The Next Big Thing!
Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.
Today I’m participating in THE NEXT BIG THING. It’s a blog hop that began in Australia and went international. The purpose is to get the word out on middle grade and YA writers and their current or upcoming books. Each of us answers the same set of questions, and we “tag” two other authors who will do the same thing the following week. My friend Pam Mingle, tagged me, so here goes.
What is the working title of your next book?
Though I am currently working on another book right now, A Summer of Sundays is my second published book and will be released on July 9th, 2013. In about two months!
Where did the idea come from for the book?
The idea for A Summer of Sundays came from my desire to write and explore that feeling of being forgotten, left-out, overlooked, and unnoticed that we all feel at some point in our lives.
What genre does your book fall under?
Humorous Contemporary Middle Grade Fiction
What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Oh dear! This one is hard because actors and actresses grow up so quickly! But I’ll give it a go.
Sunday Fowler: Georgie Henley (Lucy in The Voyage of the Dawntreader…)
Jude Trist: Matthew Lewis (at the age he was when he played Neville Longbottom in the 1st-2nd Harry Potter movie)
Ben Folger: Clint Eastwood
Lee Wren: Helen Mirren
Hey, we can dream, right?
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Always lost in the shuffle of her large family, eleven-year-old Sunday Fowler decides that this summer she’ll make sure she stands out, and a discovery she makes in the library basement just may help.
Who is publishing your book?
Egmont USA
How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
I wrote the first draft in about four to five months and then spent the next full year rewriting and revising with my editor.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
The Mother Daughter Book Club (Heather Vogel Fredericks) and The Wedding Planner’s Daughter (Coleen Paratore).
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I grew up listening to my dad’s hilarious and sometimes unbelievable childhood stories as one of six kids (all born within six years!). He often felt-as did all of his sisters and his brother-lost in the shuffle of a large family. I remember him telling my sisters and I, “I always wished, more than anything, that just once I could eat more than one ice cream sandwich after dinner-maybe a whole box full.” This statement struck me as a simple, sweet, and funny description of what it was like growing up among so many as well as a statement of how much he truly loved and adored every crazy, chaotic, and hilarious moment growing up.
What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
Three younger brothers constantly getting into some sort of mischief, two older sisters who are too old and too cool (and one is possibly the worst driver on the entire planet), a new friend with three first names and an obsession with food, an old run-down library, a mysterious manuscript, and a next-door neighbor that just might turn out to be a murderer.
So, that’s all from me! Check out next week, May 2nd, when two wonderful writers: Lisa Amowitz and Stephanie Burgis talk about their books!
