The Next Big Thing

I was delighted when Marianne Wheelaghan asked me to take part in The Next Big Thing. 

It works like this: a writer answers ten questions about an upcoming publication and they tag five more writers. Each of these writers answers the ten questions by the following week and they recommend five more writers. It grows, week by week.

Before I start,  a few words about Marianne: I was delighted to win a copy of Marianne's first novel The Blue Suitcase in a competition on her blog and I reviewed it on Over Forty Shades here. I recently attended the launch of her second novel Food of Ghosts which I look forward to reviewing soon! I'm particularly interested in it as it is set on a low lying Pacific Island which fits in with one of the themes of my novel in progress.

Which leads us on to my answers to the Next Big Thing questions about my novel in progress:

What is the title of your new book?

Tidal (this is a working title and may change)
 
Where did the idea come from for the book?

I've always wanted to write a novel but not just for the sake of it, I wanted a story to find me and demand to be written. Then I was thinking about how Scotland might look post-Independence and post extreme climate change. Add in the fact that Tuvalu, one of the island nations most threatened by climate change has a surprising amount in common with the Western Isles off the coast of Scotland. (Though Tuvalu won't actually be named in the novel it is the model for the island where the climate change refugees originally come from) Oh and Donald Trump makes an appearance with his descendants doing their best to disrupt Scotland in good Trump style! I've written part of the novel as a short story and am currently working on the main storyline and weaving the short story back in. 

What genre does your book fall under?

Speculative fiction. It's not tech-y enough to be really science fiction....

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

There are lots of characters, too many to cast, but the cast could include:

The Western Islanders

Malcolm MacDonald - Peter Mullan
Catriona Tilda Swinton 

New Lanark

Sheena - Kelly MacDonald (or maybe she'd be better playing Aggie?)


The Climate Change refugees

Noa - Jessica Mauboy

I'd like the rest of the refugees to be played by unknown Pacific islanders but if not then for example:

Rachel - Thandie Newton 
Amos - Morgan Freeman


Forest Whitaker might also have a cameo role as Idi Amin in a historic flashback


What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Climate change refugees make a new start in a future independent Scotland

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

I hope to get an agent. 


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

I wrote a very rough draft of the book for NaNoWriMo in November 2011. Since then I've been working on producing something more readable. I'm currently happy with bits of it and working hard on the rest!

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

The only other two novels about climate change in Scotland that I'm aware of are: But n ben a Go-Go by Matthew Fitt and Writing in the Sand by Angus Dunn.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The urgency of the issue of climate change. Though for an urgent novel it's taking a long time to write!

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

The many bunny bloggers who read this blog will be hopefully captivated by the bunnies in the novel. 

The Writers I’m Tagging

Alison at Diamond Cut Life whose novel Revelle is just out.

Caroline at Coastcard whose poetry pamphlet The Holy Place (co-authored with John Dotson) is just out.

Michelle from Tales of the Raspberry Rabbits who has just launched Briarside Lane - a book of folk art fusion


Diana from The Qi Papers who has two writing projects on the go (and two bunnies starring in the novel).

And given that a couple of people who I asked aren't able to take part, then I'm still looking for a fifth person to tag! So if you're a regular reader of this blog and would like to blog about your new book or your next writing project just let me know!