The next big thing!

Almost Christmas! I had a wonderful time at Heather Graham’s terrific conference in New Orleans. And now I’m in participating in the Next Big Thing - a chain blog. Initially, I had no idea what that was, until author Marcia King-Gamble invited me to join some wonderful authors.  Be sure to visit Marcia at - http://www.lovemarcia.com/ and read her blog.

THE NEXT BIG THING

1. What is your working title of your book (or story)?

 The Patriot’s Conquest

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

After September 11, 2001, I wanted to write a book based on American history as my personal means of coping with the tragedy of that day. The book centers around a minor but important incident right before the war, when British marines stole all the gunpowder and ammo out of the magazine in Williamsburg under orders of Gov. Dunmore. It was the spark that began the war.

I had so much fun with this book and spent time in colonial Williamsburg doing research. The hero is a hunky blacksmith patriot who smuggles valuable information to Patrick Henry and the heroine is a British relation of Gov. Dunmore who’s ordered to spy on him or her father will be forced into the almshouse.

3. What genre does your book fall under? Historical romance

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

Wow, good question. Hmmm, Jeffrey is a black-haired, sexy and muscular guy who has burning gray eyes and a passionate spirit. I can see Henry Cavil as Jeffrey.  The heroine, Amanda, is a redhead with a spark of her own, who desperately tries to play it prim and proper but can’t stem the passion inside her. I can see Kate Winslet as Amanda because I loved how she played Rose in Titanic… who longed for freedom from convention, but still resisted fully breaking free.

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

To save her father from the almshouse, a British woman who left England to escape a sexual scandal must spy upon a sexy blacksmith smuggling covert information for the cause of freedom.

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

Self-published

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

A couple of months. 

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Since there are so few books in that time period, I can’t really be certain.

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

The real American heroes of our past, the men and women who fought hard to make this country free. And the ones who still fight the good fight today.

  

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

Although this is an historical set in 1775, with plenty of real life history (Patrick Henry makes an appearance), it’s very sexy. I like writing sensual books, so there is plenty of heat between the sheets! It was fun writing love scenes relative to that time period… for example, there is one scene where Jeffrey corners Amanda in the Governor’s Palace during a ball… and he nearly compromises her in order to steal out of the palace (he’s there going through the governor’s personal correspondence and she catches him).  He actually steals her garter and holds it hostage. It’s a very sexy scene!

AND… on Thursday, December 20, the fabulous Traci Hall will be blogging about her next big thing… a book called The Blood of Ra. The Blood of Ra is an action/adventure paranormal romance and features ancient Egypt meets Miami! Visit this link
to find out more about Traci’s cool new book!