Blog Hop Post & Tags

I was tagged by friend and published writer/blogger AJ Scudiere as part of a blog hop to promote fellow writers. My instructions are to go to page 7 or 77 of my work in progress. Count down 7 lines and starting with line 7, share 7 lines. Then tag 7 writers. I don't know as many novel writers as she does, so I'm going to tag 6 friends who are all extremely creative story tellers in some way. Following the excerpt from my in-progress "The Four Horsemen," is a brief bit about each of those 6 people.

        Raspily he inhaled between lips inflamed and distended from days of triple-digit exposure. He had no provisions, not even a bone-dry canteen he might have half-submerged in a muddied puddle left by the monsoon which, only just, had both covered him with the ochre dust broomed forward of its thunderhead, and rinsed him clean of all but his sins. Even if the July Arizona sun had not evaporated the pitiful remains of the rain before the man could have even palmed a bit of water, his hands were so devoid themselves of moisture that the skin cracked and bled whenever flexed. Cracked until they bled. Then, drying, cracked and bled again.
   Cracked as the scorched earth that shimmered all around him.
   And bled as inevitably as his soul emptied.

Mark Morton, MFA, is the lead quitarist and songwriter of the music monster known as Lamb of God. The man smokes quitars! http://www.lamb-of-god.com/home. LOG had been nominated four times for a Grammy, including "Ghost Walking" for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for 2013. Say no more!

AJ Scudiere, of course, tagged me. Check her out at http://www.ajscudiere.com/blog/tag/smart-chickens/.

Speaking of quitars, Grammy Nominee Luis E. Villegas is a genius Latin Jazz guitarist/songwriter and one of the nicest people I know. What I don't know, is of anyone else who comes close to doing what he does, with the possible exception of Ottmar Liebert. "Cafe Olé" is one of my favorite albums. Check him out at http://www.luisvillegas.com and https://www.facebook.com/LuisVMusic.

Tamara Shure Roth Stafford is a fellow novelist, one who has writing in her blood. She's an actor's writer, one with deep empathy for the characters she creates.

Screenwriter Doug Amaturo taught me how to write the modern action-thriller. No one has done more to help refine my voice in that genre than him.

Comedian, writer, actor Jeff Cesario has written for Dennis Miller Live and The Larry Sanders Show, and appeared on the first Bob Hope Young Comedians special alongside Jeff Dunham, Jeff Foxworthy, and Betty White. Check him out at http://www.jeffcesario.com/index.html.

THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP

There are the books everyone has heard about: Twilight, Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Gray. But what about all those books written by people you’ve never heard of? Some of them are treasures, just waiting to be found, and that’s what this blog hop is all about: the books you might not have heard about, but that you might end up loving.

This blog hop is like a game of tag. One author posts and tags five other authors who link back to their website the next week and tag five new authors. If you follow the blog hop long enough, you’re bound to find some books you’ll love! Maybe you’ll even discover a book that ends up being the next big thing.

I was tagged by A.J. Scudiere. You can learn more about her novel-in-progress Inertia, and her published works by going to one of the links below after the last question. 

Here's a little info about my current project:

1: What is the working title of your book? The Chancellor Mechanism.

2: Where did the idea come from for the book? It came from a screenplay I wrote called "Red Ice." I always wanted to write a novel, so I used the screenplay as an outline for the novel. The idea for the screenplay came from a long-time friend, Mark Vasconcellos, who saw a program on Discovery about the Russian Diamond Fund vaults in the Kremlin Armory.

3: What genre does your book fall under? Popular thriller.

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Tyler Oakland (male lead) could be Aaron Johnson ("Nowhere Boy"), David Kross ("War Horse") or Jamie Bell from The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. For female lead Valeria Malinina,  Chloe Moretz would certainly "Kick Ass," as would Abbie Cornish from "Sucker Punch."

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Newly minted CIA operative Tyler Oakland, and Valeria Malinina of the Russian Federal Security Service race across Europe to recover $145 billion worth of diamonds stolen in a ferocious armed attack on the Kremlin, and to prevent a coup of the Russian government.

6: Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? Whatever it takes!

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? About two of inconsistent writing. I had to learn good writing habits!

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Tom Clancy's The Cardinal of the Kremlin.

9: Who or What inspired you to write this book? Novelist Robert Ludlum and his book The Matarese Circle.

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? This story is more than just action and kicking ass, of which there is enough. It delves into the mind of Tyler Oakland and his motivation for joining the CIA - what makes him tick, what his character needs to accomplish, and what his wants and needs are.

If you're on Facebook, you can add the page for The Chancellor Mechanism at www.facebook.com/pages/The-Chancellor-Mechanism/195168487160252

About A.J. Scudiere:

A.J. recent novel Phoenix AND novel #3 God’s Eye) Just got top honors at the USA Book Review Awards for 2012. (2 out of 6 awards given in Suspense.) You can find out more about A.J. and the Intelligent Suspense novels she writes at www.AJScudiere.com and follow the snarky Smart Chickens blog at www.SmartChickens.com or search ‘Smart Chickens’ on iTunes for the podcast.