In the “Next Big Thing” blogging meme, an author answers ten set interview questions and then tags five more people to do the same. Here’s my contribution.
1. What is the working title of your next book?
The Star Family
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
I was at the International New Age Book Faire and saw a book called William Blake’s Sexual Path to Spiritual Vision. In in introduction I learned that Blake’s mother was a Moravian, the church I was raised in. Then I read that in the eighteenth century the Moravians taught sacred sexuality. My mouth fell open. Had anyone told my grandparents? Why had I never heard of this before? I had to research it, then write about it. So I did.
3. What genre does your book fall under?
Paranormal mystery or urban fantasy—you decide.
4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
For my leading lady: Angelina Jolie or Cate Blanchette. Her partner: Harrison Ford.
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Jane Frey leads the secret power elite in a hunt for the Founding Father’s occult weapon.
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
We’ll see. I’m shopping it around right now.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
Write? About 9 months. Research? Longer.
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
- Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol, which deals with Washington, D.C. sacred geometry, as does mine, but I have a connection to colonial group and towns, plus bring in Prague and its sacred geometry.
- Steve Berry’s The Jefferson Key deals with the colonial pirates settled in North Carolina now affecting D.C. politics. My novel is set in the colonial town of Winston-Salem where the founders hid a powerful key to D.C.’s sacred geometry.
- Katherine Neville’s The Eight, The Magic Circle, and The Fire. Neville’s novels deal with family secrets and secret artifacts that can affect world power. The Star Family also has a secret family legacy that the character must discover for herself, plus a prophecy that suggests she holds a secret artifact.
- H.D.’s The Mystery and The Gift. Modernist and Moravian H.D. wrote two novels briefly touching on what is called “The Shifting Times,” a time in Moravian church history when the mystical connections were openly taught. Goethe even went searching the church archives for this information while writing Faust.
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
When I found the Blake book, but the more I read about this period in Moravian history, the more intrigued I became. I found connections to metaphysics, the Rosicrucians and the Freemasons. I took a flying leap from there and really had a blast.
10. What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
Here’s my blurb: Jane Frey handles the disposition of her former music teacher’s estate after her job in oil and gas finance is given to a younger, more corruptible woman. The Gothic mansion is full of unexpected treasures: original paintings by 18th century visionary William Blake, a secret room used for tantric rituals, and an ancient underground cavern. When a prophecy suggests she now possesses the key to an energy grid laid down by the Founding Fathers themselves, Jane becomes a target of competing world powers who want the artifact for themselves. Except Jane doesn’t have what they’re looking for, but she must discover it before more people die. Could the key be hidden in her family’s increasingly mysterious past? She follows a trail of clues to Prague, revealing a secret mystical organization in her childhood church and a three hundred year old ritual that only she can complete.
Here are the excellent writers who you’ll hear from next. Hope you enjoy their writing as much as I do. Click on their links to read their Next Big Thing.
Stefan Vucak is an award-winning author of seven techno sci-fi novels, including With Shadow and Thunder which was a 2002 EPPIE finalist. His Shadow Gods Saga books have been highly acclaimed by critics. His recent release, Cry of Eagles, won the coveted 2011 Readers Favorite silver medal award. Stefan leveraged a successful career in the Information Technology industry and applied that discipline to create realistic, highly believable storylines for his books. Born in Croatia, he now lives in Melbourne, Australia. To learn more about Stefan, visit his: Website: www.stefanvucak.com Twitter: @stefanvucak
Christina St. Clair, award-winning author, former shop-girl, chemist, and pastor, is currently a spiritual director, Reiki Master (don’t read too much into the title master!), wife, animal lover, and writer.
She says, “Boring life? Let’s not do duty. Let’s do awe! Take a look at your own complexity? You might be amazed. Life leads us into so many interesting and sometimes difficult crossroads where we get to choose what now, what next? As a student of mysticism and spirituality in all its incarnations both religious, secular, and new age, I want to understand what life is about, what is truth? I am still seeking, but I am offering to those who are interested my insights weaved throughout my essays and stories. I hope my writings might add to your already surprising lives.”
www.christinastclair.com/blog
Carole McDonnell is a writer of ethnic fiction, speculative fiction, and Christian fiction. Her works have appeared in many anthologies and at various online sites. Her novel, Wind Follower, was published by Wildeside Books. Her forthcoming novel is called The Constant Tower. http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com/
Gina Bednarz: I’ve worked hard most of my life, but until a few years ago, I never really knew who I was supposed to be. When I realized that I had the courage required to follow my dreams, I enrolled in college after a 17 year absence and finally earned my Bachelor’s degree in English and Creative Writing. Now pursuing my MFA in Creative Writing (Non-Fiction) at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I’m hitting my stride, reveling in a passion uncovered, and writing my heart out. Thanks for joining me! http://www.writingwithmyhaironfire.blogspot.com/