The Next Big Thing

What is the Next Big Thing? A series of questions for writers. Like a chain letter! You post answers to the questions below on a Wednesday, and then tag other writers you admire and want others to discover. I was tagged by my fellow Jaguar, David Tomaloff last week, and again today on facebook by Lavinia Ludlow. It's like a chain letter for writers. And I guess it'll serve to get me blogging again.

Question: What is the [working] title of your book/work in progress?

Answer: A Hard Place to Die

Q: What is a one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A: Just as a blizzard hits the arctic, stranding a construction crew at the pump station, a member of the crew is found murdered.

Q: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

A: I had the idea years ago when I worked in the Arctic. The book was also inspired by my love of Alfred Hitchcock films.

Q: What else might pique the reader’s interest in your book?

A: There's a little something for everyone: murder, mystery, human dynamics, romance, snow.

Q: Where did the idea for the book/work come from?

A: In the Arctic you have to use port-a-potties a lot. The idea of finding a dead body in a port-a-potty came to mind one day, and the idea kept coming back to me.

Q: What genre does the book fall under?

A: Literary fiction, with a bit of crime/mystery mixed in.

Q: Which actors would you choose to play the characters from your book?

A: They would need to be able to grow good beards. George Clooney, Christoph Waltz would fit for two of the men. There are a lot of characters in the novel, it would need to be a full-on ensemble cast.

Q: How long did it take you to write the first-draft of your manuscript?

A: About four months, with a couple of short droughts in there.

Q: Will your book be self-published or represented by an agent?

A: I've been looking for a new agent, but also sending it out to a few publisher. Hopefully it will find a nice home.

Now I'm supposed to tag a few other writers to follow the chain next week. Misters Ben Tanzer, Ryan Werner, and Sam Snoek-Brown. I don't know if they've been tagged or not. Maybe they've already done it. I'm a chain letter slacker.