Welcome to the very last installment of the NEXT BIG THING Blog Hop.

A blog hop is like a giant game of tag to help readers discover authors who are new to them. For this hop, authors answered 10 questions about what we’re working on now. This week, I’m it and I’m the last author on the Hop.

I was tagged by Julie Ortolon.  Visit her blog to see who she was tagged by, and feel free to work your way back through the Blog Hop to discover some new-to-you authors.

Here is my Next Big Thing!

1: What is the working title of your book?

NECESSARY LIES, which will be released in early September, 2013. 

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?

In recent years, the news here in North Carolina has been about an involuntary sterilization program that impacted thousands of people in the state. As I thought about the people affected by the program, characters began to take shape in my imagination and I knew it was a book I had to write. 

3: What genre does your book come under?

Women’s Fiction or General Fiction

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

That is so hard! There are so many young actors who would suit the roles. I’d love to hear who my readers think would be a good fit. The book is set in 1960, and we need a fifteen-year-old sweet but feisty farm girl, her seventeen-year-old eerily beautiful sister, and a caring but naive young female social worker. Any thoughts?

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

NECESSARY LIES is the story of an idealistic young social worker who begins her work with the poor with all the best intentions.  But in the face of small town secrets and the harsh realities of her job, she finds herself tested beyond comprehension.  (okay, that was two sentences. I tried!)

6: Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?

I’m thrilled that my publisher for this book is St. Martins Press. Please watch for its release in September.

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

About a year–a year full of intense research and falling in love with my characters. 

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

That’s a hard question because there are few similar stories out there. The closest I can think of is The Help.

9: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The news reports I mentioned in #2, and the human stories that emerged from them. 

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I think the fact that NECESSARY LIES, while completely fictionalized, is based on events that really happened–events that are hard to believe in 2013. I can’t wait to hear what my readers think about it. 

Thanks for ending the Blog Hop with me!