The Next Big Thing!

What is the title of your new book?

Atonement

Where did the idea for the book come from?

I actually thought of the idea while I was writing Killing Time from The Ties That Bind Trilogy. It was a different idea and I thought it would be interesting to explore the whole process of forgiving someone for the unforgivable especially when the person in need of forgiving is the same person happens to be the love of your life.

What genre does your book fall under?

New Adult and Contemporary Romance 

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Deidre: Mila Kunis 

Colin: Charlie Hunnam

Liam: Alexander Skarsgard

Caitlyn: Blake Lively

Drew: James McAvoy

Aubrey: Emma Stone (she makes a great brunette and could definitely pull the role off with enough flair)

Will your book be self published or do you have an agent/publisher?

Self-published by Midnight Engel Press

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

One month

What other books would you compare your book to within the genre?

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

On Dublin Street by Samantha Young

Just Remember to Breathe by Charles Sheehan-Miles

Easy by Tammara Weber

Losing It by Cora Carmack

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I was inspired in part by the death of my own father. Although he died from a stroke almost three years ago, the event inspired me to know what inertia felt like. A long time after his death, I felt frozen in place so I can relate to the inertia Deirdre explains she feels in the book. And it was several trips to Western Europe that broke the feeling of not being able to move forward with my life.

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

Well, although I can compare it to the books above, Atonement remains its own story. I would very much like readers to identify with the characters and feel like they could be friends of theirs in real life and not just cardboard cutouts. Each couple gets their own book because Atonement is the first book in The Atonement Series. Unfortunately, Deirdre and Colin's story is the most complicated so they have a sequel in the works called Only Love due out in February of 2013.

For scrumptious visuals on the cast and locations, check out The Atonement Series Pinterest Board!

Authors who could be The Next Big Thing are:

Charles Sheehan-Miles

Charles Sheehan-Miles has been a soldier, computer programmer, short-order cook and non-profit executive. He is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books, including the indie bestseller Republic: A Novel of America's Future.

He served in combat with the 24th Infantry Division during the 1991 Gulf War, and was decorated for valor for helping rescue fellow tank crewmen from a burning tank during the Battle at Rumayla. Since then, he has been a regular speaker on issues relating to the Gulf War, ill veterans and the impact of post-traumatic stress.

He is a former President and co-founder of the National Gulf War Resource Center and has served on the board of the Education for Peace in Iraq Center. Prior to becoming executive director of Veterans for Common Sense in August 2004, he was director of the Nuclear Policy Research Institute in Washington, DC. He continues to serve on the board of directors of Veterans for Common Sense.

Charles currently manages a restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lives with his wife Veronica and their two children, along with two alien invaders from outer space disguised as small furry animals.

Charles can be found on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/CSheehanMiles and on his blog at http://www.sheehanmiles.com

Mandy White

Mandy White is a Canadian author who resides on Vancouver Island, British Columbia where she is living her dream of being one of those weird, reclusive writer types. She primarily writes fiction in the horror genre, often featuring Canadian characters and locations. She is administrator of the WPaD group (Writers, Poets and Deviants), best known for their charity anthologies.

G.R. Yeates

G.R. Yeates is the author of the critically-acclaimed Vetala Cycle, a trilogy of vampiric horror novels set in World War I. He has been published in the Dark Continents anthology, Phobophobia, and the Horror for Good anthology from Cutting Block Press. He is currently working on two novellas and a short story collection that will be released in Autumn/Winter 2012 and an epic fantasy series that will be released in 2013.

Mike Cooley

I have been writing science fiction and fantasy stories for many years.
My writing has an edge to it. I enjoy exploring the dark and surreal landscapes of the mind.

The first two novels in my Legend Of The Crystals series are out (Crystal Warrior and Crystal Origin).
Book Three (Crystal Legacy) should be out in 2013.

I also have a science fiction short story collection out called Skin Of Giants,
a Twilight Parody called How To Keep Sparkly Emo Vampires Off Your Lawn,
and a poetry book called She Stands At The Precipice.

My Lovecraftian horror novelette, Eater Of Eyes, just came out.

Thanks for reading!
Mike

Jack Wallen

Jack Wallen is the new name in horror. His works span genres and weave evil, conspiracy, and fear into nightmarish worlds.

Jack has been given the title "Zombie King" by his readers and fans. He didn't garner that title by dining on the brains of helpless victims. It was only after writing until his fingers and mind were nothing but meat for the beasts that he became a master of the zombie genre. During that haunted hay ride Jack produced works of fiction enjoyable by not just zombie fans, but anyone daring to take a peek into what might possibly become of humanity.

Of course, being of the insane writer clan, Jack isn't just happy with the penning of zombie fiction. Oh no, the nightmare does not end there. Like the late, great Freddy Mercury, Jack wants it all -- so, he will continue twisting the horror genre to meet his disturbed mind as well as write his Fringe Killer and Screampark series, and his joyous celebration of all things diverse -- Shero.

For his inspiration to begin reading and writing, Jack thanks the ever-incredible Clive Barker for penning in a genre with words of grace and horror.