Monday, February 18, 2013

Next Big Thing

Sarah Wylie, author of ALL THESE LIVES and one of the funniest bloggers ever, has tagged me for the Next Big Thing Blog Hop. Sarah is working on her second book: SOMETHING BEGINNING WITH YOU (FSG/Macmillan in 2014). She shares a stunner of a line from the book in her Next Big Thing.

Yikes, I thought, do I have anything interesting enough to say? This is me, the perennial writer of a dark fairy tale, currently still in rewrite. But I guess I do get cut some slack for last year, which pretty much sucked all the wind out of any and all of my sails. I’m back now, though, so here are my answers to the Next Big Thing.

What is the working title of your next book? PRINCESS CHARMING: A DIFFERENT KNIGHT’S TALE

Where did the idea come from for this book? I was toying around with the idea of gender-switching a fairy tale and creating a kick-ass heroine.

What genre does your book fall under? YA Fantasy, a retold fairy tale

What actors would you choose to play the part of the characters in a movie rendition? Totally wishful thinking but I’d pick Jennifer Lawrence to play the princess knight. As for her love interest, Alex Pettyfer or Chord Overstreet would do nicely. I don’t ask for much.

What is a one sentence synopsis of your book? Tournament-winning dragon fighter, sixteen-year-old Princess Charming believes her “Destiny” is naught but fairy tale until she rides into the uncharted Wilds and discovers her true purpose, which was never as simple as kissing a musty prince awake.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I hope to be represented, but I haven’t even begun to query.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript? The very first draft was just weeks because it was a bare-bones, 90-page fairy tale. The subsequent drafts to turn it into a novel and then completely rewrite it from somewhat MG to totally YA have been much longer.

What other books would you compare this to in your genre? There are so many retold fairy tales now it would be hard to pick. This is dark but there are elements of humor.

Who or what inspired you to write this book? I took a workshop with author Bruce McAllister and used a prompt that led me to this idea.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? A bat-shit crazy witch, a forbidden love interest and an ecological disaster—not too much for our heroine to deal with.

And since Sarah shared a snippet, here's one from Charming: I soak up the rare, soft warmth of the sun, which will disappear too soon behind clouds. The wind carries rain in its memory, rain that is coming, rain that is always coming.

As per rules of being tagged, I hereby tag the following writers to share their Next Big Thing. Yvonne Osborne, HoboAnnie (Annie Howland) and Wen Baragrey. I can’t wait to see what these talented women are cooking up.

20 comments:

Julie Dao said...

Your book sounds fantastic! I'd read it in a heartbeat. And it's so funny that you went from MG to YA... my fairy tale retelling took the exact opposite route :)

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

*waves at Julie* I'm so glad we both live in the land of fairy tales. I can't wait to read your pumpkin-patch book someday.

Sarah Wylie said...

I love everything about this post! Especially that gorgeous snippet. I can see this as a much darker, grown-up BRAVE. I'm so glad you took the plunge and I hope I get to read PRINCESS CHARMING soon!

Jemi Fraser said...

Love your snippet! And who can resist a bat-shit crazy witch and a kick-ass heroine? Not me! Sounds awesome :)

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Sarah: *blushes* Thank you. It's funny you mention BRAVE. I had completed the MG-ish version when Brave came out and I thought uh-oh, this may seem like a clone-type story and I don't want that. So I'm rewriting and finding a stronger Charming, although I do miss some of the MG humor I've ditched.

Jemi: Thank you, my friend!

Bish Denham said...

Oh, I LOVE the little snippet you gave. Can't wait to read the revised edition.

Liza said...

I echo Bish! So lyrical, so lovely!

Yvonne Osborne said...

I love the sound of your new WIP! Who doesn't love a forbidden love interest and you know I'm all about ecological disasters. Way to go Tricia! I'm so glad you got your mojo back and thanks for mentioning me. But I don't know....you and Sarah are hard acts to follow.

Donna said...

More! More! More!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Bish: Yay, thank you!

Liza: Wow, that makes me so happy, too.

Yvonne: More smiles from me! And I can't wait to see what you post--you are such a lyrical and gritty writer.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Ah, Donna, you slipped in whilst I was posting the last comment. Thank you, thank you, thank you. :)

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Oh my, but this sounds wonderful! I love that you've done away with gender roles in this, and that you're taking a darker turn with it--with humor! This has all the makings of winner. Your little snippet was just gorgeous as well. I'm pretty sure I'll read anything you put out, Tricia.

Unknown said...

That was awesome! I'd totally read that book.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Carolina: I put up a comment late last night, read it this morning and went, "huh?" So here's a new one!
I can't thank you enough for saying this sounds like a winner. Sometimes I get down (like we all do) and wonder if it's not worth bothering with, so these comments are making me feel so much more confident. Thanks for the support.

Jade: Yay! *grins ear-to-ear)

Sarah Laurence said...

I love the twist in your title! A gender reversed retelling of a fairy tale sounds quite marketable. Lovely excerpt too. Have you read the Paperback Princess? It’s a similar theme but for much younger readers and absolutely hilarious. Best of luck with the queries!

Faith Pray said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Faith Pray said...

Oops! Now I get it - I thought it was an interview with Sarah until I did my homework. Sorry! Tricia, your voice is fantastic, and your plot sounds dazzling. I can't wait to read more!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Sarah: Thank you! And, no, I haven't read Paperback Princess. On my TBR list it goes. ;)

Faith: :D:D:D Perhaps it was me who was muddled when I put up the post. Clouds. Head. I seem to put them together. And thank you so much!

J.B. Chicoine said...

I'm so happy to see that you have a project in the works! I wish you much success, a reward for having flourished despite the tribulations of the last year! Good for you.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

*waves at Bridget* Thanks so much. I was thrilled to see you get UNCHARTED published!