The Next Big Thing

So I mentioned last week how stuck I was on my latest WIP. Thanks to Adam Heine, this week I can focus on the completed WIP-I-love-that's-with-betas.

What is your working title of your book?
RUNNING WITH WOLVES

Where did the idea come from for the book?
From a newspaper story about a woman killed by wolves in a Alaskan village. She was the first death ever recorded by wolves in Alaska (contrary to Hollywood) and there was such mystery around  her death, I thought the wolves were the perfect cover for a murder.

What genre does your book fall under?
YA mystery

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
No idea.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
When Tabby's sister is killed and authorities say wolves did it, Tabby knows this is a lie; after more people die, Tabby decides to follow the clues to the Iditarod trail's end, where a killer is waiting.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Hopefully represented by my agent.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? May we see an intro?
Three months.
 Intro:

On the last morning of her life, Lara Holt woke right at dawn. It was barely past 7:30, and this late in October, just getting light. Two wind storms had packed icy dirt to a pavement sheen, so Lara hooked a pair of rubber ice studs over the soles of her running shoes.

Micah whined when Lara tucked her pony tail under a thermal knit hat.

“Okay, okay,” she muttered, bending to scratch the border collie’s head. “You get to come. But no messing around. If I call, you come immediately, right? Or no more runs for you.”

Micah yipped, his chocolate eyes laughing at her while his hind end wiggled so it almost knocked over the coffee table.  Lara put on some gloves and patted her pockets – iPod, check. Emergency leash, check. Extra pair of gloves, check. Cell phone, check. Bear spray, check.

Not that she’d seen a bear lately. They’d been in hibernation for a weeks but as the light faded, there was the occasional procrastinator. A winter bear was fat, slow and sleepy.  Lara was pretty sure she could outrun one.

          Wolves were another matter

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I'd say it's a cross between Gary Paulsen's survival YA stories and Dana Stabenow's Alaska mystery series.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
When I wrote for the Anchorage Daily News, I did several stories on dog mushing - including following a Jr.Iditarod musher and a profile on the world's only government employed dog musher in Denali National Park - and a series on the fur business in Alaska, including trapping. I'm fascinated by the people who run the Iditarod and jumped at the chance to combine all three interests into one great story.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
 As anyone who follows this blog has noticed, I'm firmly in the cat-person camp, but this is a story for anyone who loves canines, self-sufficient heroines and the Alaskan wilderness.


Since almost everyone has already been tagged, I'm cheating a bit and including them even if they've already posted:
Amy Sonnichsen
Emily King
Jolene Perry
Ilima Todd
Krista Van Dolzer 

Rules of The Next Big Thing:

*Use this format for your post
*Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (work in progress)
*Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

What is your working title of your book?
Where did the idea come from for the book?
What genre does your book fall under?
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? May we see an intro?
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?