other characters I've never quite seen with any particular actors, just those two.
5) What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
Human and alien, we are all related in one way or another...but it's hard as hell to keep the peace when the balance of life and belief is disrupted and irrevocably changed. [Geh, I could do better than that!]
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I'd like to do the latter, and hope to have something ready for prospective agents by 2013. But I won't be too worried if I end up doing the former. In fact, I'm okay with small press as well. I'm consistently doing my homework on this one.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft?
Hah! Which one, the crappy version, aka The Phoenix Effect? Probably about a year and a half. I wrote the bulk of it longhand at the food court before I went to work, and transferred it to the PC when I got home. A complete rewrite of that ended up being the trilogy in its current form. A Division of Souls took about a year and some change, most of it done directly to PC; same with Book 2. Book 3 took about a year and change, a five-year hiatus, and then another three months or so of finally finishing it. If you want to get technical, the seed of the story actually came to me sometime in 1993 but it would take a few more years and a lot more false starts before I got anywhere with it.
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Hmm, good question. There's a bit of influence from Richard Paul Russo's Carlucci series, maybe a bit of Cory Doctorow's lighter works and Johnathan Lethem's early stuff. I'm nowhere near as good as they are, of course. ;)
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
If you can believe this, one of those throwaway supermarket paperbacks about New Age beliefs. I'd been following New Agey stuff for awhile, but the extra-terrestrial spin was new to me and gave me a lot of interesting ideas.
10) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It's got its own conlang! No worries, it's relatively easy to vocalize, and it's used just enough that you'll understand the intent of the words pretty quickly. In fact, communication has a very big part in this trilogy, be it vocalized, visualized or "sensed".
One of the things I'd like to do in 2013 is to have a few people beta read A Division of Souls. I've had a few people read past versions, but I'd like to have some read this current version, as I feel it's much better in quality and flow. If you're interested and able to do a bit of reading, let me know and I'll shoot a copy of a few chapters your way! :)