THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP : The ultimate way to discover new authors
THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP
Welcome to TNBT blog hop! Yes, in the age of ubiquitous acronyms, TNBT is how we are getting increasingly popular.
What is a blog hop? In a nutshell, it’s a way readers can discover new authors. In this new era of closing bookstores and publishers saving on book promotion, we need to be creative and find new ways to introduce readers to authors they may not see in their local bookstore.
In this specific blog hop, you’ll have the chance to find new authors along with information about Robyn Leatherman and her upcoming novel, A Dolphin for One. See the links below to meet five other authors you might like to check out.
I’d like to thank fellow author Robyn Leatherman for tagging me to participate.
Click the links below to find out about Robyn’s novel, the historical fiction Summer Rain – or visit her blog and learn more about the other work she has in the mix:
Official Author Page
In this particular hop, I and my fellow authors, in their respective blogs, have answered 10 questions where you get to learn about our current work in progress as well as some insights into our process, from characters and inspirations to plotting and cover decisions. I hope you enjoy it!
1: What is the working title of your book?
2: Where did the idea come from for the book?
As a firm believer that stories are the best way to metaphorically convey messages to the reader’s subconscious mind, I was very disappointed to be unable to find appropriate young children books about divorce when I got divorced a few years back.
At the time, my own stress about the impending divorce was a muse killer and I was unable to come up with a good storyline to accompany my children through the separation. Yet, when a friend of mine got divorced a year ago, and confided about his son’s difficulties in handling the separation, the synopsis of “The Divided Island” popped almost fully formed on my screen as I was facing a acute case of writer’s block for my Young Adult novel (still in working stage) “Yeled and Yalda: Virtually Lost”
3: What genre does your book come under?
“The Divided Island” is an illustrated book for children aged 4 to 7.
4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I wouldn’t. The only possible movie adaptation I can think of for this book would be an animated version, so the actor would present only as a voice over. I would love Whoopy Goldberg and Will Smith for the monkeys though.
5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
The Divided Island follows the tribulations of Jonathan, a happy little boy living on an island with two monkeys, as the island breaks into two parts following an earthquake.
6: Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?
My book is self-published, and, as I am writing this, I am struggling with the formatting process of uploading an illustrated book to Kindle.
7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The first draft took about 4 hours, followed by many revisions and professional editing, coupled with finding an illustrator and many additions to the original sketches of the illustrations.
8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Actually, all the books I have found for young children in a divorce situation fall into the category “Mum and Dad are separating” and I have found none I would happily read as a regular bedtime story to a child, since the last thing you want to do before bedtime is to actively remind to the child that his world is falling apart.
“The Divided Island” is an allegory, and aims at soothing the child fears by indirectly addressing them and showing that events that appear catastrophic can lead to a bright future.
9: Who or what inspired you to write this book?
As I said earlier, the inspiration came from the combination of personal frustration in finding a good metaphoric narrative for divorce and my friend’s difficulty with his son during the separation process from his wife.
10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Best reading it to find out, though I believe recommending “The Divided Island” to friends and family going through a separation or a divorce and looking for ways to help their young children would be a great idea …
1. Fiona Ingram
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