The Next Big Thing

If you haven't heard, Pitch Wars is coming!  Brenda Drake comes up with the best contests - and she partners with the coolest peeps to bring them to us.

On Twitter: #PitchWars
On Blogosphere:  Brenda's Pitch Wars Post

I'm waffling back and forth between two books.  Not sure which I will submit so I'm going to do one for both.  We'll start with...

What is the working title of your book?

SILO


Where did the idea for your book come from?

I was desperate for a blog post late, late one night.  Half delirious before bed, I decided to do a post about filling up your silo (as in grain silo) full of memories so that you had things to draw on later when you were writing.  I wrote out the post and needed a picture of a silo.  When I googled "silo", images came up for underground silos.  They were just picking up steam as realty.  I was staggered by the features - but mostly by the prices.  One floor was going for upwards of $1mil.  I thought to myself if only super rich people can afford this, we'll end up with silos full of old people who can't procreate or rich guys who have stepped on everyone to get to the top (translate: jerks).  We're doomed!  I broached the idea to my dad (I might have been fishing for him to buy us a floor, but I'll never tell) and he said that he 'had a mind to buy the whole damn thing' (yes, he actually talks like that).  Which led me to think - what if an older gentleman knew eventually a global disaster was going to strike that would be hard to recover from so he purchased a silo (or two or three or twenty) and then interviewed children to pick the BEST and the brightest with an emphasis on empathy in addition to intelligence?  And off I went with that.


What genre does your idea fall under?

YA Post Apocalyptic (or Speculative Fiction - different people consider it differet things)


What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

AnnaSophia Robb with RED hair would be my choice for Lizzie.  Lizzie is full of fire and determination.  She may only be seventeen, but she's badass.  Or is she?  We may all think we are until we really have to face terror - it's in those moments that we find out if we're really as strong as we think.

Tyler Blackburn as Brand.  Brand lives with his mom and sisters in the Appalachians when he is taken.  He's the oldest of the bunch, used to caretaking for an entire community.  He's the hot guy with the heart and he just can't say no to Lizzie.  Ever.  Even if it means he might lose her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Warren, the kidnapper and keeper of children, I present Timothy Olyphant.  He's the bad guy - or is he?  A retired navy seal, he's in charge of making sure things run smoothly in the silo.  Lizzie makes his life as difficult as she can.

 

 

 



What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Kidnapped during a global disaster, Lizzie Warren fights to find a way out of the underground silo she's being held captive in before the man who took her discovers she doesn't have the talent they thought she did.


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

I'd like it to be represented by an agency!  Currently querying with several fulls out.


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

One month.  It was my NaNo project last year.  And then my computer crashed (audible gasps here) - I lost everything but the first 30,000 words.  Imagine the stomach churning horror when I put in my flashdrive to find I hadn't saved the entire book when I finished it.  After crying for two straight hours (or maybe more, I lost track of time), I sniffled my through another 50,000 words in about three weeks.


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

This is hard because I read a lot of Dystopian, which my book doesn't quite fall under.  It's a fast paced ride like HUNGER GAMES.  But it's more Post Apocalyptic like LIFE AS WE KNEW IT (if you haven't read the series - GET IT NOW!!!!  Full of awesome.)


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

Kissing!  There's a tortured romance.  It's sub because I like to weave my romance in.  Lizzie is torn between her first love left buried in the school yard and a cute, sweet boy in the silo.



Now you know a bit about my YA Post Apocalyptic that I might enter Pitch Wars with...tomorrow (or later today if I have the time), I'll give you a taste of my YA Contemp Fantasy (hint: there's a dying forest and Elves and a journal full of riddles that only my MC can see!).

Are you entering Pitch Wars?  What's your genre?  Eyes on any special mentor? 

They ALL seem to rock - it's going to be difficult to choose!  Good luck to everyone!