Donna Maree Hanson, Author, Phd in Creative Writing

Thank you to Amanda Bridgeman for tagging me. I’m afraid I’m going to let the side down because every author I contacted had been tagged already so I don’t have the full complement of five authors.

1)      What is the working title of your next book?

This is a hard question as I have a few things on the boil. Rayessa & the Space Pirates comes out on the 10^th of January and I have a few other things in the works. I’d have to talk about the book I’m currently drafting I think. It’s working title is Bespelled and it’s a romance with a paranormal slant. I’m aiming for a category length work (50,000 words) and I’m just over half way. I’m hoping to finish it by the end of December. I was going to say Christmas but that’s probably pushing it as that’s a week away and I don’t go on holidays until Friday.
2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was at the Romance Writers of Australia Conference in August. I had a fab time btw. In one of the panel sessions an editor said she’d like to see more stories with witches. As I was leaving the conference I got the idea about a story featuring a witch and I wrote an outline on the train to the airport, in the airport lounge, on the plane etc. I have to admit to being influence by Bewitched with this one. By the time I landed in Canberra I had written the 3000 word outline. Funny I don’t usually do outlines but I knew I couldn’t start it straight away. Interestingly, I deviated a little from the outline in the way I revealed things and the timing. However, what I’ve written is better than the outline I reckon.
3) What genre does your book fall under?

Paranormal romance, category length.
4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Ooh that’s tough but fun. I borrowed the images from IMDB. I went with Australian actors as the story is set in Australia.

Alex O’Loughlin as Jake, Abbie Cornish as Elena, and Rose Bryne as Grace, Elena’s cousin.

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5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Suburban witch, Elena Denholm, has to mind top flying lawyer, Jake Royston, who has been hexed by a love spell, except she’s finding it hard to keep him out of her bed.
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I haven’t finished it yet but I’ll probably submit it to a publisher and go from there or maybe by some miracle I’ll have representation. I wanted to have a couple of new manuscripts to shop around in the new year. I’ll have two newly written ones and some other ones that I’m trying to sell.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Hahaha. Not very long but it’s not finished yet. I started it in October during my visit to New Zealand and then picked it up again mid-to-late November, I think. I was working on another novel before that. I seem to be on a paranormal romance gig at present. I was hoping to finish it in 6 weeks but I didn’t. You could say I was slack.
8)  What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Actually I have no idea. It’s  hot and may even be classed as erotica, depending on the publisher and what final form it takes.
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Well let me see. Romance Writers of Australia, Nicole Murphy because she encouraged me to go there. My editor, Kate Cuthbert, indirectly because she acquired Rayessa & the Space Pirates and that encouraged me to try writing romance. Also, I’d finished writing a longer single title work, which was a paranormal romance and that worked out well so far. The beta reader comments say so.
10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

It will be compact, sexy and funny too. All set in Sydney.

So that’s my Next Big Thing interview. Around the 26th of December you will be able to see the interviews from my tagged authors.

Ross Hamilton

http://rosshamilton.net.au/

Maxine McArthur on her new blog.

https://maxinemcarthur.wordpress.com/

And others who might be found before the 26th.