Look! The Next Best Thing!

Author Darcia Helle sure is creating a lot of work for me on the blog. ;-) First she tagged me for The Next Best Thing Blog Challenge. Then she tagged me AGAIN for the U Got the Look Blog Challenge.

Both challenges involve my work-in-progress On Best Behavior (The Conduct Series #3).

Author Gail Baugniet started The Next Best Thing HERE. The rules are:

Answer 10 questions about my current WIP (Work-In-Progress)

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

I decided to follow Gail by posting my answer to one question a week, with the hope of finishing the manuscript in ten weeks.

Sadly the past two weeks have been epic FAIL for me and I've forgotten to post my answers among all the giveaways I've been hosting. (And another giveaway starts tomorrow--stay tuned).  So, I'm answering three questions today to catch up.

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

Actor Wentworth Miller is my absolute celebrity crush--he's an easy pick to play Grant Madsen. I can't remember this actress's name but I can totally see her as Sophie Taylor.

Thanks to Julie from A Tale of Many Reviews for framing these photos!

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

Planning a wedding is never easy, especially when the Russian Mafia want you dead.

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

Neither--it will be published (I hope!) by Omnific Publishing, a small publisher I lurve.

And now onto U Got the Look!

The Look is a writing prompt, a game, another tagging event. This is how U Got “The Look” works: you take your current manuscript, search for the word “look”, and post the surrounding paragraphs. Lastly, you tag 5 blogging authors who you think will be a good choice for the game.

(I use the word "look" approximately 20,000 times in each manuscript so this should be no problem.)

Sophie looked into his worried blue eyes and reached for his hand. “Grant, I have absolutely no qualms about marrying you. I’d do it today if we could.”

“Then let’s just go to the courthouse right now.”

She grimaced. “You know I’d love that, but my dad would kill me. No, we’ll do it this summer, like we planned. We’ll do the big church wedding.” She turned back to the door.

He tugged at her hand, drawing her to face him again. “Sophie, talk to me.”

“It’s just…” She sighed. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen Pastor Tom, and…do you know anyone whose marriage is actually happy, Grant? We love each other, but who’s to say we won’t turn out like our parents?”

He flinched. “There’s no way we could be as bad as my parents.”

“But they were in love once too, right? Your dad even sang to your mom at their wedding.”

“I guess you could say they were in love once, before my father showed his true colors.” His eyes darkened. “But Sophie, we’re different from them. I’m not an alcoholic, for one thing.”

Her lips curled into a faint smile. Their psychologist Hunter’s insistence that Grant was not his father had finally gotten through to him. “You’re not a child abuser either.”

“Though Ben sure tempts me sometimes.”

Sophie’s grin widened. Grant joking about the trials of helping to parent his nephew, instead of freezing up at the mere mention of child abuse, definitely indicated his progress in counseling.

 
And now I tag 5 author friends to get the "look". No worries if you've already participated.

Cherie Colyer

Nicki Elson

Elisa Dane

Carol Oates

Trisha Wolfe

And finally, please join us on the Omnific Publishing Author, Author Blog Bounce! Instructions are HERE.