A NOVEL BLOG HOP: ADAM’S NEEDLE

Theresa Hupp, who blogs at http://mthupp.wordpress.com tagged me to participate in a Blog hop for authors. What’s a blog hop? This one is an interview with ten questions posed to a writer about the novel he or she is writing. The author answers the ten questions and then selects five more writers they would like to interview.

This gives all our readers an opportunity to learn what we – and our writing friends – are working on. I appreciate the opportunity Theresa has given me to write about my book. I hope you enjoy reading about my work in progress, and please go read about the writers I’m tagging at the end of this post.

1.         What is the working title of your book?

Adam’s Needle. It is another name for the yucca plant so called because of its sharp points. In my novel it is the name of a cliff where an important part of the story takes place.

2.         Where did the idea come from for the book?

We owned a farm in the Ozarks near a small town. Right outside of town stood a cliff with a cross on the top. No one knew where the cross came from or who put it there. Ripe fodder for a story.

3.         What Genre does your book fall under?

Wherever To Kill a Mockingbird falls. Mainstream fiction, I’d say.

4.         Which actor would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I would want CJ Adams to play Will (Ohono). He has great acting skills and would be perfect for the part of the twelve-year- old boy, but he will probably be too old by the time Adam’s Needle is made into a movie. Clint Eastwood for Will’s father.

5.       What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?     

Will Lamar, a young, Missouri Ozark farm boy handicapped by abuse but in tune with nature and its creatures, saves a dangerously sick town from itself.

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

Probably self-published. I’ve already published one novel, JAZZ TOWN, with some success. I’m anxious to write yet a third novel so the hours spent finding an agent might be too time-consuming.

 7.         How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Good question. I’ve been working on this story for a long time, but sometimes it feels like I’m still writing the first draft.

8.       What other books could compare to this work within your genre?

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Olive KItteridge, by Elizabeth Strout, Deliverance by James Dickey, and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Right now I am loving The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson

9.       Who or what inspired you to write this book?

 I met and instantly fell in love with a wonderful child who lived near our farm. How he dealt with the joys and adversities of his life intrigued me. He was the inspiration and the impetus to this novel.

10.       What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Though set in the Missouri Ozarks, this story could be  about any small town, USA where, due to religious dogma,  prejudice and discrimination tends to thrive.

I’m working hard to bring this book to press by the end of 2013 or the beginning of 2014 but it needs lots of editing.

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Here are the writers I have tagged. All of them have blogs and/or websites, and all are published authors.

Hot off the press is Phyllis Westover’s wonderful new children’s book with pictures, Sold to the Highest Bidder. Find her at http://phylliswestover.blogspot.com/

Rita writes hauntingly beautiful poetry. She also writes lovely stories. Her latest book is for pre-teens and is called — 414 Pine Street. http://www.ritaroth.com

http://www.dawndowney.com. Dawn says she is an author, daydreamer and all-around slacker. I don’t know about the slacker part but I do know she writes gorgeous prose. Her latest book of essays is Alone in the Dark.

Maril is a poet and an excellent editor. Read some of her thought-provoking, lovely  poems at http://www.marilcrabtree.com

Author of Smart Shield and Drive by Romances, Dane is a funny and talented writer and blogger. Check him out at http://danezeller.com

Thank you , Teresa Hupp, for tagging me to write about Adam’s Needle.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, please share it! And check out the authors I’ve listed. If you have any questions about my work in progress, please comment below.