elingregory | Next Big Thing meme

This time I have been tagged by Theo Fenraven - thanks pal - and this time I'm going to write about the story I have been using for Six Sentence Sunday.

The Next Big Thing

What is the title of the book you’re currently working on?
"A Fierce Reaping"

Where did the idea come from for the book?

The idea came to me - oh lor' -- more than 25 years ago when I first read Y Gododdin - an account of a Welsh warband from the Old North [southern Scotland was a Welsh kingdom then] who went south to confront an aggressive Anglo-Saxon warlord. It didn't go at all well. The 300 cavalrymen, a substantial army in those days, were met and stopped by a much larger force and besieged. Legend has it that only 3 men escaped but - I dunno, in the confusion... Also - 300? Haven't we seen that before somewhere?

What genre does your book fall under?

Action Adventure with a little bit of same sex romance to up the odds.

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

My characters look like themselves! Yeah I know - that's no fun. So I've done some googling and Dennis Storhoi will do very nicely for Cynfal, my POV character.

I couldn't find anyone who looked like Gwion - maybe Robert Sheehan in Season of the Witch, though he looks uncomfortably young, or maybe this one except he'd need to be a bit more gaunt and have a full beard and moustache. Not much idea who he is so don't go assuming things if you've seen him in something that I haven't.

What is a one-sentence synopsis of the book?

300 rode south, 3 came back - or so the story goes. Um - maybe that's more of a tag line? How about - griefstricken and down on his luck, Cynfal joins the warband of the Gododdin - 300 of the bravest and best warriors from all the kingdoms of the Cymru - not much caring what happens to him but when the year ends and they face incredible odds far from home Cynfal discovers that life is most worth living just when it looks like you might lose it. Angst all the way baby! when I'm not writing slapstick, anyway.

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

I'll need to finish it first. But I won't be self pubbing. I don't have the capital to do it properly and certainly don't have the smarts to market it. I don't have an agent - they are scarce as hen's teeth - and if I can't find a publisher .... well, we'll see. I might post it as a serial.

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

I wrote the first 52K last November during Nanowrimo and hoped to finish it this year. Sadly a combination of work and changes at home have meant Nanowrimo couldn't happen. Fingers crossed I get time to work on it this winter.

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

Frank Miller's 300 - only with no drawings, warmer clothes, more banter and no rhinocerosses. Rhinoceri? Screw it, no Gerard Butler.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The poet Aneurin, whom I have cast as an antagonist just because I can :)

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

British heritage and stuff. Horses, armour and swords. Hare stew and mead. Archery. A creative approach to the geography of Yorkshire. An even more creative interpretation of ancient secondary sources. Also the homoeroticism is slightly more overt than 300.

Since I was supposed to tag someone I asked around a bit and Rhonda Laurel volunteered! Anyone else who'd like a go, feel free.