I’ve been a MIA blogger of late (bad life got in the way; the kind that makes everything besides breathing almost impossible), BUT THEN fellow author Kerry Dwyer tagged me for The Next Big Thing, and here I am, breathing and typing at the same time, mind you (and who was it who sneered I’m genetically incapable of more than one task at a time? Thwack! Take that!).

The Next Best Thing is about authors helping authors, and its premise is simple: Authors answer questions about their current works-in-progress. But before I answer mine, more about the intrepid author who tagged me: Kerry Dwyer:

Kerry Dwyer is a British ex-pat living in France and author of Ramblings in Ireland, an engaging read about, well, rambling about Ireland and the musings it inspired.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15821729-ramblings-in-ireland
Her current work-in-progress is titled The Book Exchange.
Now my questions and answers:

What is the working title of your next book?

A Woman of Commitment

Where did the idea come from for the book?

It came about via a murder that occurred in my hometown a few years back. Actually, just the actual site of the murder—a water’s edge—inspired the premise. I moved the time frame back to mid-century. The point of view is a veterinarian’s (Annie), twenty years after the murder, and the conflict is her long-held suspicion that the wrong person was convicted of her best friend’s murder. And, yes, of course there’s intrigue and suspense, a love story and all the rest.

The opening paragraph reads:

“The summer morning of 1963 that my boyfriend Benny Radisch told me he’d fallen in love with someone else was the same day that seventeen-year-old Katie Plowright’s body was found in a shallow grave near the river’s shoreline.”

What genre does your book fall under?

Pretty much the same as my novel, The Angry Woman Suite. Psychological mystery (minus the historical tag this time—I think).

What actors would you choose to play the part of you characters in a movie rendition?

This is a funny one (to me), considering I’m still “shaping” these characters (and will be all the way to the end). Hmmmm, I have no clue … but I’m seeing Silver Linings Playbook this next week, so I pick Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper!

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

I’ll let you know when I finish.

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

Oh dear, I’m not very good at comparisons to other writers! Let’s go with this: I hope it will be compared (favorably!) to The Angry Woman Suite, how’s that?

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Other than the aforementioned real-life murder, my inspiration for almost everything has been DDF, my husband (who passed last year). He was the most remarkable person. Unduplicatable (and, yes, I know that’s not a word … yet). He was brilliant and had verve (love that word), and to be around him was to feel can-do, too. But this second novel has been meant, from its start many months ago, for my sister who passed last month.

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

Other than unsolved murder? And love gone oh-so-wrong? And characters who aren’t what they seem?

Well, for all you dog lovers, there’s a dog in it….

As part of The Next Best Thing, I’m to tag five other authors, and they are:

Paulette Mahurin, amazing human being, friend, and award-winning author of The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14061559-the-persecution-of-mildred-dunlap

Leonore Skomal, author of Bluff /http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15852327-bluff
Excellent read!

Leslie A. Gordon, author of the must-read, Cheer: A Novel http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15822672-cheer

Sean Keefer, attorney and award-winning author of The Trust (and back cover blurb provider for The Angry Woman Suite) http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10316920-the-trust

Martha Rodriguez, author of the children’s book, A Reel Cool Summer http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12062453-a-reel-cool-summer
and fellow member of RABMAD (Read a book, Make a difference), a group of authors who give back.