And we're back for the new year. Last month I put out three short stories to various horror anthologies. Got a polite [and very brief] rejection yesterday on one, still waiting to hear on the other two. The rewrite for my superhero, now urban fantasy, novella is coming along. Changing the character background and concept has made the rewrite trickier than I had expected. There's a few contradictions that need to be cleared up and the MC isn't as powerful now. It's still a good story [imo] and looking forward to sending it off.

    Back in December, my friend tagged me with a 10 questions post. Her post is here: http://sabledrake.livejournal.com/689876.html. Mine is below.

1. What is the working title of your next book?
    **Tentatively, it's Fire and Frost. Not 100% happy with it, but it's a working title.
   
   
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
   **It was a call for a superhero romance novella. I took a character concept that had been floating around and built from there. Looking back, it might have been a bit of cliché, but going forward I've done a concept change and started pushing outside of my normal boundaries of writing.

3. What genre does your book fall under?
   **Urban Fantasy is the best fit. It's no longer dealing with superheroes, as the main characters background has changed quite extensively. There's still a romantic angle to the story, as the MC is in theory off to save the girl.

4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
   **The MC, Theo, would be played by Ryan Gosling. He has the look and attitude, though he's a bit taller than the MC would be. The love interest, Alexia, could be played by Noomi Rapace or Angelina Jolie. Alexia's father would be a perfect for Michael Gambon, while Tom Hiddleson could do wonders as the main villain.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
   **Love is a loophole.
   
   
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
   **Not self-published, but I don't have an agent at the moment. A bit of advice that was given to me, is to get an offer on the book, then find an agent to work out the details. Seemed a bit backwards advice, but the person telling me this had a few published novels to back him up.
   
   
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
   **It happened over the course of a month during the evenings and weekends. The original draft is a novella and I'm looking to expand upon it.
   
   
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
   **Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Jim Butcher's Dresdan Files and Seanan McGuire's Incryptid series. That's some big company to shoot at, but all are writers that have turned out some really good stuff.
   
   
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
   **It was a test of my ability to write a full story with a complete ending. Each year I write during National Novel Writing Month and haven't completed a story with a satisfying ending except for once. The call was for superheroes and I've been a reader of comics since I was a kid.
   
   
10. What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?
    **I've tried to focus on fantasy elements that I don't see alot of in current fiction. There's a strong connection to fae, seelie, unseelie, and faeries courts. No demons, werewolves, vampires, or zombies. One of the secondary characters is a necromancer, but retired from the business.