My lovely friend Amy Trueblood of Chasing The Crazies tagged me in a bookish meme/blog hop called The Next Big Thing. I'm doing NaNoWriMo so I'll be quick about it. :)

1. What is the working title of your book?

MEDIUM. I sucketh at titles. When I save my files, I usually designate a one-word file name to help me remember what's in the file, or which manuscript is languishing in said file. Such is the case here. 

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

Can I say TV? Or you can just go read my answer to Question # 8.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

YA Paranormal Horror, probably. I'm still trying to get an exact feel for it. I do mash-ups a lot, so I won't be surprised if this changes along the way. I usually write Fantasy.

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

Er, never good with actors' names. Let me go find some visuals of what I think my characters look like, instead.

(Disclaimer: I don't own these images. I don't own their copyrights. I've listed the sources of where I found them on the web. I did my best looking for the original source, honest. So don't sue me.)

Ellie: She's very girl-next-door, and she's always wearing jackets or sweaters to cover up the burn scars on her arms.

source (via Pinterest)

Dean: Ellie's Stetson-wearing, guitar-toting best friend.

This is Lucas Till. He's an actor! So there's one for you. Image Source (via Pinterest)

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

As the residents of Sleepy Eye town begin disappearing one by one, sixteen-year-old spirit medium Ellie Reid must find the ghosts responsible before she's next to vanish without a trace.


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

Eh, I'm working on it right now for NaNoWriMo, so with some luck and lots of sleepless nights, I hope to finish the first (stinking) draft in about 6 weeks. Maybe even 8. We'll see. It hasn't been easy getting wordage in with my new boss aka Baby having me work around the clock for him.

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

Hmm...thinking, thinking. Ya know, I hardly ever think of comps for the books I write. I just write whatever niggles my brain. But I recently read some paranormal titles that I really liked: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, After Obsession by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel, and Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann. These are NOT comp titles to my WIP, I repeat, not comps. I just like the setting and atmosphere in these stories, and I dearly hope I'll be able to recreate the same feelings I had reading these titles when I write my book.


8. Who or What inspired you to write this book?

While I was still pregnant with Boss Baby, I was so miserably hot (it was the middle of summer) that I spent a lot of time watching TV down in my cool (but not creepy) basement. I watched a lot of paranormal investigative shows. I may have freaked myself out a little, but I do like getting the willy-nillies, or heebie-jeebies, or...you get my drift. Basically, I just wanted to write a ghost story. Then Ellie came alive in my mind, and though I didn't have a plot then, I knew I wanted to voice her out. She's a bit of a walking contradiction (so unlike me 'cause I'm boring)--she's insecure but outspoken, she's needy but so giving, and she's brave even though the one thing she fears the most is her own self.


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

Well, let's see...there are ghosts, there are seances, there are pretty boys, and oh yeah, Ellie borrowed her name from her guardians' great-great-grandmother because she doesn't have her own. (Ah, that last one probably doesn't make sense to you. It's ok. Just let me write the darn book first so you can read it. And then it'll make sense to you. Heh.)

I'm supposed to tag others but with most of my writer friends doing NaNo, I better not earn their wrath. So how about this: Think of a number.
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You got it? Still thinking?
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Ah, darn it. I ran out of dots. :) Now, if the number you're thinking of falls between 3 to 12, you're IT! Go and tell us what your Next Big Thing is!

Aaaaand, it's back to writing. Ciao!