image: header
image: gownflare

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The Next Big Thing

All right, so I'm still trying to play catch-up and get back into the swing of things with my weekly author guest blog posts. I'm woefully behind. (sigh)

As I'm getting my schedule lined up, though, I'll get this blog hop tour posted so all y'all will at least have something to read in the interim. :)

Credit for this "tag" goes to my friend, Shannon McNear, who signed her very first book contract in Dallas, Texas, in September last year at the annual ACFW Conference. I was there to witness this amazing experience with her and share in her joys. So I suppose I can humor her and participate in this blog hop. :)

The rules of the blog hop:
  1. Mention who tagged you, and link to their post.
  2. Give the rules.
  3. Answer the ten questions below.
  4. Link to at least 3 other people.
And now, here we go!

1) What is the title of your next book?
Antique Dreams

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?
This is book 3 in my Brandywine Brides series. I had already established the connection between the 3 novels to be a family heirloom book that first appeared in Promises, Promises, book 1 in my Liberty’s Promise series. The book was read by the heroine of that story to the hero, and it was passed down through the generations. Along the way, however, it was lost, and the heroine in Bound by Grace (book 1 in Brandywine Brides) located it again. In book 2, Stealing Hearts, the hero stole the book from the heroine's home then was sentenced to work for her family as penance. For book 3, I needed another way for that book to play an integral role in the meeting of the hero and heroine, and what better way than to have the hero acquire the book from the heroine's brother along with a promise to take care of his sister? The story took off from there.

3) What genre does your book fall under?
Historical Romance

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Oh, wow. I almost never like answering this question, because I often can't think of anyone to fill the roles. So, instead of me stressing over it, I'm going to leave it to you. I'm including the cover, so you can see the characters how I wrote them. Click on it to see the full-size version. Who do YOU think would be good cast in the two lead roles?

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Aaron Stone never imagined the depth of his commitment to fulfill the dying wish of his best friend until he meets his friend's sister, the lovely Lillian Bradenton, and his life takes an unexpected turn.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
My agent is Sandra Bishop with MacGregor Literary, so I suppose this means the book will be represented by them.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
This is where most other writers want to wring my neck. I wrote this book from start to finish (including revisions) in three weeks. Of course, this doesn't include the copy edit and content revisions from the editor at my publishing house. It's only what it took me to get the book ready to submit to my editor.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Any historical titles in the Heartsong Presents line, along with the books in the Love Inspired Historical line. I'm not sure I can narrow down the focus to actual titles.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I came up with the premise a few years before the contract came, and when it came time to write the book, I had no idea I'd be writing it IN the month (April 2012) that was the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking back in 1912. The inspiration came as a result of research done on the setting and the initial premise of the series, but when all the news came out about the anniversary, my interest doubled, making it a lot of fun to show what happened AFTER the tragedy and that life could still be fulfilling beyond the loss.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
Although the focus isn't on The Titanic itself, it's a story of a Titanic survivor, so for those who enjoy stories about the one who lived to tell about that experience, this might be an enjoyable read.

Those I've chosen for the next next big thing:
Carla Laureano
Kelli Hughett
Jen Turner Turano

Let's get rolling!

4 comments:

Shannon McNear said...

Very kewl!!! Thanks for playing. The after-Titanic angle is interesting!

Tiffany Amber Stockton said...

Thanks, Shannon. Trying to get others to play or even readers to answer question #4. No luck so far. :(

Anonymous said...

The first actress I thought of after seeing that cover was Nikki Reed as a blonde in Twilight. (Was it the third movie that showed her pre-vampire backstory?) Same era, I believe, and she looked great.

The guy is way harder. I'd have to know more about him to make a guess.

Tiffany Amber Stockton said...

Thanks, Carla! Nikki could definitely work. :)