TAGGED! The Next Big Thing

by S. L. Duncan

So, nearly two months ago, Wendy Orr (NIM’S ISLAND, THE NIM STORIES) tagged me for this sort of blog chain letter called The Next Big Thing. As I am a complete slackass, I totally got tied up in the new job and have neglected all things writerly.

But no longer, I tells ya!

So, while I object to the implication that what I’ve written might be ‘the next big thing,’ I’ll play along.  Here’s my interview on how my first book, The Revelation Saga (Medallion Press, 2014) came to be!

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was living in Birmingham and had graduated from college with this geographically useless film / broadcasting degree that was tethered to an equally useless lack of ambition and direction. Also, I was totally chickenshit when it came to the idea that I may have to move to LA or New York to make my dreams come true.

Instead of taking a leap of faith, I ended up in law school. In – no surprise here – Birmingham. Something about the sterile nature of legal writing for the classes I attended caused my creative inner self to revolt. At the same time, I was having this moment where my religious upbringing didn’t match with what I perceived in the real world. I began researching canonical and non-canonical religious texts, trying to figure it all out, and just got inspired. Basically, I wondered what would happen if the books of the Bible were compiled in error, and the one book that might hold the key to surviving the second war between the angels and demons had been purged by Constantine’s Rome in the homogenization of the religion. After living in England for a semester abroad, Gabriel Adam’s story began to materialize. Then it was just a matter of getting it down on paper.

In hindsight, I probably should have been studying Con Law or something.

What genre does your book fall under?

It’s a Young Adult Adventure / Thriller.

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

I’m going to go with Jodie Foster, Abigail Breslin, Bindi Irwin, and Gerard Butler. I promise I didn’t steal this answer from Wendy Orr.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Seventeen-year-old Gabriel Adam learns he is the Archangel Gabriel born human and sent to stop the second war between Heaven and Hell.

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

Altogether, probably a year. I false started a lot. These days, I’m running about four months on a draft. The long hours come in editing.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Really, the experience inspired itself. It was fun, and that created a momentum until that last day when I typed “The End.”

What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

My agent, John Rudolph of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management pitched the book as RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK meets some of the fantastical elements of HARRY POTTER.

Also, there may or may not be a dragon in it. 

_______

I'm tagging agency siblings Shandy Lawson (THE LOOP, Disney/Hyperion April 30th, 2013), Andrew Smith (WINGER, Simon & Schuster May 14th, 2013), and Rachele Alpine (CANARY, Medallion Press August 1st, 2013).