I met author Manda Collins because we have the same wonderful agent (Go Team Root!) and hang together in the Twitterverse. She graciously tagged me in the ongoing game of The Next Big Thing, in which authors get to talk about their current work in progress. As much as writing is alternately joyful and painful, I love all the supportive and inspiring women I've met over the past few years. Readers and writers are so fun!
Check out Manda's Next Big Thing here
The Next Big Thing
What is your working title of your book?
Dark Choices
Where did the idea come from for the book?
I wanted to write a series about a covert agency with primarily female agents. I wanted the women to be damaged and in need of redemption, and I wanted them to work with or encounter men (or male vampires, as the case may be) who would help them get it. I see the series as Wanted/Alias meets Charlie’s Angels meets Underworld. I love the tagline: Some flowers thrive better in the dark.
What genre does your book fall under?
Paranormal romantic suspense
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
For Book 1...I'm having trouble finding a street tough puerto rican heroine, but for my hero, who is British, sexy, charming yet deadly...how about...Henry Cavill...
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Four damaged women are brought together for one common purpose—join an all-female, seemingly all-human private intelligence agency, which is dedicated to placing human agents where law enforcement can’t or won’t go in order to stop crimes involving paranormal forces or creatures.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
The series has been sold to Random House and I get to work with the wonderful Sue Grimshaw.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I'm in the process of writing the first draft. The proposal (synopsis and first three chapters) took me a few weeks.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I would love OTHER people to compare it to a female version of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. :)
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
My current editor with HQN, Margo Lipschultz. Before I sold my contemporary romantic suspense to her, I tried a variety of story ideas, hoping she'd buy one of them. Years later, the story still called to me and I'm happy I get to write it.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
The hero of the book is a human recently turned into a vampire. He's struggling with the change and I'm trying to portray him as caught between two worlds without full knoweldge of what his future is going to look like.
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And now, check out this author next week for her Next Big Thing!
***Please tune into this blog on December 19.
Message for the tagged authors and interested others:
Rules of the Next Big Thing
***Use this format for your post
***Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (work in progress)
***Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.
Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:
What is your working title of your book?
Where did the idea come from for the book?
What genre does your book fall under?
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Include the link of who tagged you and this explanation for the people you have tagged.
Be sure to line up your "tags" in advance.
Hi Virna - I have followed you a bit on MM and enjoyed reading about your next WIP here. I downloaded Chosen by Sin when it was for free but then realized it was #3 in the series...and I can't read a series out of order, so I plan to go back and get the first two to catch up! I think your WIP sounds very cool and look forward to that! :)
Posted by: Amy | December 12, 2012 at 11:26 AM
Hi Amy, Thank you for following me on my writing journey and for downloading CBS. I hope you enjoy the series and that you can keep in touch. Hugs, Virna
Posted by: Virn DePaul | December 12, 2012 at 12:35 PM