10 Questions: The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

15 November 2012 Renee Author Blog Hop, Changeling Press, My Books, My Interviews, Zenobia Renquist

I’m interrupting the normal Thursday blog content since I got tagged by Stephanie Burke to do a blog hop post for The Next Big Thing.

Here’s my contribution…

1. What is the title of your latest book?

Wet: Overflow by Zenobia Renquist coming out 23 November (GMT) to Changeling Press.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
It’s a direct sequel to Wet: Undercurrent by Zenobia Renquist. Undercurrent came from two things:

#1 – I wanted to write for the Changeling Press multi-author series Wet, which dictated one main character must inhabit water. And there was a preference towards not using mermaids.

#2 – I wanted to do a male ageman — Japanese woman who brings good luck to those she touches. I first saw the concept in Living For Tomorrow by Taishi Zaou (manga) and thought it would be cool to write my own.

So instead of doing a character who inhabits water, I did a character made of water. The rest fell into place as I wrote.

3. What genre does your book fall under?
Both titles are Erotic Paranormal Interracial Romance, though Overflow is also a MFM menage.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Movie rendition, huh? That’s a little tough. I would go for Naomie Harris for the Lulu, the heroine, since I loved her in Ninja Assassin and recently James Bond: Skyfall.

For the role of Hotsuma (and Masato since they look exactly alike), I would choose Rick Yune. I love his look and he’s a good actor. I loved him as Zen Yi (X-Blade) in Man With the Iron Fists and as Takeshi in Ninja Assassin.

5. What is the book blurb for your book?
Wet: Undercurrent
Lulu was sent to spy on the competition so she could find out the secret of their success. Her search turns up Hotsuma, a man bound to water so he can use his power to bring good luck to those who imprisoned him.

Working to set him free ignites a passion in Lulu only Hotsuma can quench, but they can’t afford to let sex, no matter how good, distract them. Hotsuma’s captors aren’t about to let Lulu leave with their property, and they’re willing to use deadly force to stop her. They’ll need more than luck for their new love to survive.

Wet: Overflow
Lulu and Hotsuma should be enjoying a happy married life but trouble continues to follow them. Masato is back and his reappearance puts Hotsuma in danger again. In exchange for his silence about his return, Masato makes an indecent proposal Lulu cannot help but accept. To make matters worse, someone else has found out about Hotsuma’s powers and is willing to end those powers, and possibly Hotsuma with them, if Lulu doesn’t meet his demands. She’s in over her head and the water is steadily rising. Luck and love won’t solve the problem this time, but maybe help from an unlikely option will.

6. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Good question. I did a huge writing binge in July, which is when I finished both of titles. Undercurrent (at 22,500 words / 74 pages) took me 33.2 hours (1992 minutes), and Overflow (at 25,700 words) took me 28.5 hours (1719 minutes), according to the timer in the MSWord files. 😀

Obviously I didn’t spend that much time straight through, but that’s how long I spent in each file.

7. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I haven’t read another book that incorporates a water spirit. As for overall premise — caught spying and fall in love with your target, I would say Inferno by Bianca D’Arc. I highly recommend this title and all the others in this series.

8. Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Pretty much answered that in Q2.

9. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Did I mention Hotsuma, the hero, is made of water? He has no body. He shapes the water to form his body and he can manipulate water to do many, many fun things Lulu, the heroine, really enjoyed.

And now I choose these five authors to carry the torch (no striking the selector, I love you all so that’s why I chose you):

* Ashlynn Monroe http://ashlynnmonroe.com/

* Missy Martine http://www.missymartine.com/

* Sam Cheever http://www.samcheever.com/

* Cheryl Dragon http://www.cheryldragon.com/

* Marteeka Karland http://www.marteekakarland.com/

Asian hero, black heroine, bwam, bwam romance, erotic, erotic romance, erotica, fantasy, fantasy romance, interracial, interracial romance, IR, IR/MC, m/f/m, magical creatures, MC, MC/IR, menage, ménage à trois, menage romance, multicultural, multicultural romance, romance, water spirit, Wet Series, Zenobia Renquist