The Next Big Thing

.Thank you Joylene for your tag in the Next Big Thing bloghop. Read her post here.

She tagged me in part because of our similar genre of suspense, but I can only hope to be where she is someday! I'm revising my book so extensively that I feel like I'm back to square one- the first draft stage. I've finally made peace with the revision process because I've learned so much along the way, and it will only make my novel better in the end.

THE NEXT BIG THING (Answer 10 questions about your work, either a novel or WIP)

TEN QUESTIONS:

1. What is the working title of your book?  Crossing the Culture, but I'm probably going to change that because my WIP has changed so much it's not as applicable. (And my husband didn't like it!)

2. Where did the idea come from from the book?  I wanted to write something based on my experiences of living in South America, and once I had a main character, she took on a life of her own.

3. What genre does your book fall under? Suspense/ thriller, or medical thriller. The main character is a nurse volunteering in a clinic in the rainforest.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I know more or less what the female protagonist would look like, but I can't think of a specific actress for her. The male protagonist, who is the doctor running the clinic, I would chose Stuart Townsend.

  He's pretty much exactly the picture I had in my mind while I wrote the story.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

 Kate Wilson is thrilled to begin her work as a nurse in the rainforest, discovering too late that the town of Bella Vista is hiding a sinister secret that will change her life forever.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I'm going to try traditional first, but anything is possible.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? This has been a slow process for me, but overall I've worked on this manuscript for over a year already, and I'm not sure how much more I will need.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? The only one that comes to mind is Tom Clancy's Clear and Present Danger. Just take away the spy part and add medical instead, if that makes any sense. (If anyone knows of a better fit let me know!)

9. Who or What inspired you to write this book? The beautiful little town I lived in while in the rainforest, and my husband (with his Colombian heritage).

10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest? I like learning about places and cultures and I try to share this with the reader. It is a beautiful region with intense poverty and tormented by violence and drugs. I've had to do a lot of research into the history of the drug cartels and Colombia, and the amount of violence is mind-boggling. It puts our problems in the States into perspective.

Thanks again Joylene for the opportunity to talk about what I'm working on!

I'm going to tag some of my favorite blogger friends, because I would love to learn about what you're working on, but no obligations.

1. Barbara Ann Watson

2