THE NEXT BEST THING REVISITED

The idea of this blog hop, The Next Best Thing, is to answer ten questions about our work and then to tag other members of our writing communities to do the same. If we read each other’s answers, we will get to know each other’s projects, and that’s a good thing! I was tagged by Edith O Nuallain who describes her fascinating new novel at http://inaroomofmyown.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/my-next-big-thing/. Take a moment to read her answers. Betsy Graziani Fasbinder, another She Writes author, will answer questions about her novel Fire and Water at http://www.shewrites.com/profiles/blog/list?user=0l6ztebtrf2c3 in the next few days. If you are interested in being the next to answer questions about your work, contact Betsy.

For those interested in my answers about Tasting Home, the food memoir I am publishing with She Writes Press, please scroll to the end of these blog pages. In the post you are currently reading, I am answering questions about my next project, a feminist mystery.

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

What is your working title of your book?

OINK! An Emily Adams Mystery

Where did the idea come from for the book?

It came from my experiences at my university as a director of Women’s Studies.

What genre does your book fall under?

It’s a cozy mystery which means that the emphasis in the book is on the culture and character of a community. There is very little violence, although there is suspense and a scene in which the sleuth makes use of her kickboxing moves. (This was always my fantasy.)

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

Amy Adams as Emily Addams, women’s studies professor and sleuth. Gene Hackman as the victim, Peter Elliott, a hotshot developer of GMOs. Meryl Streep as the administrator Lorna Vogle. Tonantzin Carmelo as Elena Flores-Rivera and Wes Studi as Frank Walker, professors of Native American Studies. Adam Beach as Francisco Vega, toxicologist. Gong Li as Mei Lyn Wong, undergraduate. Ming Na Singapore as Grace Lee, professor of women’s and Asian American Studies. Anika Noni Rose as Nina Lewis, professor of women’s studies. Sofia Vergara as Teresa Fuentes-Elliott, a Columbian toxicologist, and Roseann Barr as Donna DeLacey, editor of the Summerville Express.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Poisoned cornbread, a feminist network, and the toxic influence of corporate values in the university.

Emily Addams, Professor of Women’s Studies, finds herself the unlikely suspect in the poisoning of a man she barely knows— Peter Elliott of Plant Biology and the hot shot developer of a genetically-modified corn. How did her cornbread end up in his hand on the smelly muck of a giant sow’s pen? In a quest to find the real culprit, she and her feminist network uncover the dark secrets of a university that has itself been tainted by corporate values.

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

I’m not sure yet.

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

I wrote the first draft during NaNoWriMo last year. It’s been making its way through my writing group and various Beta readers ever since. I took some more time this November to revise it.

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

I was first inspired by Tony Hillerman, by the way he allows us to see the world through the eyes of Navaho characters. I’ve tried to do something similar by taking the reader inside the points of view of faculty in women’s and ethnic studies. But I am not Tony Hillerman, alas, and do not write thrillers. In its satirical spirit OINK! is more like the novels of Amanda Cross (Death in a Tenured Position), and in its focus on community and on food it is also like Joanne Fluke’s Lemon Meringue Pie Murder. There’s a lot about food in OINK! and there are many recipes for dishes involving corn. Like Jane Smiley’s MOO, OINK! is set in a land grant university, but the comparisons pretty much end there.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Because I loved Tony Hillerman, I ultimately decided to teach a multicultural course in detective novels. I began with The Maltese Falcon and then taught novels by Chicana, black, Asian American, and gay mystery writers. I also taught Hillerman’s Skinwalker. I learned a lot about the uses and flexibility of the mystery as a genre.

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

The book addresses some of the debates about GMOs and about the meaning of ecology when applied to human communities. There are some quirky characters, some illicit romance, and (mild) sexual misbehavior.

JOIN THE BLOG HOP:

If you would like to participate in the blog hop, please contact Betsy Graziani Fasbinder at http://www.shewrites.com/profiles/blog/list?user=0l6ztebtrf2c3. Then, when you post your own answers include the URLs/permalinks of Edith O Nuallain, Judith Newton, and Betsy Graziani Fasbinder. That way we’ll continue to send each other to our blogs and expand the network of those getting to know each 0ther.

Rules of the Next Big Thing

***Use this format for your post

***Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (work in progress)

***Tag one other writes/blogger and add her link so we can hop over and meet her.