The Next Big Thing

Last week I was tagged by both Amy Sonnichsen (my Hacky Sack Club Partner-in-crime) and Stina Lindenblatt (one of my favorite bloggers) for the latest tag game going around: The Next Big Thing! Like Stina, I'm going to hold off on my WIP, but I will share about one of my labors of love: 

What is your working title of your book?

The Peanut Butter and Jelly Friendship

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Forever ago I wrote a terrible book about a girl whose best friend had to move. Terrible. It may or may not have come from personal experience. ;) So when I pulled it out and reexamined the plot, foreclosures were ravaging the US, and a new story was born.

What genre does your book fall under?

Contemporary Middle Grade.

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

I don't watch TV and I'm horribly behind on watching movies, so all the kid actors I once knew of are now grown up, so I don't know. Yeah, yeah, cop out answer, but honest!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

When selling her appendix on e-bay doesn’t work, ten-year-old Annie Jenkins seeks other ways to save her best friend’s house from foreclosure.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Hopefully represented by an agency. ;)

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? May we see an intro?

If you count that horrible, awful version I mentioned above, I wrote the bulk of it in a month, though the first chapter had been written about 7 years prior to that.

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

I think it has similar themes to WHAT HAPPENED ON FOX STREET, but Annie is very much like RAMONA.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Egad. I'm a little embarrassed to admit (which I think you'd understand if you read the book), but much of what happens was inspired by my own childhood. However, the larger themes are very much influenced by the rocky economic situation the world is going through. I really wanted to explore how foreclosures were affecting the kids who are touched by them.

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

Well after that last answer, I better come up with something good before ya'll fall asleep on me. So let's just say that this book involves pirates and lost treasure, not to mention prune juice and turkey poop. What's not to love?! ;)

And I am tagging (no pressure tags here):

Melissa Sarno
Old Kitty
Theresa Milstein
Vicki Rocho
Lenny Lee

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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? May we see an intro?
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 five people in advance.