Hippity-hopping on Ara's blog tour

My fellow SCWC buddy, Ara Grigorian (aka Ara THE Writer) got pegged for a "Next Big Thing" blog hop and of course, tagged me as one of his Hoppettes. I say "of course" because I torture Ara from time to time by challenging him on either Facebook or my blog to bare his writing soul for readers everywhere.

This is my karma and I accept it.

As far as my own next BIG thing, I'm in an interesting state of being, writing-wise. My next book is complete and completely different than anything else I've ever done. It's my horse's memoir, told in his voice. The title is FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH: ONE LUCKY MEMOIR. This week, I had my favorite equine photographer, Lynne Glazer, come out and shoot pictures for the cover. Once I decide on the photos, I will turn them over to my cover designer, Joe Felipe. I'm also awaiting comments from two of my three beta readers.

Then there's the marketing and publicity campaign to schedule so I know when to release the book. Ah, the life of a self-publishing author!

All of this doesn't mean I'm not writing anything new. I am. It's a new mystery, with all new characters. And so starts my Next Big Thing blog blather (a big Thanks to Ara for providing the cut-and-paste action)...

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What is a blog hop? Basically, it’s a way for readers to discover authors new to them. I hope you'll find new-to-you authors whose works you enjoy. On this stop on the blog hop, you'll find a bit of information on me and one of my books and links to five other authors you can explore!

My gratitude to fellow author Ara Grigorian for inviting me to participate in this event. You can click the following links to learn more about Ara and his work.

Website: http://www.araTHEwriter.com

In this blog hop, I and my fellow authors, in their respective blogs, have answered ten questions about our book or work-in--progress (giving you a sneak peek). We've also included some behind-the-scenes information about how and why we write what we write--the characters, inspirations, plotting and other choices we make. I hope you enjoy it.

Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts and questions. Here is my Next Big Thing!

1: What is the working title of your book?
HORSING AROUND WITH MURDER

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?
At horse shows, when we clean our horses' stalls, we dump the used bedding at the end of the barn aisle, where it's scooped up daily by a tractor and hauled away. I was walking to my barn at the last show, looked over at the pile of dirty shavings and thought, what if there was a pair of boots in there, with a body in them?

3: What genre does your book come under?
Mystery.

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
My main character is an amateur rider. I'm picturing her as a kind of normal looking gal who is spunky and appealing. Rikki Lake and Janeane Garofalo come to mind. For the male lead, I've got either Viggo Mortenson or Hugh Jackman in my head, depending upon the day. I've actually got a Pinterest board on this story, if you're interested.

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
All Willie Adams wanted was to buy a horse. How was she to know love and murder came with the deal?

6: Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?
Right now, all my books are published under my own umbrella, Dancing Corgi Press. But I never say never to traditional publishing and try to do the right thing for each of my books.

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

True confession: It's not written at this time. I'm still gathering my cast and doing my outlining.

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Probably Michele Scott's cozier mysteries, especially the Michaela Bancroft Suspense Series.

9: Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Because I have horses and I show competitively, people always want to know why I don't write about them. So I'm writing a horse mystery, just to shut them up.

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It will be set in Burbank at the LA Equestrian center, and will feature an aging actor who rides. There is a (very famous) actor who rides, along with his wife, and we see him often at the shows. Let's just say he makes us laugh.

NOT the famous aging actor, this is trainer Tom Foran on my favorite reining horse, Cattitude.

This is where I'm supposed to tag other writers and have them blog about their next big things. But I'm not. The trail goes cold here, mostly because I have now hopped around three times and just can't ask one more of my author friends to do this.

P.S. If any of my writer friends reads this and WANTS to hop onto my blogging coattails, feel free and I'll promote the heck out of it!