The Next Big Thing Challenge: Part II

I’ve been tagged again in the Next Big Thing Challenge again, respectively by Wendy Laharnar  last week and Kim Rendfeld this week. Wendy’s post won’t appear until October 24 but Kim’s is here. Ladies, thank you both for tagging me. This post gives me a chance to share some details of my current WIP.

What is the working title of your book?
Sultana: Two Sisters.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
The novel is a sequel to my Moorish Spain series, which started in Sultana and continued in Sultana’s Legacy. It picks up almost ten years after the events of Sultana’s Legacy where Yusuf, the grandson of my main characters in the earlier books, rules in Granada and his wives vie to put each of their sons on the throne. There are two minor characters from the earlier books who make an appearance here. Sorry to disappoint anyone who hoped for more of the earlier characters, but they had died by the time this new novel begins. However, the repercussions of their actions have a profound (you should read that as troubling) effect on Yusuf's reign. Don't say you weren't warned.

What genre does your book fall under?
Historical biographical – it’s what I write!

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Again, I don’t think of actors in the roles of my characters, but if I must:

Khaled Nabawy would portray Yusuf I, Sultan of Gharnatah.

One of the Sultan’s foremost ministers, Ibn al-Khatib, described Yusuf in part as: “The Sultan was dark-skinned, naturally strong, had a fine figure and an even finer character. His teeth sparkled, he had large eyes and dark straight hair, a thick beard, a handsome face….” I think Khaled Nabawy, whom I last saw in 2005's Kingdom of Heaven with Orlando Bloom, would be a good fit.

Natalie Portman would portray Esperanza Peralta, who becomes Yusuf's first wife Butayna.

I’ve always imagined my female protagonist as a young, lithe but not so beautiful girl. I speculate on her origins in Sultana: Two Sisters, but when the real historical figure entered Yusuf’s harem, she received the name Butayna. The name means “possessing a young and tender body.” Natalie Portman is much prettier than I envision the character, but I think she epitomizes the name ascribed to Yusuf’s first wife and the mother of his heir Muhammad V and his daughter Aisha.

Paz Vega would portray Maryam, Yusuf's second wife.

Ibn al-Khatib describes Yusuf as being under the influence of his second wife Maryam, the mother of his sons Ismail II and Qays and his daughters Fatima, Mumina, Khadija, Shams and Zaynab. In my characterization of Maryam, she enthralls Yusuf with her beauty and charms. Who wouldn’t be fascinated if your wife looked like Paz Vega?

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
In fourteenth-century Moorish Spain, two former friends become bitter rivals in a contest for the throne. 

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

Self-published, like Sultana and Sultana’s Legacy.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I started in March and finished in August, so six months. The groundwork for a lot of this novel came about when I was writing the earlier books, so the story felt almost as if it wrote itself. 

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Do my own in Sultana and Sultana’s Legacy count?

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I wanted to see how well my earlier books on the period would do before writing Sultana: Two Sisters. My fascination with Moorish Spain and its rulers continues. I don’t know why this period isn't as popular as that of the Tudors; it’s rife with dynastic rivalry, ambitions, betrayals and vengeance within a kingdom hemmed in on all sides by Christian and Muslim rivals. I have a very small goal in mind: to put Moorish Spain “on the map” and make it as familiar to my readers as other historical eras and locales.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
The sensuality and harsh cruelty of harem life is equally as fascinating as the politics outside those secluded walls. Butayna and Maryam shared a life with Yusuf, but each had contrasting ambitions that could only culminate in a violent clash between them. I hope readers will find their rivalry and the dynamics each shares with Yusuf fascinating. 

I tagged some folks before as the Next Big Thing works its way around the internet, so let's try some others: Michelle Davidson Argyle, Victoria Dixon, Heather Domin, Julie K. Rose and Gemi Sasson. 

The Next Big Thing Challenge

The very cool Tara Chevrestt at Book Babe tagged me to answer some questions about my new title, The Burning Candle. You can check out Tara's interview here. Since I can't have all the fun, I'm tagging five other authors to answer the same questions at the end of this post.

What is the title of your book? 
The Burning Candle; my good friend Anita Davison at The Disorganised Author came up with the title. 

Where did the idea come from for your book?
I wanted to write a follow-up to my first title set in medieval England, On Falcon's Wings, and started researching the period in which the book ended. Originally, I envisioned writing about the daughter of my hero and heroine in that book, a woman torn between two lovers. Then, I discovered the real-life heroine of The Burning Candle, Isabel de Vermandois, faced the same dilemma. The outline of the initial story went into the PC's recycle bin and Isabel became the focus of two years of intensive research. 

What genre does your book fall under?
Biographical historical.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
When I'm writing, pictures of what I imagine the characters might look like are an inspiration. I never imagine actors or actresses in the role, but if I had to:

Eva Green would be the adult Isabel de Vermandois, with auburn hair and gray eyes to match. 

Vincent Cassel would be Isabel's jealous, controlling husband, Robert de Beaumont.

Henry Cavill would be Isabel's lover, William de Warenne.

Actually, that wasn't too hard to decide.  

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
Isabel de Vermandois faces a difficult choice between duty to her husband and the desires of her heart. 

Will your book be self published or represented by an agency? 
It's self published. 

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The idea born in 2008 became fully fleshed out in 2009. I wrote steadily and submitted to critique groups. Then I lost the original files in a fire in 2010. Again, Anita Davison and our good friend Mirella Patzer at History and Women came to the rescue. They had saved some of the submitted chapters and helped salvage Isabel's story when I thought it was lost forever.     

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Tough one - I hate to compare my work to other writers. I've been told it's royalty fiction; does that help? ETA: Having nothing better to do (like revise the next in the Sultana series), I pasted a section of my text into www.booksai.com - try it if you're bored. Apparently, this story is most comparable Alexandra Benedict's The Notorious Scoundrel (that sure sounds like William) or The Devil Wears Plaid by Teresa Medeiros. So, even if I think I don't wrote romance, I do? Hmm.  

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Isabel did. She lived at a remarkable time, where the Normans were altering England's history, government and language. Her husband was critical to these changes as was the king he served. Isabel's lover was the richest man of the period and he risked a great deal to be with her. I imagined life at the side of either of these men can't have been  easy for Isabel.  

What else about your book might peek the readers' interest?
If you want to be immersed in the medieval period, this might be the book for you. The nerd in me loves historical details because they lend authenticity to the story. My characters aren't modern-day figures in fancy dress - they lived, loved and died in tumultuous times. I hope my portrayal reflects the period and its personalities well.

Isabel begins life as someone in the control of others. She surrenders her will to the wishes of her parents and marries a significantly older husband. In the union and its numerous children, she did the duty expected of a medieval woman. With the introduction of her lover William, their relationship becomes a catalyst for Isabel’s growth and change. Her affair with William took some daring. I see it as a moment of decisive action. She went against convention, risking scandal and damnation in a world where people were obsessed with consequences for their immortal souls.  

The Burning Candle is available now on Kindle, Smashwords and Kobo; Nook and paperback versions are coming soon. Here's the blurb: 

Love is for women who have choices. She has none. 

In eleventh-century France on the eve of the First Crusade, Isabel de Vermandois becomes the wife of a man old enough to be her father. He is Robert de Beaumont, Comte de Meulan. A hero of the Norman victory at Hastings and loyal counselor to successive English kings, Robert is not all Isabel had expected. Cruel and kind by contrast, he draws her into the decadent court of King Henry I. As Robert's secrets are unraveled, Isabel finds her heart divided. Her duties as a wife and mother compel her, but an undeniable attraction to the young William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, tempts her. In a kingdom where love holds no sway over marital relations, Isabel must choose where her loyalties and her heart lie.

Based on the life of a remarkable medieval woman forgotten by time, The Burning Candle is a story of duty and honor, love and betrayal.

Now, to pick some victims friends to share their work. Alison DeLuca, Michelle Gregory, Christine Murray, Mirella Patzer, Kristen Wood: your turn, ladies.