Last week author of the fantasy “Mad Kestrel”, Misty Massey (http://madkestrel.livejournal.com) tagged me on her blog, as part of a chain of authors called THE NEXT BIG THING. Today it’s my turn to reciprocate and to pass on the torch. I’m going to answer questions about my new project. Then I’m going to tag some amazing writers who will tell you about their Next Big Thing!
What is the working title of your project? Ms Nobody
Where did the idea come from? An newspaper article I read about 10 years ago. There was a guy in Canada who had amnesia and folks were going to great lengths to figure out who he was. Turns out he was a hoax . . . but in doing research last year I came across a guy “Benjamin Kyle” who was found in 2004 and has yet to be identified.
What genre does your project fall under? It’s a stageplay – a drama.
If you found yourself in an elevator with a movie director you admire and had the chance to pitch your project to them, what would you say? My blogmate Jennie has this awesome script you should read! Seriously though, I don’t really think about movies. Now if I met a Broadway producer that would be different. “If we are who we are because of the experiences we’ve had, who are we if we don’t remember what we’ve experienced? That’s the situation Ms Nobody finds herself in. Plus the lead is a strong woman’s role.”
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? I’m leaving this one alone. If I start thinking about who would play my characters, it affects how I write my characters. It’s hard enough doing rewrites once I’ve seen the characters come to life after a workshop or production.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your project? Emma, who is suffering from amnesia, is trying to reconstruct her life from her dreams until her husband Billy finds her and the pieces don’t add up.
Will you self-publish or be represented by an agency? I’ll self-submitted. The theatre industry is a different animal. Most playwrights don’t have agents – we submit directly to theatres.
How long did it take you to write the first draft? 3 months. It was VERY messy, but a complete script. I’m in the middle of rewrites now.
What else about your project might pique the reader’s interest? The dream sequences (where Ms Nobody remembers bits and pieces of her life) will be fun for both the theatre and the audience because they are written in the weird way that we dream. There is an aquarium full of M&Ms, red and white snowflakes, characters shifting age from 6 – 25 instantaneously – things that sort of make sense but then don’t.
And here are some authors I’d like to introduce, and who you can follow when they answer the Next Big Thing questions…
Heather Marshall‘s fiction and creative nonfiction are published in a variety of periodicals — mostly recently in Northwords Now, Prime Number and Six Minute Magazine. She likes to explore the connection — or disconnection — between characters and the natural environment in her writing. She’s finishing up her first novel, The Thorn Tree, which will be available in late fall, 2013. heathergmarshall.wordpress.com
Edward McKeown is a writer and editor specializing in science fiction and fantasy with occasional forays into literary and nonfiction. Ed escaped from NY, but his old hometown supplies much of the background to his humorous “Lair of the Lesbian Love Goddess” shorts, as his new hometown in Charlotte, NC does for this “Knight Templar” fantasy series. He has also edited the four Sha’Daa anthologies of wry tales of the apocalypse. His first novel “Was Once a Hero” has been released e-version and print by Hellfire Publishing soon to be followed by the sequels Fearful Symmetry, Points of Departure and Hidden Stars. http://edwardmckeown.weebly.com/musings-about-writing-and-the-universe.html
And, of course, my fabulous blogmates! Check back for their take on The Next Big Thing!
