It’s my turn to answer the designated questions for the Next Big Thang, after having been tagged by Mista Eric J. Guignard. In turn, I will tag authors Lori Michelle, Araminta Star Matthews and Suzie Lockhart. One week from now, on December 12, they will answer the same questions that I have answered today, and tag another 3-5 authors, and so on.
Right then.
1) What is the working title of your next book?
The Mind is a Razorblade
2) Where did the idea come from for the book?
I’ve always loved stories that involve memory disorders. Nolan’s Memento is one of my all time favorites noir tales that incorporates memory loss. I wondered what I would do if I were to wake up in some strange place, with no memory of who I was. So I wrote out what I thought would happen. It is highly exaggerated. Highly.
3) What genre does your book fall under?
Neo-noir, horror
4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
The narrator would definitely be played by Edward Norton. Although I have to admit it’d be hilarious if he was played by Jordan Prentice (the dwarf actor from In Bruges).
5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
After a man wakes up next to two dead bodies with no recollection of his own identity, he will go through unspeakable lengths to discover the truth of who he really is.
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I’ve vowed to never self-published, so it will be published under a small press most likely. I have a few in mind, but there’s no telling at the moment.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
The first draft took a month to write. The second draft took a year, thanks to other projects getting in the way. Right now it’s going through final edits.
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I suppose The Mind is a Razorblade can be compared to The Bourne Identity since it shares a similar quest to recover memory, and also to Song of Kali for having such a fucked up setting.
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Well, what the hell else was I going to do?
10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
One of my other goals in writing this book was to take the whole “flashback” trope of certain fiction and make it unique again. I like to believe that I’ve offered a new and entertaining way to tell flashbacks, and I hope that potential readers enjoy it.