The Next Big Thing (part 4)

It’s time for the last two questions in The Next Big Thing (TNBT) blog hop event. The event consists of 10 questions about an author’s current work in progress (WIP). Each author who is tagged answers the 10 questions listed below about his or her current WIP. Then that author tags five (or fewer) other writers and links to their blogs so we can all hop over and read their answers (see my blog entry for June 28 for more details).

Question #9: Which authors inspired you to write this book?

Going back to my teens, authors such as Dorothy L. Sayers and Ngaio Marsh inspired me, before I even knew I wanted to write mysteries. I was floored when I read Sayers’ The Nine Tailors. What a work of art. Much later, Tony Hillerman and Margaret Coel became inspirations. I discovered Hillerman only ten years ago, long after he’d written his first mystery, but when I found him, I devoured his books, one after another, until I’d caught up with his writing. I wish he were alive today, still writing about Joe Leaphorn.

Question #10: Tell us anything else that might pique our interest in your book.

I’m having a lot of fun writing it. I think readers can tell when a writer’s had fun! I try to write books I would like to read. I think of myself curling up in bed with my WIP at night—what would I want to read next? What would give me goosebumps or make me laugh?

I’ve tagged four more awesome writers whose work you want to watch. Check out their links and see what WIPs they’re crafting:

http://www.amykmaddox.com/ Amy Maddox

http://pennyzeller.wordpress.com/ Penny Zeller
http://sandirog.blogspot.com/ Sandi Rog
http://www.maureenamiller.com/ Maureen A. Miller

Here is the full list of TNBT questions for you to copy and paste to your blog along with your answers. Just tag five (or fewer, if you wish) awesome writers and add their links so we can all follow along.

1. What is the title of your book/WIP?

2. Where did the idea for the book come from?
3. What genre would your book fall under?
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
6. Is your book published or represented?
7. How long did it take you to write?
8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to?
9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?
10. Tell us anything else that might pique our interest in your book.

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The Next Big Thing (part 3)

It’s time for four more questions in The Next Big Thing (TNBT) blog hop event. The event consists of 10 questions about an author’s current work in progress (WIP). Each author who is tagged answers the 10 questions listed below about his or her current WIP. Then that author tags five (or fewer) other writers and links to their blogs so we can all hop over and read their answers (see my blog entry for June 28 for more details). Thanks to Gail M. Baugniet for tagging me and getting me started.

Question #4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

That’s a tough question. I really don’t know. Though I do know that I’d want an un-Hollywood type to play my protagonist, Anna Denning. Maybe an unknown. Someone who, like Anna, is somewhat pretty but far from gorgeous, and someone who, although she doesn’t lack for self-confidence, is totally lacking in finesse and glamour. Anna is the kind of person who walks out of a public restroom with toilet paper stuck to her shoe—and has no problem peeling it off and laughing about it.

Question #5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

One sentence? I have a one-sentence tag line in mind, but not a one-sentence synopsis. That’s why I write novels instead of flash fiction!

Question #6: Is your book published or represented?

It will be published as an ebook before the end of 2012.

Question #7: How long did it take you to write?

I haven’t finished writing it yet. It took months to plot, but that’s because I like mysteries with multiple story threads and intricate plots.

I’ve tagged five more awesome writers whose work you should watch. Check out their links and see what WIPs they’re crafting:

http://www.tegeorge.com/ T.E. George

http://peteturner.webs.com/ Pete Turner
http://gwendolyngage.blogspot.com/ Gwendolyn Gage
http://www.aearndt.com/ Angela E. Arndt
http://www.tericdarken.com / Teric Darken

Here is the full list of TNBT questions for you to copy and paste to your blog along with your answers. Just tag five awesome writers and add their links so we can all follow along.

1. What is the title of your book/WIP?
2. Where did the idea for the book come from?
3. What genre would your book fall under?
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
6. Is your book published or represented?
7. How long did it take you to write?
8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to?
9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?
10. Tell us anything else that might pique our interest in your book.

Don’t forget my book giveaway! Five winners will receive an ebook copy of The Witch Tree. Just "like" my Facebook author page or follow this blog (see the previous blog post for a link and details). Contest ends this Sunday night.

Christmas in July: Book Giveaway

Tired of the heat? Me too. Officially summer is only a few weeks old, but already it's been way too sizzling in most parts of the country. That means it’s the perfect time to think about cold weather, snow, and . . . Christmas.

To celebrate my strange frame of mind, I’ve decided to give away five copies of The Witch Tree, my mystery ebook set in the Colorado mountain town of Elk Park in the days leading up to Christmas. Snowstorms, Christmas trees, and murder. Brrrr.

Ready? Here are the rules:

• “Like” my Facebook author page or follow my blog between July 9 and July 15.
• If you liked my author page or followed my blog before July 9, leave me a note on my Facebook author page or blog if you want to be entered.
• If you follow my blog to enter, leave your email address so I can contact you if you win. If you liked my Facebook author page to enter, I’ll contact you through Facebook.

Winners will be chosen and announced on July 16. The ebooks will be sent as gifts from either Amazon or Barnes and Noble, so you need a Kindle or Nook or a Kindle or Nook app on your computer or other device.

Here’s a description of the book:

Four days before Christmas in Elk Park, Colorado, genealogist Anna Denning discovers a client's body. When she starts asking questions no one wants answered, she becomes the killer's next target. Still grieving the death of her husband, Anna must draw on her wounded faith to enter a world of wicca and paganism—reminders of a past she buried long ago—and discover the secret of The Witch Tree.

Good luck!

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The Next Big Thing (part 2)

P.D. James

It’s time for two more questions in The Next Big Thing (TNBT) blog hop event. The event consists of 10 questions about an author’s current work in progress (WIP). Each author who is tagged answers the 10 questions listed below about his or her current WIP. Then that author tags five (or fewer) other writers and links to their blogs so we can all hop over and read their answers. (See my blog entry for June 28 for more details.)

Question #2: Where did the idea for your upcoming book come from?

KARIN: First, I knew I was going to continue with the Anna Denning mystery series. I’ve come to love Elk Park and its inhabitants (my third Anna Denning mystery is already percolating in my mind!). Second, I’ve always enjoyed ghost stories. So I put the two together.

            But this is a ghost story from a Christian perspective. We know we die only once and then we’re judged (Heb. 9:27), so after death we’re hardly likely to wander the earth in ghostly form. But we also know there’s a supernatural realm. Do ghosts exist? If so, what are they really?

Question #3: What genre would your book fall under?

KARIN: Although the mystery revolves around an old Elk Park mansion and its ghostly reputation, it’s not a horror story. It’s a mystery.

I’ve tagged three more awesome writers whose work you want to watch. Check out their links and see what they’re up to:

http://mhgerberbooks.blogspot.com/ M.H.  Gerber (mystery)

http://brendabwallace.blogspot.com/ Brenda B. Wallace (mystery/thriller)

http://hopeofglory.typepad.com/ Nicole Petrino-Salter (contemporary Christian fiction)

Here is the full list of TNBT questions for you to copy and paste to your blog along with your answers. Just tag five awesome writers and add their links so we can all follow along.

1. What is the title of your book/WIP?

2. Where did the idea for the book come from?
3. What genre would your book fall under?
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
6. Is your book published or represented?
7. How long did it take you to write?
8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to?
9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?
10. Tell us anything else that might pique our interest in your book.