Lisa Henry, author of The Island and Dark Space, tagged me to follow her on this cute little blog hop wherein authors answer ten questions about their latest WIP. I’ve had some fun reading others’ posts about their work, so I’m glad to now add my own info.

The book I’ve chosen to talk about is one that’s very close to my heart because it’s been “in the making” for over a decade. I began writing it in grad school, intending to make it my thesis project, but it petered out on me. Since then, it’s gone through at least 5 makeovers and is now in the form I do believe will survive. It’s also the longest story I’ve written to-date and I’m still not finished with it — it’s gonna be a real live novel!

1. What is the working title of your book?
   A Healing Touch
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
   This book comes from my love of space operas like Star Wars, Farscape, and Firefly. The opening scene, though, came to me from the real-life disaster of the Columbia shuttle explosion when I heard about the astronauts stuck up on the Space Station until NASA knew what had happened and could retrieve them safely. What if NASA couldn’t come get you?
3. What is the genre of the book?
   Futuristic/sci-fi erotic gay romance.
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
   I don’t know that either hero is best represented by just one person. My human astronaut, Ledger O’Keefe, is an amalgamation of fish-out-of-water characters because he spends most of his time trying to learn, catch up, and regain some control over his life. I guess he’d be pre-Jedi Luke Skywalker, John Crichton for the first season of Farscape, and maybe some Indiana Jones because he can take care of himself, but still manages to get into trouble and need some help getting out of it. Physically, I think of him as looking like Matt Bomer, but with darker hair. Now my alien spy/healer, Vivek rin Leedo, who looks after Ledger so he doesn’t get himself killed and then sticks around to see what happens next is some Mr. Spock with a little Malcolm Reynolds and a dash of Han Solo; he knows what he’s doing, he’s smarter than you, and he’ll kick your ass if you don’t leave him any other options. He looks like he belongs underwater, so imagine Ian Anthony Dale hairless and blue.
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
   One sentence?! Uh… The 3-5 sentences required for a blurb kill me. You’re hurting my brain! Next question.
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency/publisher?
   I’ll probably offer it to Loose Id and see what happens.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
   Still working on it after 12 years or so…
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
   It’s probably going to feel like fanfic since I’m sure there will be aliens or transportation or some other element that will have a similar feel to the inspiring space operas I mentioned above. It’s not fanfic, but my love of those universes will probably show through from time to time.
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
   This feels similar to #2, but I’ll take it in the direction of what actually pushed me to write it all down instead of just dreaming about being in someone else’s universe. That push came from wanting to take what I loved best and make it my own. I have gobs of notes on everything from how they tell time to which aliens are genetically compatible with humans and each other. All of that thinking and planning is probably why it’s taken me this long to write the story: I’m finally able to live there and know instinctively how this new universe works, so I’m ready to tell the stories.
10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
    Well, one of these guys isn’t human, so I can do whatever I like with his, um, anatomy. That’s been all kinds of wicked fun.

Now go forth and check out these wonderful authors:

• Thorny Sterling
• Westbrooke Jameson
• M. C. Hana
• Selena Illyria
• Tinnean

I’m also adding a special addition because today is Lynn Lorenz’s birthday and she’s throwing a party over on the Coffee Time Romance & More yahoo loop, but she’s giving all her gifts away to several lucky winners! Go on and join the party.