I don’t know who started it, but it’s been going around for a bit. I was tagged by  J. C. Cassels.

What is the working title of your book?

Places Bright and Dark.

Where did the idea for your book come from?

It’s the sequel to my first novel, Another Place on the Planet and the second of my Lilyland trilogy. Because Lily and Charlie have to go through hell before they finally settle down to the business of a healthy relationship.

What genre does your book fall under?

Women’s fiction, I guess. It really is a romance at heart, but not your basic happy ever after kind. The characters grow A LOT after they fall in love and mess up over and over until they finally get it even close to right. It’s a mash up of women’s, romance and inspirational, although I hesitate to use the later. It’s definitely not your usual Christian fiction. The characters struggle with their faith and make choices inconsistent with the traditional prescribed lifestyle associated with modern American Christianity. And I guess I could call it Boomer Fiction, too, a new genre about people in midlife and beyond. Lily and Charlie start off in their mid-forties and the series covers about 10 years.

Which actors would you chose to play in your movie rendition?

I’m seeing it more as a TV series. There is enough material between recovering from spousal abuse, sex addiction, filmmaking, life in Hollywood, etc. to create drama for a few seasons and definitely too much for one movie.

I keep looking for actors that I would cast, but haven’t come up with many. I’d love to have Michael Fassbender, my fake boyfriend, for Charlie even though Charlie starts out a few years older than the actor actually is. I haven’t really seen anyone that strikes me as a character yet.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Despite a glorious start to their marriage, happily-ever-after for Lily and Charlie is seriously jeopardized by a series of misfortunes, poor choices, media coverage and revelations that would challenge any couple, especially one already struggling with recovery from sex addiction.

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

I’ll start of indie-publishing like I did for Another Place on the Planet, but I’m getting ready to shop the series around to agents.

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

I wrote 2 first drafts. The first got bogged down in unnecessary back story. When I started again, it was at a later part of the story and that took about three months.

What other books would you compare this story to?

I don’t know. I wrote a book I wanted to read.

 What or who inspired you to write the book?

The series is an alternate ending to my first novel which I wanted to be about people sticking out the hard parts of a relationship they committed to. This series, Lilyland, sticks to that despite the twists and turns. My first novel ended in a way that was unsatisfying to me. I wanted Lily to branch out and discover more of herself. I did a bit of brainstorming for a love interest and Charlie, a hottie and accomplished film director walked into my head. He came with lots of baggage! Not that Lily didn’t have enough of her own.

What else about the book might pique the readers’ interest?

Well, there’s movie making, the lives of the rich and famous, addiction, faith, and lots of drama. It’s an involved love story in which the lovers fight themselves more than each other. If you’re looking for meat in your fiction, take a bite.

Thanks!