The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

BLOG HOP — The Next Big Thing

I've never participated in a blog hop before but I was tagged by Steven Hammond, author of the upcoming novel Rise of the Penguins.  His entry in the blog hop can be found on his blog, Rise of Penguins and Other Musings. Many thanks to Steve for tagging me, this was a lot of fun to do.

The rules for the Blog Hop are as follows:

1.   Give credit to the person/blog that tagged you

2. Post the rules for the blog hop

3. Answer these 10 questions about your current WIP (work in progress) on your blog
4. 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 the working title of your book?

My next book will be a short story collection that I've tentatively titled Two of a Kind.  It is a sequel of sorts to my recently published novella, Outlaw, and will be a series of short stories with the same characters.  The events of some of the stories will transpire after the ending of Outlaw, while others will take place before, but each story stands on its own.  I'm planning on publishing it during the first part of next year.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I've had the idea for several more Wesley Quaid stories bouncing around in my head the entire time that I was writing Outlaw. 

What genre does your book fall under?

The stories in Two of a Kind will be Westerns.  While some of them will contain aspects of the traditional Western, most of the stories will feature my antihero Wesley Quaid and his assassin girlfriend Sabrina and will be of a darker nature. 

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

Christian Bale, 3:10 to Yuma

Kate Beckinsale, Underworld

I think that Christian Bale would make a good Wesley Quaid.  He did excellent work in the remake of 3:10 to Yuma and he played the dark, conflicted antihero role in the Dark Knight trilogy very well. 

As for Sabrina, I would pick Kate Beckinsale. 

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Texas Ranger Jud Nelson and the outlaw Wesley Quaid meet again, but this time Quaid has the assassin, Sabrina, watching his back; is time running out for Ranger Jud Nelson?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
It will be self-published because I like having creative and quality control over the entire project.  I've seen many e-books from major publishing companies that contain horrendous formatting and proofreading errors.  I want to be able to have one hundred percent control over the final product.

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

I have six of the stories already written and I'm planning to write at least four more for the collection.  It is a cumulative project that I've worked on over the past couple of years. 

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

It will be similar in feel to my first short story collection, The Wanted Man.  If you enjoyed the Clint Eastwood movie Unforgiven or the character of Cullen Bohannon in Hell on Wheels, you should like Wesley Quaid. 

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Wesley Quaid inspired this collection because he's become my favorite character to write.  He is an antihero and I enjoy that aspect about writing him because he allows me to explore the gray areas of morality in my work.

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

The stories in Two of a Kind will feature my antihero Wesley Quaid, so they will be of a darker nature than a traditional Western.  A couple of the stories will feature my assassin, Sabrina, and will reveal a few hints at her back story, something in which a few of my readers have expressed an interest. 

In addition to stories that transpire after the events in Outlaw, Two of a Kind will also contain a couple of previously published stories including the very first Wesley Quaid story that was printed in Issue 1 of Pulp Modern and has never appeared anywhere else. 

Writers that I'm tagging in The Next Big Thing Blog Hop are:

Jacquie Rogers - http://jacquierogers.blogspot.com/ 

Beth Trissel - https://bethtrissel.wordpress.com/ 

Troy Smith - http://tnwordsmith.blogspot.com/

Shotgun Bo Rivers – http://shotgunborivers.com/ 

Anna Kathryn Lanier - http://annakathrynlanier.blogspot.com/