Week 18: The Next Big Thing

Guess what?  We're playing a game of tag, and I'm it!  I've been tagged by the lovely Virginia Wright.

I'm supposed to answer 10 questions about my current WIP (that's Work In Progress for you non-writers out there.)  Then I'm supposed to tag more talented and creative individuals.  I've kind of fallen short on that last part.  I asked a bunch of you if you wanted to do it, but you're all pretty busy.  I get it.  So I only have one person to tag.  If you're interested in doing this to promote your WIP or new release, let me know, and I'll give you the details.

Here we go.  The Ten Questions

1.  What is the working title of your book?  Bubba and Squirt's Big Hole to China. It may get shortened to Big Hole to China, though.  We'll see what the agent/publisher thinks.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?  I have always been interested in different countries around the world.  I like traveling and learning about people, languages, and cultures.  I thought it would be fun to create a series for kids, where they can learn about these things.  Bubba and Squirt's Big Hole to China is the first book of the series.

3. What genre does your book fall under?  Children's Chapter Book - Fiction

4.  Which actors would you chooses to play your characters in a movie rendition?  That's a tough one.  I could see this being an animated series.  If I had to pick actors though, I'd pick Abigail Breslin from "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" to play Squirt, and Dakota Goyo who played Max Kenton in "Real Steal" to play Bubba.  Hey, anybody who can play a "Max" should be a good "Bubba!"

5.  What is a one-sentence synopsis of your book?  Six-year-old Bubba and ten-year-old Squirt travel through a vortex that leads to Xi-an, China, where they meet the ghost of the first emperor of China and solve the mystery of his missing burial pendant.

6.  Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?  Represented by an agency.  In fact, I just sent the revised manuscript to an agent who liked the concept a couple of days ago.  I really hope he likes it, and decides to represent me!  Keep your fingers crossed!

7.  How long did it take to write the first draft of your manuscript?  Four months, but I've been working on it almost three years.  I must've rewritten it at least one hundred times!  It takes a really long time to get it just right!

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?  Magic Tree House and Flat Stanley

9.  Who or what inspired you to write this book?  Well, as I stated before, I am very interested in other cultures.  I decided to do China first, because it seemed like a logical choice.  People talk about digging a hole to China.  Why not make that the destination of the first book?

10.  What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?  There will be a recipe from each of the countries that Bubba and Squirt will visit.  When I travel, I like to try the local foods.  I thought this "taste" of the country, would help them feel like they actually visited it.


Hope you all enjoyed reading about my WIP.  Thanks, Virginia, for giving me the opportunity to tell everyone about it!  Now here's the person I tagged:

Melissa Kline

She will post her ten questions next Wednesday.  Be sure to stop by and visit!