{"id":1223,"date":"2012-11-07T09:43:37","date_gmt":"2012-11-07T09:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomastaylor-author.com\/?p=1223"},"modified":"2022-01-13T11:56:33","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T11:56:33","slug":"the-next-big-thing-er-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/the-next-big-thing-er-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"The ‘Next Big Thing’, er… Thing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Brilliant YA Thriller writer Rachel Ward<\/a> has kindly tagged me in the \u2018Next Big Thing\u2019 blog meme. You know, the one where you get asked all those questions about your current ‘work in progress’? Well, this was going to be my first chance to talk about my new full-length thriller \u2013 \u2018The Sketchbook Keeper\u2019 \u2013 which is dominating my thoughts at the moment, so hurray! Except\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026except, when it came to it, superstition and caffeine jitters have put me off that idea. I\u2019m only a third of the way through a first draft, after all. So instead, here\u2019s a little more about the sequel to my novella, Dan and the Dead<\/em>, currently entitled \u2018Dan and the Caverns of Bone\u2019.<\/p>\n

What is the title of your next book?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Er\u2026 Dan and the Caverns of Bone<\/a>. If someone has something shorter to suggest, please do, as that\u2019s a lot to squeeze onto a cover full of drawing.<\/p>\n

Where did the idea come from for the book?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"I visited the catacombs<\/a> in Paris a few years ago. Several times. It\u2019s a gloomy and disturbing place, as you\u2019ll know if you\u2019ve ever been there. The things that have been done with the mortal remains of long-dead Parisians no doubt seemed tasteful at the time. Now, though, it\u2019s all pretty creepy-kitsch and ghastly. In a keep-looking-over-your-shoulder sort of way.<\/p>\n

But not every visitor to the catacombs is a tourist. There are other ways in, unofficial ways. And under the ground it is always night\u2026<\/p>\n

What genre does your book fall under?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Gothicky-comedy with drawings. Obviously.<\/p>\n

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know the names of any teenage actors. Whoever plays Dan would have to be very flexible in the eye-brow department. Is there someone who is a cross between Benedict Cumberbatch and the Fonz? Again, let me know.<\/p>\n

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCrapsticks! Unless\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I have an agent \u2013 the formidable Jodie Marsh at United Agents<\/a>. The book will be published in 2013 by A&C Black (Bloomsbury).<\/p>\n

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Nearly four months, off and on. This sounds short, but the manuscript is only 26,000 words, so it\u2019s actually quite a long time. I had trouble in the middle and rewrote it several times. The crusty Parisian tour-guide with a wooden parrot on a stick is gone. As is the suspiciously generous pastry chef, the swarthy banker and the whole Eiffel Tower\u2026<\/p>\n

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Anything where the main character can see ghosts, I suppose, only Dan is rather more cynical about it than might usually be the case. Also, there\u2019s a significant twist to the well-known \u2018I see dead people\u2019 thing, which takes Dan off into different territory. You\u2019ll have to read the book to find out what that is though.<\/p>\n

Who or what inspired you to write this book?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Childhood wonderings about imaginary friends and ghosts, fuelled by seeing grainy re-runs of Randal and Hopkirk (Deceased)<\/em><\/a> at an impressionable age. Rentaghost<\/a><\/em> is in there somewhere too.<\/p>\n

What else about your book might pique the reader\u2019s interest?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m doing the cover and the chapter heading illustrations. Does that count? No? Well, I\u2019ll just have to fall back on the twist I mentioned earlier, then, won\u2019t I? Though there is a girl in it too, with something dark about her. And a gang of goths and emo-kids in a palatial squat in the centre of Paris. And<\/em> the best paper aircraft ever to feature in children\u2019s literature. And a slow-speed subterranean boat chase over an inky lake filled with white-eyed fish and twisted reflections. And there\u2019s something lurking in the shadows, too. Something that shouldn\u2019t be there, something that shouldn\u2019t even exist.<\/p>\n

Something deadly\u2026<\/p>\n

But that’s enough of that. Now I have to pass the baton on to some other writers, so here they are:<\/p>\n

Simon Kewin<\/a> \u2013 SF\/fantasy writer and poet. He blogs well too.<\/p>\n

Kate Kelly<\/a> \u2013 thriller writer with a debut novel \u2013 Red Rock<\/em> — due out next year. Congratulations, Kate!<\/p>\n

Julian Sedgwick<\/a> \u2013 writer, thinker, and constant friend. He has a book out next year too: Black Dragon (Mysterium)<\/em><\/a>. It\u2019s book one of a trilogy and sounds fantastic. Make a note of the name.<\/p>\n

I hope you enjoy meeting them, if you haven\u2019t already. Their own ‘Next Big Thing’ posts should be up a week today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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