The latest game for authors in the blogosphere is to tag each other for The Next Big Thing. Once tagged, an author answers a few questions, then tags other writers.
Novelist Tina Boscha, author of River in the Sea – a novel inspired by her mother’s wartime experiences – tagged me. Tina and I were officemates at U of O, and I had the pleasure of reading early drafts of her novel.
I’m tagging Shereen Rayle. Shereen’s book Shereen Travels Cheap is a great insider’s guide to cheap travel. I met Shereen through Bob, and have seriously enjoyed her travel tips on our recent adventures!
What is the working title of your book?
I just finished revising Shadowgirl.
Where did the idea come from for the book?
It’s going to sound weird – and totally not like me – but it started with a dream I had in 2008. I had a dream that this mother went mad and believed her daughter had been replaced by a changeling. So she put her out into the cold. I took that dream and wrote about the baby she abandoned. It has changed so much since then!
What genre does your book fall under?
Definitely YA. The main character Áine (Anya) is 16 and it’s written for a teen audience.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Wow. That’s tough. But I’d have to go Irish. Maybe Una Healy for Áine and Demi Lovato for Hennessey. Not big names, but they look close to what I imagine.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Áine crosses the threshold into the Shadowlands to discover the true story of what happened to her family.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I’m represented by Betsy Amster Literary. Mary Cummings is my agent. She’s been very helpful, supportive, and challenging throughout my novel revisions.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The first draft only took me three months. The revisions – those are another story. I revised out characters, changed important plot points, altered the POV, and even eliminated a prince. It’s been a whirlwind of revision, but I think the book is so much better for it. I worked with Annie Bomke on a few revisions, and she was very helpful guiding me toward a stronger story. Amber and Mimi in my writing group also saw this novel transform from naïve to real. It’s totally different than the first draft!
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Radiant Shadows and Daughters of Smoke and Bone. Both fantastic YA fantasies.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I mentioned the dream that sparked the novel, but the revisions were guided by changes in my life. After I gave birth to my son, I realized I needed to write the types of books I would want him to eventually read. That meant moving beyond some genre expectations and stereotypes. It also meant some drastic revisions. Hopefully, when he is old enough, he’ll enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it for him.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
This is not just a light, easy to digest fantasy story about fairies.
Áine’s story is darker. She always thought she was one of the fey, but then she begins to have these dreams of shadow and flame, where her mother loses her mind and her father stands aside as she is burned alive. These dreams invade her waking life, and Áine crosses the threshold into the Shadowlands to discover the true story of what happened to her family.
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