My Next Big Thing

One of my favorite authors and people, Cari Kamm, invited me to join her in the latest blog craze, My Next Big Thing. Cari's second novel, FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY, releases in December 2012, and not a moment too soon. Many, many readers have been awaiting her second release after reading FAKE PERFECT ME, her debut novel. And, I hear she's working diligently on her third.

Cari has asked about my forthcoming novel $1 AND $100, which begs the question, how do you relate to money?

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I wanted to write a novel about money and how we all relate differently to it. I took it one step further by making it pretty much the protagonist in that it is the one constant throughout the book and it drives how each person handles it when in their hands. I also wanted to use both a $1 bill and a $100 bill because they draw and don’t draw different responses from different people.

What genre does your book fall under?

While my Journals from the Heart series is chick-lit/women's lit, this one is straight up literary fiction. It will appeal to men, women, and most demographics. Well, anyone who can relate to money should be able to relate to $1 AND $100!

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

There are several characters throughout different periods in life from a mother and son in the mid-seventies to a divorced, wealthy man and a high school girl in the 80s, to a college aged couple in the 90s. Think LOVE ACTUALLY and I could probably use that cast.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

How do you relate to money?

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

I've been both traditionally and independently published, and I'm considering submitting this one to agents just because of its broad appeal and to see if an agent would be drawn to it.

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

This is one I'm still working on. I work on it when I'm not ghostwriting for clients, so the time I can devote to it ebbs and flows. However, I just joined a great writing group and that alone is encouraging me to plug away on it.

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

Perhaps THE LAST CONVERTIBLE. 

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Anyone who has held money inspired me! Also, I'm always guided by a higher power when I come up with ideas for and write my books. I am considering doing a documentary on the same topic where I'd interview (on camera) different people about how they relate to money. So, people of all demographics and locations inspired me. 

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

My goal is to make people think about how they relate to money. What their beliefs are around it. What they learned about it from parents and elders and other influential people in their lives. My intention is to start a dialog through fiction about something that impacts our lives on a daily basis, for good or not.

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The great thing about this blog event is passing the torch onto other writers.

I've chosen three very different, yet equally fabulous, authors to pass the torch on to…

 
Van Heerling:
-As a writer-
I don't just make stuff up.
I imagine new worlds and the people within them. And then quietly and with a curious eye, I spy on them to see what they will do next.
~VH~

Van Heerling is one of the great literary novelists out there today as well as being one of the most original thinkers I know. Check out his website at: www.vanheerlingbooks.com/

Jewels Moss is a published author of science fiction books, and paramormal romance novels. She keeps her true identity a secret because it is fun to be Jewels. This is why she created her for her naughty side. She enjoys writing erotica, especially if she can create erotica from a story you wouldn't expect it from. Her works include The Siren's Song, Naughty Tales, and the soon to be released Why Yellow Jackets can't find the Hole. She enjoys being an author with Midnight Fire. Check out her website: http://naughtytales.webs.com/jewelsreleases.htm

Paul Hoffman was born in Madison, Wisconsin and was raised in Wauwatosa, a suburb of Milwaukee. He is a 1981 graduate of Wauwatosa East High School and attended both the University of Wisconsin - Madison and the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, graduating in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications (Radio/TV) and a minor in English.

His nearly 30-year career in journalism consists of working as a sports writer at the Milwaukee Sentinel; assistant sports editor at Pioneer Press newspapers in the Chicago area; sports editor and news editor in Shelbyville, Indiana; news editor in Columbus, Indiana; and has been special publications editor at the Daily Journal in Franklin, Indiana for the past 12 years. Paul is a member of the Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County and Wisconsin historical societies. He is married and lives in Columbus, Indiana. He has three daughters, a son and two stepdaughters. Visit Paul's website at: www.paulhoffmanauthor.com