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| Photo by Paloetic. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. |
The idea behind the Next Big Thing is
to answer a set list of questions about your work in progress, then
tag five more authors to do the same thing.
So, here are my answers about my Next
Big Thing:
What is the working title of your
book?
One Shade of Red.
Where did the idea come from for the
book?
As you probably guessed, it’s a
parody of the best-seller, Fifty Shades of Gray.
I first heard about the book last
spring, when it was causing a stir in the mainstream media. I bought
a copy for my wife, who read it and declared it terrible. She read it
during our summer vacation by the coast, and repeatedly shook her
head or moaned in literary disgust (at least, that’s why she told
me she was moaning).
A lady on the sun chair next to her one
day noticed her reading the book. “What did you think of it?” she
asked.
“I think it’s terrible. Bad
writing, and the characters are ridiculous,” my wife replied. “Did
you read it?”
“It was the worst book I ever read!”
said our new friend.
I read and heard several other reviews,
as well. Obviously, millions of fans all around the world love the
story. But most of the professional reviews I read or heard were very
negative. They criticized the author’s writing abilities, the style
of the book and the characterization.
I had to read it, myself, just to see
how I fell on the reaction spectrum. To me, it’s ridiculous, too.
Christian Grey, a 27-year-old self-made billionaire? It doesn’t
happen very often. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, a couple of others. But
they’re never super-hunks at the same time.
And Anastasia Steele, the 22-year-old
virgin? Come on.
The names are preposterous, too.
And of course, those ideas eventually
led to the conclusion: I could write a much better erotic romance.
What genre does your book fall
under?
You could call it a satirical, humorous
erotic romance. Or a romantic, erotic parody. Or pseudo-romantic,
satirical erotica.
Which actors would you choose to
play your characters in a movie rendition?
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| Do I have to tell you this is Beyoncé? |
Beyoncé Knowles as Alexis Rosse; for
the male protagonist, Damian Serr, maybe Angus T. Young — Jake from
Two and a Half Men. Alternatives: Aarti Mann (Pria from The Big Bang
Theory), or Eva Green for Alexis; Abhi Sinha from The Social
Network would be good, too, for Damian. A younger, goofy kind of
guy would be perfect.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of
your book?
Where Fifty Shades of Grey is a
woman’s ultimate sexual fantasy — domination by a fabulously
wealthy,beautiful and sexually powerful young man with a dark flaw
she can fix — One Shade of Red is every young heterosexual man’s
ultimate sexual fantasy: a rich, gorgeous and sexually always
available woman without any inhibitions or baggage, or anything at
all to fix!
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| Aarti Mann |
I will publish this book myself, as I
have all my other fiction.
How long did it take you to write
the first draft of your manuscript?
I’m now working on it as my National
Novel Writing Month (NaNoMo) project for 2012, so while I got the
idea for it a few months ago, I started actually writing on November
1. I plan to finish no later than November 30.
What other books would you compare
this story to within your genre?
Fifty Shades, first. After that, I
don’t know — I don’t read much erotica. Maybe I should start —
purely for research purposes, of course!
Who or what inspired you to write
this book?
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| Angus T. Jones |
I flipped that premise upside down:
what qualities would a young virginal man find ideal in an older
lover? She (if the man in question is heterosexual) would be:
- beautiful
- continuously eager for sex
completely uninhibited about any sexual practice, position or conversation
Eva Green - wealthy, so she can provide lots of toys and activities without affecting his bank account
- and having absolutely no hang-ups or deep-down secrets — in other words, nothing to fix!
What else about your book might
pique the reader’s interest?
If I may be so bold (this is my blog,
after all), I think that I am a much better writer than EL James. So
my characters will be much more believable, their circumstances more
plausible, and their motivations clearer. Also, I promise not to give
my male protagonist, Damian Serr, an “inner god.”
However, I will give them names as
preposterous as EL James gave her characters.
What else? Sex. Lots and lots and lots
of sex in this book. When you read it, keep a glass of ice water
handy.
Autumn Birt’s first novel is called
Born of Water, and her Next Big Thing is Rule of Fire. Read about
them on blog, Weifarer’s Wanderings. Click around her blog a bit, too, and
you’ll find lots of great reading and adventure!
Now, the five authors I have tagged
are:
Check their blogs next Wednesday,
November 21.
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