The Next Big Thing Blog Tag

Hi Friends, 

An explanation: The Next Big Thing Blog Tag  originated from the SheWrites website and my lovely twitter friend, Charlie Plunkett invited me to get involved by tagging me and asking me to talk about my work in progress by answering ten interview questions about it. I think I've just got in on time, (it had to be up by 21st October..which is today...phew) and at the end, I'll be tagging the links of five other writers/bloggers who I follow and who may also carry on the chain the week after next. 

Here goes:

What is the working title of your book?

The Earring Tree

Where did the idea come from for the book?

As readers of Sugar Cane will know, I like to write about Mauritius. The first time I took my husband to Mauritius we travelled to Le Morne Brabant and I told him the legend surrounding that very strange looking mountain. He said, "your next story should be about that!"....and an idea was born. During my subsequent research around the period of the abolition of slavery I came across a legal case which then put the meat on the bones of my story. The Earring Tree refers to a very rare plant that only lives on the top of that mountain and nowhere else in the world - Trochetia boutoniana, also known locally as Boucle d'oreille and therefore Earring Tree in English. 

What genre does your book fall under?

Historical fiction. It's set between 1830 and 1835.

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

Well, there are several main characters. Of these, a 13 year old girl, 17 year old boy of Mauritian descent and as I'm not up on my child actors, I'm not that sure - we'd have to have fun auditioning new black talent!

However, I was blown away by Amandla Stenberg in the Hunger Games movie, so I suppose she'd be a favourite to play "L'assiette": 

 For the grown ups I'd chose:

James McAvoy as Milton Thorne.

Vicent Cassel as M. Chevalier.

Terrence Howard as Sansouccy:

And Viola Davis as "Maman"

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Court room drama based in Mauritius 1830-1835 around a real case where a freed slave's children are stolen back into plantation slavery when their parent suddenly dies.

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

I'd hope to get represented by an agent again - hopefully on the back of the self-publishing success I'm having with Sugar Cane (after having been fought over by two agents, read by the big 6 who all liked it but didn't bite as I was under 40 and unknown, abandoned by my agent and then offered a publishing deal I managed to secure on my own that I subsequently decided to turn down due to disagreements over royalties). I'd hope that I would be in with a chance of obtaining a traditional deal....but hey, if not, I'm fully equipped to take it on with the help of SandyBred publishing again! 

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

So far, it's been three years and counting - lot's of historical research while doing a full time job is hard going, but fun. Hope to have it all finished by Easter 2013. 

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

The English Passengers by Matthew Kneale. I've tried every which way but I naturally keep coming back to this style of story telling....some will get it, some won't....but there's no way to make what I want to say fit any other way....and English Passengers won the Whitbread Book Award, so someone got it!

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

I can't tell you the legend because it would spoil the story but as mentioned before, my husband triggered the initial spark. I also suppose I should add that my mother, Marie-Louise, who passed away in 1996 inspires me in all things and especially in writing about Mauritius. There is SO much to tell about this remarkable island, so far beyond the perfect beaches and five star hotels....I'm already thinking about my third book with much excitement which will be about the Mauritian islands called the Chagos islands....now that's another story to tell.

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

That's a good question. It's a lot to do with slavery and the abolition period, however when most people consider slavery they think America and Caribbean - Mauritius was ceded to the British Crown in 1814 by the French after we beat Napoleon. The slave trade was abolished in 1807, but it continued unabated on the island for at least another 18 years with a British Governor in place for at least 7 of those years. Also, did you know that the French plantation owners stood their own civil guard of 900 on the island to protect themselves from the British anti-slavery legislation and actively sought altercations with British soldiers stationed on the island? It's an intriguing and important period of our British colonial history....but not many people know anything about it. I hope to give sound to an unheard British voice.

So, that's it. No more spoilers. I'd like to thank Charlie Plunkett for inviting me to this Blog Tag - you can catch her blog at http://www.charlieplunkett.co.uk/

And my fab five blogs would have to be:

Jeanette Hewitt - www.jeanettehewitt.com

Amanda Egan - mummymisfit.blogspot.co.uk

Manda Scott - wordpress.mcscott.co.uk

Nicola Mahood - www.lulu.com/spotlight/nikkimahood

Tracy H. Tucker - tracyhtucker.wordpress.com