Questions, Questions

A wonderful writer pal, Lynn, at Present Letters tagged me last week with a series of questions related to NaNoWriMo. Since so many people expressed interest in the entire NaNo concept, here are my answers. I hope this will encourage (rather than frighten away) others who are thinking about giving NaNo a try next year.

Part of this process is for me to "tag" another NaNo writer to answer these same questions on her blog next Tuesday. I hope Judy at The Word Place will give it a go!

What is your working title of your book?

My 2012 NaNo project is titled "Under An Assumed Name".

Where did the idea come from for the book?

A few years ago I did a substantial amount of research with intent on doing a novel about Zee James, the wife of famed Missouri bandit, Jesse James. It went on the back burner for some time, to be resurrected this year as my NaNo project.

What genre does your book fall under?

Historical fiction, though it may morph into the historical romance genre before all is said and done.

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

Good question! I'd need a charismatic bad boy for Jesse...perhaps Johnny Depp?
Zee is strong in her own way, but vulnerable. Hmmmm...maybe Ann Hathaway? (I'm picking her because of the trailers I've seen recently. She plays Fantine in the new Les Miserables movie opening this month.)

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Not sure I can yet answer that. I'm still trying to connect the dots by exploring the reasons that an upright, devout woman would remain so staunchly attached to someone who made a living robbing banks and trains...not to mention more than one cold-blooded murder.

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

Wow. I'm too busy figuring out where to begin with rewrites/edits to even think about that. Publishing this book is not even a gleam in my eye yet.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

It took me approximately two weeks. Of course, that was two weeks of non-stop writing that included taking days off from my real job to work on it. It helped me to have already accumulated a lot of research, have a good knowledge of the characters, and a decent outline.

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

Any historical fiction novel. An example is one that I read a couple of years ago, "Mary", a novel about Mary Todd Lincoln. It was fascinating.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My first NaNo manuscript was a contemporary romance. The second was a sequel to the first. Originally I planned to do a third romance and have a trilogy, but couldn't get enthusiastic about it. Trust me, if you plan to write 50,000 plus words, it helps immensely to be enthusiastic. Then I remembered the research I did on Zee James and realized that's what I wanted to do. As alluded to earlier, I had questions about her. There's tons of information to be found on Jesse James. Not so much on Zee. What kind of person was she and why?
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I hope anyone with curiosity about Jesse James, Missouri history, and/or what molds a relationship into one that endures despite overwhelming obstacles and hardships, might find something of interest in this project.

Okay, that's it! Questions over! For those of you who are still with me, here's a critter update. Indy and Bogey are doing fine. They have provided invaluable assistance to me in writing out the responses to these questions.

Well, actually, Bogey keeps lying on the keyboard (blame any typos on him) and Indy has developed an annoying habit of going under the desk and getting tangled up in the computer wires. I must say, nothing comes easy at our house.