The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

I would like to thank Marion Clarke for inviting me to take part in The Next Big Thing.

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop is a chance for authors around the world to tell you what they’re working on. The author answers 10 questions about their current project, and tags the person who first tagged them, plus two other authors.

Marion completed her blog hop last week, you can learn more about her on her blog http://seaviewwarrenpoint.wordpress.com/ where she answered the set of questions and tagged myself and fellow author Mitch Lavender.

Mitch is a friend of mine and is a fantastic author, you can catch up with him here: http://lifein64squarefeet.com/2013/03/22/the-next-big-thing-writers-blog-hop/   

Right so here we go…

1) What is the title (or working title) of your next book?

I’m working on two novels at the moment. The first, I, Vladimir, is in its final editing stage and should be launched later this year. The second is in its first draft and is called Anonymous Jack.

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

I have always loved dark fiction and the vampire genre. Recent novels of this genre have brought vampires into a new light (pun intended). I wanted to go back to a more traditional role, about a creature that was very old, and in the shadows, stalked mankind.

3) What genre does your project fall under?

I, Vladimir falls into the dark fiction category, there’s plenty of gore but not enough to say it was a full on horror.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Vladimir and Hannah would have to be played by a couple of actors that have successfully stared together in so many eccentric films – Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.

5) What is a one sentence synopsis of your work?

The Nazis capture Vladimir and his clan of vampires, using the lance that pierced Christ’s side during his crucifixion, he escapes from the death camp with prisoners that they were being forced to execute, to discover who betrayed him.

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

I have signed a contract with Gentry Publishing for I, Vladimir. They also have first refusal on Anonymous Jack.

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

In all about six months, I wasn’t sure where I was going with it in the beginning, but the last three months I worked like a demon on it

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

If I were asked to compare I, Vladimir to any published novels, I would have to pick a cross between two. 'Interview with the Vampire', by Anne Rice, and 'Abraham Lincoln, The Vampire Hunter', by Seth Grahame-Smith. I would choose these because of the period voice and tale used in Interview, and because of the historical use of data in the Abraham Lincoln novel.

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

This is hard one, to be honest I can’t recall. I do remember thinking, what if in history chieftain warlords used vampires to wage war on their enemies? – That is how the book started but it ended a million miles away from there.

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

The story is a chapter in Vladimir’s life. Over the course of many years it tells us of how he became a vampire, of how he travelled through Whitechapel in 1888 in search of the real Jack the Ripper. Of him falling in love, and how he learns how he was betrayed and captured by the Nazis. His continual hunt for the one that betrayed him, which years later takes him to another war torn region of Europe, Bosnia.

A quote given by a reader of the first draft - "Historically, this is minutely documented, making it more realistic than fantasy." – Thank you Kate.

Well it is my time to tag the next two authors for The Next Big Thing blog hop.

The first is Lisa Terry from Headland, Alabama. Lisa is a writer and editor and runs The Headland Voice newspaper. I first met Lisa on a website where I read her first novel White Star. She was recently telling me she has just finished her fourth novel, but I’ll let her tell you more, here is her blog http://lisaslanding.blogspot.com/

My second victim is Michéal O'Flaherty from County Cork. Michéal is the author of two westerns and is also my local librarian, he’s is an excellent source of information, a true gentleman and he makes great coffee.

You can find out more about Michéal here on his blog  http://michealof.blogspot.ie/

Well thank you for dropping by, if you are on twitter make sure you say ‘Hi’  @DanielKaye_