My Work-In-Progress has been tagged by the fabulous Red Tash! In this meme, I must answer ten questions about my WIP and tag five other writers.

These other writers will post and tag next week, between September 25 and October 2.

Here are the questions:

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?

And here are my answers:

What is the working title of your book?

SAGE is the series. The first book is THE FALL OF ONAGROS.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Fairy tales, mostly. I grew up reading Andrew Lang’s Colored Fairy Books, and adored the combination of magic and logic all good fairy tales must have. I loved it that so many fairy tales have strong female leads. In a lot of the stories, the man is enchanted or lost or confounded, and his sweetheart or the giant’s wife or a wise old woman or a benevolent fairy comes to his rescue.

What genre does your book fall under?

Fantasy. There are swords, and there is magic, but I wouldn’t call it Sword and Sorcery. Fantasy.

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

Oded Fehr would be perfect for Landry, a smooth villain.

Rafi Gavron IS Brady, a reluctant good guy.

Viggo Mortensen — with red hair — would be Landry’s official ruffian, Guthrie.

I’ve given great thought to the men, you’ll notice….

I have a SAGE Pinterest board where I post pictures relevant to the books. I need to do more of that! If anybody has any suggestions, let me know. 🙂

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Elsie‘s daring escape from her forced marriage to Landry sets off a series of interlocking events that lead directly to Kinnan, who claims Layounna as the illegitimate son of the dead ruler–and they say a unicorn has been sighted.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

SAGE will be published by Hydra Publications. I enjoy self-publishing, but it’s nice to be part of a “family”, too. 🙂

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

The first draft? Probably about 9 months. The first finished draft? Probably about 9 years. The final draft? Closer to 20 years. I did a lot of rewriting, unwriting, re-rewriting, and polishing.

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

WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams, because it’s told partly by tales and legends. THE LAST UNICORN by Peter S. Beagle, because the fairy tales aren’t all shiny and sweet. Mind you, I’m not comparing my writing to theirs!

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Nothing inspired me to write it. Rather, I wanted to write a book and this is what I ended up with. I usually have several projects underway, but I didn’t have back then; I just loved to write and had an urge to write. Just to write!

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

Major characters are the Four Divine Animals of Chinese mythology: Unicorn, Dragon, Phoenix, and Tortoise. Tortoise is the bad one. Tortoise is my favorite. 🙂

Tag! Your WIP is “The Next Big Thing!”

Dianne Gardner http://web.archive.org/web/20150914172021/http://iansrealandmore.blogspot.com/
Michael Wallace http://web.archive.org/web/20141218093341/http://thehashwriter.com/
Beth Ann Masarik http://www.literarylunespublications.com/
James W. Peercy http://storiestotelldotcom.blogspot.com/
Lyndi Alexander http://lyndialexander.wordpress.com/

AAaaand … I’m posting today at Fatal Foodies on the subject of a delicious supper I made the other day.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Write about a game of tag.

MA