Fellow YA author Elsie Chapman (DUALED, out from Random House Children's on 26th Feb 2013) has tagged me to take part in a blog hop this week, The Next Big Thing. It's supposed to be about our works-in-progress, but my WIP is too rough to share at the moment so I'm going to talk about ACID. I hope that isn't cheating!
1) What is the working title of your book?
ACID.
2) Where did the idea come from for the book?
The very first spark came from a story a friend and I challenged each other to write when we were 14, about someone being imprisoned in a brutal future world. Many years later, I came back to it, and ACID was born.
3)What genre does your book fall under?
Dystopian YA.
Dystopian YA.
4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Hmm… I'm not sure! I actually haven't thought about this… rubbish, aren't I? I guess I see my characters so vividly inside my head, I can't imagine them looking like anyone else.
Hmm… I'm not sure! I actually haven't thought about this… rubbish, aren't I? I guess I see my characters so vividly inside my head, I can't imagine them looking like anyone else.
5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
ACID, the most brutal police force in the world, locked Jenna Strong up for a terrible crime she struggles to remember, but now she's been broken out by a mysterious rebel group and must use all her strength and skill to stay under ACID's radar.
ACID, the most brutal police force in the world, locked Jenna Strong up for a terrible crime she struggles to remember, but now she's been broken out by a mysterious rebel group and must use all her strength and skill to stay under ACID's radar.
6)Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I'm represented by Carolyn Whitaker at London Independent Books, and ACID will be published by Random House Children's Publishing next year.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
About 6 months.
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Hmm… I've seen it compared to The Hunger Games and Matched. I think it will also appeal to fans of Divergent, and Jenna's been compared to Lisbeth Salander!
9) Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Lots of things! That idea from when I was 14 that never quite left me. George Orwell's 1984. Reading an article about how, in 2009, the Shetland Islands supposedly had more CCTV cameras than the San Francisco Police Department, which I found VERY sinister…
10) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
ACID is full of twists and turns which (I hope!) will keep the reader guessing to the end.
Amy McCulloch
ACID is full of twists and turns which (I hope!) will keep the reader guessing to the end.
Tagged for next week (Week 23) are some of my talented writer
friends. Check out their blogs next Wednesday, November 7th, when it's
their turn to post answers to these same questions about their own
works-in-progress!
Happy Halloween!
Interesting stuff. Looking forward to the book, Emma. I'll try to live up to having been tagged . . .
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dan! And I'm sure you will. :)
Delete"8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
ReplyDeleteHmm… I've seen it compared to The Hunger Games and Matched. I think it will also appeal to fans of Divergent, and Jenna's been compared to Lisbeth Salander!"
Emma, so funny! Remember this from last week? Not only are we twins, but Jenna and West must be, too!
I know, Elsie! It's freaky…
DeleteI love reading more about your book, Emma -- can't wait to read it! I know I'll have to get one for my daughter, too, because she loved The Hunger Games! Woohoo!!
ReplyDeleteACID sounds like a fantastic book! And I thoroughly agree with your decision not to stick actors' names onto your characters. If you see them vividly, so will your readers! (I was a refusenik on that one when I answered the same questions on my blog this morning!) I wonder how many Next Big Things there will eventually be...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lari! I saw your answer to that question - I'm glad I'm not the only person who can't visualise her characters as someone else!
ReplyDeleteOh what fun! I'm really enjoying reading all these!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kate! :)
DeleteThis sounds amazing! I'm looking forward to ACID's release.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, and I'm with you on not being able to pick actors to play my characters. It's like picking someone to play my brother in a movie.
Thank you, Caryn! :)
DeleteEmma, I've been very bad and not done this :-( Trouble is, I've just moved house and there's no Internet in my new place (this is being sent from someone else's place), so didn't get to do this I'm afraid...
ReplyDeleteI can do it tomorrow if it's not too late? Or perhaps I can just be really cheeky and do it anyway...
No worries, Joe! Do it whenever you like - it'll be fun to see your answers! :)
DeleteJust done it. Hope you enjoy :-)
ReplyDelete