The smexy and sophisticated Amelia James has tagged me as “The Next Big Thing.” Oh me, oh my! What an honor! Well, I’d hate to disappoint her by not jumping on the meme, so here goes…

And, oh crap, I totally have to pre-reveal a huge Farsighted Series secret to do it, too!

What is the working title of your book?

Pitch, book #3 of the Farsighted Series.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Shapri is hands-down the most awesome character in the series–am I right? Her story picks up where Simmi’s left off in Open Heart. We’ve got a coupla pesky ghosts hanging around and taking advantage of her mediumship. In fact, she has to travel all the way to New Orleans in hopes of ditching them.

What genre does your book fall under?

Pitch is Young Adult like the rest of the Farsighted series. However, it has more of a suspense twist than the previous two volumes.

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

Taylor Lautner is Alex or the movie’s not getting made, okay? As far as the others are concerned, I’m not super obsessed with any particular actors playing them. My friend Haley at YA-Aholic did an awesome dream cast for Farsighted, so I’m going to link straight over to her. Shazam!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Oh, crikes! I hate it when people make writers stick to a single sentence… Okay, um… Shapri struggles with a couple pesky poltergeists while trying to sort out her feelings for Alex, traveling to the spirit portal in New Orleans, and then experiencing some wicked blackouts, which quickly turn her friends against her.

 

HUGE NEWS COMING IN 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

 

 

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

Okay, major Farsighted Series news coming right up!

Although I self-published Farsighted and Open Heart, I will not be self-pubbing the remainder of the Farsighted Series. What does this mean? Well, it means newly edited versions of Farsighted and Open Heart will be rereleased November 26, and then! THEN!

The remaining three books in the series will be subject to an accelerated launch schedule. Rather than having to wait for May 2013 for Pitch, 2014 for Vertigo, and 2015 for Refrain, you will get the rest of the Farsighted Series before the end of 2013! OMG, seriously?! Yes, seriously!

Pitch will be coming out January 15 with Vertigo (Brady’s book) to follow May 21, and Refrain (Dax’s book) on December 2. So give a huge thank you to Evolved for forcing me to write these books faster!

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

Um, still working on that. My guess is it’ll take about six weeks–if I can stay off Facebook long enough to focus…

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

Well, the obvious one is Ana Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. They’re both YA novels that deal with ghosts, and I think Blake and I have similar writing styles as well. Yeah, we’re both awesome like that

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

All right. For those who haven’t heard it yet, here’s the story of how I found my inspiration for the Farsighted Series:

Everything started with a single image—my face in these tacky oversized sunglasses reflecting out at me from the car’s side mirror. I was daydreaming while my *ahem* ex drove us across Michigan for my sister’s wedding. Something about my image really struck me in an almost horrific way. I felt the glasses made me look blind but found it so weird that there was still a clear image within them; it seemed so contradictory. At the time, my book club was reading The Odyssey, which features the blind Theban prophet, Tieresias. I started thinking about what it would be like to have non-visual visions of the future and began forming a modern Tieresias in my mind. Lo and behold, Alex Kosmitoras was born. I didn’t want him to be alone in his psychic subculture, so I found other characters with other powers to keep him company. Thank God for my poor fashion sense. 

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

Shapri is awesome; therefore, Shapri’s book will be awesome. Just as Alex dealt with his disability and Simmi with her eating disorder, Shapri also has struggles to face–but they won’t make you dislike her, I promise!

Passing the buck… I mean, honor

Here are five fabulous authors that I’m totally tagging to pick up the torch. I’m excited for all of their upcoming literary triumphs–and you heard it here first:  they are totally the next big thing!

• Falcon Sprenger
• Rebecca Boucher
• CP Bialois
• Angela Scott
• Ranee Dillon