Thoughtful

This November is going to be a little different on the blog.  I am going to be bringing guest bloggers on for the whole month, people whose ideas and opinions I respect very much.  I look forward to sharing their thoughts with you.

The reason I am bringing in guests is that I've decided to participate in Nanowrimo this year, as a nano rebel.  Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) is a challenge where writers from across the world spend the month of November attempting to write a 50,000 word novel, starting at page one.  I am a nano rebel because I am starting at around 13,000 words already.  You can see the word count widget to the right to see exactly where I am.  And that widget will remain until the first draft is finished so anyone who is interested can track my progress

In celebrating this momentous occasion, I am participating in The Next Big Thing Blog Hop.  This blog hop is a chance for authors to tell you what they are working on.  The author answers 10 questions about their next book and tags the person who first tagged them, plus a few other authors who want to participate as well.

My blogger/authors are Kelly Ospina who blogs at www.stuckintheslowlaneoflife.com and Ember K. Miller who blogs at www.undilutedtype.wordpress.com. Stop by their blogs and see what they are up to!

The person who tagged me was B. Morrison.  http://bmorrison.com/ Go check her out.

And now for the questions and my answers.

What is the working title of your book?   Jason.

Where did the idea come from for the book?  I hadn't written fiction in years, but a couple friends suggested I try my hand at it again.  After some brainstorming, this was the most interesting idea that came to mind.

What genre does your book fall under?  Christian fiction.

What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition.  I picture Caroline as Kirsten Dunst and Jason as Tahmoh Penikett.  For their little girl Charlotte, I found a random picture of a child online that I liked, but lately, I picture her looking like the little girl of a friend.  I don't know enough child actors these days to choose one to play her.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Jason is a man who is trying to live the Christian life, but  his faith is tested when he loses some of the best things in his life. 

Will your book be self-published or represented by agency?  I'm not sure, but I think I will try the traditional route first and then self-publish if that doesn't work out.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?  It's been about a year since I started, but I’m hoping to have it done by the end of the year, hopefully before December 1st.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?  There is a particular book that comes to mind, but I read it several years ago and can't recall the name.  It was about a married couple that was dealing with temptations of infidelity.  Even though infidelity is not currently a plot point in my story, both stories are in part about restoration of marriages.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?  It's been years since I wrote fiction, but two friends both told me that they thought I needed to write a book.  I've been planning on writing a non-fiction book eventually, but they both told me I should write a fiction book.  I wrote two novels when I was in school, but I hadn't written anything more than a few pages of fiction since then.  I didn't think I was good at it.  Then I realized that first drafts are never good.  Just part of the process.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?  The story is a modernization of the book of Job, imagining what it might look like if someone today had a similar experience as Job did.