Blog Hop: The Next Big Thing

And now for something completely different...

I'll be back tomorrow with a science activity for The Year the Swallows Came Early, but today I get the chance to talk about my own book! I was asked to participate in The Next Big Thing Blog Hop by the lovely Jayne Moraski. Jayne's website is called 365 TV-Free Kid Activities, and you should definitely go check it out!

A replica of a 1672 Isaac Newton Telescope

 

Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing Blog Hop:

 

1. What is the working title of your book? Discovering Isaac

 

2. Where did the idea come from for the book? I was reading a brief history of Isaac Newton (who overcame a terrible childhood) and thought, "This would make a great middle grade book!"

3. What genre does your book fall under? Contemporary Middle Grade (Translation: a book for kids ages 9-12 with no fantasy, ghostly, or magical elements. Just fun, regular kids.)

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? There isn't anybody who jumps out at me for the main character, Isaac, but I can picture Eva Mendes as his mom (possibly because the character is named Eva) and Luke from Modern Family as Isaac's friend Connor. (Confession: I don't watch many movies. At all.)

5. What is the synopsis of your book?

Eleven-year-old Isaac Sanchez didn’t know what to expect when his deadbeat mom came back, but it definitely wasn’t this: a secret code, a new best friend, and a strange connection to the greatest scientist of all time. Isaac’s experiments sometimes end in disaster, but he may discover what he was looking for all along: his own place in the universe.

 

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I've got several agents reading it right now, so I'm hoping to go that route!

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? I drafted it in a summer, then did almost nothing with it for a year (and had a baby in the meantime.) When Rosalyn Eves invited me to be in her writing group (thank you, Rosalyn!), I pulled it out and got serious about being a writer.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Agents have compared it to The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and Chasing Vermeer, both of which are books I really, really admire.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book? Reading about Isaac Newton and wanting to tell the story of a kid who finds his own potential (and loves science.)

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? I hope it has relatable, endearing characters and a great plot, but I think the science and history woven through the story might be what make it distinctive.

Whew! That was much more fun to write than I expected it to be. :) And the fun continues next week on Kate Birch's blog. I'm so excited to see how she'll answer these questions. (And which of her awesome books she'll answer them for!)

If you would like to read some more blogs about writing, go to Barbara Bockman’s blog http://barbarabockman.wordpress.com/ or to read more about new books, go to Penelope Ann’s blog and work backward: http://penelopeannecole.blogspot.com/