The Next Big Thing I was tagged by author Sheri Taylor-Emery in a blog chain called The Next Big Thing.
The goal is to answer ten questions about my debut novel Someone Else Not Me.
As this is a chain, once answered, I will then tag 5 other authors, and ask them to do the same and so on…
Here it goes…
Here are my answers to the ten questions in the chain.

1. What is the working title of your book?
Someone Else Not Me

2. Where did the idea for the book come from?
This might make you laugh. It actually was born out of a, lets just say, heated dream I had about a certain A-list Hollywood actor. I thought about it and it raised all kinds of questions about the whole older woman, younger man scenario, as to me this is still somewhat frowned upon in a way that the reverse is not. 

3. What genre does it fall under?
Women's fiction/Romance/ Chick Lit
 
4. What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
In my head the main character of Sadie was clear cut until a friend nominated somebody else, so physically she is now pictured as a cross between Paz Vega and Jennifer Connolly. The younger male lead, Jake, would be Robert Pattinson...and I simply won't settle for anyone else!

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
One woman's relationships are tested and her identity rediscovered when she falls in love with a younger man.

6. Will your book be self-published or be represented by an agency?
At present, I'm unpublished and looking for representation in either Europe and/or the States...but it's a bit of a minefield and a lot harder than people might think.  In the meantime, I have posted the first five chapters of SENM to the Authonomy website(http://authonomy.com), as well as the first three chapters on my website for people to get a taster. Fingers crossed that they like it!

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
I work four days a week as well as being a mother to a young son who doesn't sleep very much, so the bulk of my writing happens late at night. All in all, I would say it has taken me a good ten months to get SENM to where I want it to be. 

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I love the snappy dialogue of Janet Evanonvitch plus the romance and sense of storytelling of JoJo Moyes and Marian Keyes. If I could get my work anywhere their standards I would be a happy woman.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I've actually kept my writing a secret from friends, family and even my partner up until about six months ago. Up until that time it was only something for me to enjoy, purely because I enjoyed it, so spurred on by a friend's success in getting published, I suddenly sat up and thought that writing a book wasn't just for other people to do - that maybe that dream I'd always had might actually be achievable. 

10. What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest? 
The book is based in the USA but the humour, sensibilities and themes are universal; family, loyalty, sense of identity and of course, love.

Please click on the book cover to visit Lisa Halpin's website.