The Next Big Thing

THE NEXT BIG THING is a chain of book and author recommendations. Cryptozoology thriller novelist Kent Holloway  first tagged me.  I was also tagged by Rick Jones. When you're done here, please take the opportunity to introduce yourself to them, as well as to the five authors I've tagged below, after the interview.

1. What is the working title of your next book?

SOLAR ISLAND just came out yesterday, so I’ll go with that. But let me just say before we go any further, that technically my next book released will be THE PROPHET, which is a collaboration with SILVER author Steven Savile. It’s a short novel that adds some background to the Ogmios Team series, and I’m really excited about this story.

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

The idea for SOLAR ISLAND came from fusing together two main ideas: 1) a concept known as “seasteading,” which is to live on the ocean in permanent floating facilities, and 2) alternative energy. From there I pictured a character who designed and built a floating island to collect solar energy, but then got carried away with the running of his own domain.

3. What genre does your book fall under?
Broadly it’s a thriller, more specifically some would say techno-thriller, science thriller or action-thriller.

4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Good ones!

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
A madman uses a floating energy production platform as an opportunity to establish his own rogue nation.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Neither. It’s been published by small press Seven Realms Publishing, a direct sale without an agent.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
About a year.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Fans of Michael Crichton, Clive Cussler, Preston & Child, Tom Clancy, Paul Garrison, James Rollins and Boyd Morrison might find something to like here.

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

The sun as our ultimate source of energy combined with the idea that much of our planet is covered in water with no direct oversight by any existing nation.

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

It’s the third thriller in my Tara Shores series, following Wired Kingdom (2010) and kiDNApped (2011). The novels can be read perfectly well standalone, although there are a few subtle nuances that can be picked up on if they are read in order. Think how, in Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series, you have the recurring core characters and they occasionally reference their past capers, they get promoted, get a little bit older with each book, that kind of thing.

That concludes my edition of The Next Big Thing. Now, I'm going to tag five more authors:

Steven Savile

Toby Tate
Edward Talbot

Jon F. Merz

Rachelle Gagne-Bronson

Next week, on Wednesday, December 19th, they will be posting their own answers to these questions. I'd really appreciate you guys supporting my friends by clicking on their names and visiting their blogs to see how they answered it! 

Thanks everyone and happy reading! 

Rick Chesler