Well, I’ve been tagged in this blog tag thingy. I refuse to admit just how long it took me to work out just what was happening, and why I’d been tagged, and what I was meant to do about it. It involves answering questions about one’s current project. We then tag someone else to force them in a thumbscrew manner to spill their respective beans.

I was tagged by Sammy HK Smith, who writes…stuff. Mainly fantasy and speculative fiction, I think I’d be right in saying. And it’s a good thing she did, because you only have to look at how long it’s been since my last post to see how hard I find it to come up with stuff to say! Which is odd, for a writer.

Anyway, on with the game!

What is the working title of your book?

I’m working on three (five, if you count my terrible habit of skipping ahead to start the sequel to the book I haven’t yet finished), but one may never see the light of day, and one is the third of the series in which the second hasn’t been published yet. So in short, it is ‘Temple of the Sixth’.

What genre does your book fall under?

Science fantasy. Genres are something of a necessary evil, though. They are needed for obvious reasons, but it does mean that authors can feel quite restricted, and readers often get the wrong or incomplete idea about what they’re looking at. Although science fantasy is the best and most accurate description of my novels, it (and the broader ‘sci fi’) brings unwanted connotations and requirements. I felt like I was going somewhere with this deep and philosophical paragraph, but it turns out I wasn’t, so moving on…

Give a brief synopsis of your book:

The Hierarchy is that most cliched of things: an ancient evil (ghostly ‘woooo’). Having experienced a most devastating betrayal by those they once fought to protect, the Hierarchy’s leaders did not go where they were meant to after death. Instead, they remained between planes of existence, seething in hatred and fury, and awaiting their chance to wipe all life from the universe in a raging torrent of vengeance.

In response to this unforseen threat to all life, the Celestians were created. Whenever the Hierarchy rises to exact their revenge, the Celestians vanquish them. But even they do not have the power to stop the furious immortals for good, and now, the Hierarchy has begun to control their anger. Now, they are scheming, intelligent and crafty. Now, they may be unstoppable.

Theak is one of the mortal agents recruited by timid – and debatably insane – little Fonau and his telepathic hotline to the kidnapped god who will bring the Celestians together. If they do not rescue her, nothing will stop the end of all life. Theak doesn’t believe a word the little man says, but there’s something compelling in those big, round eyes, and the trembling lower lip, and so he agrees to help. He probably wouldn’t, had he known how many times he’d be chased, bitten, burned alive, and have his chest ripped into by Death himself.

Time is inevitably running out, and the chances of success are looking worse with each passing minute. As the Hierarchy’s infection spreads across countless worlds, bending every living creature to its will, the thought in Theak’s mind is, how do you win a war against those you’re fighting to protect?

Where did the idea for the book come from?

People are going to get tired of reading it, but as usual, it just came about by itself. I decided I wanted to write something big. I also wanted it to be a little more fantastical.

Contrary to that… Although I didn’t mention it above, one of the parallel storylines in the novel has two ordinary men trying to survive this extraordinary situation. These two men work as secretaries, and have never so much as left their home town. I wanted to see the whole situation from their perspective, as well as from that of the people who know what is happening. These two think they’re being attacked by zombies! I liked the idea of writing that.

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

Well, Theak is black, bald, and twenty-eight years old, so that narrows it down a little. I’m not sure, though. I like Chiwetel Ejiofor – even if I can’t pronounce his name – but I’d rather have unknown actors, so they can be seen purely as their character.

Of course, some familiar characters from my first novel do show their faces, including Juni. I wouldn’t mind Kate Beckinsale playing her part, but then I’d have to do a rewrite for her involving a nude scene with a bald author…it might get a little contrived.

Tag!

I nominate (read: unceremoniously kick into the spotlight): Mary Fan, Marita Hansen, Danny at Uproar Comics (because I’m stretching the rules a touch), and Nichole Sotzek.