Seven Lines and Ten Questions

Okay, so fellow blogger Madison had a good post over here today, posting seven lines from the seventh or seventy-seventh page along with answering ten questions (the Next Big Thing part of it) from her current work-in-progress. Answering questions about your work is always a good way to make sure you have a solid handle on it, not to mention knowing how to "sell" it to others. So check out her responses through the above link and/or continue on to mine below.

Excerpt from page 7 of Ends of the World:

“How about you? What do you think of it?” 

Seeing the end of the world had brought out a number of new thoughts and feelings in Rish, but he found it challenging to articulate their meaning. He took his time considering his response, knowing that the older boy would patiently wait. That was one of the things Rish most respected about Darnan, he always seemed to push Rish to think things through more rigorously without belittling him in the process. 

“I think I have come to a greater understanding of my kin,” Rish finally said.

1. What is the working title of your book?

The Ends of the World.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

It initially came out of a thought experiment - what would a duo-theistic society (in the fantasy genre) potentially look like? Pantheons of gods are common, but having only two, especially if they're diametrically opposed, could color every aspect of society. (In this case, I actually have three gods, but only two are "hands on" in the world of mortals.)

Secondly, I riffed off the concept of the Ringworld series and made a world that is more like a ribbon (or conveyor belt, really), that is itself very much a direct result of the two gods' impact on the setting.

After that, a story line started to emerge from the setting and I just took it from there. 

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Fantasy.

4. What is a one-sentence synopsis of your book?

While his adopted home town is on the cusp of falling off the end of the world, a young man torn between two cultures tries to find his place in the world.

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

Not even thinking about this one yet.

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

About a year. I started it during NaNoWriMo 2008 and nearly finished it the following month. Then it languished for most of a year before I finally got around to finishing the first draft. Since then, I've done a lot of brainstorming on things that need to be edited and changed, largely based on how I've sketched out the rest of the story, but have yet to edit much more than the first chapter.

7. If your book were made into a film, which actors would you cast as your characters?

Hmmm.  No idea, honestly.  The main characters are all around 17-18 years old, and I don't know enough actors in that age range.  Might be able to come up with some actors for the older minor cast if I really tried.

8. To what other books would you compare this story within your genre?

Honestly, I can't think of another good comparison. It carries a number of "stock" fantasy elements (gods indirectly involved in the affairs of mortals, magic, etc). At the same time, however, it studiously avoids many of the more common fantasy elements - only has humans, the characters aren't particularly powerful, and the entire first book is set in and around a single small village.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

See answer to question #2. Also, I needed a NaNo project. My wife did help keep me plugging away at it for a while, though, when she was pregnant and needed something to read during her nightly bath.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest.

I made a conscious effort to make this feel like a comfortable fantasy setting (nothing too exotic), while adding a good bit of original feel to it. With the world being very unique - perpetually being created on one end and destroyed on the other - I put a good deal of effort into considering how civilization would have grown under those circumstances. The end result, I hope, is the sense of a world that functions logically and is internally consistent.