Guest Post : The Next Big Thing ..... Lee Murray

 

 

The Next Big Thing…

Thanks to Paula Phillips, my favourite reviewer, for allowing me to guest post here on her blog, and to writer Paulette Rae for inviting me to follow on from her own Next Big Thing: http://pbrae.blogspot.co.nz/

1: What is the working title of your book(s)?

Misplaced

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?

The story was inspired by my friend Florence Bloise. Florence is a wife, an accomplished artist, a self-confessed ‘gourmande’, and the over-indulgent mother of three gorgeous children. Florence is also missing. For a decade now, the people left behind, those who love Florence, have been waiting, hoping, for her safe return. I believe I wrote Misplaced hoping to catch a glimpse of my friend in the pages, or perhaps to uncover the elusive clue that will ultimately bring her home.

3: What genre does your book come under?

YA contemporary.

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Ooh, excellent question. Since the story is set in New Zealand and my protagonist, Adam, and his friends (Skye, Corey, Kieran and Simon) are typical Kiwi teenagers, I’d love to see them portrayed by newly discovered young New Zealand actors, the way Keisha Castle Hughes and Anna Pacquin were cast for roles in The Whale Rider and The Piano respectively. I must remember to tell that to Jane Campion when she asks to option the manuscript!

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

A teenager must cope when his mother pops out and doesn’t return.

6: Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?

The book is contracted to the lovely people at Bluewood Publishing. Coming soon!

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

About 8 months with breaks. For Misplaced, I was fortunate to have won an NZSA mentorship with well-known New Zealand writer, Graeme Lay, so the writing took a little longer than normal as we sent my chapters back and forth to each other scribbling down new ideas and discussing them. The book is certainly stronger for Graeme’s expert input.

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

One of my beta readers likened it to Lia Hill’s Beginner’s Guide to Living (Text).

9: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

As I said earlier, the story was inspired by my friend Florence, who went missing in France in 2003. To distance the story from Florence’s real-life tale, I made my main character a seventeen-year-old boy coping with all the normal teenager tribulations – falling in love, getting picked for the athletics team - while also dealing with ongoing uncertainty about his missing mother, the agonising hope and plummeting despair. However, Misplaced also offers a measure of optimism, with that element of ‘I get by with a little help from my friends’ thrown in.  

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

This image, entitled Solitude, is a pastel by Florence Bloise.

We’re on the hop! Head over and discover what other writers are doing…

22 May for Pink Blossom’s Shannon Cascarini’s Big News

http://www.pinkblossompublishing.com/

29  May for fantasy writer Jan Goldie’s Latest Update  http://www.shellbewritemate.blogspot.co.nz/

5 June for the Grande Dame of Dragons, Jo Bryant

https://jobryantnz.wordpress.com/