My friend and poetry teacher Julie Williams tagged me to participate in "The Next Big Thing" or Blog-o-sphere Project. "It is a fun way for writers all over the world to connect and share information about their current writing project or upcoming book."
Julie is a published poet and the author of a young adult novel-in-poems called ESCAPING TORNADO SEASON (HarperCollins). Her new YA novel, ALL THE WORLD'S A JUMBLE will be out next year (Roaring Brook Press, Macmillan). You can read more about her projects and see her multi-media art at http://juliewilliamsimagesandwords.blogspot.com/
Read Julie's "Next Big Thing" interview at Diane Kendig's blog.
So now that I’m tagged here’s my secret - I have a book waiting in the wings.
What is the working title of your book?
Animal Tales; How Animals Taught Me to Laugh
Where did the idea come from for the book?
When my extended family gets together there is a tendency to tell stories. Typically, these tales involve animals in some way and the storyteller isn’t really doing their job if the yarn doesn’t end with everyone teary-eyed from laughing. It struck me that these stories were too good to let them disappear in the verbal ether. I started to write them down.
What genre does your book fall under?
Family humor with a bit of non-fiction.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I can see Steve Martin as my dentist uncle faced with the conundrum of disposing of a dead goat in the middle of the city and Jack Black as my dad bottle-feeding a baby rabbit and training it to sit on his shoulder like a parrot.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Growing up surrounded by animals can profoundly influence how you find humor in the unexpected.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I think I’m going to publish this as an e-book.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
It started out as a few short stories, but gradually over several years it became a collection of tales.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I think it is a cross between James Harriot’s “Dog Stories” and “Cat Stories” and James Thurber’s “My Life and Hard Times.”
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
My Uncle, who is a wonderful storyteller, and my parents who brought a menagerie of animals into our home and taught me that all of these creatures were part of our family.
What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
Animals, animals, animals.
Stay tuned for the writers I'm tagging.
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