Much thanks to Deborah B. for inviting me to the Blog Hop party! I’d love for you to check out her work at DeborahBaudoin.com. So you’re asking, “What’s a blog hop?” and of course, I will give you an answer. It’s a cool way to find out new authors, read a few cool articles, and generally keep you from wasting too much time on Facebook.
As part of this exercise (yes, there’s exercise involved) we were asked ten questions about our upcoming works. For me, the best part of watching a DVD is the behind-the-scenes special features, because I love to get to know the cast and crew behind the movie. This is the literary equivalent, more or less. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it as much as I do!
1. What is the working title of your book? Ummm…… heh. I’m working on that.
2. Where did the idea come from for the book? I’ve been a fan of techno-thrillers since I was a young teenager. I can remember the first time I saw the Matrix, and I knew I was sucked in. It’s sort of a combination of Hackers and Swordfish and The Matrix… to name just a few! My ideas of Cyberpunk are also heavily influenced by the tabletop role-playing game Shadowrun. As in The Matrix, there will be plenty of social, philosophical, and spiritual ramifications for our protagonists.
3. What genre does your book come under? Action Adventure for people who like to think.
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? I wouldn’t pick Keanu Reeves, simply because he’s so closely associated with the character Neo. Maybe Jesse Eisenberg as the main protagonist, or maybe Wil Wheaton, or Shia LeBouf. Somebody who seems naive at first, but has a bit of a crazy streak under the surface. The main character’s girlfriend could be someone like Olivia Wilde, or Gwen Stefani… as in the book, she actually fronts a punk-rock band. I wouldn’t want an actress to have to do that scene with voice-overs. That’s lame!
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Boy lives a carefree hacker life, gets framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and has to decide whether to turn in his friends and get whacked by the mob, or turn himself in and never see his life (or girlfriend) again.
6. Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency? I self-published my first book, and it was a great learning experience. I’m planning on self-publishing my books until I can devote enough time to properly have them edited. Or unless somebody offers to publish it for me… yeah, I’d consider that.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? First draft of my last book took 30 days (yes, it was for NaNoWriMo). The first re-write added another 10 months, so overall, it took about a year to have a usable manuscript. This was on top of a full-time job. I know professional authors who only write a book a year, and that’s their job!
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? As I said, the main characters are similar to The Matrix‘s but that’s where the similarity ends. I can’t say I’ve even read any books like it, but movies like The Net, Swordfish, Hackers, and a little bit of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Yeah… all that’s inside my brain.
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book? I was encouraged to write what I know, so I wrote about a young, naive computer programmer (who plays music at night) who gets caught up in the wrong crowd. I know a lot about that kind of thing.
10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? Well, besides the action and drama, there’s this really great scene where they try to escape from the FBI… I guess that counts as action? I don’t know, it’s just good. I tend to write weird characters, and as random as my brain is, you never know what’s on the next page. There’s always something interesting that grabs you when you least expect it. That’s just my ADD kicking in!
Who’s next on the NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP?
You should check out my good friend (and excellent comedy writer) Blake M. Petit. I love his stories!