IWSG and The Next Big Thing

I'm really glad I saw a few reminders about today's meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, hosted as always by the Ninja Captain Alex, as the day totally snuck up on me. I'm still having trouble remembering it's June!

Between trying to get back to normal after my vacation and participating in the WordCount Blogathon, my brain is totally fried. And I'm a bit of a ditz on my best day, so this isn't a good thing at all.

I'm insecure about being able to finish the blogathon and get to all the goals I had in mind for the month, but I'm trying to remind myself that if I don't manage to post every day it won't be the end of the world. Even though the start of the month has been crazy and not how I wanted it to be, it's still been a good way for me to motivate myself and think about what I want to accomplish with writing and blogging for the month and for the rest of the year ahead. So I'm going to focus on that and try to give the insecurity a rest, which is of course easier said than done.

In other news, I was tagged by the always awesome Tara Tyler, author of the upcoming Pop Travel, for The Next Big Thing.

The timing couldn't be better, as I've been really excited about my latest novel since I returned from my trip to Martha's Vineyard, which is the setting of the story. I got some great inspiration for putting the finishing touches on the novel while there, so I'm happy to have the opportunity to share a bit about it.

The lighthouse that plays a pivotal role in the story

1. What is the working title? The Ghosts of Aquinnah


2. Where did the idea come from? Looking at this webcam of the Aquinnah lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard


3. What genre is it? As usual, I am terrible at picking a genre. This is part ghost story, part love story, part mystery, and part historical fiction. In other words, I have no clue what genre it is! 


4. What actors would you pick for a movie rendition? If you know me you know I'm a total Game of Thrones fanatic. Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys Targeryen (Emilia Clarke, minus the long blond wig) are perfect for my main characters Christopher and Stella.


5. What's a one sentence synopsis? I'm the world's worst when it comes to writing a one sentence synopsis. I'm cheating and giving a four sentence one instead. :D
   
   While Hannah Forrester is working on a book about the lighthouses of New England, she sees a distraught woman appearing over and over again on a Martha's Vineyard webcam. Determined to learn the identity of the woman, Hannah is drawn into the story of the wreck of The City of Columbus off the coast of the island in 1884. What happened to a young Irish immigrant who survived the wreck and found himself under the care of a Vineyard doctor and his wife? And who is the woman on the webcam? 


6. How long did it take to write the first draft? 30 days. This story was my NaNoWriMo project last November.


7. Will it be self-published or represented? I will be submitting it to my publisher and hoping they will be interested in it.


8. What other books would you compare it to in your genre? Since I'm hopeless at picking out a genre for the book I'm totally drawing a blank on this.

The cliffs of Aquinnah

Thanks again to Tara for tagging me!