Anne M. Carpenter is the Next Big Thing

Happy 2013, friends!

Several months ago, the lovely Julie Elizabeth Powell tagged me at the end of her Next Big Thing blog...and here I am, finally participating!

Without further ado... <insert cheesy daytime game show announcer voice here>

Anne M. Carpenter is the Next Big Thing!

The rules of the challenge are:

1. Answer 10 questions about my current WIP (Work-In-Progress)
2. Tag five other writers and link their blogs so we can all hop over and read their answers.

The questions are:

1. What is the working title of your book?
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
3. What genre does your book fall under?
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
9. Who or What inspired you to write this book?
10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?


Anne says...

1. My current work in progress is THE MOMMY LETTERS. It was supposed to go up a year ago. And then six months ago. And then four months ago. And then last month. I keep tweaking and rereading and changing a word here or there and tweaking a bit more. I have, however, have a come-to-Jesus meeting with my partner...and now realize that I'm editing the very life out of my baby. That means that I'm right now in my very last read through before publication. COMING SOON, I promise!

2. Back in 2006, a few months after I got married and combined households with my (new-at-the-time) husband, I had one of the most vivid dreams of my life. For those of you who later read my book, I'll just mention now that the dream centered on the church scene. Now, when you get to that part, you'll understand  why it compelled me to start writing.

3. THE MOMMY LETTERS is a missing child mystery with a dash of paranormal and a hint of romance. Oh, and some fun small town politics. Whee! We see the book unfold from three point of views - (1) the mom, Sarah; (2) one of the big sisters, Katie; and (3) the mom's first husband, Shawn.

4. Were THE MOMMY LETTERS to become a movie, I'd envision...

• Demi Moore as Sarah (Robin's mom, Rockingham Selectman),
• Tom Cruise as Shawn (Sarah's 1st husband, Rockingham police detective)
• Matthew McConnaughey as Jason (Sarah's 2nd husband, Robin's dad)
• Ariel Winter as Liz (Sarah's oldest daughter with Shawn)
• Bailee Madison as Katie (Sarah's younger daughter with Shawn)
• Mia Talerico as Robin (Sarah's daughter with Jason)
• Meryl Streep as Dr. Kimball (Sarah's therapist)
• Angela Lansbury as Grace (Sarah's mom, Sam's Ferry resident)
• Reece Witherspoon as Dina (Rockingham mayor)
• Denzel Washington as Lieutenant Dave (Sam's Ferry police officer)
• Billy Bob Thornton as Ben (Rockingham handyman, Sam's Ferry resident)
• Frances McDormand as Mary Ellen (Sam's Ferry postmistress)
• Diane Keaton as Dr. George (child psychiatrist)
• Georgia Engel as Louise (Sarah's secretary)

P.S. I think we'll need to mortgage Alaska to pay the tab on this all-star cast!

5. One sentence synopsis of THE MOMMY LETTERS: Sarah is beginning to pick up the pieces with her older daughters after her youngest's disappearance when a letter arrives that will shock her to her core and drag decades-old secrets out of the closet.

6. THE MOMMY LETTERS will be published by KLG Press, a company I co-own with romance author Patti Ann Colt.

7. It took me 5 years to write the first draft of THE MOMMY LETTERS - on and off and on and off and on and off and on and off and...

8. I would compare THE MOMMY LETTERS to a Mary Higgins Clark-type mystery. While writing, I also often thought of such YA/MG titles as THE YEAR WITHOUT MICHAEL and THE FACE ON THE MILK CARTON. I think lovers of any/all of the above will enjoy THE MOMMY LETTERS.

9. THE MOMMY LETTERS was born of a dream and that dream is still nagging me!

10. Fun fact: Katie, Sarah's middle daughter, "knows" things - she has dream-like communication with her missing sister, envisions situations before they occur, and has hunches on par with a seasoned detective - her father! But in small town New England, this is a bit hard to grasp, making her "talents" difficult for her family to believe in. Luckily, she's spunky and determined and, with big sister Liz's support, becomes a key player in bringing home their littlest sibling, Robin.

TAGGED: If you've read this, consider yourself tagged. Half the world has already done this meme, so I know if I use specific names, they'll probably already have done it.

Have a fabulous day!