Jane Sevier

Week 26

There are the books every­one has heard about: To Kill a Mock­ing­bird, The Hunger Games, Harry Pot­ter. But what about all those books by authors you don’t know about yet? Some of them are trea­sures just wait­ing to be unearthed, and that’s what this blog hop is all about: the books you might not have heard about but that you might end up loving.

This blog hop is like a game of tag. One author posts and tags other authors who link back to her web­site the next week and tag new authors. Fol­low the blog hop long enough, and you’re bound to find some books you’ll love. Maybe you’ll even dis­cover a book that ends up being the next big thing.

Alexa Bourne tagged me. Find out more about her book Silent Sur­ren­der (and her other titles!) on her web­site www.alexabourne.com.

This blog hop includes ten ques­tions to help you learn more about an author’s work in progress, so here’s a bit about my lat­est project:

1: What is the work­ing title of your book?

The Boy from Nowhere

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?

When I was draft­ing Fortune’s Fool, the first book in the Psy­chic Socialite series, a scene appeared on the page in which Nell Marc­hand encoun­ters a boy who seems to have been aban­doned out­side a candy store in down­town Mem­phis. The scene didn’t fit that par­tic­u­lar book, but I saved it in my extra words file. The idea per­co­lated at the back of my mind until I was ready to start the third install­ment in the series and decided it was time to find out who that boy was and where he came from.

3: What genre does your book fall under?

It’s his­tor­i­cal mys­tery with strong roman­tic elements.

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

No one seems to quite fit the parts of 1930s Mem­phis socialite Nell Marc­hand and medium Joseph Cal­en­dar. Asa But­ter­field , who played the lead in last year’s “Hugo,” has the right look for the boy, Tom Willis, but he’s older than Tom is in the book.

5: What is the one-sentence syn­op­sis of your book?

I don’t plot much before I write, but I’ll take a shot at it: When Nell Marc­hand takes in an aban­doned boy and helps him search for his mother, she uncov­ers a black-market adop­tion ring and finds her­self ques­tion­ing what fam­ily means.

6: Will your book be inde­pen­dently pub­lished or rep­re­sented by an agency?

I’m an inde­pen­dent author, so it will be inde­pen­dently published.

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

I can’t answer that because I’m writ­ing it now.

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

When my brother read Fortune’s Fool, he said it reminded him of Deanna Raybourne’s Lady Julia Grey books. I then read the first three in the Lady Julia series and real­ized what a com­pli­ment that was.  Like the other Psy­chic Socialite books, The Boy from Nowhere has that feel.

9: Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Because this book is part of a series, the ques­tion really applies to the whole series. The source of inspi­ra­tion is so fas­ci­nat­ing that I don’t mind repeat­ing how it began. I was at a book­store lis­ten­ing to Louisiana mys­tery writer Deb­o­rah LeBlanc read a scene set in a Voodoo cer­e­mony, and into my head popped, “I won­der what it would be like to sud­denly dis­cover that you have psy­chic pow­ers?” I scrib­bled that in the lit­tle note­book I carry with me for just such flashes of genius, along with “Socialite. Hus­band leaves her penniless.”

10: What else about your book might piqué the reader’s interest?

The Psy­chic Socialite series takes place in 1930s Mem­phis, an unusual com­bi­na­tion of period and set­ting. Mem­phis has always been a par­tic­u­larly col­or­ful place, and the books should appeal to read­ers who enjoy South­ern stories.

I’ve tagged two other Nashville authors who will be join­ing the hop for week 27 on Decem­ber 26th. New York Times best­selling author Jen­nie Bent­ley (http://jenniebentley.blogspot.com/) writes two mys­tery series—DIY  and Cut­throat Busi­ness —as well as romance and sci­ence fic­tion as Jenna Ben­nett. Mike Tucker (http://michaeltuckerauthor.com/) pens his mys­ter­ies and thrillers in a noir style. I hope you’ll visit their blogs next week and learn more about their books. Maybe one of them will become your new favorite author.