The Next Big Thing

The Next Big Thing

I have really enjoyed reading fellow writers The Next Big Thing blog posts. It’s really interesting and inspiring learning what other people are working on. Especially as usually we all know everyone is typing away engrossed it their stories, but rarely get a glimpse of what that stories actually is until the writer has polished it enough to let out of their grubby mitts for critiquing.  

Thanks Jo Wyton for tagging me in, and if you haven’t read Jo’s blog press here. And without further ado here is my Next Big Thing Blog Post…

What is the working title of your book?

Journey to the Bone Factory

Where did the idea come from for the book?

 A dream – I dreamt a scene that was so vivid I woke up and wrote it down.

What genre does your book fall under?

YA Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Dickensian - it’s a real mixed bag. However I've heard from agents that mixed genre is big at the moment; Russell T Davis’s CBBC Wizards Vs Aliens is evidence of this. So, with a bit of luck (fingers crossed) it still will still be ‘BIG’ when I'm submitting! 

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

Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones, for the main protagonist Jack.

Max von Sydow  - as Gamps the Rag-Bonner gypsy of the stars that trades the universe most valued commodity –secrets.

Alex Pettifer - to play Zef, the young Rag'n'Boner who becomes Jacks friend and helps Jack to travel to The Bone Factory.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Jack lives life by the rules until one day, he breaks every one, setting into motion events that’ll shake the whole galaxy, and sending him on a quest to a mysterious abandoned planet that’s home to The Bone Factory, and a prisoner so dangerous he’s been marooned on the furthest outpost of the galaxy.

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

Hopefully Agency.

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

I’ll get back to you as it’s still WIP, but I'm hoping that the first draft will be complete by Christmas.

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

Going to answer this slightly differently - I would say this is Dickens V’s Firefly (although I only saw firefly after I started writing it)

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

As I said I had a dream which I wrote down, I then submitted the small piece of writing to my crit group and got a really positive response so I decided to continue working on it. I’ve never written Sci-fi before so it’s slightly daunting but the world that appeared in the dream was so well formed and visualised that it inspires me to write to try and capture some of its atmosphere and dog-eared beauty.  

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

Heaven’s Gate – the galaxy’s shanty town – home to the most poverty stricken folks, which is paradoxically paved in gold as the planet is solid pyrites or ‘fools Gold'

Rag’n’Boners – The gypsies of the stars that trade in rags and‘bones – the 'bones' being dead bodies.

A Bone Factory – where they recycle dead bodies into pillows, ceramics, candles and resins.

So here are the writers I’m tagging in who will be talking about their Next Big Thing very soon…

Dawn Finch

Who has two of my dreams jobs; being both a library Consultant and published author of ‘Brotherhood of Shades’! Fellow SCBOOIE and fan of dark literature. Check out Dawns Next Big Thing by Pressing Here.  

Ozlem Yickici

Talented artist (I can say this as we studied Art together at uni so I know she’s talented!) writer, SCBOOIE and overall lovely person. Ozlem like me is Dyslexic and is writing YA fairy tale inspired books. To check out her Next Big Thing post Click Here.

Liah S Thorley  

Travel Journalist with a theatrical past life and now writer of historical, sci-fi and fantasy (sometimes two at once) adults and YA books. Fellow Dyslexic and Abingdon Writer, to read about Liah’s Next Big Thing Press Here.

Also check out KM Lockwood, who Jo also tagged, to see what KM Lockwood's Next Big (Watery) Thing is Press Here.