The Next Big Thing is here!
What is it? It’s a terrific blog event that shines a spotlight on authors’ upcoming book releases. The event was originally launched in Australia and is now spreading around the world. I received my tag from children’s author and app wizard, Chris Pederson, and at the end of my interview, I’ll tag several other writers who’ll share what their Next Big Thing when they blog next week.
Here's my interview about my Next Big Thing:
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| Written by Lori Mortensen, Illustrated by Michael Allen Austin |
What is the title of your next book?
Cowpoke Clyde & Dirty Dawg.
What genre is this book?
It’s a rhyming picture book.
Who is publishing this book?
It’s being released by Clarion on May 14, 2013, a few short months away.
Where did the idea come from for the book?
One day I was looking for an idea for a picture book and thought it would be fun to write a story about a boy chasing his dog for a bath. However, as I worked on it, there was no magic. No matter what I wrote, the story felt flat and boring. After setting it aside for a while, I happened to notice a few picture books with cowboys and suddenly knew that if I switched the setting to a cowboy setting, all sorts of exciting things could happen. Once I made the switch, the story took off like a buckin’ bronco and it was exciting to figure out what would happen next.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Washin’ a dog can lead to a powerful lot of trouble.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
Once I switched the story to the cowboy setting, only a couple of weeks. When the editor at Clarion bought it, it took a few more months to tweak the text so it was pitch-perfect.
What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Since the story is a rambunctious read-aloud, the actor would have to have a lot of pluck too. I could easily see Jim Carey, Tom Hanks, or Tommy Lee Jones as the dogged cowboy. And the dog? Beethoven, of course!
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
There are some terrific cowboy picture books out there. Two that come to mind are The Dirty Cowboy by Amy Timberlake and When Wishes Were Horses by Sharon Hart Addy.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
My neighbors used to have dogs that regularly broke out of their backyard and raced down the street which always created an exciting scene of shouting and barking, so that was probably the initial inspiration of what I thought could become an exciting story.
What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?
I think this excerpt from the book description says it perfectly!
“The rhyming stanzas are pitch-perfect, Texas-style, and plumb near cry out to be read aloud. Austin’s expressive acrylic and colored-pencil caricatures of Cowpoke Clyde and his menagerie are priceless. A storytime shoo-in!”
Michael Allen Austin and I have also put together a wonderful multi-page guide for teachers and librarians to use with the book that will be available through our websites when the book is released.
I’m now delighted to pass The Next Best Thing blog to the following terrific authors:
Yee Hah!
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