My friend Patricia Preston, she of THE YARD SALE and LAID TO REST, tagged me last week for this “Next Big Thing” challenge, so here goes:

The Steps:

First: Answer the 10 questions below.

Then:  Spread the fun and tag 5 more awesome people to participate.

(It’s also nice to link back to the person who tagged you)

1.  What is the title of your  book / WIP?

WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM

2.    Where did the idea of this book come from?

Growing up, I was fascinated by the events surrounding the sinking of the Titanic (and this was wayyyy before the James Cameron movie), partly because my grandfather always said he had a relative on board –  a Second Class passenger who survived, which made me feel closer to the events. She even rescued a steerage baby! Now, as an adult having done some internet research, I’m not convinced she actually is related to us but her story had a profound influence on me as a child.

What do you do? Stay on board? Take a lifeboat? If you’ve waited too long and there are no more lifeboats, how do you try to survive?

Inevitably, given the family legend, some time ago I had the idea to write a novel loosely inspired by the events of Titanic . Since I have a science fiction kind of mind, I set the story in the far future, out among the stars, using a luxury space liner rather than an ocean going cruise ship.

3. What genre would your book fall under?

Science Fiction Adventure with romantic elements

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

For Nick, the hero, lately I’m thinking Guy Pearce (based on his performance in the movie Lockout) …and Maggie Grace would be a good Mara…but Hollywood excels at finding the right actors to play the roles, thank goodness!

5. What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

I like this one from a recent 4 Star Reader review of the book on Amazon: “Recommended if you like disaster movies, Titanic stories, and space opera with a little romance thrown in for heart. “

6. Is your book published or represented?

The book is available  from  Smashwords ,  Amazon for the kindle or as a trade paperback, and Barnes & Noble . It’s self published but I worked with a professional editor – you always need the fine eye of an editor!

7. How long did it take you to write it?

It’s hard to say any more, because the entire month of February 2012 was spent in the editing and revision process, to get the book out in March, before the 100^th anniversary of the Titanic sinking, so that’s what I remember! It typically takes me a couple of months to get the first draft of a book complete…followed by lots and lots of revising.

8. What other books in your genre would you compare it to?

It compares to disaster movies, actually, and to movies like “Fifth Element”! In various reviews, the book has also been compared to classic science fiction novels, which is always a high compliment to me.

9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?

Can I go a bit back in time and say Andre Norton and Anne McCaffrey?

10. Tell us anything else that might pique our interest in your book.

I have a pretty awesome video book trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oA3NpmxTZI

Thanks to Rachel Firasek for the exciting synopsis of the book, complete with a soundtrack!

The Five Awesome Fiction Authors I’m Tagging Include:

OK before I get to that, let me just say these memes are fun but can be a little like a chain letter, so they’re not to everyone’s taste to participate in…but please check out these authors, whether they “play” in this game or not:

Cathy Pegau

R. L. Naquin

Jodie Griffin

Carmen DeSousa

The Butterfly Memoirs

VS sez thanks for stopping by – who are your favorite science fiction authors these days? I’m always looking for new recommendations!