The Next Big Thing Blog Tour

***UPDATE 1/22/2013***

This tour has been given a boost! The lovely Penny of pennyromance.com has so graciously included me on her leg of the tour. 

Penny has written a children's book, LUCY THE WONDER WEENIE. Be sure to head on over to her site (if you didn't start your tour there) and read all about her new book as well as her romance novels. 

Thanks, Penny!

Lovely to have been included in this blog tour. If you are wondering what one is (I asked too!), be sure to read this article. 

Emm Cole, who I met on the GoodReads group, MERBOOKS, asked me to participate and I was thrilled to say yes! Emm is a writer, mother, and all around kind person. She is currently writing the sequel to her book, MERMINIA, a tale of a mermaid with healing magic who has been swept up into an ancient and blooody war. You can read more about Emm and her work here. 
Thank you, Emm, for including me.

Be sure to check in with the other writers at the bottom of this post to keep the tour rolling.

Here we go:

1. What is the working title of your book?

MERMAIDS ARE NOT NICE…but I am thinking of changing it.

2. Where did the idea come from for your book? 

The idea to do a mermaid story was presented to me by my friend and author, Christine DePetrillo. She thought it would be fun to get a few Rhode Island authors together to write short stories based on the same theme. She chose mermaids and I ran with it.

In my first draft, my main gal, Evie was a total bore. She was flat (not chested, just one dimensional), and uninteresting. She needed some spice. I thought of how much I adored Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse (from the books that went on to become the hit, HBO show, TRUE BLOOD), how she was just an ordinary waitress dealing with vampires. I found the notion of her accessibility appealing and took off from there. Evie became a funeral director, a drunk, and a horrible mother. All those spices in my "character stew" amused me to no end and I could not stop writing! Evie is the worst part of me. She is everything I never wanted to do. She is my Bizzaro World alter ego. If I let all my inhibitions go and didn’t give a crap about anything, I would be Evie. Sad, but true.

This novel is an expansion of my short story, “Mermaids Are Not Nice,” that was previously published in the anthology, “DIVE: A Quartet of Merfolk Tales.”

I asked myself, “What would a mermaid really be like?” The answer was clear--she would be a heartless, nasty, mean-spirited, gorgeous woman who was fake, fake, fake nice as well as immensely attractive in both outward appearance and eccentric personality. I didn’t want her to be the protagonist, so I started to write from the perspective of a woman who may or may not be ensnared by my vixen mer-bitch.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

I struggle with this. I think of it as a dark, sci-fi, thriller, comedy with a fantasy twist. 

4. Which actors would you choose to play in your movie rendition?

What a fun question! I never thought about this until just now.

Evie – I think Rebel Wilson would be wonderful. She is a trite young, but I think her sass and crass, gorgeous full-body, and comedic timing would be perfect.

Rebel Wilson

Paddy – He is so popular amongst my readers, so he would have to exude confidence and love beyond his unpleasant appearance. I did a search for heavy, male, Irish actors under 40 and this guy came up: William Delaney. To me, he does not look heavy nor is he as ugly as I have depicted Paddy. However, with a few tasty donuts, pints, burgers, and such, he could really rock this character.

William Delaney

Nomia – Marion Cotillard is probably way too sophisticated but I love her sexy, exotic siren-look. Rose McGowan is gorgeous and deliciously malicious-looking. Rose is the type of girl you would never leave with your man alone, so she would work equally well.

Marion Cotillard

 or

Rose McGowan

5. What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Just so you know, all those stories about mermaids being perky and adorable like nautical cheerleaders are crap.

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

Self-published

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

The short story took me three weeks and it was 11,000 words. The full manuscript is taking longer only because of the Holidays, and external obligations that have pulled me away from my writing regimen.

8. What other books would you compare this story to?

The Sookie Stackhouse books, for sure.

9. Who or what inspired you to write the book?

See number 2!

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

In the extended version I delve more deeply into where my mermaids came from, more about the village where the story takes place, and more background information regarding both Paddy and Evie’s families.

There is also a mermaid smack-down that I have outlined and am super-excited to write!

Thank you for reading! Be sure to check in with these authors in a week or so (it's the holidays so give them some slack) to see what they are working on...


Jennifer Basile

Dorothea Duenow

Joseph Mazzenga