Author Mary Cronk Farrell tagged me to be one of the Next Big Thing Blog Hop authors. This traveling blog started in Australia. Each author answers ten questions about his or her work in progress and "tags" from one to five others to be The Next Big Thing. Many thanks to Mary for inviting me to participate.

 I actually have two WIPs, so I'm going to shamelessly tell you about both of them.

 Book one:

 What is the working title of your book?

My working title is FREELAND

Where did the idea come from for the book?

That's a bit of a story. Originally the idea was a takeoff from a manuscript I had just finished. I wanted to put my education, a PhD in History to some use, but not in as a straight historical fiction. I wanted pirates and weird steampunk technology, and came up with an idea about a brother and sister working as spies for George Washington during the 1790s. That got tossed around and reworked quite a bit.

FREELAND is now set in an alternate 1837 where the British Empire has intervened in the Texas War for Independence. Outgoing President Andrew Jackson leads a covert operation into Texas to force the Brits out. That's the setting. The story is about Nathan Freeland, a 14-year old who's spent his whole life dreaming of joining his father as a spy. It begins when Nathan discovers that his father, who was sent to Texas, has been captured by the Brits. Nathan set off with a mysterious friend of his fathers and ends up joining with Jackson on his cross-country voyage to Texas. The mystery builds around Nathan's companion and the true nature of the Brits' plans for Texas. The story climaxes with some rather horrible revelations that promise to change not just Nathan's life, but the world forever.

What genre does your book fall under?

FREELAND is a middle grade steampunk novel.

What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

That's a good question. I've "watched" this story in my head as a movie over and over again. I even wrote the action scenes with particular music in mind. That said, I'm not at all sure who I would cast.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

FREELAND is one boy's epic journey to reunite his family in the shadow of a looming battle between freedom, slavery, and empire in a world of unbridled technological change.

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

I'm represented by Jamie Weiss Chilton of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

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

I mulled the idea over for almost a year before I started writing. Once I did start the first draft took about six months.

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

The LEVIATHAN series by Scott Westerfeld is close in its steampunk retelling of a crisis point in world history.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

Besides the alternate history and steampunk, Nathan's companions on his journey, Victor and Maria, are drawn from a 19th century literary classic and give the novel a bit of monster feel (no vampires, I promise). I also think that Nathan and Victor's friendship on their cross-country journey has a hint of Huckleberry Finn to it. And as an historian, I really enjoyed dealing with the issue of slavery in a way that addresses the American experience, but also expands it into a new world of technological horror. 

What is the working title of your second book?

My working title is TREY NEWTON: LOST IN GHOSTVILLE

Where did the idea come from for the book?

The idea for TREY came from a backyard brainstorming session with a friend about ghosts and a kid who gets lost all the time. I kept the ghosts and used getting lost as my catalyst.

What genre does your book fall under?

TREY NEWTON is middle grade humor

What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

As I’m writing about kids I’m sure everyone I would think of will be too old by the time the movie is made, so I’m just going to have one of my nephews play Trey.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

TREY NEWTON wants to find a ghost so he can be rich and famous, but when he discovers that all the ghosts in town, most especially his grandma, have been kidnapped, he must battle robots, dinosaur poop, and his greatest hero to save them.

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

I'm represented by Jamie Weiss Chilton of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

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

This one was hard. I spent maybe eight months on the first draft and then wrote many more after that.

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

TREY can be wacky at times, a bit like M.T. Anderson’s WHALES ON STILTS. It has a mystery like Stuart Gibson’s, BELLY UP, and it also deals with real emotional issues like Rebecca Stead’s, LIAR AND SPY.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

TREY is very funny and filled with action, a great book for middle grade boys and anyone who is intrigued by the phrase, “dino-poop.”

Here are the authors I'm tagging. Check back for others I will tag:

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